Most research on commuting has focused on its negative aspects and consequences (i.e., stress). However, some work has also begun to recognize that there may be positive aspects to commuting. In this paper, we develop a perspective that has so far received limited attention, highlighting how the commute can be experienced as desired and beneficial "me time", due to the fact that it inhabits a "third space" that is less associated with work or home role requirements. Drawing upon and integrating theories and research on commuting, leisure, recovery, and identity, we first define this construct and then develop a theoretical model that aims to address key questions regarding predicting motivation to engage in "me time", beneficial outcomes of "me time", and potential moderators of these effects. Consequently, our proposed model offers both research and practical implications for commuting employees as well as their employers, families, and society. Plain Language Summary The majority of research on commuting has focused on its negative aspects and consequences (i.e., stress). However, increasingly, some work has also begun to recognize that there may be some positive aspects of commuting. Despite some scholars acknowledging the potential benefits of commuting, most still conceptualize the commute as simply a necessary transition between domains (i.e., work and home). In this paper, we seek to bring a new perspective to the literature, highlighting how the commute can be experienced as desired "time to myself". We therefore develop a theoretical model that aims to address key questions surrounding this phenomenon, including what is "me time" during the commute, who is more likely to uses the commute for "me time", what are the situational factors that facilitate or inhibit choosing "me time", what positive outcomes can be expected when engaging in "me time", and what conditions are likely to affect this process. We also discuss the underlying mechanisms for this process. As a result, our proposed model presents both research and practical implications for commuting employees as well as their employers, families, and society.

PurposeThis paper examines how nurses differentially respond, both emotionally and behaviorally, to incivility from coworkers (i.e. other healthcare staff) and from their patients. Specifically, the authors explore how coworker and patient incivility distinctly influence the extent to which nurses engage in emotional labor, which in turn, may impact nurses' safety performance. The authors further examine how nurses' hostile attribution biases exacerbate and mitigate these effects.Design/methodology/approachA three-week longitudinal study was conducted with 187 nurses in which they reported their experiences with incivility, surface and deep acting, hostile attribution biases and safety performance (i.e. safety compliance and participation).FindingsPatient incivility led to more surface acting across all nurses. Further, the effects of coworker incivility on emotional labor strategies were conditional on nurses' hostile attribution biases (HAB). Specifically, coworker incivility led to more surface acting among nurses higher on HAB, and coworker incivility led to less deep acting among those lower on HAB. Finally, surface acting was associated with reduced safety participation, and deep acting was associated with greater safety compliance and safety participation.Originality/valueThe nursing context allowed the current research to extend understanding about how incivility affects an unexplored outcome—safety performance. The current research also offers a rare examination of the effects of incivility from multiple sources (i.e. coworkers and patients) and demonstrates the different processes through which incivility from these different sources impacts nurses' ability to perform safely.

The burgeoning occupational callings literature has shown that feeling called to a job is associated with an array of positive job-, career-, and health-related outcomes. However, recent studies have begun to indicate that there may also be a "negative side" of callings. The present study builds on this emerging perspective to examine whether feeling called to a job makes helping professionals more vulnerable to the negative effects of acute stressors. Specifically, we integrated identity, cognitive rumination, and psychological detachment theories to explain how feeling called to one's job (i.e., the strength of one's calling intensity) might bolster the negative, indirect relationship between emotionally disturbing work and strain (i.e., mental exhaustion, sleep quality, and alcohol consumption) through negative work rumination. Results from a 10-week diary study with a national U.S. sample of 211 paramedics revealed that on weeks that paramedics experienced more emotionally disturbing work, they engaged in greater levels of negative work rumination, which in turn was associated with greater mental exhaustion and worse sleep quality, but not greater alcohol consumption. In addition, calling intensity moderated the indirect effect of emotionally disturbing work on both mental exhaustion and sleep quality, such that these indirect effects were stronger among those with higher (vs. lower) levels of calling intensity. These results provide evidence that employees who feel most called to their jobs may be particularly vulnerable to short-term negative outcomes associated with emotionally disturbing work. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

The goal of this study was to propose and assess dual affective mechanisms linking perceived overqualification (POQ) to discretionary negative employee behaviours. Specifically, drawing upon person-job fit theory, we investigated anger and boredom as high-intensity and low-intensity affective mechanisms between POQ and two distinct forms of counterproductive work behaviour (CWB): interpersonal abuse and cyberloafing, respectively. Further, given its potential to reduce the discrepancy between employee abilities and job demands, we examined if task crafting reduces both negative emotions in response to POQ. Employing a sample of administrative university employees, we conducted a time-lagged study to test our hypothesized model. Results supported the notion that abuse and cyberloafing are distinct, distal behavioural outcomes of POQ driven through anger and boredom, respectively. Furthermore, we found that task crafting buffers the passive low-intensity path via boredom, but not the active high-intensity path via anger. Overall, our results demonstrate that the effects of POQ on negative employee behaviours are complex and multifaceted, and that it is valuable to consider these dual affective pathways when refining theory and predicting its various outcomes. Results also suggest that task crafting may serve as a promising workplace intervention that can help combat some of the consequences of POQ.

