The longitudinal directional associations of meaningful work with mental well-being - initial findings from an exploratory investigation.

Background: An increasing number of studies reveal that more meaning in life is positively related to mental well-being. Meaning in life can be derived from different sources, including the workplace. The aim of this study was to explore the longitudinal directional association of meaningful work with mental well-being.

The Benefits of an Employee-Friendly Company on Job Attitudes and Health of Employees: Findings from Matched Employer-Employee Data.

Background: This study explored the association of an employee-friendly work environment with employees' job attitudes (engagement, commitment, turnover intentions, and job satisfaction), and health (mental and general health), applying matched employer-employee data.

Methods: The German Linked Personnel Panel (LPP; = 14,182) survey simultaneously captures the data of employees and the human resources (HR) management of companies. A two-step cluster analysis of 16 items of the HR valuation identified relatively more- and less-employee-friendly companies (EFCs).

Association of open-plan offices and sick leave-a systematic review and meta-analysis.

We aimed to systematically review and meta-analyze the association of employees working in various kinds of open-plan offices with sick leave data, compared to those working in traditional cell offices. Databases of PubMed, PubPsych, and Psyndex were systematically searched following the PRISMA statement. Pooled summary estimates of odds ratio (OR) were calculated comparing sick leave of employees in cell offices with those working in small open-plan offices (4-9 people), and those in various open-plan office solutions (≥4 people).

24 h-Heart Rate Variability as a Communication Tool for a Personalized Psychosomatic Consultation in Occupational Health.

New tools for non-specific primary prevention strategies covering somatic and mental health in occupational medicine are urgently needed. Heart rate variability (HRV) reflects the capacity of the body to adapt to environmental challenges and of the mind to regulate emotions. Hence, a 24 h-measurement of HRV offers a unique possibility to quantify the interaction between situation-specific emotional regulation within a specific psychosocial environment and physiological state, thereby increasing self-perception and inducing motivation to change behavior.

The streamlined allostatic load index is associated with perceived stress in life - findings from the MIDUS study.

The wear and tear of the body caused by stressful events is subject of extensive research and can be measured by the allostatic load index (ALI). The aim of this cross-sectional study was to replicate an ALI-5 score in a population sample in the USA and to compare these findings with the original ALI-10 score. Data from the Midlife in the United States Study (MIDUS) assessed between 2004 and 2016 were used to calculate different ALI risk scores with 5 and 10 variables, respectively.

The association of cortisol levels with leukocyte distribution is disrupted in the metabolic syndrome.

Background: Leukocyte glucocorticoid sensitivity (GCS) pertains to the responsivity of leukocytes to the regulating actions of glucocorticoids, such as cortisol. Impaired endocrine regulation may link the metabolic syndrome (MetS) to the development of cardiovascular disease. We tested if the physiological association between endogenous cortisol levels and peripheral leukocyte composition becomes disrupted in individuals with MetS.

Estimating the potential reduction in future sickness absence from optimizing group-level psychosocial work characteristics: a prospective, multicenter cohort study in German industrial settings.

Background: Absence from work due to sickness impairs organizational productivity and performance. Even in organizations with perfect work conditions, some inevitable baseline sickness absence exists amongst working populations. The excess sickness absence observed above this baseline rate has become the focus of traditional health promotion efforts, addressing preventable physical illness, health behavior and mental health at the personal level.

Effectiveness of a Brief Psychotherapeutic Intervention for Employees With Psychosomatic and Psychosocial Complaints-Pilot Study of a Consultation Off the Workplace.

Employees' mental health impairments are a leading reason for sickness-leave and early retirement. This is why a large number of different intervention programmes have evolved in recent years with the aim of counteracting this development. Our study evaluates a short-term cognitive-behavioral psychotherapeutic intervention off the workplace.

Stress at work is associated with intima media thickness in older male employees, independent of other sources of stress perception.

Chronic stress at work shows a moderate but robust longitudinal association with cardiovascular disease (CVD). Atherosclerosis is a pathophysiological process of most CVD, for which intima media thickness (IMT) of the carotid artery is used as an early marker. Its relationship with stress at work has remained largely unexplored, and the present study therefore aimed to elucidate the association between stress at work, assessed as effort-reward imbalance (ERI), and IMT.

Validating the Demand Control Support Questionnaire among white-collar employees in Switzerland and the United States.

Background: The Demand Control Support Questionnaire (DCSQ) is an established self-reported tool to measure a stressful work environment. Validated German and English versions are however currently missing. The aim of this study was therefore to evaluate the psychometric properties of German and English versions of the DCSQ among white-collar employees in Switzerland and the US.

The Association of Work Stress and Glycemic Status Is Partially Mediated by Autonomic Nervous System Function: Cross-Sectional Results from the Mannheim Industrial Cohort Study (MICS).

Background: Work stress is associated with an increased risk of pre-diabetes, Type 2 diabetes, and inflammation, as well as decreased autonomic nervous system function as measured, for example, via heart rate variability. We investigated the extent to which the association between work stress and glycemic status is mediated by vagally-mediated heart rate variability (vmHRV) and/or inflammation.

