Minor sleep loss can put your job at risk
April 23, 2019
Science Daily/University of South Florida
Losing just 16 minutes of sleep could be the difference between a clear-headed day at the office or one filled with distractions.
A new study published in the Sleep Health (Journal of the National Sleep Foundation) finds shorting your sleep routine during the work-week greatly interferes with job performance. University of South Florida researchers found workers are more likely to have poor judgement and fall off-task the next day.
Lead author Soomi Lee, PhD, assistant professor in the School of Aging Studies, and her colleagues surveyed 130 healthy employees who work in Information Technology and have at least one school-aged child. Participants reported that when they slept 16 minutes less than usual and had worse quality sleep, they experienced more cognitive issues the next day. That raised their stress levels, especially regarding issues related to work-life balance, resulting in them going to bed earlier and waking up earlier due to fatigue.
"These cyclical associations reflect that employees' sleep is vulnerable to daily cognitive stress and also a contributor to cognitively stressful experiences," said Lee. "Findings from this study provide empirical evidence for why workplaces need to make more efforts to promote their employees' sleep. Good sleepers may be better performers at work due to greater ability to stay focused an on-task with fewer errors and interpersonal conflicts."
Researchers also compared work-days to weekends. They conclude the consequences of less sleep is not as apparent when one has the next day off from work.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190423133605.htm
Mindfulness in the workplace improves employee focus, attention, behavior
March 10, 2016
Science Daily/Case Western Reserve University
Mindfulness is often viewed as either a touchy-feely fad or valuable management tool that can lift an entire workplace. A new comprehensive analysis of mindfulness research suggests the latter—that injecting a corporate culture of mindfulness not only improves focus, but the ability to manage stress and how employees work together.
A new comprehensive analysis of mindfulness research, co-directed by a management scientist at Case Western Reserve University, suggests the latter -- that injecting a corporate culture of mindfulness not only improves focus, but the ability to manage stress and how employees work together.
"Historically, companies have been reticent to offer mindfulness training because it was seen as something fluffy, esoteric and spiritual," said Christopher Lyddy, an organizational behavior doctoral candidate at Case Western Reserve's Weatherhead School of Management. "But that's changing."
Mindfulness, defined as present-centered attention and awareness, emerged from Buddhist philosophy and has been cultivated for millennia through meditation practices. Organizations such as Google, Aetna, Mayo Clinic and the United States Marine Corps use mindfulness training to improve workplace functioning. The results of this latest research indicate the approach can improve a range of workplace functions.
"When you are mindful, you can have a greater consciousness in the present," Lyddy said. "That's vital for any executive or manager, who, at any given moment, may be barraged with various problems that call for decisions under stress."
Lyddy is co-lead author of the research with Darren Good, who earned his doctorate at the Weatherhead School and is now an assistant professor at Pepperdine University's Graziadio School of Business and Management. They headed an unusually interdisciplinary team that included experts in both management and mindfulness, as well as psychologists and neuroscientists.
The researchers considered 4,000 scientific papers on various aspects of mindfulness, distilling the information into an accessible guide documenting the impact mindfulness has on how people think, feel, act, relate and perform at work.
Their findings, Contemplating Mindfulness at Work (An Integrative Review), are recently published in the Journal of Management.
"Remarkably, scientists have found the effects of mindfulness consistently benign," Lyddy said. "Of the thousands of empirical studies we read, only two reported any downside to mindfulness."
A small but growing body of work in the management area suggests mindfulness is linked to better workplace functioning.
Among the new study's conclusions:
• Mindfulness appears to positively impact human functioning overall. Research in such disciplines as psychology, neuroscience and medicine provide a wealth of evidence that mindfulness improves attention, cognition, emotions, behavior and physiology.
• Specifically, mindfulness has been shown to improve three qualities of attention -- stability, control and efficiency. The human mind is estimated to wander roughly half of our waking hours, but mindfulness can stabilize attention in the present. Individuals who completed mindfulness training were shown to remain vigilant longer on both visual and listening tasks.
• Although mindfulness is an individual quality, initial evidence suggests that it affects interpersonal behavior and workgroup relationships.