The COVID-19 pandemic initially compelled population reductions at local county jails. This study uses daily population counts at 970 jail facilities in 43 different U.S. states to; assess changes in jail population levels during 2020; relate those changes to the demographic, economic, and political characteristics of the counties where they took place; and examine the relationships between jail population levels and COVID-19 cases and deaths. Jail population data was gathered by the Jail Data Initiative at New York University and linked to other publicly accessible data collections. Through descriptive analyses and latent growth curve modeling, our findings indicate that while jail population levels generally fell in the early stages of the pandemic, they remained higher in areas with larger proportions of minoritized populations, and returned more rapidly to pre-pandemic levels in areas with larger proportions of Black and Republican-leaning residents. Larger pre-pandemic jail population rates were associated with elevated COVID-19 case and death rates during 2020, and changes in local jail population rates predicted case and death rates over a following three-month period. Specifically, each percentage increase in jail populations was associated with between 80.4 and 101.9 additional cases and 1.2 to 1.4 additional deaths per 10 K county residents.

AbstractAimThe aim of this study was to investigate the processes through which personnel understaffing and expertise understaffing jointly shape near misses among nurses during the COVID‐19 pandemic.BackgroundInadequate staffing is a chronic issue within the nursing profession, with the safety consequences of understaffing likely being exacerbated by the COVID‐19 pandemic.DesignThis study used a three‐wave, time‐separated survey design and collected data from 120 nurses in the United States working on the frontline of the pandemic in hospital settings.MethodsParticipants were recruited through convenience sampling in early April 2020. Eligible nurses completed three surveys across a 6‐week period during the COVID‐19 pandemic from mid‐April to the end of May 2020. Study hypotheses were tested with path analyses.Results/FindingsResults reveal that personnel understaffing and expertise understaffing jointly shape near misses, which are known to precede and contribute to accidents and injuries, through different mechanisms. Specifically, personnel understaffing led to greater use of safety workarounds, which only induced near misses when cognitive failures were high. Further, higher levels of cognitive failures appeared to be the result of greater expertise understaffing.ConclusionThis study highlights the importance of addressing issues of understaffing, especially during times of crisis, to better promote nurse and patient safety.ImpactThis study was the first to examine the distinct mechanisms by which two forms of understaffing impact safety outcomes in the form of near misses. Understanding these mechanisms can help leaders and policymakers make informed staffing decisions by considering the safety implications of understaffing issues.

