Jetha Arif, Kernan Laura, Kurowski Alicia
Department of Work Environment, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, MA, USA.
Institute for Work & Health, 481 University Avenue, Suite 800, Toronto, Ontario, M5G2E9, Canada.
BMC Health Serv Res. 2017 Jan 5;17(1):12. doi: 10.1186/s12913-016-1955-8.
Workplace stress is a complex phenomenon that may often be dynamic and evolving over time. Traditional linear modeling does not allow representation of recursive feedback loops among the implicated factors. The objective of this study was to develop a multidimensional system dynamics model (SDM) of workplace stress among nursing aides and conduct simulations to illustrate how changes in psychosocial perceptions and workplace factors might influence workplace stress over time.
Eight key informants with prior experience in a large study of US nursing home workers participated in model building. Participants brainstormed the range of components related to workplace stress. Components were grouped together based on common themes and translated into feedback loops. The SDM was parameterized through key informant insight on the shape and magnitude of the relationship between model components. Model construction was also supported utilizing survey data collected as part of the larger study. All data was entered into the software program, Vensim. Simulations were conducted to examine how adaptations to model components would influence workplace stress.
The SDM included perceptions of organizational conditions (e.g., job demands and job control), workplace social support (i.e., managerial and coworker social support), workplace safety, and demands outside of work (i.e. work-family conflict). Each component was part of a reinforcing feedback loop. Simulations exhibited that scenarios with increasing job control and decreasing job demands led to a decline in workplace stress. Within the context of the system, the effects of workplace social support, workplace safety, and work-family conflict were relatively minor.
SDM methodology offers a unique perspective for researchers and practitioners to view workplace stress as a dynamic process. The portrayal of multiple recursive feedback loops can guide the development of policies and programs within complex organizational contexts with attention both to interactions among causes and avoidance of adverse unintended consequences. While additional research is needed to further test the modeling approach, findings might underscore the need to direct workplace interventions towards changing organizational conditions for nursing aides.
工作场所压力是一种复杂的现象，通常可能随时间动态变化且不断演变。传统的线性模型无法呈现相关因素之间的递归反馈回路。本研究的目的是开发一个针对护理助理工作场所压力的多维系统动力学模型（SDM），并进行模拟，以说明心理社会认知和工作场所因素的变化如何随时间影响工作场所压力。
八位在美国养老院工作人员大型研究中有过经验的关键信息提供者参与了模型构建。参与者集思广益，探讨了与工作场所压力相关的一系列组成部分。这些组成部分根据共同主题进行分组，并转化为反馈回路。通过关键信息提供者对模型组成部分之间关系的形式和强度的洞察，对SDM进行参数化。还利用作为更大规模研究一部分收集的调查数据来支持模型构建。所有数据都输入到Vensim软件程序中。进行模拟以研究对模型组成部分的调整将如何影响工作场所压力。
SDM包括对组织状况的认知（如工作需求和工作控制）、工作场所社会支持（即管理层和同事的社会支持）、工作场所安全以及工作之外的需求（即工作与家庭的冲突）。每个组成部分都是一个增强反馈回路的一部分。模拟结果表明，工作控制增加而工作需求减少的情景会导致工作场所压力下降。在该系统背景下，工作场所社会支持、工作场所安全和工作与家庭冲突的影响相对较小。
SDM方法为研究人员和从业者提供了一个独特的视角，将工作场所压力视为一个动态过程。多个递归反馈回路的描绘可以指导在复杂组织环境中制定政策和计划，既要关注原因之间的相互作用，又要避免不良的意外后果。虽然需要进一步的研究来进一步测试这种建模方法，但研究结果可能强调了将工作场所干预措施指向改变护理助理的组织状况的必要性。
