Browsing by Subject "työn imu"
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(2017)Objectives. The aim of the present study was to examine the differences in experiences of non-material rewards and work engagement in relation to individual- and employment factors. In addition, the study examined relationships between non-material rewards and experiences of work engagement. Non-material rewards refers to organization's policies, values and practices that individuals experience as rewarding. Work engagement is a fulfilling, positive, affective–cognitive and work-related state of mind that is characterized by vigor, dedication, and absorption. Both, non-material rewards and work engagement have been found to be related to individuals' emotions and well-being. Based on previous research, the assumption is that the experiences of non-material rewards and work engagement differ when comparing individual- and employment factors. In line with research on well-being at work, this study assumes also that there are positive relationships between non-material rewards and the experiences of work engagement. Methods. The study involved 512 employees who work in vocational schools. Factor analysis was formed to describe the internal structures of non-material rewards and work engagement. General Least Squares analysis with Direct Oblimin rotation was performed for the non-material rewards and the solution was forced into four factors, based on the previous research. For work engagement, Maximum Likelihood analysis was performed and one factor was extracted. Because there came only one factor, the rotation could not be performed. The differences in experiences of non-material rewards and work engagement in relation to individual- and employment factors were examined by using t-test and analysis of variance. The relationships between non-material rewards and experiences of work engagement was examined with regression analysis. Results and conclusions. Experiences of non-material rewards differed by gender and form of employment relationship. Men experienced more fairness regarding rewards than women, and employees in fixed-term employment relationship experienced more appreciation and feedback at work than employees in permanent employment relationship. Experiences of work engagement differed by gender and age. Women experienced more work engagement than men, and 51-55 year-old employees experienced more work engagement than employees under 35. There was positive relationship between two of the dimensions of non-material rewards (rewards from formal competence and appreciation and feedback) and experiences of work engagement. According to the results, experiences of non-material rewards and work engagement differed between some of the individual- and employment factors. In addition, there were positive relationships between non-material rewards and work engagement. Taking these results into account when designing reward systems, can promote well-being and even work engagement in organizations.
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(2023)The purpose of this master’s thesis is to determine to what extent co-teachers working in primary school experience burnout and work engagement and to explore a possible correlation between burnout and work engagement. In addition, the aim is to establish in what way the prerequisites of successful co-teaching are connected to burnout and work engagement among co-teachers. Furthermore, it is explored which background variables are connected to burnout, work engagement and the prerequisites of successful co-teaching. The method of this thesis was quantitative. The survey data was obtained by posting a questionnaire on a social media group aimed principally at teachers in May of 2022. 54 co-teachers took part in this study. The research material was analysed statistically with IBM SPSS software utilising exploratory factor analysis, descriptive analysis, correlation analysis and the Kruskal-Wallis H-test. On average, co-teachers experienced burnout symptoms rarely and work engagement a few times a week. A negative correlation was observed between burnout and work engagement. The more the co-teachers reported satisfaction with equal distribution of work and responsibility and interaction with their co-teaching partner the less they reported feelings of exhaustion and more work engagement. Satisfaction with the administrative support of co-teaching was connected to lower burnout and higher vigor. Experience as a teacher, age group or the length of co-teaching partnership were not connected to burnout, work engagement, or satisfaction with the administrative support of co-teaching. The longer the duration of the co-teaching partnership, the more satisfied the co-teachers were with the equal distribution of work and responsibility and the interaction with their co-teaching partner. This study presented new findings about burnout and work engagement among primary school co-teachers. In addition, the study brought additional evidence about the importance of the equal distribution of work and responsibility and the interaction between co-teaching partners. The study also highlighted the importance of administrative support towards co-teaching. The results of the study can be considered indicative. Further research is needed.
