Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-mkpzs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-30T14:37:53.524Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Effort-Reward Imbalance and Intention to Retire Early in Australian Healthcare Workers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 May 2017

Suzanne Hodgkin ,
Warren Paul  and
Jeni Warburton
Suzanne Hodgkin*
Affiliation:
John Richards Initiative, College of Science, Health & Engineering, La Trobe University, P O Box 821, Wodonga, VIC, 3689, Australia
Warren Paul
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology, Environment & Evolution, La Trobe University, Albury-Wodonga Campus, PO Box 821, Wodonga, VIC, 3689, Australia
Jeni Warburton
Affiliation:
John Richards Chair of Rural Aged Care Research, John Richards Initiative, College of Science, Health & Engineering, La Trobe University, P O Box 821, Wodonga, VIC, 3689, Australia
*
address for correspondence: Suzanne Hodgkin (PhD), Senior Research Fellow, John Richards Initiative, College of Science, Health & Engineering, La Trobe University, P O Box 821, Wodonga, VIC 3689, Australia. Email: s.hodgkin@latrobe.edu.au
Get access

Abstract

Objectives – Retaining older workers in the Australian Healthcare System in rural areas is critical in preventing an imminent workforce crisis. Traditionally, healthcare workers have retired earlier than other groups. Using an internationally recognised model of job stress, the aim of this study was to examine the influence of Effort-Reward Imbalance (ERI) in predicting psychological strain and intention to retire in older Australian healthcare workers. Method – Utilising a cross-sectional design, data was obtained from 295 women and men aged over 55 years, working as professional healthcare workers in a rural Australian setting. ERI was measured using the 23-item scale developed by Siegrist (Siegrist, 2002); psychological strain was measured using the 12-item version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) and a question on retirement intentions was developed. Results – The results confirm that those employees who experience high ERI and higher levels of overcommitment (OVC) experience psychological strain. Support for the three-way interaction was mixed: at low levels of OVC, higher levels of effort and increasing reward decreased strain, yet at high levels of OVC, increasing reward increased strain. This study could not confirm an association between intention to retire early and effort, reward, OVC or strain.

