Abstract
Training interventions that target supervisors as a mechanism to initiate change in employee health, well-being, and work outcomes are increasingly common, but research has largely neglected to evaluate the impact that these interventions have on supervisors themselves. Relying on conservation of resources theory (Hobfoll 1989, 2001), this study sought to determine the effects that a supervisor-focused intervention had on supervisor and employee work, well-being, and safety outcomes. Participants included 192 U.S. Forest Service (USFS) workers (125 employees and 67 supervisors). Supervisors in the intervention group completed a computer-based training aimed at teaching behaviors that better support employees’ needs and subsequently tracked supportive behaviors for two weeks. Results showed that, for employees, the intervention led to significantly lower psychological distress and less concerns about forest safety. For supervisors, the intervention led to higher work-to-family conflict and lower organizational commitment. Furthermore, supervisor reports of job demands at baseline moderated the intervention’s effect on supervisor burnout, such that burnout was higher for those supervisors who reported lower job demands at baseline. Overall, consistent with previous research on supervisor training interventions, employees exhibited positive outcomes from the intervention. Detrimental effects of the intervention for supervisors may have been due to added responsibilities from participation in the training. Suggestions to mitigate potential detrimental effects of supervisor intervention participation are discussed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data Availability
Based on participant confidentiality agreements, full data are not available for public use. However, redacted or de-identified data may be available upon request.
References
Abramis, D. J. (1994). Relationship of job stressors to job performance: Linear or an inverted-U? Psychological Reports, 75, 547–558.
Alarcon, G. M. (2011). A meta-analysis of burnout with job demands, resources, and attitudes. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 79, 549–562. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2011.03.007.
Anger, W. K., Rohlman, D. S., Kirkpatrick, J., Reed, R. R., Lundeen, C. A., & Eckerman, D. A. (2001). cTRAIN: A computer-aided training system developed in SuperCard for teaching skills using behavioral education principles. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments and Computers, 33, 277–281. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03195377.
Bakker, A. B., & Demerouti, E. (2017). Job demands–resources theory: Taking stock and looking forward. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 22, 273–285. https://doi.org/10.1037/ocp0000056.
Biron, C., Ivers, H., & Brun, J. (2016). Capturing the active ingredients of multicomponent participatory organizational stress interventions using an adapted study design. Stress and Health: Journal of The International Society for The Investigation of Stress, 32, 275–284. https://doi.org/10.1002/smi.2700.
Bodner, T. E., & Bliese, P. D. (2018). Detecting and differentiating the direction of change and intervention effects in randomized trials. Journal of Applied Psychology, 103, 37–53. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000251.
Cammann, C., Fichman, M., Jenkins, G. D., & Klesh, J. (1983). Michigan organizational assessment questionnaire. In S. E. Seasore, E. E. Lawler, P. H. Mirvis, & C. Cammann (Eds.), Assessing organizational change: A guide to methods, measures, and practices (pp. 71–138). Wiley-Interscience: New York, NY.
Carroll, C., Patterson, M., Wood, S., Booth, A., Rick, J., & Balain, S. (2007). A conceptual framework for implementation fidelity. Implementation Science, 2, 40. https://doi.org/10.1186/1748-5908-2-40.
Castro, F. G., Barrera, M., & Martinez, C. R. (2004). The cultural adaptation of prevention interventions: Resolving tensions between fidelity and fit. Prevention Science, 5, 41–45. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:PREV.0000013980.12412.cd.
Castro, F. G., & Yasui, M. (2017). Advances in EBI development for diverse populations: Towards a science of intervention adaptation. Prevention Science, 18, 623–629. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-017-0809-x.
Chen, S., Westman, M., & Eden, D. (2009). Impact of enhanced resources on anticipatory stress and adjustment to new information technology: A field-experimental test of conservation of resources theory. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 14(3), 219–230. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015282.
Crawford, E. R., LePine, J. A., & Rich, B. L. (2010). Linking job demands and resources to employee engagement and burnout: A theoretical extension and meta-analytic test. Journal of Applied Psychology, 95, 834–848. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0019364.
Cuadra-Peralta, A. A., Veloso-Besio, C., Iribaren, J., & Pinto, R. (2017). Intervention for supervisors, based on social skills and leadership, in order to improve organizational climate perception and organizational performance outcomes. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 30, 281–292. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOCM-10-2016-0205.
Demsky, C. A., Fritz, C., Hammer, L. B., & Black, A. E. (2019). Workplace incivility and employee sleep: The role of rumination and recovery experiences. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 24, 228–240. https://doi.org/10.1037/ocp0000116.
DiRenzo, M. S., Greenhaus, J. H., & Weer, C. H. (2011). Job level, demands, and resources as antecedents of work–family conflict. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 78, 305–314. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2010.10.002.
Dugan, A. G., & Punnett, L. (2017). Dissemination and implementation research for occupational safety and health. Occupational Health Sciences, 1, 29–45. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41542-017-0006-0.