• Mindfulness may improve relationships through greater empathy and compassion -- suggesting mindfulness training could enhance workplace processes that rely on effective leadership and teamwork.
Lyddy said the research indicating significant and diverse benefits of mindfulness coincides with growing practical interest in mindfulness training nationally and worldwide. For example, British Parliament has recently launched a mindfulness initiative called "Mindful Nation UK" that leverages mindfulness to benefit diverse sectors and improve national health, productivity and flourishing.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/03/160310141455.htm
The power of gratitude in the workplace
March 13, 2019
Science Daily/Portland State University
The study shows that being thanked more often at work predicted better sleep, fewer headaches and healthier eating, because it improved nurses' work satisfaction
If you knew that expressing gratitude to a colleague would improve their life and yours, would you do it more often?
A new study by Portland State University researchers -- business professor David Cadiz, psychology professor Cynthia Mohr, and Alicia Starkey, a recent Ph.D. graduate in psychology -- together with Clemson State University professor Robert Sinclair, exhibits a positive relationship between expressed workplace gratitude, physical health and mental health.
The study, "Gratitude reception and physical health: Examining the mediating role of satisfaction with patient care in a sample of acute care nurses," shows that being thanked more often at work predicted better sleep, fewer headaches and healthier eating, because it improved nurses' work satisfaction.
Improving Self-Care in a Stressful Work Environment
The study involved a group of Oregon nurses, a profession that has a particularly high rate of burnout. Cadiz discusses the findings and how applying the research can have a significant impact on quality of life and job retention by preventing stress-related illnesses and disease.
"Nurses tend to have a thankless job. It's very physical, and they're often being screamed at by patients who are at their lowest. When nurses receive gratitude, it boosts them," Cadiz explains.
"This type of study helps us understand how to keep nurses in the workforce in a healthy way. Nurses strongly align their profession with their identity and often look out for patients more than themselves. The gratitude matches up with their identity, gives them satisfaction in a job well done and ultimately increases self-care."
Many people inherently connect their identity to their job and feelings of appreciation within their roles. Employers who understand and react to this can create positive social and economic change.
Gratitude is Good Business
From an organizational, policy and leadership perspective, Cadiz says that employers should create formal or informal opportunities for people to express gratitude. Including gratitude in a business plan is an essential step that many business leaders miss, and that omission can have financial consequences.
"Employees that receive positive feedback are healthier, and that can impact the bottom line," adds Cadiz. "Preventing headaches and other stress-related symptoms means fewer sick days, and, in this case, cuts down the cost of replacement nurses and overtime pay."
These small changes can have a dramatic fiscal impact over time, which can result in more staff, better pay rates and increased benefits.
The big takeaway -- express gratitude when you see someone doing a good job. A positive feedback loop impacts you and those around you, and can ultimately shape a healthier and happier community.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/03/190313091929.htm
Good grief: Victimized employees don't get a break
March 8, 2019
Science Daily/University of Central Florida
As if being picked on wasn't bad enough, victims of workplace mistreatment may also be seen as bullies themselves, even if they've never engaged in such behavior. Adding insult to injury, victims may even be seen by supervisors as worse employees, despite exemplary performance. Bullies, on the other hand, may be given a pass if they are liked by their supervisor.
Adding insult to injury, victims may even be seen by supervisors as worse employees, despite exemplary performance. Bullies, on the other hand, may be given a pass if they are liked by their supervisor.
A study about this bias toward victim blaming was recently published in the Journal of Applied Psychology. The peer-reviewed article was co-authored by Shannon Taylor, an associate professor of management in the University of Central Florida's College of Business.
"The results are eye-opening," Taylor says. "I think they are useful because, given all of these accounts in the media of bad behavior happening, people are often left wondering how can we blame victims, and why do we let these perpetrators off the hook, why do they go unpunished?"
Taylor attributes the flawed decision making to cognitive biases, such as the halo effect, in which positive attributes mask negative traits, or the horns effect, in which one negative attribute casts a person in a completely negative light.
He recommends that supervisors receive bias training.
"The first step is really awareness of these biases," Taylor says. "We hope this study will at least bring awareness to people's potential for bias."
The researchers performed their work over the course of four studies. The first two studies showed through surveys of employees and supervisors that supervisors tend to view victims of bullying as being bullies themselves.
