Despite recent interest in the topic of resilience in organisations, much work is still needed to advance our understanding of this important area of inquiry. With this in mind, the authors argue that the study of resilience would benefit from (1) greater definitional clarity and (2) explicit inclusion of temporal issues in theoretical conceptualisations of resilience. Based on a systematic review of the literature, we advocate for a concise definition of resilience, along with a heuristic framework intended to meaningfully categorise the various elements, features, and experiences implicated by the concept of resilience, including (a) adversity triggers, (b) resilience outcomes, (c) resilience mechanisms, and (d) resilience promoting factors. This is followed by a discussion of temporal issues in relation to each of the four categories above. Various propositions and recommendations for future research are also presented.
SummaryEmployees' recovery from the effects of occupational stress can be affected by their actions during time away from work. Conservation of resources theory argues that a key to an effective stress recovery process is the replenishment of resources during off-work time (a weekend in the present study). We test a model of the stress recovery process during a weekend whereby two recovery mechanisms (weekend activities and recovery experiences) improve two personal resources (self-regulatory capacity and state optimism), subsequently affecting psychological outcomes (work engagement and burnout) at the start of the next workweek. Employees (n = 233) from various jobs responded to online surveys before and after a weekend. Controlling for pre-weekend resource levels and psychological outcomes assessed on Friday, the two weekend stress recovery mechanisms (weekend activities and recovery experiences) contributed to improving or maintaining self-regulatory and optimism resources on Monday. Of note, psychological detachment may result in less rather than more of the resource of state optimism on Monday. Monday resource levels were linked to improved work engagement and burnout. As proposed by conservation of resources theory, employees can benefit from participating in activities that replenish resources necessary to meet work demands upon returning to work after a weekend.
In previous research on psychological stress recovery, recovery activities and recovery experiences have been studied separately rather than jointly. The present study advances previous knowledge about stress recovery by integrating the effects of these separate recovery constructs within a single study and examining them outside the work context. We propose and test an integrated model of the stress-recovery process that includes weekday stressors and weekend recovery activity behaviors, psychological recovery experiences, and recovery outcomes. Undergraduates (n ϭ 221) from a Midwestern university reported on Friday about stressors experienced during the week, followed by a weekend during which recovery could occur. On Monday they reported their weekend activities and their current well-being. Results suggest that participating in specific recovery activities during a weekend and accompanying specific subjective recovery experiences reduce negative psychological outcomes. Future research and practical applications of the integrated model of the recovery process are discussed.
Orf virus leads to self-limited, subacute cutaneous infections in children who have occupational or recreational contact with infected small ruminants. Breaches in the integument and contact with animals recently vaccinated for orf may be important risk factors in transmission. Common childhood behaviors are likely important factors in the provocation of significant contact (ie, bites) or in unusual lesion location (eg, facial lesions). Clinician recognition is important in distinguishing orf infection from life-threatening cutaneous zoonoses. Recently developed molecular techniques provide diagnostic precision and newer topical therapeutics may hasten healing.
Recovery experiences achieved during a weekend are presumed to be outcomes of weekend activities. However, results examining relationships between them are mixed. In line with models of differential stress responses, we posited that these differences may be accounted for by affective dispositions. We examined three-way interactions between weekend activities (low-effort and work-related) and both positive trait affect (PA) and negative trait affect (NA) on recovery experiences (psychological detachment, relaxation, mastery). Employees from various work sectors (N = 183) responded to online surveys about their weekend. The results demonstrated that recovery experiences, specifically psychological detachment and mastery, depended on interactions between weekend activities and affective dispositions. When PA was high, NA had a detrimental impact on the relationship between both weekend activities and mastery experiences. When PA was low, NA had a detrimental impact on the relationship between low-effort activities and psychological detachment. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.
Practitioner pointsPositive and negative affective dispositions need to be considered in combination to understand when certain recovery activities will be related to recovery experiences or not. When PA was high, NA had a detrimental impact on the relationship between both weekend activities and mastery experiences. When PA was low, NA had a detrimental impact on the relationship between low-effort activities and psychological detachment.
These results contribute to understanding changes in employees' fatigue and suggest that the differential effects of distress and eustress experiences at work may be important to consider in fatigue management interventions.
SummaryResource theories of occupational stress argue that employees' personal and environmental resources protect them from too much distress or strain during stressful work experiences. We examined four resources (emotional stability, previous experience, low drain on pre-existing resources, and workgroup quality) available to soldiers at the beginning of a stressful 3-month training experience as predictors of the trajectories of their strains over that period of time. Based on conservation of resources theory and the job demands-resources model, we predicted that the trends of strains would be more favorable (would increase more slowly or decline more quickly) if participants started the training with greater resources. The resources, primarily emotional stability and lack of pre-existing resource drain, tended to be negatively related to strains, consistent with the idea that they can reduce strains. Significant interactions predicting trends were found predicting two of the three strains (post-traumatic stress symptoms and depression, but not reports of physical health). Contrary to expectations, however, the three resources that significantly predicted trends over time (emotional stability, previous experience, and low pre-existing resource drain) were associated with worsening rather than improving strains.
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