Illegitimate tasks associated with higher cortisol levels among male employees when subjective health is relatively low: an intra-individual analysis

Objectives Illegitimate tasks refer to tasks that do not conform to what can appropriately be expected from an employee. Violating role expectations, they constitute “identity-stressors”, as one’s professional role tends to become part of one’s identity. The current study investigated the impact of illegitimate tasks on salivary cortisol. We analyzed data on an intra-individual level, that is, by examining fluctuations in illegitimate tasks and cortisol within individuals. Furthermore, we investigated the moderating role of perceived health, expecting that illegitimate tasks evoke stronger reactions when perceived health is relatively poor. Methods Illegitimate tasks, salivary cortisol, and perceived health were assessed in each of three waves (time lag: 6 months) in a sample of 104 male employees. Data were analyzed by multilevel analysis using group mean centering. Results Controlling for social stressors, work interruptions, and emotional stability, the experience of more illegitimate tasks was associated with increased cortisol release if personal health resources were low compared to one’s mean value of perceived health. Results cannot be explained by inter-individual differences. Conclusions This is the first study showing that illegitimate tasks predict a biological indicator of stress, thus confirming and extending previous research on illegitimate tasks. The moderating role of perceived health confirms its importance as a personal resource, implying augmented vulnerability when perceived health is below its usual value. It is plausible to assume that increased stress reactions due to relatively poor health may further weaken available personal resources. Both avoiding illegitimate tasks and restoring personal health seem to be crucial.

Gender, Professional Networks, and Subjective Career Success within Early Academic Science Careers: The Role of Gender Composition in Inside and Outside Departmental Support Networks

The present study analyzed (a) gender differences in the gender composition (i.e., the proportion of male to female contacts) of professional support networks inside and outside an individual’s academic department and (b) how these differences in gender composition relate to subjective career success (i.e., perceived career success and perceived external marketability). Results showed that the networks’ gender composition is associated with subjective career success. Men’s networks consist of a higher proportion of male to female supporters, which, in turn, was positively related to subjective career success. Additional analyses revealed that the findings could not be accounted for by alternative factors, such as network size, networking behaviors, and career ambition.

The role of warning behaviors in threat assessment: an exploration and suggested typology

The concept of warning behaviors offers an additional perspective in threat assessment. Warning behaviors are acts which constitute evidence of increasing or accelerating risk. They are acute, dynamic, and particularly toxic changes in patterns of behavior which may aid in structuring a professional's judgment that an individual of concern now poses a threat - whether the actual target has been identified or not. They require an operational response. A typology of eight warning behaviors for assessing the threat of intended violence is proposed: pathway, fixation, identification, novel aggression, energy burst, leakage, directly communicated threat, and last resort warning behaviors. Previous research on risk factors associated with such warning behaviors is reviewed, and examples of each warning behavior from various intended violence cases are presented, including public figure assassination, adolescent and adult mass murder, corporate celebrity stalking, and both domestic and foreign acts of terrorism. Practical applications and future research into warning behaviors are suggested. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Written survey on recently deceased patients in germany and switzerland: how do general practitioners see their role?

BACKGROUND General practitioners (GPs) play an important role in end-of-life care due to their proximity to the patient's dwelling-place and their contact to relatives and other care providers. METHODS In order to get a better understanding of the role which the GP sees him- or herself as playing in end-of-life care and which care their dying patients get, we conducted this written survey. It asked questions about the most recently deceased patient of each physician. The questionnaire was sent to 1,201 GPs in southern North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany) and the Canton of Bern (Switzerland). RESULTS Response rate was 27.5 % (n = 330). The average age of responding physicians was 54.5 years (range: 34-76; standard derivation: 7.4), 68 % of them were male and 45 % worked alone in their practice. Primary outcome measures of this observational study are the characteristics of recently deceased patients as well as their care and the involvement of other professional caregivers. Almost half of the most recently deceased patients had cancer. Only 3 to 16 % of all deceased suffered from severe levels of pain, nausea, dyspnea or emesis. More than 80 % of the doctors considered themselves to be an indispensable part of their patient's end-of-life care. Almost 90 % of the doctors were in contact with the patient's family and 50 % with the responsible nursing service. The majority of the GPs had taken over the coordination of care and cooperation with other attending physicians. CONCLUSION The study confirms the relevance of caring for dying patients in GPs work and provides an important insight into their perception of their own role.