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(2017)Aim. The aim of this Thesis was to find out what kind of needs for well-being the working-age Finns have and how they experience work-engagement. The Research problem was that even though the well-being need have been proved to be universal it is motivated to study the connection between well-being and work-engagement out of a subjective perspective on needs. The Classical Well-being model the Subjective Well-being Theory, SWB and Self-Determination Theory, SDT were used as the Theoretical Reference frame of this Thesis. Methods. The study was conducted in a qualitative manner. Eight people took part in this study and were interviewed. The respondents were interviewed and filled in a questionnaire regarding their background information. The interviews were conducted using a half-structured theme interview. The data was coded with the Atlas.ti programme and analyzed with the theory bound content analysis method. Results. The results confirmed that the pursuit of well-being is a value of great meaning to the respondents in this study. The results showed that well-being according to the respondents consists mainly of the satisfaction of basic needs like nurture and rest - but also of satisfying the higher level needs like self-fulfillment. Part of the basic needs were seen even as important as the higher-level needs hence, diet and working out were given a lot of attention. Work engagement was mostly affected by how one sees oneself or how other people see oneself. The results even showed that most of the working-aged people have experienced exhaustion or burnout at some point of their lives.
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(2018)Objectives. The aim of the study was to investigate the connection between epistemic beliefs, work engagement, and workaholism, and their appearance in different organizations. In addition, the study tested the functionality of the new instrument for measuring epistemic beliefs that was adapted for working life. The research was related to the research carried out by a group of educational psychology postgraduates at the University of Helsinki. The group examines the organizational renewal opportunities and management in different operating environments. The aim of the group is to produce new information for the processes of transformation of organizations and management development opportunities. Methods. The research material consisted of the data that was collected for the doctoral dissertation of Terhi Nissinen. The participants of the study were the staff members of three medium-sized organizations (n = 195) from large Finnish population centres. Educational and technical organizations were examined in the study. The data was collected using an electronic Organizational Renewal -questionnaire. Respondents included supervisors and employees. Factor analysis served as a pre-analysis for regression analysis, Kruskal-Wallis -test, and Spearman correlation coefficient. Results and Conclusions. The staff experienced work engagement about twice a week. Among the staff, there was thinking and activity associated with workaholism once a week. A positive correlation was found between work engagement and workaholism. In the study epistemic beliefs related to collective knowledge creating, fact-centeredness and unchanging mindset were observed among staff. These depicted three different epistemic orientations. Some of the epistemic orientations were related to the work engagement and workaholism. A positive correlation was found between collective knowledge creating and work engagement – as well as with workaholism. The organization was not connected to the link between work engagement, workaholism and epistemic orientations. Organizations should be aware of the differences between work engagement and workaholism, and specifically promote positive diligence, work engagent. The research about epistemic beliefs can promote organizations' ability to develop well-being at work in a new way.
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(2016)Aim of the study: The study discusses work engagement as part of wellbeing at the work place within a specific target organization. The purpose is to investigate the level of work engagement within the target organization operating in the private employment agency service industry as well as to understand the possible connection between the difficulty of work tasks and possibility to influence work as part of experiencing work engagement among the organization's employees in Finland and Sweden. The choice of study is strongly influenced by the interest towards work engagement and the possibility to gain further insight thereof as well as factors affecting work engagement and how they appear within the target organization. The topic can be regarded as current and interesting as the demand for outsourcing services has grown in the previous years. The private employment agency service industry has cemented its position within the labor market and the organizations operating within the industry are today an integral part of Finnish business environment. Methods: The target organization of this study is an international private employment agency. The organization's business is based on selling its services in accordance with their client's needs, covering especially the technology and IT sectors, in addition to marketing and financial administration tasks. This study is based on the answers received from the target organization's Finnish employees. The sample (N) is 59 of the target organization's internal employees of which 32.2 % were male (N=19) and 67.8 % were female (N=40). The data was collected by sending out separate electronic questionnaires by way of utilizing the e-questionnaire software designed for the students at the University of Helsinki. The sums of the variables in this study were created by utilizing an exploratory factor analysis. Work engagement was investigated within the target organization as well as the correlation between the various concepts. In addition, a variance analysis was conducted. Results and conclusions: Compared to the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health's reference values, the sum of work engagement as well as the results of the work engagement's dimensions were high. The values varied between 5.0-5.4 reflecting that the target organization's employees sensed work engagement a few times per week. The women sensed work engagement slightly more than the men. Ability to influence one's own work as well as the difficulty of work tasks was assumed to be associated to sensing work engagement. The independence of work, as the sum of the variable for possibility to influence work among the target organization's employees, correlated statistically significantly with the work engagement dimensions of energy and dedication. The difficulty of work tasks correlated statistically significantly with the sum of work engagement, immersion in work as a dimension of work engagement as well as the ability to influence one's working hours.
