psych 2 chapter 12
● Leisure Time and Physical and Psychological Health
o positive health effects of leisure: ▪ enhanced immune and cardiovascular function among individuals who pursue active leisure behaviours ▪ having time-out for positive leisure experiences enhances subjective well-being ▪ is linked to positive emotions with consequent feelings of optimism, overall well-being, a reduction in feelings of unhappiness
● Quality of mentor
o Having a poor mentor or coach is worse than having no mentor at all o People must be carefully matched o Speed mentoring is a new twist on selecting mentor/mentee relationships
● Burnout
A depletion of a person's energy and motivation, the loss of occupational idealism, and the feeling that one is being exploited o Too much stress in one's occupation can lead to burnout o Common among helping professions, such as teaching, nursing, social work, and health care o Burnout increases with age and years on the job o Burnout negatively affects the quality of the services people are supposed to receive from the burned-out employee o Stress-reduction techniques, more appropriate expectations of self, and better communication with organizations address burnout
o Leisure
Any discretionary activity, which includes simple relaxation, activity for enjoyment, creative pursuits, and sensual transcendence
● Meaning-mission fit
Corporate executives with better alignment between their personal intentions and their firm's mission care more about their employees' happiness, job satisfaction, and emotional well-being o Lower-level management showed a decline over time
● Alienation
Feeling that what one is doing is meaningless and efforts are devalued, or when they do not see the connection between what they do and the final product o Providing more opportunities for involvement and flexibility addresses alienation
● Age discrimination
Involves denying a job or promotion to someone solely on the basis of age o The US Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1986 protect workers over age 40 ▪ Stipulates people must be hired based on their ability ▪ Employers are banned from refusing to hire or from discharging workers solely on the basis of age ▪ Employees cannot segregate or classify workers or otherwise denote their status on the basis of age o Age discrimination occurs in many ways, such as differential layoff patterns and stereotypical views of older workers
● Job Satisfaction
Is the positive feeling that results from an appraisal of one's work
▪ Reasonable woman standard
The appropriate legal criterion for determining whether sexual harassment has occurred is used to decide whether an act constitutes harassment ● If a reasonable woman would view a behavior as offensive, then it is offensive even if the man did not consider it to be so
● The roles of mentors and coaches
o A mentor is part teacher, sponsor, model, and counselor who facilitates on-the-job learning to help the new hire do the work required in his or her present role and to prepare for future career roles o Mentoring and coaching are viewed as primary ways that organizations invest in developing their talent and future leadership o A mentor helps a young worker avoid trouble and also provides invaluable information about the unwritten rules governing day-to-day activities in the work place ▪ Occupational success often depends on the quality of the mentor-protégé relationship ▪ Mentors helping younger employees learn the job is one way to achieve generativity o Women and minorities have an especially important need for both mentors and coaches
● Interpersonal Ties
o All aspects of a person's life and interpersonal relationships are affected by retirement. ▪ Marital relationships ● May undergo considerable stress until new role definitions are reached o Readjusting to being home rather than at work is difficult for men in traditional marriages o Sometimes marriages are disrupted, but married men are generally happier in retirement than men who are not married.
● Leisure Activities
o Average number of hours ▪ Pace of life differs across countries o Nature of activities o Leisure activities can also be considered in terms of the degree of cognitive, emotional, or physical involvement
● Social cognitive career theory
o Career choice is the result of the application of Bandura's social cognitive theory, especially self-efficacy ▪ Despite the lack of stable careers, people still have a strong tendency to find occupations in which they feel comfortable and that they like
● Holland's personality-type theory
o Choose occupations to optimize person-occupation fit o Six personality types that represent different combinations have been identified ▪ Investigative, Social, Realistic, Artistic, Conventional, and Enterprising
● Factors that influence whether a behavior is considered offensive
o Degree to which the behavior is explicit or extreme o Victim behavior o Harasser's intentions o Frequency of occurrence
● Four common meanings that describe work
o Developing self o Union with others o Expressing self o Serving others
● Burnout does not affect everyone
o Different types of passion toward their jobs ▪ A passion is a strong inclination toward an activity individuals like ● Obsessive passion is the internal urge to engage in the passional activity makes it difficult for the person to disengage ● Harmonious passion results when individuals do not feel compelled to engage in the enjoyable activity rather, they freely choose to do so
● Juggling Multiple Roles
o Dividing household chores ▪ Working mothers spend about twice as many hours per week as their husbands in family work and bear the greatest responsibility for household tasks. ▪ Unequal division of labor is a major cause for arguments and unhappiness. o Husbands and wives view the division of labor in very different terms. ▪ Men are often most satisfied with an equitable division based on number of hours spent, especially if the amount of time is small. ▪ Women are most satisfied when men perform traditional women's chores.
