Balancing Effort and Rewards at University: Implications for Physical Health, Mental Health, and Academic Outcomes

Hodge, Brad; Wright, Bradley J.; Bennett, Pauleen

doi:10.1177/0033294119841845

Cited by 21 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 26 publications

(63 reference statements)

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“…As there are only few studies that focus on university students (Hilger-Kolb et al, 2018;Hodge et al, 2019;Portoghese et al, 2019;Wege et al, 2017) or academic staff (Kinman, 2016) while using the Effort-Reward-Imbalance questionnaire, we decided to follow a qualitative approach. This offers the opportunity to gain an in-depth understanding of the circumstances of PhD students and to understand which elements of the models apply to PhD students.…”

Section: Figure 3 the Conceptual Framework Of The Current Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effort-Reward-Imbalance Among PhD Students – A Qualitative Study

Vilser¹,

Rauh²,

Mausz³

et al. 2022

IJDS

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Aim/Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the perceived efforts, rewards, motives, and coping strategies of a sample of PhD students in Germany based on tested stress models, the Effort-Reward-Imbalance Model and the Transactional Model of Stress and Coping. Background: Pursuing a PhD can be challenging and stressful. Students face conflicts, isolation, and competition as well as difficulties with their supervisors. However, there is little known about how students perceive their PhD. Methodology: Semi-structured interviews were conducted in 2021 with 21 male and female doctoral students from various fields of research. The recorded interviews were transcribed and analyzed according to Mayring’s qualitative content analysis. Contribution: Little is known about the work stress of PhD students. Most studies focus on single aspects (e.g., the relationship with the supervisor or the heavy workload) and use questionnaires that do not show all aspects causing work stress and how to prevent it. In this study, we examined the elements of work stress and coping strategies by using the Effort-Reward-Imbalance Model and the Transactional Model of Stress and Coping in a theoretical framework. Findings: The analysis yielded two main categories for efforts and three main categories for rewards as well as several sub-categories. Participants persisted in the PhD program for five reasons: an intrinsic motivation, an interest in improving one’s skills, the motivation to become an expert in one’s field, the ability to contribute to research, and because of the flexibility and freedom offered during a PhD. Further, the study analyzed how PhD students cope with stress. Engaging in physical activities or spending time with family and friends were the most common coping strategies used, followed by work routines (like scheduling time for deep work and breaks) and seeking assistance from other PhD students. Recommendations for Practitioners: To decrease the stress factors and negative health outcomes, we recommend incorporating personal as well as organizational measurements in the university setting. Through kick-off events and personal development workshops, PhD students should be made aware of the potential stress factors and coping strategies. Mentoring programs with postdocs can further support the doctoral students. On an organizational level, the knowledge about the elements of work stress should be incorporated in the recruiting process and supervisor workshops. Recommendation for Researchers: As past research has investigated the effects of stress on physiological parameters, the framework of this study proposes the incorporation of the imbalance component into biological stress research. Impact on Society: Understanding the efforts, rewards, and motives for a doctoral degree will help to reduce work stress of PhD students and create a more positive over-all workplace, for example, by improving the relationship between students and their supervisors. Future Research: Additional work is required to explore how the Effort-Reward-Imbalance model and coping strategies could interact and influence different outcomes. As the majority of the participants pursed a PhD degree in psychology, further studies need to be conducted that include other disciplines.

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Section: Figure 3 the Conceptual Framework Of The Current Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effort-Reward-Imbalance Among PhD Students – A Qualitative Study

Vilser¹,

Rauh²,

Mausz³

et al. 2022

IJDS

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Solution: To develop a norm for reciprocity between stakeholders, encourage an open and unambiguous communication. The give and take [25] psychology can help construct a reciprocal relationship. Identify the motivations and needs of all participants.…”

Section: P1: Reciprocity Between Stakeholdersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Very little time is spent on understanding the human experience of running a project. The sole focus on academic productivity based on metrics was associated with poorer physical health, increased burnout, and reduced productivity [25].…”

Section: Ap13: Mcnamara Fallacymentioning

confidence: 99%

Industry–Academia Research Collaboration and Knowledge Co-creation: Patterns and Anti-patterns

Marijan

Sen

2022

ACM Trans. Softw. Eng. Methodol.