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(2023)The global COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on the everyday life of teaching professionals. Induction phase teachers’ commitment to the profession takes place specifically during the first years of their career, which COVID-19 pandemic has been threatened. Previous studies have shown that the professional agency in the classroom is an important part of teachers’ professional identity and commitment to work among induction phase teachers. Work engagement is a concept related to work well-being, which is used to studying well-being through the meaningfulness of the work. Based on the results of previous studies, teachers experience work engagement, also during the COVID-19 pandemic. Work stress, a phenomenon that weakens work engagement, has increased among teachers. During the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers’ work stress has increased. The feeling of inadequacy in the teacher-student interaction is a part of comprehensive work burnout, and based on the results of previous studies it has been found to be negatively related to teachers’ experiences of professional agency in the classroom. The aim of this thesis is to provide information about induction phase teachers’ professional agency in the classroom, work engagement, work stress and feeling of inadequacy in the teacher-student interaction connections during the COVID-19 pandemic. The material used in this study was collected as a part of a wider international research project “Early Career Teachers’ Professional Agency Across Four European Countries” (Soini, Pietarinen, Pyhältö & Toom, 2018-2022). The target group of the research project were elementary school teachers, subject teachers working in middle school and special education teachers in elementary school (grades 1-9). The research material was collected between the years 2020-2021 from Finnish teachers, and 209 teachers responded. The IBM SPSS Statistics 28 -program was used in the analysis of the data. Sum variables were formed (professional agency in the classroom, vigor, dedication, absorption and feeling of inadequacy in the teacher-student interaction). Connections between variables were examined using Pearson’s correlation coefficients. Differences in background variables (gender and teacher group) were examined by using t-tests. The results of this study showed that there were statistically significant connections between the examined variables. Teachers in the induction phase who experience strong professional agency in the classroom reported that they experienced work engagement together with a lesser work stress and feeling of inadequacy in the teacher-student interaction. Those teachers who experience work engagement reported lesser work stress and feeling of inadequacy in the teacher-student interaction. There were no statistically significant results between gender and teacher groups.
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(2016)It's been only lately since the research of early education has started to pay attention to kindergarten teachers job demands and resources or their work engagement. International researches according teachers work engagement to date have mainly concerned school teachers, and they are not directly generalizable to kindergarten teachers due to some major differences in job descriptions. This study aimed to find out which factors contribute to the work engagement of kindergarten teachers. There were four research problems: 1) What are the job resources of kindergarten teachers work? 2) What are the job demands of kindergarten teachers work? 3) What are the tensions between the job resources and demands of kindergarten teachers work? 4) How work engagement is formed? This study was carried out as a part of a study in University of Helsinki called Koulutuksesta valmistuminen ja työssä pysyminen lastentarhanopettajan työuralla. This study was conducted as a qualitative survey. The data used in this study was part of University of Helsinki study Koulutuksesta valmistuminen ja työssä pysyminen lastentarhanopettajan työuralla and included two open-ended questions (n = 490). The subject of the study were kindergarten teachers working in the metropolitan area and the surrounding municipalities (a total of five municipalities). The data was analysed using Content Analysis and to support the analysis were used JD-R (Job Demands – Resources) –model. The results of the study brought out that the job resources of kindergarten teachers work were children, pedagogical skills, good working environment and working atmosphere and the superior. Demands on the other hand were the small size of the salary, increased labor challenges, large class sizes, unclear job descriptions and lack of appreciation of the industry. Tensions between the job resources and demands were caused by conflicts between experiencing one's work meaningful and the social recognition of the profession, the disproportion between the salary and job demands, lack of labor peace and blurred job as also increasing in writing and administrative work, that do not match the given resources. Work engagement was formed working with and for the children, personal job resources, appreciation of one's work, self-challenging and adequate time for one's work. The results of this study can be used developing kindergarten teachers work conditions and supporting the work of adhesion.
