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. 2024 Nov 22.
doi: 10.1007/s10926-024-10256-1. Online ahead of print.

Associations between Psychosocial Working Conditions and Work-Specific Self-Efficacy Beliefs Among Employees Receiving Psychotherapeutic Consultation at Work

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Associations between Psychosocial Working Conditions and Work-Specific Self-Efficacy Beliefs Among Employees Receiving Psychotherapeutic Consultation at Work

Jeannette Weber et al. J Occup Rehabil. .

Abstract

Purpose: By considering work-related aspects during early intervention and treatment of employees with (subclinical) symptoms of common mental disorders, psychotherapeutic consultation at work (PT-W) aims to increase work-specific self-efficacy (SE) to finally reduce sickness absence and contribute to successful return to work. This study, thus, aims to investigate interrelations between working conditions and work-specific SE among employees before receiving PT-W.

Methods: The study uses baseline data of a randomized controlled trial testing the efficacy of PT-W in Germany (n = 535). Working conditions were assessed by six scales of the validated Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ). SE was assessed by the validated general short occupational self-efficacy (OSE) scale and return-to-work self-efficacy (RTW-SE) scale, two specific forms of self-efficacy. Multiple linear regression models were calculated using working conditions as independent and self-efficacy as dependent variables. Interactions between working conditions and age, gender and current extent of work were added to those models.

Results: Results suggest that quantitative job demands are negatively and development opportunities are positively related to OSE and RTW-SE. Age did not moderate those relationships. The association between development opportunities and OSE was stronger among employees indicating working less number of hours than specified in their contract compared to employees indicating working their full contract hours. Furthermore, interactions with gender were found with social support being only (positively) associated with OSE among male and decision authority being only (positively) associated with OSE among female employees.

Conclusions: The associations between working conditions and work-specific SE support the usefulness of addressing potential reciprocal relationships between those two variables during PT-W to improve mental health of employees.

Trial registration number: Registered at the German Clinical Trial Register (DRKS) at 01.03.2021-DRKS00023049.

Keywords: Mental health; Occupational health; Occupational stress; Psychotherapeutic care; Self-efficacy; Workplace.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Conflict of interest: The employer of Nicole Hander and Eva Rothermund offers psychosomatic consultation services in the workplace financed by companies and Nicole Hander is working in it. Nicole Hander and Eva Rothermund declare to have no further relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose. Christoph Kröger is a trainer in cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) and received fees from training institutes. Furthermore, he received fees for lectures on work-related CBT. All other authors declare to have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose. Ethical Approval: This study was performed in line with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Approval was granted by the ethics committees of Ulm University in November 2020 (Application No. 339/20), of Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg in December 2020 (Application No. 525_20 Bc), of University of Hildesheim in January 2021 (Application No. 165) and of Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf in January 2021 (Application No. 2021-1279-Klinische Forschung). Consent to Participate: Written informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in this study.

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