Studies three and four were experiments where participants evaluated employees based on descriptions of their work performance, as well as how they treated others and how they were treated.
They found that even when evaluators were clearly informed that a victim did not mistreat others, victims were still seen as bullies. In the fourth study, they found that not only are victims seen as bullies despite evidence to the contrary, but also that they receive lower job performance evaluations as a result of being victimized.
The researchers found support in all four studies that bullies were less likely to be seen as deviant when their supervisor considered them to be good performers.
"What I think is really interesting about this is, when you hear stories of high-profile people engaging in bad behavior at work, a lot of these people have gone unpunished for long periods of time," Taylor says. "And we have examples of victims of this bad behavior being called out and attacked on social media and by the media. Our studies show this is actually pretty common. We're all susceptible to these biases."
An example -- the victim blaming that occurred during Christine Blasey Ford's testimony during and after Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court confirmation hearing, Taylor says.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/03/190308154831.htm
Bullying bosses negatively impact employee performance and behavior
March 7, 2019
Science Daily/Portland State University
Employees bullied by their bosses are more likely to report unfairness and work stress, and consequently become less committed to their jobs or even retaliate, according to a new study.
The findings, published recently in the Journal of Management, highlight the consequences of abusive supervision, which is becoming increasingly common in workplaces, said Liu-Qin Yang, the study's co-author and an associate professor of industrial-organizational psychology in PSU's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
Yang and her co-authors reviewed 427 studies and quantitatively aggregated the results to better understand why and how bullying bosses can decrease "organizational citizenship behavior" -- or the voluntary extras you do that aren't part of your job responsibilities -- and increase "counterproductive work behavior." Examples of such behaviors include sabotage at work, coming into work late, taking longer-than-allowed breaks, doing tasks incorrectly or withholding effort, all of which can affect your team and coworkers.
The researchers attribute the negative work behaviors to either perceptions of injustice or work stress.
With perceptions of injustice, employees bullied by their boss see the treatment as unfair relative to the effort they've put into their jobs. In response, they're more likely to purposely withhold from the unpaid extras that help the organization, like helping coworkers with problems or attending meetings that are not mandatory. They're also more likely to engage in counterproductive work behavior such as taking longer breaks or coming in late without notice, Yang said.
Having an abusive boss can also lead to work stress, which reduces an employee's ability to control negative behaviors or contribute to the organization in a positive way.
The researchers found that fairness (or the lack thereof) accounted more for the link between abusive supervision and organizational citizenship behavior, while work stress led to more counterproductive work behavior.
"Stress is sometimes uncontrollable. You don't sleep well, so you come in late or take a longer break, lash out at your coworkers or disobey instructions," Yang said. "But justice is more rational. Something isn't fair, so you're purposely not going to help other people or when the boss asks if anyone can come in on a Saturday to work, you don't volunteer."
Yang and her co-authors recommend that organizations take measures to reduce or curb abusive supervision. Among their suggestions:
· Launch regular training programs to help supervisors learn and adopt more effective interpersonal and management skills when interacting with their employees
· Implement fair policies and procedures to reduce employees' perceptions of injustice in the organization
· Ensure employees have sufficient resources to perform their job, such as by offering stress management training
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/03/190307073452.htm
A new approach to an old question: How do we actually cooperate?
Researchers investigate how cooperation among people is affected by population structure
March 4, 2019
Science Daily/American Physical Society
Researchers are exploring how cooperation arises in human societies, where people tend to cluster into various group types -- political, religious, familial, professional, etc. Within such groups, people can cooperate or 'defect' and receive payoffs based on those exchanges. Cooperation, they observed, is most favored when allowing for the existence of 'loners' -- people who are temporarily not members of any group.
In the animal kingdom, birds band together to ward off predators, and honeybees work collectively to benefit the entire hive. Animals of the human persuasion can act cooperatively too, at times, though this behavior is not completely understood.
Princeton doctoral student Olivia Chu and her advisor Corina Tarnita, a theoretical biologist, investigate how cooperation among people is affected by population structure.