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(2017)Aim. Teachers' coping and well-being at work has been discussed recently in school communities as well as in the media and the approach has mostly been negative. It is important to also research the positive side of well-being at work. The purpose of this study was to examine what factors are the most important for well-being of class teachers together with how class teachers experience work engagement and whether the experiences differ in different stages of the career. The objective was to examine newly graduated and experienced teachers' well-being at work and work engagement. The assumption was that the results would differ from each other between these two groups. Methods. The study was a qualitative research. The research data consisted of individual interviews with four newly graduated and four experienced teachers. The interviews were semi-structured and were collected in Spring 2017. Data from the interviews was analysed by using thematic analysis. Results. Class teachers found the work community, work and working, the physical working environment, their own health and attitudes as well as leisure time to be important factors for their well-being at work. Work community was a particularly important factor for newly graduated teachers. Pupils, work community and the chance to influence on their own job were the most important factors that produced work engagement. For the newly graduated class teachers the work community was the key factor in being able to experience work engagement. Things that teachers felt hard were the factors that challenged work engagement. The work engagement manifested itself as a desire to learn and develop, enjoyment at work and co-operation. Teachers also experienced the three dimensions of work engagement: vigor, dedication and absorption. Experiencing work engagement can be seen positively related to well-being at work. For teachers' well-being at work, it is important that teachers have enough resources in their work.
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(2016)In my study I researched work load and work engagement of day-care managers in Helsinki. This research is quantitative with 39 participants and query material was collected 2014. The work load was studied by means of questions, with the added bonus of two questions according to the Karasek job demands and control model of job demands and job opportunities for influence. Work engagement was studied by using work demand-work resources model translated in Finnish by Hakanen. Answers about open questions are elaborated with content analysis. In this study the biggest single work load factor was haste. It was reported the most often as a disadvantage factor for work load The research of the kindergarten managers job requirement factors, it can be said that when the job demands level increases, work engagement is reduced The higher the impact on the possibilities for the day-care center managers is, the higher they perceive the work engagement. Also open questions highlighted the haste, which forces to prioritize their work. It also reduces the leaders' possibilities to face the workers and to reduce the share of the pedagogical work. Prioritization also reflects the complexity of work experienced by managers and their limited opportunity to influence. One of the main reasons of this study was to find a day-care managers concrete tools to be able to cope with the work load. For the managers the most important way is the separation of work and leisure.
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(2021)The purpose of this study was to describe how job demands, job resources, and work engagement are presented in ICT-enabled mobile work in the health technology sector. There are previous studies on job resources, job demands and work engagement in mobile work and this research aims to bring new knowledge to the topic from the perspective of mobile workers in the field of health technology. This study was conducted as a qualitative case study in the field of health technology. The interviewees in the study were all mobile work employees in the same health technology company. All interviewees had several years of mobile work experience. The material was collected through semi-structured thematic interviews and a total of eight interviews were conducted. The interview material was analyzed through theory-guided content analysis. According to this study, mobile work in the field of health technology is associated with demands and resources that are in line with previous research on mobile work, as well as industry-specific factors. According to this study, in the field of health technology, experienced meaningfulness of work, good customer relationships, trust in employees, clear goals and work autonomy were emphasized as work resources. The job demands were poor working conditions, flexibility of working hours, loneliness at work, low feedback, social pressure experienced in client premises, travel for work, communication, variability of work and language skills required at work. Some of the demands of work, such as variability in work and working hours were also perceived as job resources. According to this study, work engagement was enabled best at customer premises. At customer premises were strong feelings of vigor and absorption present. Work in the healthcare sector was perceived as meaningful and the interviewees were proud of their work.