Eisenberger, R., Huntington, R., Hutchison, S., & Sowa, D. (1986). Perceived organizational support. Journal of Applied Psychology, 71, 500–507.
Elliott, D. S., & Mihalic, S. (2004). Issues in disseminating and replicating effective prevention programs. Prevention Science, 5(1), 47–53. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:PREV.0000013981.28071.52.
Ellis, A. M., Casey, T. W., & Krauss, A. D. (2017). Setting the foundation for well-being: Evaluation of a supervisor-focused mental health training. Occupational Health Science, 1, 67–88. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41542-017-0005-1.
Erdogan, B., & Enders, J. (2007). Support from the top: Supervisors' perceived organizational support as a moderator of leader-member exchange to satisfaction and performance relationships. The Journal of Applied Psychology, 92, 321–330. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.92.2.321.
Grandey, A. A., & Cropanzano, R. (1999). The conservation of resources model applied to work–family conflict and strain. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 54, 350–370. https://doi.org/10.1006/jvbe.1998.1666.
Hammer, L. B., Brady, J. M., & Perry, M. L. (in press). Training supervisors to support veterans at work: Effects on supervisor attitudes and employee sleep and stress. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology.
Hammer, L. B., Johnson, R. C., Crain, T. L., Bodner, T., Kossek, E. E., Davis, K. D., Kelly, E. L., Berkman, L. F., Buxton, O. M., Karuntzos, G., & Chosewood, L. C. (2016). Intervention effects on safety compliance and citizenship behaviors: Evidence from the work, family, and health study. Journal of Applied Psychology, 101, 190–208. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000047.
Hammer, L. B., Kossek, E. E., Anger, W. K., Bodner, T., & Zimmerman, K. (2011). Clarifying work-to-family intervention processes: The roles of work-to-family conflict and family supportive supervisor behaviors. Journal of Applied Psychology, 96, 134–150. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0020927.
Hammer, L. B., Truxillo, D. M., Bodner, T., Pytlovany, A. C., & Richman, A. (2019a). Exploration of the impact of organizational context on a workplace safety and health intervention. Work and Stress. https://doi.org/10.1080/02678373.2018.1496159.
Hammer, L., Truxillo, D., Bodner, T., Rineer, J., Pytlovany, A., & Richman, A. (2015). Effects of a workplace intervention targeting psychosocial risk factors on safety and health outcomes. BioMed Research International, 2015, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/836967.
Hammer, L. B., Wan, W. H., Brockwood, K. J., Bodner, T., & Mohr, C. D. (2019b). Supervisor support training effects on veteran health and work outcomes in the civilian workplace. Journal of Applied Psychology, 104, 52–69. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000354.
Hansen, E., Landstad, B., Gundersen, K T., Vinberg, S. (2016). Leader-based workplace health interventions — A before–after study in Norwegian and Swedish small-scale enterprises. International Journal of Disability Management, 11(5), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1017/idm.2016.5
Hobfoll, S. E. (1989). Conservation of resources: A new attempt at conceptualizing stress. American Psychologist, 44, 513–524.
Hobfoll, S. E. (2001). The influence of culture, community, and the nested-self in the stress process: Advancing conservation of resources theory. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 50, 337–370. https://doi.org/10.1111/1464-0597.00062.
Karasek, R. J. (1979). Job demands, job decision latitude, and mental strain: Implications for job redesign. Administrative Science Quarterly, 24, 285–308.
Kelly, E. L., Moen, P., Oakes, J. M., Fan, W., Okechukwu, C., Davis, K. D., Hammer, L. B., Kossek, E. E., King, R. B., Hanson, G. C., Mierzwa, F., & Casper, L. M. (2014). Changing work and work-family conflict: Evidence from the work, family, and health network. American Sociological Review, 79, 485–516. https://doi.org/10.1177/0003122414531435.
Kessler, R. C., Andrews, G., Colpe, L. J., Hiripi, E., Mroczek, D. K., Normand, S. L., Walters, E. E., & Zaslavsky, A. M. (2002). Short screening scales to monitor population prevalences and trends in non-specific psychological distress. Psychological Medicine, 32, 959–976. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291702006074.
Lanaj, K., Johnson, R. E., & Lee, S. M. (2016). Benefits of transformational behaviors for leaders: A daily investigation of leader behaviors and need fulfillment. Journal of Applied Psychology, 101, 237–251. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000052.
Lin, S. H., Scott, B. A., & Matta, F. K. (2019). The dark side of transformational leader behaviors for leaders themselves: A conservation of resources perspective. Academy of Management Journal, 62(5), 1556–1582. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2016.1255.
Maslach, C., Schaufeli, W. B., & Leiter, M. P. (2001). Job burnout. Annual Review of Psychology, 52(1), 397–422. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.52.1.397.
Meyer, J. P., Allen, N. J., & Smith, C. A. (1993). Commitment to organizations and occupations: Extension and test of a three-component conceptualization. Journal of Applied Psychology, 78, 538–551. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.78.4.538.