● The Dependent Care Dilemma
o Employed Caregivers o Whether a women returns to work after having a child depends largely on how attached she is to her work. - This can lead to inter-role conflict. ▪ Conflicts between work and family responsibilities o Flexible work schedules and number of children are important factors in role conflict. ▪ Employed mothers are significantly less distressed than employed non-mothers. ● When a woman's partner provides good support and women have average or high control over their jobs
● Occupational Insecurity and Job Loss
o Fear that one may lose one's job is a better predictor of anxiety than the actual likelihood of job loss. o Losing one's job can have serious negative effects on every aspect of a person's life. o May result in mental health problems, including: ▪ Low self-esteem ▪ Depression ▪ Anxiety ▪ suicide o effects are related to the degree of financial stress one is under and the timing of the job loss.
● Planning for Retirement
o Financial planning and realistic expectations toward retirement are important predictors of future satisfaction. ▪ People who plan for retirement tend to be more successful in adapting to this major life change. o Pre-retirement education programs cover a variety of topics, including finances, attitudes, health, and expectations.
● Employment and Retirement
o For many people, "retirement" involves working at least part-time o Older workers face many challenges, including ageism and discrimination o The relationship between age and job performance is extremely complex
● Terminology Job vs. Career
o Job: characterized by individuals not wanting or getting any rewards from their occupations. ▪ Individuals see their work as something that they do in order to earn the money to do what they really want to do. o Career: ▪ Characterized by interest in advancing in position at work, but not just because promotion can mean earning more money. ● People who view their occupation as a career see promotion as a way to achieve higher social standing and more power in their places of employment.
● Burnout has several bad effects on the brain
o Less ability to regulate negative emotions resulting from weakened connections between the amygdala, anterior cingulate cortex, and prefrontal cortex o Poorer judgment and emotional outbursts
● Why do People Retire?
o Most people retire because they choose to. ▪ Although some people are forced to retire because of financial status or serious health problems o Health ▪ The most important factor in determining early retirement and satisfaction
● Couples can work together to mitigate the stress
o Negotiate schedules around work o Take into account other factors such as child care and time demands o Discuss joint activities such as meals and other family activities o Communicate about all of the demands o Compromise to reach optimal solutions for all concerned
● Career construction theory
o People build careers through their own actions that result from the interface of their own personal characteristics and the social context
● Rapoport and Rapoport (1975) provide an alternative approach to classifying leisure activities involving the distinction between preoccupations and interests
o Preoccupations (daydreaming) can become more focused as interests (ideas and feelings about things one would like to do), which can lead to the selection of particular leisure activities o Each activity has a different meaning and importance to every individual ● People develop a repertoire of preferred leisure activities o The activities in our repertoire are determined by perceived competence (how good we think we are at the activity compared to others) and psychological comfort (how well we meet our personal goals for performance) o Other factors are also important: Income, interest, health, abilities, transportation, education, and social characteristics
● Work and Cognitive Health
o Relationship between occupational activity and cognition
● Adjustment to Retirement
o Retirement is an important life transition and can be stressful. ▪ degree of stress is related to attitudes toward retirement and whether retirement is voluntary. ▪ Some evidence for cognitive declines after retirement o For men, being in good health, having enough income, and having retired voluntarily are associated with high satisfaction in early retirement ▪ Having personal control correlated with well-being over the long run ▪ personal life priorities are important o Wives' expectations are more influenced by husbands' resources than vice versa o for both men and women, high personal competence is associated with higher retirement satisfaction, probably because competent people are able to optimize their level of environmental press
● What Does Being Retired Mean?
o Retirement is largely a development of the 20th century and is still an evolving concept. o The way in which people withdraw from full-time employment o Changing conceptions of work are resulting in changing conceptions of retirement. o Retirement can be crisp or blurred. ▪ Crisp =making a clean break from employment by stopping work entirely. ▪ Blurred = repeatedly leaving and returning to work, with some periods of unemployment.
● Increased job satisfaction with age is related to
o Self-selection where happy workers stay and unhappy workers leave o Intrinsic satisfaction is of greater importance than extrinsic factors (i.e., pay) o A good fit between the worker and the job o Work less of a focus o Changes in the family responsibilities and career expectations o Cyclical nature of job satisfaction
● Sexual harassment
o Sexual harassment is a problem in many situations (i.e., work place, academic) o About 70% of women report that they "had experienced or heard offensive slurs or jokes or remarks about women" ▪ Men report similar levels of such behavior ▪ Over 40% of women report being sexually harassed at work at least once
● Work-Family Conflict
o The feeling of being pulled in multiple directions by incompatible demands from one's job and one's family o How to deal with work-family conflict successfully ▪ Women must be clear in their commitment to their careers, marriage, and children. ▪ Couples equally share housework and emotional work, and combine their roles without high levels of stress. o How?: ▪ age of children is not a factor, but number of children is. ▪ Stress is lower if men have a flexible work schedule that allow them to care for sick children and other matters. ▪ Stress is higher during the peak parenting years, then is reduced.