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(2021)The aim of this thesis was to examine what kind of achievement orientation goal profiles can be identified among employees, and how the employees belonging in different profiles differ in work burnout and engagement. The topic was viewed in the context of transition from studies to working life. Achievement goal orientations describe individual and generalized ways of dealing with achievement situations and preferring certain types of goals. Work burnout consists of exhaustion, inefficacy and cynicism, and work engagement consists of vigor, dedication and absorption. Connections between achievement goal orientations and well-being have been found in the study context, so it is meaningful to study this topic in the work context as well. The first hypothesis was that three or four achievement goal profiles can be found among the employees. According to the second hypothesis, learning- and success-oriented employees will experience high work engagement, but success-orientation is connected to higher burnout. Avoidance-orientation and being uncommitted is most likely connected to lower engagement and higher burnout. The data of this thesis was a part of a data collected for the FinEdu-study in the fall 2016 and spring 2017. The participants (n = 535) were 28- to 30-year-old employees who were at the beginning of their professional careers, and they filled in a questionnaire that measured achievement goal orientations, work burnout and work engagement. A person-centered approach was used, so the participants were first divided into achievement goal profiles using a cluster analysis. The differences between the profiles concerning work burnout and engagement were analyzed with analysis of variance. Four different achievement goal orientation profiles were identified in the data: mastery-oriented, success-oriented, indifferent and disengaged. Mastery-oriented employees experienced quite a lot of work engagement and only a bit of burnout. Success-oriented employees were also engaged, but they experienced more burnout than mastery-oriented employees. The indifferent and disengaged employees weren’t as engaged, indifferent employees experienced efficacy and cynicism, whereas burnout of the disengaged employees was average. Overall, however, the employees experienced more work engagement than work burnout. The results can be applied for example when there is a will to help employees set their personal goals, improve work environment and tasks and enhance well-being at work.
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(2017)Aims. The study examined teachers' self-compassion in relation to burnout, work engagement and the meaning of work. Previous studies have shown the positive effects of self-compassion on well-being. Little is known about the teachers' self-compassion and how it is related to work well-being. Studies have shown that a self-compassioned teacher has more positive attitudes towards inclusion and they are socio-emotionally more capable. Methods. The data was collected via an online questionnaire. The questionnaire was sent to special education students at the University of Helsinki. All the students had a degree in education, and at least three years of work experience in the education sector. Answers were received from 85 students. The questionnaire measured self-compassion, work engagement, meaning of work and burn out. The analysis of the data was done by statistical methods using the SPSS program. Results and conclusions. More than half (61.2%) of the respondents (N = 85) were in the group's average self-compassion level. The high self-compassion level was 14.1% of the respondents, and the low self-compassion level was up to about one quarter of the respondents (24.7%). A comparison between the three groups showed that the average level and high self-compassion level groups had better protection against burnout and higher work engagement than the low self-compassion teachers. The study showed that the meaning of work was in relation to self-compassion. High self-compassion level is in relation to lower burnout levels and higher work engagement. Teaching self-compassion skills to future teachers improves the well-being of teachers and could lower their levels of burnout. Teachers' well-being also increases the well-being of students.
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(2024)Teachers’ well-being at work is an important factor for both teachers themselves and school community. This Master’s Thesis focuses on teachers’ well-being at work in a certain elementary school in Helsinki Metropolitan Area during one school year. Aim of the research was to find out 1) level of teachers’ well-being at work during one school year, 2) which factors teachers find decreasing their well-being at work, 3) which factors teachers find supporting their well-being at work. The level of well-being at work is measured by five different factors: stress, strain caused by teaching and guiding, burnout, work engagement and meaningfulness of the work. The research is a mixed methods case study. The level of teachers’ well-being at work was studied through quantitative data and both decreasing and supporting factors of well-being at work was studied through qualitative data. The quantitative data was analysed by studying statistics and averages and the qualitative data was analysed by tools of data-driven and theory-driven content analysis. Research material consists of answers of questionnaires which measure teachers’ well-being at work. The material was collected as a part of ”KILO Työhyvinvointia / KILO Well-being at work” -project during school year 2022–2023. The project was funded by OAJ’s Occupational Wellbeing Fund (Trade Union of Education, Työhyvinvointirahasto), Finnish Basic Education Unit of city of Espoo and Elementary School of Kilo. Findings of the research show that teachers’ well-being at work was on relatively good level during the whole school year. Amount of stress, strain caused by teaching and guiding and burnout remained at reasonable level and at the same time experiences of work engagement and meaningfulness of the work were strong. Factors that especially decreased teacher’ well-being at work were different demands towards the work of a teacher and pressure as well as pupils and teaching group. Most often mentioned demands towards the work of a teacher were tasks outside of teaching work, amount of the work and lack of time. Among factors that put a strain on teachers and were connected to pupils and teaching group were mentioned behaviour of pupils and pupils that need support, and tasks related to this supportive work. The study shows that the most important factors that increased teachers’ well-being at work were delimitation of the work, work community and support it can offer, as well as focusing and investing in both physical and mental well-being. Results of the research indicate that it is important to focus on teachers’ well-being at work also in the future. This Master’s Thesis produces important information about factors that cause stress and strain in teachers’ work, and which should be taken into account. In addition to this, research points out factors that teachers can use, in order to support their well-being at work.