Chu will present their work this week at the American Physical Society March Meeting in Boston, and she will also participate in a press conference describing the work. Information for logging on to watch and ask questions remotely is included at the end of this news release.
Humans tend to cluster into groups -- political, religious, familial, professional and so forth -- rather than being homogenously mixed. Group memberships affect our decisions to cooperate -- or not -- with others. So, how does cooperation emerge under such circumstances?
"Group memberships affect the structure of social interactions, determining to a large extent who meets with whom. They also set the context and frequency under which those interactions take place," Chu said. Chu and Tarnita built upon the "evolutionary set theory" modeling framework that Tarnita and colleagues introduced in 2009, which assumes that people belong to groups and interact only with others who are in the same groups.
Interactions in their study take place within the setting of the "donation game" (a modified version of the "prisoner's dilemma") in which a cooperator offers a benefit to another player at a personal cost, whereas a "defector" selfishly offers nothing. Chu and Tarnita consider this framework to be more realistic for studying human dynamics than previous network-based approaches because it allows for people to simultaneously have multiple group affiliations. "From these local, group-level pair-wise interactions, can we see the emergence of cooperation on a large scale across the population?" Chu asked.
The answer given by Tarnita and colleagues in 2009 was "yes." However, that model had an unrealistic premise -- group entry was free to anyone who wanted to join. In real life, this is clearly not the case as there are often barriers to group entry. In the current model, Chu and Tarnita incorporate one type of barrier to group entry that is determined by group size: The larger the group, they reasoned, the less likely it is to accept new members. To refine their model, the team investigated whether this barrier changes the outcome with respect to cooperation.
Chu and Tarnita found that cooperation still emerges, but that it is most favored when they allow for the existence of "loners" in the population -- people who, due to barriers, are temporarily not members of any group. Loners are essential, Chu explained, "because they keep group sizes lower than they would have been without barriers to group entry."
Smaller groups allow cooperation to thrive, while making the system as a whole more resilient, by limiting the destructive influence of a defector exploiting a group of cooperators. Chu cautions against drawing too much from one model amid a sea of evolutionary game theory models. Nevertheless, their recent work shows, reassuringly, that there may be hope for maintaining cooperation in our world.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/03/190304134213.htm
Be yourself at work -- It's healthier and more productive
Disclosing non-visible stigmas to co-workers leads to a happier life
February 25, 2019
Science Daily/Rice University
At work, it's healthier and more productive just to be yourself, according to a new study from Rice University, Texas A&M University, the University of Memphis, Xavier University, Portland State University and the University of California, Berkeley.
The study, "Stigma Expression Outcomes and Boundary Conditions: A Meta-Analysis" will appear in an upcoming edition of the Journal of Business and Psychology. It examines 65 studies focusing on what happens after people in a workplace disclose a stigmatized identity, such as sexual orientation, mental illness, physical disability or pregnancy.
Eden King, a co-author of the study and an associate professor of psychology at Rice, said the decision to express a stigmatized identity is highly complicated.
"It has the potential for both positive and negative consequences," she said.
However, the research overwhelmingly indicates that people with non-visible stigmas (such as sexual orientation or health problems) who live openly at work are happier with their overall lives and more productive in the workplace. King said self-disclosure is typically a positive experience because it allows people to improve connections, form relationships with others and free their minds of unwanted thoughts.
Workers who expressed their non-visible stigmas experienced decreased job anxiety, decreased role ambiguity, improved job satisfaction and increased commitment to their position. Outside of work, these workers reported decreased psychological stress and increased satisfaction with their lives.
But the study found that the same results did not apply to people with visible traits, such as race, gender and physical disability.
"Identities that are immediately observable operate differently than those that are concealable," King said. "The same kinds of difficult decisions about whether or not to disclose the identity -- not to mention the questions of to whom, how, when and where to disclose those identities -- are probably less central to their psychological experiences."
King said that because most people appreciate gaining new information about others, the expression of visible stigmas is likely to be less impactful.
"Also, people react negatively to those who express or call attention to stigmas that are clearly visible to others, such as race or gender, as this may be seen as a form of advocacy or heightened pride in one's identity," she said.