Methods: Cross-sectional data from the Mannheim Industrial Cohort Study (MICS) with 9,937 participants were analyzed.

The streamlined Allostatic Load Index: a replication of study results.

According to the World Health Organization stress in the workplace is becoming a major challenge of employers worldwide. While perceived stress levels can be assessed by questionnaires there is growing evidence that stress-related wear and tear of our body can be measured by the Allostatic Load Index (ALI). In a sample of 12,477 German industrial employees (19.

Daily commuting to work is not associated with variables of health.

Background: Commuting to work is thought to have a negative impact on employee health. We tested the association of work commute and different variables of health in German industrial employees.

Methods: Self-rated variables of an industrial cohort (n = 3805; 78.

Psychometric Properties of the Work Well Index: A Short Questionnaire for Work-Related Stress.

The aim of this study was to test the psychometric properties of a short questionnaire for work-related stress entitled Work Well index (WWi) and its interaction with different variables of self-reported health. An online survey was conducted in a sample of 1,218 employees (51% female) in four countries of an international insurance company. Internal consistency reliability, factorial validity, convergent validity and criterion validity of the 10-item WWi were analyzed.

Association of vitamin D levels with type 2 diabetes in older working adults.

Objectives: Increasing evidence suggests that vitamin D plays a role in the development of chronic diseases including type 2 diabetes (DM). Aim of the study was to explore the association of vitamin D levels with prevalent DM in a sample of predominantly healthy working adults older than 45 years.

Methods: This cross-sectional study (2009-2011) involved 1821 employees of a German engineering company (83.

A streamlined approach for assessing the Allostatic Load Index in industrial employees.

Work stress is common and can lead to various bodily dysfunctions. The Allostatic Load Index (ALI) is a tool to measure the wear and tear of the body caused by chronic stress. This cross-sectional study aimed to explore the association of work-related stress and ALI in German industrial employees.

Measuring allostatic load in the workforce: a systematic review.

The Allostatic Load Index (ALI) has been used to establish associations between stress and health-related outcomes. This review summarizes the measurement and methodological challenges of allostatic load in occupational settings. Databases of Medline, PubPsych, and Cochrane were searched to systematically explore studies measuring ALI in working adults following the PRISMA statement.

[Treatment of psychosomatic disorders occurring in the vocational context - concept and first findings ].

Objectives: Psychosomatic symptoms often present within the vocational context. The unmet need for easily accessible and early interventions led to the development of a variety of offers in this area. From a scientific point of view, the question of how such a "psychosomatic consultation in the workplace" (PCIW) is best conceptualized remains open.

Associations between supportive leadership and employees self-rated health in an occupational sample.

Background: Protecting the health of the work force has become an important issue in public health research.

Purpose: This study aims to explore potential associations between supportive leadership style (SLS), an aspect of leadership behavior, and self-rated health (SRH) among employees.

Method: We drew on cross-sectional data from a cohort of industrial workers (n = 3,331), collected in 2009.

Autonomic nervous system activity and workplace stressors--a systematic review.

Aim: This systematic review evaluates and summarizes the evidence of the association between psychosocial work environment as indicated by several work-stress models such as Job-Demand-Control (JDC), Effort-Reward-Imbalance (ERI), or Organizational Justice (OJ) and autonomic nervous system (ANS) function as indexed by heart rate variability (HRV).

Method: We conducted a systematic literature search following the PRISMA-Statement in eleven databases including Medline, Web of Science and PsycINFO to address medical as well as psychological aspects of the relation between psychosocial work-stress models and HRV.

Results: We identified 19 publications with a total of 8382 employees from ten countries reporting data from the years 1976-2008.

Anti-clockwise rotating shift work and health: would you prefer 3-shift or 4-shift operation?

Background: We explored the association between work schedules involving nightshifts and selected measures of health and whether these associations differed among those working in either 3- or 4-shift cycles.

Methods: Employees at a German industrial company who worked on a fixed daytime schedule or on one involving nightshifts were invited to participate in this cross-sectional study. Work schedules involving a nightshift were organized into either 3 or 4 shifts rotated anti-clockwise on a weekly basis.

"Psychosomatic consultation in the workplace": a new model of care at the interface of company-supported mental health care and consultation-liaison psychosomatics: design of a mixed methods implementation study.

Background: Mental health issues are gaining in importance in society and the economic system. At the same time, the accessibility and stigmatisation of the mental health care system in Germany can obstruct help-seeking behavior and delay early psychotherapeutic interventions. Therefore, new models of care are being established at the interface of company-supported health promotion and conventional health insurance sponsored outpatient care for people developing mental illnesses.

Work stress is associated with diabetes and prediabetes: cross-sectional results from the MIPH Industrial Cohort Studies.

Background: Diabetes is rapidly rising globally, and the relation of psychosocial stress in workplace to diabetes and prediabetes is not well investigated.

Purpose: The aim of the study was to examine the association of work stress with diabetes and prediabetes in a sample of German industrial workers.

Method: In this cross-sectional survey of an occupational cohort (n = 2,674, 77 % male), work stress was measured by the Effort-Reward Imbalance (ERI) Questionnaire.