Associations Between Positive Changes in Perceived Work Characteristics and Changes in Fatigue

Little is known about the natural course of fatigue among employees. An adequate understanding of its development and risk factors is important to prevent chronic health complaints and absenteeism. This longitudinal study investigated associations between positive changes in perceived work characteristics (ie, a decrease in job demands, an increase in decision latitude, and an increase in social support) and changes in fatigue by performing hierarchical regression analyses. The work characteristics of the demand–control–support model were selected as predictors. The outcome measures emotional exhaustion and psychologic distress were investigated as secondary outcomes. The results showed that, compared with a stable work situation, positive changes in perceived social support, decision latitude, and psychologic job demands went together with a decrease in fatigue. Similar results were found for the secondary outcomes emotional exhaustion and psychologic distress.

[1]  I. Kant,et al.  Fatigue as a predictor of sickness absence: results from the Maastricht cohort study on fatigue at work , 2003, Occupational and environmental medicine.

[2]  I. Kant,et al.  An epidemiological approach to study fatigue in the working population: the Maastricht Cohort Study , 2003, Occupational and environmental medicine.

[3]  Ute Bültmann,et al.  Fatigue and psychological distress in the working population: psychometrics, prevalence, and correlates. , 2002, Journal of psychosomatic research.

[4]  I. Kant,et al.  The relationship between psychosocial work characteristics and fatigue and psychological distress , 2002, International archives of occupational and environmental health.

[5]  F. Nijhuis,et al.  Testing reciprocal relationships between job characteristics and psychological well-being: A cross-lagged structural equation model , 2001 .

[6]  P Bech,et al.  Fatigue in the Danish general population. Influence of sociodemographic factors and disease , 2000, Journal of epidemiology and community health.

[7]  M. Swain,et al.  Fatigue in chronic disease. , 2000, Clinical science.

[8]  Toon W. Taris,et al.  A Primer in Longitudinal Data Analysis , 2000 .

[9]  I. Kant,et al.  Fatigue among working people: validity of a questionnaire measure , 2000, Occupational and environmental medicine.

[10]  Peter F. Lovibond,et al.  Long-term stability of depression, anxiety, and stress syndromes. , 1998, Journal of abnormal psychology.

[11]  S. Kaasa,et al.  Fatigue in the general Norwegian population: normative data and associations. , 1998, Journal of psychosomatic research.

[12]  T. Taris,et al.  On the Relation Between Job Characteristics and Depression: A Longitudinal Study , 1998 .

[13]  Wilmar B. Schaufeli,et al.  The evaluation of an individual burnout intervention program: The role of inequity and social support , 1998 .

[14]  Michiel A. J. Kompier,et al.  A Critical Examination of the Demand-Control-Support Model from a Work Psychological Perspective , 1997 .

[15]  A. Richardson,et al.  Fatigue: a concept analysis. , 1996, International journal of nursing studies.

[16]  T S Kristensen,et al.  Job stress and cardiovascular disease: a theoretic critical review. , 1996, Journal of occupational health psychology.

[17]  I. Hickie,et al.  Fatigue in selected primary care settings: sociodemographic and psychiatric correlates , 1996, The Medical journal of Australia.

[18]  M. Frese,et al.  Longitudinal studies in organizational stress research: a review of the literature with reference to methodological issues. , 1996, Journal of occupational health psychology.

[19]  R. Halfens,et al.  Fatigue: a summary of the definitions, dimensions, and indicators. , 1996, Nursing diagnosis : ND : the official journal of the North American Nursing Diagnosis Association.

[20]  G. Bleijenberg,et al.  Dimensional assessment of chronic fatigue syndrome. , 1994, Journal of psychosomatic research.

[21]  P Wallace,et al.  Population based study of fatigue and psychological distress , 1994, BMJ.

[22]  A. Mann,et al.  Tired, weak, or in need of rest: fatigue among general practice attenders. , 1990, BMJ.

[23]  P. Warr.  Decision latitude, job demands, and employee well-being , 1990 .

[24]  Robert Karasek,et al.  Healthy Work : Stress, Productivity, and the Reconstruction of Working Life , 1990 .

[25]  J. Johnson,et al.  Job strain, work place social support, and cardiovascular disease: a cross-sectional study of a random sample of the Swedish working population. , 1988, American journal of public health.

[26]  D. Wood,et al.  Chronic fatigue in primary care. Prevalence, patient characteristics, and outcome. , 1988, JAMA.

[27]  M. Snyder.  Pathophysiological Phenomena in Nursing: Human Responses to Illness , 1987 .

[28]  M. Frese,et al.  Stress at work and psychosomatic complaints: a causal interpretation. , 1985, The Journal of applied psychology.

[29]  D E Broadbent,et al.  The clinical impact of job design. , 1985, The British journal of clinical psychology.

[30]  Robert Karasek,et al.  Job decision latitude and mental strain: Implications for job redesign , 1979 .

[31]  D. Kleinbaum,et al.  Applied Regression Analysis and Other Multivariate Methods , 1978 .

[32]  N. Kawakami,et al.  The Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ): an instrument for internationally comparative assessments of psychosocial job characteristics. , 1998, Journal of occupational health psychology.

[33]  D. Jonge,et al.  Verandering in werkkenmerken in relatie tot verandering in burnout en arbeidstevredenheid , 1998 .

[34]  Blake E. Ashforth,et al.  A meta-analytic examination of the correlates of the three dimensions of job burnout. , 1996, The Journal of applied psychology.

[35]  Katharine R. Parkes,et al.  Personality and coping as moderators of work stress processes: Models, methods and measures , 1994 .

[36]  Barbara F. Piper,et al.  Fatigue: Current Bases for Practice , 1989 .

[37]  Paul D. Williams,et al.  A user's guide to the General Health Questionnaire , 1988 .

[38]  M. Chen.  The epidemiology of self-perceived fatigue among adults. , 1986, Preventive medicine.