The researchers said more work needs to be done to understand the motivations for expressing different stigmas. They hope this meta-analysis will be used to help workplaces and policymakers protect individuals with stigmas from discrimination.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/02/190225105109.htm
Working long hours linked to depression in women
February 25, 2019
Science Daily/University College London
Women who work more than 55 hours a week are at a higher risk of depression but this is not the case for men, according to a new study.
The study of over 20,000 adults, published today in the BMJ's Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, found that after taking age, income, health and job characteristics into account, women who worked extra-long hours had 7.3% more depressive symptoms than women working a standard 35-40 week. Weekend working was linked to a higher risk of depression among both sexes.
Women who worked for all or most weekends had 4.6% more depressive symptoms on average compared to women working only weekdays. Men who worked all or most weekends had 3.4% more depressive symptoms than men working only weekdays.
"This is an observational study, so although we cannot establish the exact causes, we do know many women face the additional burden of doing a larger share of domestic labour than men, leading to extensive total work hours, added time pressures and overwhelming responsibilities," explained Gill Weston (UCL Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care), PhD candidate and lead author of the study.
"Additionally women who work most weekends tend to be concentrated in low-paid service sector jobs, which have been linked to higher levels of depression."
The study showed that men tended to work longer hours in paid work than women, and having children affected men's and women's work patterns in different ways: while mothers tended to work fewer hours than women without children, fathers tended to work more hours than men without children.
Two thirds of men worked weekends, compared with half of women. Those who worked all or most weekends were more likely to be in low skilled work and to be less satisfied with their job and their earnings than those who only worked Monday to Friday or some weekends.
Researchers analysed data from the Understanding Society, the UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS). This has been tracking the health and wellbeing of a representative sample of 40,000 households across the UK since 2009.
Information about working hours, weekend working, working conditions and psychological distress was collected from 11,215 working men and 12,188 working women between 2010 and 2012. Depressive symptoms such as feeling worthless or incapable were measured using a self-completed general health questionnaire.
"Women in general are more likely to be depressed than men, and this was no different in the study," Weston said.
"Independent of their working patterns, we also found that workers with the most depressive symptoms were older, on lower incomes, smokers, in physically demanding jobs, and who were dissatisfied at work."
She added: "We hope our findings will encourage employers and policy-makers to think about how to reduce the burdens and increase support for women who work long or irregular hours -- without restricting their ability to work when they wish to.
"More sympathetic working practices could bring benefits both for workers and for employers -- of both sexes."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/02/190225192140.htm
6 Ways to Prevent Burnout in your Career
Guest Contributor: Paige A. Mitchell
Everyone enjoys the weekend and time off from work. But what happens when the stress of going to work and overwhelming feelings of dread related to your job overtake your life? How do you know if you are headed to career burnout or simply experiencing a stressful time? Loss of sleep, having a negative and critical attitudeat work, missing a lot of work, having low interest in your work, feeling empty and feeling that your work doesn’t matteror has meaning – these are all symptoms of burnout.
Two important definitionsof burnout are:
● "A state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion caused by long term involvement in emotionally demanding situations." – Ayala Pines and Elliot Aronson.
● "A state of fatigue or frustration brought about by devotion to a cause, way of life, or relationship that failed to produce the expected reward." – Herbert J. Freudenberger.
It’s important to note, there’s a difference between burnout and traditional stress or work exhaustion. While exhaustion can be overcome with rest, a core part of burnout is a deep sense of disillusionment, and it is not experienced by people who can take a more cynical view of their work. What steps can you take to help prevent burnoutin your job and ultimately your career?
1. Make time for self-care, both body and mind
We all know the importance of eating right and exercising. But when in a constant stressful situation, such as a career headed towards burnout, it’s vital to make sure you’re taking care of yourself. Physical symptoms can occur from stress, such as aches and pains, feeling tired, lack of focus, and difficulty sleeping.
A great practice for managing stress is yoga and mindfulness meditation. It is also helpful to learn positive thinking techniques. If you are able to be positive, you can change your perception of challenging situations and manage your emotions.
2. Perform a job analysis
Often when we are tired and stressed out, we feel like we will never catch up. There is always something to be done—another email to send out or another phone call to make. Feeling like this can often lead to burnout.