As the result of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), individuals have been inundated with constant negative news related to the pandemic. However, limited research examines how such news consumption impacts employees' work lives, including their ability to remain engaged with their work. Integrating conservation of resources theory and insights from the media psychology literature with research on occupational calling, we propose that weekly COVID-related news consumption heightens employees' anxiety levels, thereby frustrating their ability to remain engaged with work and that this process is differentially moderated by different facets of occupational calling. Specifically, we postulate that those who are called to their work primarily because it gives them personal meaning and purpose (i.e., higher in purposeful work) will remain more engaged with work in the face of the anxiety that arises from consuming COVID-related news, as their work may facilitate resource replenishment for these individuals. Conversely, we postulate that those who are drawn to their work primarily because it allows them to help others (i.e., higher in prosocial orientation) will experience the opposite effect, such that their inability to help others during the pandemic will strengthen the negative effect of anxiety on work engagement. Results from an 8-week weekly diary study with a sample of 281 Canadian employees during the pandemic provided support for our hypotheses. Implications are discussed for maintaining employee work engagement during the pandemic era, and beyond. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has transformed the way we work, with many employees working under isolating and difficult conditions. However, research on the antecedents, consequences, and buffers of work loneliness is scarce. Integrating research on need for belonging, regulatory loop models of loneliness, and self-compassion, the current study addresses this critical issue by developing and testing a conceptual model that highlights how COVID-related stressors frustrate employees' need for belonging (i.e., telecommuting frequency, job insecurity, and a lack of COVID-related informational justice), negatively impacting worker well-being (i.e., depression) and helping behaviors [i.e., organizational citizenship behavior (OCB)] through work loneliness. Furthermore, we examine the buffering role of self-compassion in this process. Results from a weekly diary study of U.S. employees conducted over 2 months during the initial stage of the pandemic provide support for the mediating role of work loneliness in relations between all three proposed antecedents and both outcomes. In addition, self-compassion mitigated the positive within-person relationship between work loneliness and employee depression, indicating that more self-compassionate employees were better able to cope with their feelings of work loneliness. Although self-compassion also moderated the within-person relationship between work loneliness and OCB, this interaction was different in form from our prediction. Implications for enhancing employee well-being and helping behaviors during and beyond the pandemic are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Employee turnover has been linked to negative business performance outcomes, increased costs, and disruptions to operations. Research to explore predictors of turnover intention is important to the mining industry, including the stone, sand, and gravel mining (SSGM) industry. Safety climate has been linked to job satisfaction and reductions in turnover intention in other fields, but investigation within SSGM has virtually been non-existent, creating a knowledge gap. This research seeks to address this dearth of information. Cross-sectional data from 452 workers in the SSGM industry were analyzed to assess the influence of safety climate on turnover intention through job satisfaction. Mediation analyses showed that job satisfaction significantly mediated the relationship between safety climate and turnover intention. The implications of these novel findings are important for SSGM administrators. It suggests that bolstering safety programs and increasing safety climate perceptions will help increase job satisfaction and reduce turnover intention among workers in the SSGM industry.

The popularity of online learning is growing exponentially. Accordingly, it is critical to understand how we can facilitate the learning experience for users in these unique online environments. Past research consistently finds that one important antecedent of online learning outcomes is social presence. However, there is limited research related to how to foster social presence perceptions among users. Further, research has yet to understand whether there are boundary conditions for the positive effects of social presence perceptions on user outcomes (e.g., perceived learning, satisfaction). The current work describes two studies to address these questions. The first study uses an experimental design to investigate how the perception of social presence can be increased in the online learning context. In the second study, we investigate the degree to which social presence perceptions are more beneficial for some individuals versus others. Specifically, we consider two personality traits (i.e., conscientiousness, extraversion) as moderators of the relationships between social presence perceptions and two outcomes - perceived learning and satisfaction. Overall, the results of these two studies provide important insights into how to enhance user outcomes in online learning and training environments.

Since 2009, over 176 million patients in the United States have been adversely impacted by data breaches affecting Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act–covered institutions. While the popular press often attributes data breaches to external hackers, most breaches are the result of employee carelessness and/or failure to comply with information security policies and procedures. To change employee behavior, we borrow from the organizational climate literature and introduce the Information Security Climate Index, developed and validated using two pilot samples. In this study, four categories of healthcare professionals (certified nursing assistants, dentists, pharmacists, and physician assistants) were surveyed. Likert-type items were used to assess the Information Security Climate Index, information security motivation, and information security behaviors. Study results indicated that the Information Security Climate Index was related to better employee information security motivation and information security behaviors. In addition, there were observed differences between occupational groups with pharmacists reporting a more favorable climate and behaviors than physician assistants.

In the present study, we investigated the relationships between objective overqualification, perceived overqualification, and job satisfaction based on the tenets of P-E fit theory, a commonly-used theoretical framework in the overqualification literature. Specifically, we tested whether employee perceptions of overqualification mediate the relationship between objective overqualification and job dissatisfaction. Results across two studies indicated that objective overqualification and job satisfaction independently predicted perceived overqualification, which contradicts the prevailing view in the literature of unidirectional effects between overqualification and strain outcomes. Study 1 used a cross-sectional survey of recent college graduates to test the overall mediation model. Although the model was supported, the relationship between objective overqualification and job satisfaction was not significant, raising the question of whether the hypothesized predictive relationship between perceived overqualification and job satisfaction is reversed. Study 2 tested directionality in the relationship between perceived overqualification and job satisfaction using a three-wave longitudinal panel design in a sample of full-time university staff employees. Results indicated that job dissatisfaction predicts subsequent perceived overqualification rather than the reverse.