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(2020)Aims. This study investigated to what extent servant leadership is associated with teachers’ work engagement and burnout and whether the form of teacher’s employment relationship influenced this association. The job demands-resources (JD-R) model and conservation of resources theory were used as a theoretical framework of the study. Previously it has been found that servant leadership is positively associated with work engagement and negatively associated with burnout. There are incoherent results on the effects of the form of employment relationship on work engagement and burnout, but recent study suggests that those on a permanent contract experience more work engagement compared to those on a fixed-term contract. It is hypothesized that servant leadership is positively associated with work engagement and negatively associated with burnout. It is also hypothesized that servant leadership and permanent contract are positively associated with work engagement and for those on fixed-term contracts, servant leadership is negatively associated with burnout. Methods. The material of this study is from a study in which teachers from Mind the Gap -research schools participated in 2015. The participants filled in an online questionnaire concerning servant leadership, work engagement and burnout. The data was analysed using linear regression analysis. Results and conclusions. The results showed that servant leadership was positively associated with work engagement and negatively associated with burnout. Considering the form of the employment relationship, it was noticed that for both those with a fixed-term and permanent employment relationship, servant leadership was positively associated with work engagement and negatively associated with burnout. As a conclusion, leadership style is associated with employees’ wellbeing at work. Workplaces could pay attention to leadership styles and develop policies that support wellbeing at work. There should be more specific studies about the association between employment relationship and wellbeing at work.
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(2014)The purpose of this thesis is to examine if individual's work satisfaction can be improved by coaching. Enhanced identification of work resources, work motivation and work engagement is expected to increase the work satisfaction. Furthermore changes in workers' work related perceptions and attitudes are analyzed and studied whether career coaching had any impact on them. Studied themes are very important and topical. Several employees are dissatisfied with their work conditions, which should be improved by all possible means. One potential way is a goal-oriented coaching. The coaching methods in these study are based on three theories: flow, work engagement and Good Work. The material of the study included individual interviews, guestionnaires and other material accumulated during the coaching process. The number of coached individuals was 12. The duration of a single coaching process was approximately three months. It was also recommended to have a follow-up afterwards. The method of this qualitative research was a content analysis. A coherent frame for the studied phenomenon was accomplished through a diligent analysis of the research material in overall. Study shows a slight improvement can be gained in work motivation and work engagement. After coaching the identification of different work resources was expanded or deepened. However none of these effects can be defined significant. The survey concentrating on perceptions and attitudes showed similar results. The study creates a big picture of general avoidance for extensive changes in short time frame. The coaching impacts was examined also for longer (12+ months) period. The results suggest a possible improvements after one year regardless of the progress in short term (3 months). The given feedback also indicates at least general level usefulness for the majority of the performed coaching processes. The strengthening of individual's own opinions and perceptions was considered both pleasant and empowering.