Keywords

older workersstress and burnoutretirement
Type
Articles
Information
The Australasian Journal of Organisational Psychology , Volume 10 , 2017 , e2
Copyright
Copyright © Australian Psychological Society Ltd 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aboa-Éboulé, C., Brisson, C., Blanchette, C., Maunsell, E., Bourbonnais, R., Abdous, B., . . . Dagenais, G.R. (2011). Effort reward imblance at work and psychological distress: A validation study of post-myocardial infarction patients. Pychosomatic Medicine, 73, 448–455. doi:10.1097/01.psy.0000399790.82499.d7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Appels, A., Siegrist, J., & De Vos, Y. (1997). Chronic workload, need for control and vital exhaustion in patients with myocardial infarction and controls: A comparative test of cardiovascular risk profiles. Stress and Health, 13 (2), 117–121.Google Scholar
Armstrong-Stassen, M., & Ursel, N.D. (2009). Perceived organizational support, career satisfaction, and the retention of older workers. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 82 (1), 201–220.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2013). Retirement and retirement intentions, Australia, July 2012 to June 2013. (Cat. No. 6238.0). Canberra: Author.Google Scholar
Australian Government Productivity Commission. (2005). Productivity Commission Research Report: Australia's Health Workforce. Canberra.Google Scholar
Australian Government. (2010). Australia to 2050: Future challenges. The 2010 Intergenerational report. Canberra.Google Scholar
Australian Instutute of Health and Welfare. (2011). Nursing and midwifery labour force 2009. Canberra: AIHW. AIHW bulletin no. 90. Cat. no. AUS 139. Retrieved May 5, 2015, from http://www.aihw.gov.au/publication-detail/?id=10737419682.Google Scholar
Bakker, A.B., Killmer, C.H., Siegrist, J., & Schaufeli, W.B. (2000). Effort-reward imbalance and burnout among nurses. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 31 (4), 884–891.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Banks, M.H., Clegg, C.W., Jackson, P.R., Kemp, N.J., Stafford, E.M., & Wall, T.D. (1980). The use of the general health questionnaire as an indicator of mental health in occupational studies. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 53 (3), 187–194.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baruch, Y., & Holtom, B.C. (2008). Survey response rate levels and trends in organizational research. Human Relations, 61 (8), 1139–1160. doi:10.1177/0018726708094863.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blakeley, J.A., & Ribeiro, V.E.S. (2008). Early retirement among registered nurses: Contributing factors. Journal of Nursing Management, 16 (1), 29–37.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Blum, K., Cull, J.G., Braverman, E.R., & Comings, D.E. (1996). Reward deficiency syndrome. American Scientist, 84 (2), 132–145.Google Scholar
Bohle, P., Quinlan, M., McNamara, M., Pitts, C., & Willaby, H. (2015). Health and well-being of older workers: Comparing their associations with effort-reward imbalance and pressure, disorganisation and regulatory failure. Work & Stress, 29 (2), 114.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boumans, N., de Jong, A., & Vanderlinden, L. (2008). Determinants of early retirement intentions among Belgian nurses. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 63 (1), 64–74.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Calnan, M., Wainright, D., & Almond, S. (2000). Job strain, effort-reward imbalance and mental distress: A study of occupations in general medical practice. Work & Stress, 14 (4), 297–311.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davis, S., & Bartlett, H. (2008). Healthy ageing in rural Australia: Issues and challenges. Australasian Journal on Ageing, 27 (2), 56–60.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Elovainio, M., Forma, P., Kivimäki, M., Sinervo, T., Sutinen, R., & Laine, M. (2005). Job demands and job control as correlates of early retirement thoughts in Finnish social and health care employees. Work & Stress, 19 (1), 84–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Feldt, T., Huhtala, M., Kinnunen, U., Hyvönen, K., Mäkikangas, A., & Sonnentag, S. (2013). Long-term patterns of effort-reward imbalance and over-commitment: Investigating occupational well-being and recovery experiences as outcomes. Work & Stress, 27 (1), 64–87.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fitzgerald, D.C. (2007). Aging, experienced nurses: Their value and needs. Contemporary Nurse, 24 (2), 237–243.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Francoeur, R.B. (2011). Interpreting interactions of ordinal or continuous variables in moderated regression using the zero slope comparison: Tutorial, new extensions, and cancer symptom applications. International Journal of Society Systems Science, 3 (1–2), 137–158.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gilbert-Ouimet, M., Brisson, C., Vézina, M., Milot, A., & Blanchette, C. (2012). Repeated exposure to effort-reward imbalance, increased blood pressure, and hypertension incidence among white-collar workers: Effort-reward imbalance and blood pressure. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 72 (1), 26–32.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Goldberg, D. (1978). Manual of the general health questionnaire. Windsor: National Foundation for Educational Research.Google Scholar
Graham, E.M., & Duffield, C. (2010). An ageing nursing workforce. Australian Health Review, 34 (1), 44–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harkonmäki, K., Rahkonen, O., Martikainen, P., Silventoinen, K., & Lahelma, E. (2006). Associations of SF-36 mental health functioning and work and family related factors with intentions to retire early among employees. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 63 (8), 558–563.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hinz, A., Zenger, M., Brähler, E., & Spitzer, S. (2016). Effort-reward imbalance and mental health problems in 1074 German teachers, compared with those in the general population. Stress and Health, 32 (3), 224–230.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hodgkin, S., Warburton, J., Savy, P., & Moore, M. (2016). Workforce crisis in residential aged care: Insights from rural, older workers. Australian Journal of Public Administration, 76 (1), 93–105.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Humphreys, J.S., Jones, M.P., Jones, J.A., & Mara, P.R. (2002). Workforce retention in rural and remote Australia: Determining the factors that influence length of practice. Medical Journal of Australia, 176 (10), 472–476.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Karasek, R. (1979). Job demands, job decision latitude, and mental strain: Implications for job redesign. Administrative Science Quarterly, 24, 285–308.