Longitudinal Research in Occupational Health Psychology

Occupational health psychology (OHP) involves the application of psychology to improving the quality of work life and to promoting and protecting the safety, health and well-being of employees. Achieving these aims requires researchers and practitioners to possess in-depth knowledge of the processes that are presumed to bring about the desired outcomes. To date, most studies in OHP have relied on cross-sectional designs in examining these processes. In such designs all variables of interest are measured simultaneously. Although this has generated useful insights in how particular phenomena are associated, such designs cannot be trusted when it comes to drawing causal inferences: association is not causation.

This book therefore focuses on longitudinal research designs in OHP, whereby the concepts of interest are measured several times, offering much stronger evidence for causal relationships. The authors focus on design issues in longitudinal research (such as the number of measurements chosen, and the length of the time lags between these measurements), and illustrate these issues in the context of applied research on topics such as the work-family interface, conflict at work, and employee well-being. By doing so this volume provides a state-of-the-art overview of current research in OHP, both in terms of its findings and methodologies.

This book is based on a special issue of the journal Work & Stress.

1. Cause and effect: Optimizing the designs of longitudinal studies in occupational health psychology 2. How do occupational stressor-strain effects vary with time? A review and meta-analysis of the relevance of time lags in longitudinal studies 3. The effect of conflict at work on well-being: Depressive symptoms as a vulnerability factor 4. Enjoyment and absorption: An electronic diary study on daily flow patterns 5. Effects of vacation from work on health and well-being: Lots of fun, quickly gone 6. Work to non-work enrichment: The mediating roles of positive affect and positive work reflection 7. Do you want me to be perfect? Two longitudinal studies on socially prescribed perfectionism, stress and burnout in the workplace 8. A participative intervention to improve employee well-being in knowledge work jobs: A mixed-methods evaluation study 9. Should I stay or should I go? Examining longitudinal relations among job resources and work engagement for stayers versus movers 10. Are job and personal resources associated with work ability 10 years later? The mediating role of work engagement