● Dependent Care and Employer Response
o The mere availability of a workplace childcare center does not always result in higher job satisfaction. ▪ Sympathetic supervisors are essential to lowering the stress of how child care issues can be resolved.
● Gender bias and the glass ceiling
o While a majority of women work outside of the home, few hold high-status jobs o Sex discrimination: Denying a job to someone solely on the basis of whether the person is a man or a women o Glass ceiling: The level to which women may rise in a company but beyond which they may not go ▪ As many as 90% of women believe there is a glass ceiling ▪ Evidence has been found in government, nonprofits, and private corporations o Glass elevator: Men in traditionally female occupations rise at a quicker rate than female counterparts
● Work and Physical & Psychological Health
o Work-related Stress Conflict between Work and Family o Emotional strain, fatigue, perception of overload, and stress o Work Family Balance- Can be positive spillover
● Developmental Changes in Leisure
o Younger adults participate in a greater range of activities and more intense activities than middle-age adults o Middle-age adults tend to engage in leisure activities that are less strenuous and more family-oriented o Older adults narrow the range of activities and lower intensity even more o Longitudinal research shows that leisure preferences in adulthood reflect those in earlier life
o Types of Leisure Activities
▪ Cultural: Includes sporting events, concerts, and church services ▪ Physical: Sports, aerobics, and gardening ▪ Social: Visiting friends or going to a party ▪ Solitary: Reading, listening to music, or watching TV
o Factors influencing occupational change include
▪ Dislike ● Which results in quitting or seeking other employment ▪ Worker obsolescence ● For example, technological developments that eliminate jobs ▪ Economic factors which result in layoffs or downsizing ● For example, recessions
o "Environmental complexity"
▪ Exposure to complex environments at work or during leisure enables continued practice of cognitive skills and hence facilitates cognitive functioning.
● The Dependent Care Dilemma employed caregivers
▪ Fifty-eight percent of married mothers and 68% unmarried mothers with children under the age of 3 are in the work force and the numbers are increasing ● Whether a women returns to work after having a child depends largely on how attached she is to her work ▪ Sixty percent of women who care for a parent or partner work at least 35 hours ▪ Interrole conflict: Results in a clash between competing sets of roles, in this case between work and family responsibilities
o Most people are satisfied with their retirement, as long as people
▪ Have financial security ▪ Have their health ▪ Have a supportive network of relatives and friends
o Gender differences retirement
▪ Married women's decision to retire is predicted most by her husband's health status or number of dependents, the opposite is true for men.
o Dependent care and employer responses
▪ The mere availability of a workplace childcare center does not always result in higher job satisfaction ● Sympathetic and supportive supervisors are essential to lowering stress levels of employees and absenteeism ● Caregivers fare better when employers provide better job security, autonomy, lower productivity demands, supervisor support, and flexible schedules
o Equal pay for equal work
▪ Women get paid a fraction of what men with similar jobs earn ▪ Eliminating the salary disparity between men and woman has proven more difficult than many originally believed
o Dependent care and effects on workers
▪ Women report higher levels of stress and missing more work when they care for a dependent ▪ When a woman's partner provides good support and she has average or high control over her job, employed mothers are significantly less distressed than employed women who are not mothers
Volunteering
● Community Ties o Volunteering to maintain community ties ▪ Foster Grandparents, Senior Companions, Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), and Service Corps or Retired ▪ They also experience personal development, a sense of purpose, and the chance to share their skills
Dual Career Couples
● In nearly 2/3 of two-parent households, both adults work outside the home. ● Nearly 1/2 of unmarried mothers and 56% of married mothers with children under the age of 1 are currently in the work force. - These numbers are increasing.
Retraining Workers
● Rapid changes in the nature of work have resulted in the displacement of older workers o According to the U.S. Bureau of the Census, 51.4% of workers 55 to 64 years old do not find new employment, whereas 65% to 70% of workers under 55 do ● Career plateauing: Occurs when there is a lack of promotional opportunity in an organization or a person chooses not to seek advancement o Learning new skills or retraining is essential to maximize one's opportunities o To adapt to the effects of the global economy and an aging workforce, many corporations provide retraining opportunities for workers o The extent to which one believes that he or she has the ability to learn and develop (self-efficacy) also influences whether retraining will be effective