An engaging experience draws in and holds our attention. Engagement is a critical phenomenon of interest in a variety of disciplines and application domains and has been shown to lead to positive outcomes, such as enhanced learning, task performance, or job satisfaction. However, existing measures of engagement are typically specific to the domain in which the research is conducted. This paper builds on the synergies of various disciplines and proposes a discipline-independent definition of engagement and measurement scale. In this paper, we distinguished between the three temporal levels of engagement in terms of the expected length of the engagement (task/activity, initiative, and continuous). We further explored the differences in the conceptualization of engagement, viz. affective, behavioral, and cognitive engagement. We then offered a comprehensive definition of engagement. We finally developed a measurement scale that can be used across domains and contexts which we derived by iteratively refining the items in this scale through a series of five data samples to arrive at the final scale. Our results provide evidence for the scale’s validity in two domains (online learning and work engagement).

Employees spend approximately 2 h per day engaging in cyberloafing (i.e., using the internet at work for nonwork purposes) behaviors, costing organizations almost $85 billion dollars per year. As a result, cyberloafing is often considered a counterproductive type of withdrawal behavior. However, recent research suggests that cyberloafing may have some unexpected positive workplace outcomes. Therefore, we argue that the role of workplace cyberloafing is more complex than previously assumed and posit that cyberloafing may provide employees with a way to cope with workplace stress such as exposure to workplace aggression. To examine this proposition, we used a heterogeneous sample of 258 employees to test whether cyberloafing buffers the detrimental effects of workplace aggression exposure on two outcome variables: employees’ turnover intentions and job satisfaction. Overall, results supported the notion that employees use cyberloafing as a workplace coping mechanism, which runs counter to the majority of research that conceptualizes cyberloafing as a counterproductive workplace behavior. These findings suggest that managers may consider allowing some degree of cyberloafing so that employees can better cope with work stress. Moreover, managers should directly target stressful workplace conditions (e.g., aggression) that serve as the impetus for cyberloafing behaviors.

We combined three independent streams of workplace climate research, safety, violence prevention, and civility, to devise a general safety climate scale that explicitly addressed a variety of risks. A confirmatory factor analysis suggested that a higher-order factor may be responsible for the similarity in relationships across these safety-related climate measures with exposure to organizational hazards and resulting employee outcomes. As a result, a concise 10-item measure was developed and validated to assess a possible general safety climate factor. Further analyses suggested that the use of a general safety climate measure did not attenuate the relationships with workplace hazards and employee outcomes. Although different safety-related climate variables may be theoretically distinct, there may not be a measurable benefit in promoting one form of climate over others. Future studies should consider employing the general safety climate measure in place of domain-specific climate measures, unless the domain-specific climate is solely of interest.

Over the past decades, user engagement has become central to product success more than ever before. However, while engagement has been studied extensively in various disciplines, these bodies of knowledge are siloed. One indication of this separation is that there is no existing user engagement measure that can be used consistently and reliably across research domains. This emergent research paper aims to progress towards bridging this gap by developing an engagement scale that may be generalized to multiple disciplines. To that effect, we first identified engagement as a three dimensional phenomenon and developed definitions for each dimension. Next, we conducted a series of four studies to develop and validate a measure of user engagement. This resulted in a 16-item measure to assess cognitive, behavioral, and emotional engagement. Future steps include further refinement of the measure, and additional studies to test the generalizability of the scale across disciplines.

Engagement on online learning platforms is essential for user retention, learning, and performance. However, there is a paucity of research addressing latent engagement measurement using user activities. In this work in progress paper, we present a novel engagement score consisting of three sub-dimensions - cognitive engagement, emotional engagement, and behavioral engagement using a comprehensive set of user activities. We plan to evaluate our score on a large scale online learning platform and compare our score with measurements from a user survey-based engagement scale from the literature.

Past research has traditionally examined stressors as predictors and strains as outcomes. However, some recent research has found evidence of reverse causality between various stressors and strains, demonstrating that the relationship between these types of variables may extend beyond the traditional stressor-strain framework. The current study builds upon this past research by examining the temporal direction of the relationship between verbal aggression exposure and job satisfaction. Specifically, through the lens of emotional contagion theory, we suggest that low levels of job satisfaction in employees are detectable by others, which in turn leads them to engage in verbal aggression directed toward those employees. To test this postulation, 309 emergency medical professionals completed surveys that assessed verbal aggression exposure and job satisfaction across three time points. Results of cross-lagged structural equation model tests showed a significant job satisfaction to verbal aggression path over time, but a nonsignificant verbal aggression to job satisfaction path over time. Additionally, results support the postulation that job satisfaction leads to physical strain outcomes through verbal aggression exposure. Overall, results suggest that job satisfaction may serve as a predictor of verbal aggression exposure rather than a result within high stakes environments such as the emergency medical services.