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(2023)Objectives. The aim of the study was to find out whether there are regional disparities in the occupational wellbeing within Finnish elementary school principals. Regional differences were examined at three different levels, by Regional State Administrative Agencies, by groups of municipalities and by province. The job demands and resources model was used as the theoretical framework of the study. In the light of previous research, principals' occupational wellbeing has a significant impact on the wellbeing of the work community and of the school, as well as on school’s development opportunities and learning outcomes. It has been noticed that principals' ability to cope at work has weakened, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Finland, the goal is balanced development between regions. Methods. The data was collected as part of the Principal's Barometer in the years 2019–2022. The participants (2019: N=297, 2020: N=241, 2021: N=315, 2022: N=365) were elementary school principals from all over Finland. Occupational wellbeing was measured in the questionnaire according to the model of job demands and resources with statements related to work engagement and work burnout. All statements were evaluated on a Likert scale. The data was analyzed using analyses of variance (ANOVA) and covariance (ANCOVA) to see if there are statistically significant differences in the mean values of the regions. Results and conclusions. The study did not reveal differences between regions in principals' occupational wellbeing. However it was found that elementary school principal’s occupational wellbeing decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the recovery had not yet begun in the spring of 2022. It would therefore be important to consider how the job demands and resources of the principals' could be balanced and the occupational wellbeing get to a better level. Also with the help of research to monitor whether the principals are starting to recover from the exhaustion caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Regional research is also relevant, so that regional special features can be taken into account in social policy.
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(2014)The aim of this research was to describe the work engagement that Finnair cabin attendants experience and those factors, which generate and prevent work engagement. Due to the nature of cabin attendants work it was also studied how work engagement appears in the interaction of changing teams. The concept of work engagement is relatively new on the field of work well-being and it is characterized by vigor, dedication, and absorption. Work engagement is based on positive psychology, which focuses on researching strengths and resources instead of weaknesses. The main research questions were: 1. How do the cabin attendants describe the work engagement they experience? 2. What generates and what prevents work engagement? 3. How does work engagement come true in the interaction of changing teams? The data was collected through theme interviews involving 12 cabin attendants. In addition participants filled out the UWES-inquiry, which measured three elements of work engagement numerically. The purpose was to achieve information about the intensity of work engagement. As a research method the theme-analysis was used. Research findings pointed out that cabin attendants did experience work engagement and the conclusion was based on the interviews and the "work engagement"-inquiry. Work engagement occurred as energetic and professional customer service. The employees had a positive attitude towards work and working in general. The factors that generated work engagement were such as shift work and colleagues, preventive factors in turn were broken or missing tools and the lack of respect by the organization. Changing teams were mostly regarded as a positive thing. Interaction of teams was mentioned to be good in general, but also problems in teams were recognized. A negative team member or neglect of rules were some of those problems. As a conclusion of the research, it can be said that work engagement occurred with high quality and professional customer service. Job resources affect work engagement more than job demands. From the employees perspective changing teams were a positive thing, but the challenges in feedback and supervising lead to study the need for more permanent teams.
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Tavoiteorientaatioryhmät ja niiden yhteys työintoon ja työuupumukseen 30-vuotiailla työntekijöillä (2020)The aim of this study was to examine what kind of achievement goal orientation profiles can be identified and their relations to work engagement and job burnout among 30-year old employees. Usually researchers have adopted a variable-centred approach in achievement goal examinations, but this study was based on a person-centred approach, which allows for the study of multiple goals among employees. The data used in this study was collected as a part of the Finnish Education Transitions (FinEdu) -research project, funded by the Academy of Finland and Jacobs Foundation. The participants of this study were (N=372) 30-year old employees. Groups of students with different motivational profiles were identified using a k-mean cluster analysis. Group differences in work engagement and burnout were examined by means of analysis of variance (ANOVA). Four different achievement goal orientation profiles were found: uninterested, success-oriented, mastery-oriented, and avoidance-oriented. All achievement groups were of the same size, so there did not appear any exceptionally large or normative motivational groups of 30-year old employees in the study. Uninterested employees were the least mastery- and success-oriented in working life, but they also did not avoid working as such. The group of success-oriented employees emphasized the desire to learn, to succeed and specially to perform at work, and they were characterized by social comparison and fear of failure. The avoidance-oriented group just wanted to cope with work tasks, and they were not particularly motivated to work. Mastery-oriented employees were interested in learning and succeeding in the workplace. In this study, the mastery-oriented employees experienced the less burnout than the other groups, and the avoidance-oriented group experienced burnout the most. In work engagement assessments, mastery and success-oriented groups differed from uninterested and avoidance-oriented groups, and the results show that mastery- and success-oriented groups are more energetic, dedicated and immersed in work than employees who are uninterested and avoidance-oriented. These results support the idea that employers should recognize and draw attention to differently motivated employees, and they should be given different attention from the point of view of well-being at work. It is also important to examine well-being at work also from a positive construction, as it can open up new perspectives about work engagement.