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kinman, G., & Jones, F. (2008). Effort-reward imbalance and overcommitment: Predicting strain in academic employees in the United Kingdom. International Journal of Stress Management, 15 (4), 381–395.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moseley, A., Jeffers, L., & Paterson, J. (2008). The retention of the older nursing workforce: A literature review exploring factors which influence the retention and turnover of older nurses. Contemporary Nurse, 30 (1), 46–56.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nourry, N., Luc, A., Lefebvre, F., Sultan-Taïeb, H., & Béjean, S. (2014). Psychosocial and organizational work environment of nurse managers and self-reported depressive symptoms: Cross-sectional analysis from a cohort of nurse managers. International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health, 27 (2), 252–269.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nye, L.G., & Witt, L.A. (1995). Interpreting moderator effects: Substitute for the signed coefficient rule. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 55 (1), 27–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oakman, J., & Wells, Y. (2013). Retirement intentions: What is the role of push factors in predicting retirement intentions? Ageing & Society, 33 (06), 988–1008.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
O'Brien-Pallas, L., Duffield, C., & Alksnis, C. (2004). Who will be there to nurse?: Retention of nurses nearing retirement. Journal of Nursing Administration, 34 (6), 298.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Preckel, D., Meinel, M., Kudielka, B.M., Haug, H.J., & Fischer, J.E. (2007). Effort-reward-imbalance, overcommitment and self-reported health: Is it the interaction that matters? Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 80 (1), 91–107.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rugulies, R., Aust, B., Siegrist, J., Von Dem Knesebeck, O., Bültmann, U., Bjorner, J.B., & Burr, H. (2009). Distribution of effort-reward imbalance in Denmark and its prospective association with a decline in self-rated health. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 51 (8), 870–878.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schofield, D. (2007). Replacing the projected retiring baby boomer nursing cohort 2001–2026. BMC Health Services Research, 7 (1), 87.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schofield, D., & Beard, J.R. (2005). Baby boomer doctors and nurses: Demographic change and transitions to retirement. The Medical Journal of Australia, 183 (2), 80.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schofield, D., Fletcher, S., Page, S., & Callander, E. (2010). Retirement intentions of dentists in New South Wales, Australia. Human Resources for Health, 8 (1), 9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schulz, M., Damkröger, A., Heins, C., Wehlitz, L., Löhr, M., Driessen, M., . . . Wingenfeld, K. (2009). Effort-reward imbalance and burnout among German nurses in medical compared with psychiatric hospital settings. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 16 (3), 225–233.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schwingel, A., Niti, M., Tang, C., & Ng, T.P. (2009). Continued work employment and volunteerism and mental well-being of older adults: Singapore longitudinal ageing studies. Age and Ageing, 38, 531–537.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shacklock, K., & Brunetto, Y. (2011). A model of older workers' intentions to continue working. Personnel Review, 40 (2), 252–274.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shultz, K.S., Morton, K.R., & Weckerle, J.R. (1998). The influence of push and pull factors on voluntary and involuntary early retirees' retirement decision and adjustment. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 53 (1), 45–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Siegrist, J. (1996). Adverse health effects of high-effort/low-reward conditions. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 1 (1), 27–41.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Siegrist, J. (2002). Effort-reward imbalance at work and health. In Perrewe, P. & Ganster, D.C. (Eds.), Research in occupational stress and well being (Vol. 2, pp. 261–291). New York: JAI Elsevier, Historical and current perspectives on stress and health.Google Scholar
Siegrist, J. (2010). Effort-reward imbalance at work and cardiovascular diseases. International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health, 23 (3), 279–285.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Siegrist, J., Klein, D., & Voigt, K.H. (1997). Linking sociological with physiological data: The model of effort-reward imbalance at work. Acta Physiologica Scandinavia, 161 (640), 112–116.Google Scholar
Siegrist, J., Matschinger, H., Cremer, P., & Seidel, D. (1988). Atherogenic risk in men suffering from occupational stress. Atherosclerosis, 69 (2–3), 211–218.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Siegrist, J., Starke, D., Chandola, T., Godin, I., Marmot, M., Niedhammer, I., & Peter, R. (2004). The measurement of effort-reward imbalance at work: European comparisons. Social Science & Medicine, 58 (8), 1483–1499.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Siegrist, J., Wahrendorf, M., Von Dem Knesebeck, O., Jurges, H., & Borsch-Supan, A. (2006). Quality of work, well-being, and intended early retirement of older employees - baseline results from the SHARE study. European Journal of Public Health, 17 (1), 62–68.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Söderberg, M., Rosengren, A., Hillström, J., Lissner, L., & Torén, K. (2012). A cross-sectional study of the relationship between job demand-control, effort-reward imbalance and cardiovascular heart disease risk factors. BMC Public Health, 12, 1102.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Spence Laschinger, H. K., & Finegan, J. (2008). Situational and dispositional predictors of nurse manager burnout: A time-lagged analysis. Journal of Nursing Management, 16 (5), 601–607.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tsutsumi, A., Kawanami, S., & Horie, S. (2012). Effort-reward imbalance and depression among private practice physicians. International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health, 85, 153–161.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
van Vegchel, N., de Jonge, J., Bosma, H., & Schaufeli, W. (2005). Reviewing the effort–reward imbalance model: Drawing up the balance of 45 empirical studies. Social Science & Medicine, 60 (5), 1117–1131.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Warburton, J., Moore, M., Clune, S., & Hodgkin, S. (2014). Extrinsic and intrinsic factors impacting on the retention of older rural healthcare workers in the north Victorian public sector: A qualitative study. Rural and Remote Health, 14 (3), 2721 (on-line).Google ScholarPubMed