Muthén, L. K., & Muthén, B. O. (2012). Mplus User’s guide (Seventh ed.). Los Angeles: Muthén & Muthén.
Nahrgang, J. D., Morgeson, F. P., & Hofmann, D. A. (2011). Safety at work: A meta-analytic investigation of the link between job demands, job resources, burnout, engagement, and safety outcomes. Journal of Applied Psychology, 96, 71–94. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021484.
Netemeyer, R. G., Boles, J. S., & McMurrian, R. (1996). Development and validation of work-family conflict and family-work conflict scales. Journal of Applied Psychology, 81, 400–410.
Odle-Dusseau, H. N., Hammer, L. B., Crain, T. L., & Bodner, T. E. (2016). The influence of family-supportive supervisor training on employee job performance and attitudes: An organizational work–family intervention. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 21, 296–308. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0039961.
Olson, R., Crain, T. L., Bodner, T., King, R., Hammer, L., Klein, L. C., Erickson, L., Moen, P., Berkman, L., & Buxton, O. M. (2015). A workplace intervention improves sleep: Results from the randomized controlled work, family, and health study. Sleep Health, 1, 55–65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleh.2014.11.003.
Pluut, H., Ilies, R., Curşeu, P. L., & Liu, Y. (2018). Social support at work and at home: Dual-bufferi effects in the work-to-family conflict process. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 146, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2018.02.001.
Shirom, A., (n.d.). Burnout and Vigor Scales (SMBM & SMVM). Retrieved from http://www.shirom.org/arie/index.html#.
Shirom, A., Nirel, N., & Vinokur, A. D. (2010). Work hours and caseload as predictors of physician burnout: The mediating effects by perceived workload and by autonomy. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 59, 539–565. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1464-0597.2009.00411.x.
Spector, J. T., & Reul, N. K. (2017). Promoting early, safe return to work in injured employees: A randomized trial of a supervisor training intervention in a healthcare setting. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, 27, 70–81. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10926-016-9633-6.
Tsutsumi, A., Takao, S., Mineyama, S., Nishiuchi, K., Komatsu, H., & Kawakami, N. (2005). Effects of a supervisory education for positive mental health in the workplace: A quasi‐experimental study. Journal of Occupational Health, 47(3), 226–235.
Tubre, T. C., & Collins, J. M. (2000). Jackson and Schuler (1985) revisited: A meta-analysis of the relationships between role ambiguity, role conflict, and job performance. Journal of Management, 26, 155–169.
Tvedt, S. D., Saksvik, P. Ø., & Nytrø, K. (2009). Does change process healthiness reduce the negative effects of organizational change on the psychosocial work environment? Work & Stress, 23, 80–98. https://doi.org/10.1080/02678370902857113.
von Thiele Schwarz, U., Hasson, H., & Tafvelin, S. (2016). Leadership training as an occupational health intervention: Improved safety and sustained productivity. Safety Science, 81, 35–45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2015.07.020.
van Woerkom, M., Bakker, A. B., & Nishii, L. H. (2016). Accumulative job demands and support for strength use: Fine-tuning the job demands-resources model using conservation of resources theory. Journal of Applied Psychology, 101, 141–150. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000033.
Viswesvaran, C., Sanchez, J. I., & Fisher, J. (1999). The role of social support in the process of work stress: A meta-analysis. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 54, 314–334. https://doi.org/10.1006/jvbe.1998.1661.
Voydanoff, P. (2004). The effects of work demands and resources on work-to-family conflict and facilitation. Journal of Marriage and Family, 66, 398–412. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2004.00028.x.
Yousef, D. A. (2000). Organizational commitment: A mediator of the relationships of leadership behavior with job satisfaction and performance in a non-western country. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 15, 6–24. https://doi.org/10.1108/02683940010305270.
Zohar, D., & Luria, G. (2003). The use of supervisory practices as leverage to improve safety behavior: A cross-level intervention model. Journal of Safety Research, 34, 567–577. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsr.2003.05.006.
Zohar, D., & Polachek, T. (2014). Discourse-based intervention for modifying supervisory communication as leverage for safety climate and performance improvement: A randomized field study. Journal of Applied Psychology, 99, 113–124. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0034096.
Funding
This work was supported by the Oregon Healthy Workforce Center, a National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Total Worker Health Center of Excellence [grant number U19OH010154]. This work was also partly supported by the Oregon Institute of Occupational Health Sciences at Oregon Health & Science University via funds from the Division of Consumer and Business Services of the State of Oregon (ORS 656.630).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflicts of Interest/Competing Interests
None.
Code Availability
Analyses were performed in SPSS and Mplus Version 7. Input available upon request.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Perry, M.L., El-Askari, L.M., Hammer, L.B. et al. Securing your Own Mask before Assisting Others: Effects of a Supervisor Training Intervention on Supervisors and Employees. Occup Health Sci 4, 417–443 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41542-020-00075-0
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41542-020-00075-0