Different mechanisms to explain the reversed effects of mental health on work characteristics

Abstract

Objectives The number of longitudinal studies reporting evidence for reversed effects of strain on work is growing, but evidence regarding the mechanisms underlying such effects is scarce. In this study, earlier longitudinal findings were reviewed, and the following four mechanisms for reversed effects were proposed that reflect within-person or environmental changes: (i) the rosy perception mechanism, (ii) the gloomy perception mechanism, (iii) the upward selection mechanism, and (iv) the drift mechanism.Methods These mechanisms were tested using structural equation modeling and longitudinal data from a Dutch four-phase study (N=1588 participants). ResultsThe results revealed that work characteristics and mental health influenced each other reciprocally and longitudinally. The reversed effects were examined in more detail, and it was found that these could be accounted for by both within-person and environmental change mechanisms. The rosy perception mechanism was found to explain the positive effects from health on job demands; the upward selection mechanism explained the positive (environmental) effects from health on job control; the gloomy perception mechanism explained the reversed (evaluation) effects from health on supervisory social support. No support was found for the drift mechanism.Conclusions Mechanisms that may explain reversed causation are yet poorly understood. The main contribution of the present study lies in the fact that it proposes (i) a conceptual framework with which to analyze the effects of health on work characteristics and (ii) methods for testing these mechanisms. The study revealed that there is good reason to pursue research on reversed causality.

A reciprocal interplay between psychosocial job stressors and worker well-being? A systematic review of the “reversed” effect

“…Sample size ranged from 52-2255, and study duration ranged from 3 months to as long as 11 years. Sixteen studies featured two measurement waves (50-56, 58-63, 65, 68, 70), four featured three waves (57,66,67,69), two featured four waves (22,64), and one study featured six measurement waves (29). Of note, eight studies explicitly indicated that job changers (over the course of the study) were excluded from analysis (52,56,57,59,64,65,67,70).…”

“…During the appraisal process, it was recognized that two pairs of studies analyzed data drawn from the same dataset. This involved two studies by de Lange et al (22,64) and two studies by Houkes et al (61,62). To avoid double-counting, it was determined that only one of each pair of studies should be counted.…”

“…To avoid double-counting, it was determined that only one of each pair of studies should be counted. The earlier study by de Lange et al (64) was included, since its design more fully utilized its four-wave data; the other study reorganized the data into a single pre-versus post-analysis (22). Houkes et al (62) was included since it met the sample size criterion, whereas the other study used two smaller samples neither of which met the sample size criterion (61).…”

“…The two sides of this effect have been coined the "rosy perception mechanism" and the "gloomy perception mechanism" (22). The former suggests that healthy workers are more likely to re-interpret their jobs positively over time as they are able to maintain engaged in their work, accumulate, and conserve job resources (eg, develop good rapport with co-workers), and ultimately, increase job proficiency (23).…”

Reciprocal relations between workplace bullying, anxiety, and vigor: a two-wave longitudinal study

“…Bullying has been defined as an escalating process (e.g., Zapf, & Gross, 2001) and for a complete understanding of this phenomenon it is important to consider its short-term consequences. Moreover, it has been argued that the selection of the temporal lag between measurements should correspond with the "causal interval" of the process under study (Kenny, 1975;De Lange, 2005;Taris & Kompier, 2003). In this sense, as workplace bullying has been defined as a situation where an employee is exposed to repeated and enduring negative acts on at least a weekly basis for a period of minimum 6 months (Einarsen et al, 2003;Leymann, 1996).…”