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(2022)Tämän työn tavoitteena oli luoda työhyvinvointia mahdollisimman kattavasti mittaava kysely ja toteuttaa se valitsemassani organisaatiossa. Tavoitteena oli myös tuottaa tutkimustuloksiin perustuvia kehitys- ja toimenpide-ehdotuksia henkilöstön työhyvinvoinnin ylläpitämiseksi ja parantamiseksi kohdeorganisaatiossa. Tarkastelin työhyvinvointia kuormituksen ja uupumisriskin, psykologisten perustarpeiden täyttymisen, työn imun kokemisen sekä työn vaatimusten ja voimavarojen näkökulmasta. Loin työhyvinvointikyselyn aiemmissa tutkimuksissa käytettyjen, erilaisia hyvinvoinnin osa-alueiden tutkimiseen luotujen mittareiden pohjalta. Toteutin kyselyn kohdeorganisaatiossa koko sen henkilöstölle ja analysoin tuloksia kvantitatiivisin menetelmin. Kokonaisuudessaan työhyvinvoinnin tila näyttäytyi kohdeorganisaatiossa hyvänä: psykologiset perustarpeet tyydyttyivät ja työn imua koettiin hyvin, minkä lisäksi työn voimavarat olivat työn vaatimuksia vahvemmat. Työhyvinvoinnin osa-alueiden väliltä löytyi tutkimuskirjallisuutta tukevia yhteyksiä. Työn voimavarat korreloivat positiivisesti psykologisten perustarpeiden toteutumisen ja työn imun kanssa. Työn imu korreloi puolestaan negatiivisesti kuormituksen määrän kanssa. Työn vaatimusten kasvaessa myös kuormitus kasvoi, kun taas psykologisten perustarpeiden toteutumisen vahvistuessa kuormituksen määrä laski.
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(2018)The aim of this study was to find out about the heads of daycare units (n = 11) well-being at work in Helsinki early childhood education area from the viewpoints of work engagement and leadership practices of the local district manager (n = 1). The survey asks: 1) In what ways work engagement is a part of the heads of daycare units well-being at work? and 2) What kind of leadership practices are recognized in leadership of the local district manager? The starting points for making the thesis were the work engagement model (Schaufeli & Bakker, 2004) and model for servant leadership (Van Dierendonck, 2011). Experiences of vigor, dedication and absorption are characteristic for work engagement. It is possibile to experience work engagement when the leader acts like a servant leader (Hakanen, 2011). The data was collected in the spring of 2016. All the participants were themeinterviewed and the heads of daycare units answered to the work engagement scale, UWES Utrecht work engagement scale. In addition the investigator observed one areameeting. The qualitative research data analysis were applied theory based content analysis approach (work engagement) and theory guided content analysis approach (leadership practices). Quantitative data was analysed statistically with basic statistics. According to the results the heads of daycare units experience dedication the most. The most typical experiences were feelings that their job is significant. They experienced vigor about once or twice a week and the right amount of challenge in work supported it. Work experience was a positive resource in challenging situations. For absorption it was challenging that work seemed to be interrupted often and that priority of the duties had to be organized often once more. The leadership of the local district manager included providing direction, empowering and developing people and interpersonal acceptance, as in the model of Van Dierendonck (2011). Empowering and developing people seemed to make providing direction possible. In the early childhood education area, there were mutual trust between heads of daycare units and the local district manager. The local district manager allowed a lot of freedom to work to the heads of daycare units and she was there for them when in need.
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