Coping with the imbalance between job demands and resources: A study of different coping patterns and implications for health and quality in human service work

Abstract

• Summary:In recent decades the public welfare sector has been subjected to major structural changes, and studies of various occupational groups within human service work have reported increased workload and a high prevalence of work-related stress. Using questionnaire data from a sample of human service workers within social work, child care and elderly care, the aim of this study was to identify different patterns of coping strategies to manage the imbalance between work demands and resources, and then to investigate their impact on outcomes in employee health and service quality. • Findings:Cluster analysis identified three strategy profiles: compensatory and quality reducing, voice and support seeking and self-supporting, and the comparative analysis indicated that the compensatory and quality reducing cluster may be regarded as a risk group. Results of hierarchical regression analyses disclosed that the identified strategies affected health outcomes as well as perceived service quality. The use of compensatory and quality reducing strategies was negatively related to health and quality, although work demands, resources and background characteristics were controlled for. • Applications:The results add to the research field through the identification of compensatory and quality reducing strategies not previously described in the coping literature, as well as the risks associated with them. Applied in practice, the identified strategy clusters might help distinguish ‘risk behaviors’ from more beneficial strategies. The results also point toward the importance of providing organizational structures that allow the employees to voice their opinions and critique, as well as to give and receive social support.

Effective strategy for improving health care outcomes: Multidisciplinary care in cerebral infarction patients

“…While the outcomes from a multidisciplinary care were generally better than those from a non-cooperative care, the incremental outcomes reduced slightly when the number of specialists exceeded a threshold number. This is because such excessive input of human resources can cause an imbalance in operating multidisciplinary care [29]. In addition, due to the differences in the role and required manpower of each specialist in providing multidisciplinary care, the optimal combinations in a multidisciplinary care team could be different.…”

New work demands in higher education. A study of the relationship between excessive workload, coping strategies and subsequent health among academic staff

“…The cross-sectional design in this study does not allow for any causal conclusions. However, the interpretation of a causal relationship between compensatory strategies and reduced health is theoretically and empirically supported by similar studies (Hockey, 1997;Gustafsson, 2008;Astvik & Melin, 2012). It may of course be discussed to what extent and how statistically significant findings, which in part are a function of sample size, always mirror practically significant results.…”

“…The coping strategy measurements in the questionnaire derive from a comprehensive research project within the public welfare sector concerning strategies for health and service quality (Astvik & Melin, 2012). The items measure basic and general ways of handling excessive workload.…”

Coping with Stress in the Forced Repatriation of Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Refugee Children among Swedish Police Officers and Social Workers

“…Stinchcomb (2004) addresses the impact of organizational stress in police work and considers coping a symptom rather than a cause of an individual's poor mental health. In their narrative study of human service workers, Astvik and Melin (2013) found that compensatory and quality-reducing strategies were risk factors for poor mental health among social workers. Furthermore, social workers used more problem-focused coping strategies in stressful work situations (Ben-Zur & Michael, 2007;Gellis, 2002;Padyab, Ghazinour, & Richter, 2013).…”