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Increasing the impact of software engineering research in the software industry and the society at large has long been a concern of high priority for the software engineering community. The problem of two cultures, research conducted in a vacuum (disconnected from the real world), or misaligned time horizons are just some of the many complex challenges standing in the way of successful industry–academia collaborations. This article reports on the experience of research collaboration and knowledge co-creation between industry and academia in software engineering as a way to bridge the research–practice collaboration gap. Our experience spans 14 years of collaboration between researchers in software engineering and the European and Norwegian software and IT industry. Using the participant observation and interview methods, we have collected and afterwards analyzed an extensive record of qualitative data. Drawing upon the findings made and the experience gained, we provide a set of 14 patterns and 14 anti-patterns for industry–academia collaborations, aimed to support other researchers and practitioners in establishing and running research collaboration projects in software engineering.

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“…Specifically, there exists a mixed literature that largely suggests women respond more slowly on measures of simple, choice, and ocular (i.e., saccadic) reaction times (Bargary et al, 2017 ; Der & Deary, 2006 ; Reimers & Maylor, 2006 ). Further, women report higher levels of maladaptive coping known as ‘overcommitment’ (Hodge et al, 2020 ), chronic stress (Matud, 2004 ), sympathetic nervous system dominance under stress (Koenig & Thayer, 2016 ; Pushpanathan et al, 2016 ), and state anxiety (Fernández-Castillo & Caurcel, 2015 ). Additionally, there is evidence of the differential gender effects of state anxiety on cognitive performance, with females being more vulnerable to the effects of anxiety than males (King et al, 1978 ; Sarason & Minard, 1962 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender moderates the association between chronic academic stress with top-down and bottom-up attention

Wright

Wilson

Kingsley

et al. 2022

Atten Percept Psychophys

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Research on the relationship between chronic stress and cognition is limited by a lack of concurrent measurement of state-anxiety, physiological arousal, and gender. For the first time, we assessed the impact of these factors on top-down/conscious (simple and choice reaction time) and bottom-up/reflexive (saccadic reaction time) measures of attention using CONVIRT virtual-reality cognitive tests. Participants (N = 163) completed measures of academic stress (effort-reward imbalance; ERI) and state-anxiety while heart-rate variability was recorded continuously throughout the experiment. Gender moderated the association between academic stress with the top-down measures (b = -0.002, t = -2.023, p = .045; b = -0.063, t = -3.080, p = .002) and higher academic stress was associated with poorer/slower reaction times only for male participants. For bottom-up attention, heart rate variability moderated the relationship between academic stress and saccadic reaction time (b = 0.092, t = 1.991, p = .048), and only female participants who were more stressed (i.e., ERI ≥ 1) and displayed stronger sympathetic dominance had slower reaction times. Our findings align with emerging evidence that chronic stress is related to hyperarousal in women and cognitive decrements in men. Our findings suggest that higher ERI and sympathetic dominance during cognitive testing was associated with poorer bottom-up attention in women, whereas for men, academic stress was related with poorer top-down attention irrespective of sympathovagal balance.

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Balancing Effort and Rewards at University: Implications for Physical Health, Mental Health, and Academic Outcomes

Cited by 21 publications

References 26 publications

The Effort-Reward-Imbalance Among PhD Students – A Qualitative Study

The Effort-Reward-Imbalance Among PhD Students – A Qualitative Study

Industry–Academia Research Collaboration and Knowledge Co-creation: Patterns and Anti-patterns

Gender moderates the association between chronic academic stress with top-down and bottom-up attention

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