Try performing a job analysis to see what is actually expected of you and what isn’t. This will help to clear the clutter that may be fogging your judgement, yet aren’t even part of your job. After your job analysis, if you feel your boss is overloading you, schedule a meeting to discuss your work load and see if there is anyone you can delegate tasks to.
3. Take control of your day
Take breaks throughout your day – sitting for long periods of time is bad for you, affecting your physical and mental health. Turn off after hours. Set the expectation with your boss that you are not available 24/7, set guidelines and limitations for emergency situations, and then unplug and disconnect from your work. You will be a better employee because of it. If you feel you are micromanaged talk to your boss about taking more control of your tasks and projects so that you can set the expectations better.
Learn prioritization techniques so that you can manage your time effectively and use To-Do lists to avoid feeling overwhelmed and out of control. Be sure to set these habits into motion in your home life as well. Take control of your tasks at home and be sure to not let home repairssit on the side shelf.
4. Exercise
Start small but start moving your body. Exercise can help alleviate stress and will also increase your energy and productivity. Exercise can help take your mind off work and traditionally leads to a better night of sleep.
5. Communicate
Schedule some time to have regular check-ins with your boss to discuss your concerns about your job. Come up with solutions to present before talking with your boss, just complaining about your situation will frustrate you both. Discuss what is causing your stress but leave the emotion at the door by sticking with the facts and pinpointing specific examples. Is it the schedule, the workload expectations? Have a plan to communicate and discuss what you need to help prevent burnout.
6. Evaluate your options and come up with a plan
Take time to evaluate your current job and if it is the right fit for you. Are you just in a stressful time or have you outgrown your role? Is there a better option out there that better fits your talents and interest? Before making a move discuss your specific concerns with your supervisor. There may be ways you can change expectations or reach a compromise. If not, come up with a plan to move on from your career and focus on options that may be a better fit for you.
Tips for Leaving Your Problems at Home and Improving Productivity at Work
Guest Contributor: Paige A. Mitchell
In today’s society it is often difficult to separate our homelives from work, and vice versa. The ability to stay connected, both with work clients and friends and family, on a constant basis is blurring the lines between home and work productivity. There are many problems people may be facing at home, family obligations such as childcare or an aging or ailing family member that needs additional care, or even just the daily list of items that need to be addressed such as managing annual doctors appointments or scheduling regular home maintenance. If these items are constantly occupying your mindit will affect your work, so here are a few tips to help you leave your problems at home and improve your productivity at work.
Establish a morning routine
Being able to separate yourself from your home environment and jumping into work isn’t going to happen just because you walk into your office or sit down at your desk for the day. Have a set morning routine to help get your mind focused on work.
Whether it is leaving early and getting in some exercise prior to work, taking advantage of public transportation to check-in and catch up on emails for the day, or getting your first cup of coffee at the company coffee bar. Have a set routine that will help launch you into work mode.
Schedule check-ins
If you have a large stressor at home schedule specific check-in times during the day. Some of the examples listed above won’t stop because you are at work. But it is important to not let them take over your thoughts during the day if you want to increase your work productivity.
If you have a small child and are changing daycares schedule specific times you can call to check in on them. Have an ailing parent? Again, schedule specific check-in times or arrange for long-term care assistance to be there when you can't.
Re-work your to do list
Writing down a to do list every day is vital to staying on task. But try re-working your to-do list.Instead of writing down every small item you need to complete, try evaluating the top three most important items every day and write them down.
Focus more of your attention on these to help increase overall productivity. Having just three main things to focus on will also help you to cut off at the end of the day and leave work behind, getting you home to the items that need your focus.
Track where you waste time
If you are struggling with productivity you may want to throw your usual routine out the window and try new solutions hoping it will spur on changes. These new routines won’t help if you aren’t able to uncover the real problems affecting your productivity.
Try tracking your activities for a week. See where you are wasting time and getting stuck in ruts that affect your productivity. Track how many times you are distracted by problems at home and see how often your attention spent on those items really made a difference.
Forgive yourself
We are all human and we all have problems and stressors at home that will distract us from work. Accept that some days will be harder than others, and some days will be less productive than others. Don’t dwell on those days and instead focus on moving forward to help continue to leave problems at home when you head out the door to work every day.