The problem and the solution. This article introduces the concept of career-conducive organizations and suggests ways human resource development (HRD) professionals can help to create them. A healthy psychosocial environment is proposed to be the foundation of career conduciveness. A case is made for making healthy psychosocial environments one of an organizations' primary goals and for HRD playing a significant role in achieving this goal. Methods for improving the workplace psychosocial environment are discussed, including stress audits, work environment monitoring, person— environment matching, and participatory action research. It is argued that creating career-conducive organizations is not only an important strategic HRD contribution but also an important quality-of-life contribution and an ethical duty.
Beehr, T.A. (1995). Psychological stress in the workplace. New York: Routledge.
2.
Bernardin, H.J. (2007). Human resource management: An experiential approach (4th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
3.
Boman, B. (1988). Stress and heart disease. In S. Fisher & J. Reason (Eds.), Handbook of life stress, cognition and health (pp. 301-315). Chichester, UK: Wiley.
4.
Boyatzis, R.E., & Akrivou, K. (2006). The ideal self as a driver of change. Journal of Management Development, 25, 624-642.
5.
Briscoe, J.P. (2006). Protean career. In J. H. Greenhaus & G. A. Callanan (Eds.), Encyclopedia of career development (pp. 649-652). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
6.
Burke, R.J. (1988). Sources of managerial and professional stress in large organizations. In C. L. Cooper & R. Payne (Eds.), Causes, coping, and consequences of stress at work (pp. 77-114). Chichester , UK: Wiley.
7.
Bybee, J., Luthar, S., Zigler, E., & Merisca, R. (1997). The fantasy, ideal, and ought selves: Content, relationships to mental health, and functions. Social Cognition , 15, 37-53.
8.
Cable, D.M., & DeRue, D.S. (2002). The convergent and discriminant validity of subjective fit perceptions. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87, 875-884.
9.
Ceniceros, R. (1999, November 1). Cutting stress claims: NIOSH official urges attention. Business Insurance, 33, 58.
10.
Chilton, M.A., Hardgrave, B.C., & Armstrong, D.J. (2005). Person-job cognitive style fit for software developers: The effect on strain and performance. Journal of Management InformationSystems, 22, 193-226.
11.
Cooper, C.L. (2005). The future of work: Careers, stress, and well-being . Career Development International, 10, 396-399.
12.
Cooper, C.L., & Williams, S. (1994). Conclusions to creating healthy work organizations . In C. L. Cooper & S. Williams (Eds.), Creating healthy work organizations (pp. 243-245). Chichester, UK: Wiley.
13.
Cox, T., Griffiths, A., & Randall, R. (2003). A risk management approach to the prevention of work stress. In M. J. Schabracq, J. A. Winnubst, & C. L. Cooper (Eds.), The handbook of work and health psychology (2nd ed., pp. 191-206). Chichester , UK: Wiley.
14.
Edwards, J.R., & Rothbard, N.P. (1999). Work and family stress and well-being: An examination of person-environment fit in the work and family domains. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes , 77, 85-129.
15.
Emery, F., & Thorsrud, E. (1976). Democracy at work: The report of the Norwegian Industrial Democracy Program. Leiden, the Netherlands: Martinus Nijhoff.
16.
Erdogan, B., & Bauer, T.N. (2005). Enhancing career benefits of employee proactive personality: The role of fit with jobs and organizations. Personnel Psychology, 58, 859-891.
17.
Faucett, J. (2005). Integrating psychosocial factors into a theoretical model for work-related musculoskeletal disorders. Theoretical Issues in ErgonomicsScience, 6, 531-550.
18.
Fletcher, B.C. (1988). The epidemiology of occupational stress. In C. L. Cooper & R. Payne (Eds.), Causes, coping and consequences of stress at work (pp. 3-50). Chichester, UK: Wiley.
19.
French, J.R.P., Jr. , Rodgers, W., & Cobb, S. (1974). Adjustment as person-environment fit. In G. V. Coelho, D. A. Hamburg, & J. E. Adams (Eds.), Coping and adaptation (pp. 316-333). New York: Basic Books.
20.
Ganster, D.C., Fox, M.L., & Dwyer, D.J. (2001). Explaining employees' health care costs: A prospective examination of stressful job demands, personal control, and physiological reactivity. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86, 954-964.
21.
Gilbreath, B. (2004). Creating healthy workplaces: The supervisor's role. In C. L. Cooper & I. T. Robertson (Eds.), International review of industrial and organizational psychology (pp. 93-118). Chichester , UK: Wiley.
22.
Gilbreath, B., & Montesino, M. (2006). Expanding the HRD role: Improving employee well-being and organizational performance. Human Resource Development International, 9, 563-571.
23.
Green, F. (2006). Demanding work: The paradox of job quality in the affluent economy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University.
24.
Harter, J.K., Schmidt, F.L., & Hayes, T.L. (2002). Business-unit-level relationship between employee satisfaction, employee engagement, and business outcomes: A meta-analysis . Journal of Applied Psychology, 87, 268-279.
25.
Head, J., Stansfeld, S.A., Siegrist, J. (2004). The psychosocial work environment and alcohol dependence: A prospective study. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 61, 219-224.
26.
Heaney C.A., Israel, B.A., Schurman, S.J., Baker, E.A., & House, J.S. (1993). Industrial relations, worksite stress reduction, and employee well-being: A participatory action research investigation. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 14, 495-510.
27.
Hemingway, M.A., & Smith, C.S. (1999). Organizational climate and occupational stressors as predictors of withdrawal behaviours and injuries in nurses. Journal of Occupational & OrganizationalPsychology, 72, 285-299.
Hoobler, J.M., & Brass, D.J. (2006). Abusive supervision and family undermining as displaced aggression. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91, 1125-1133.
30.
Hwang, C. (2006, July). Is stress contagious?Ladies Home Journal, pp. 21-24.
31.
Israel, B.A., Schurman, S.J., & House, J.S. (1989). Action research on occupational stress: Involving workers as researchers. International Journal of Health Services , 19, 135-155.
32.
Jex, S.M. (1998). Stress and job performance: Theory, research, and implications for managerial practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
33.
Joint ILO/WHO Committee on Occupational Health. ( 1986). Psychosocial factors at work: Recognition and control (Occupational Safety and Health Series No. 56). Geneva , Switzerland: International Labour Office.
34.
Karasek, R., & Theorell, T. (1990). Healthy work: Stress, productivity, and the reconstruction of working life. New York: Basic Books.
35.
Kasl, S.V. (1992). Surveillance of psychological disorders in the workplace. In G. P. Keita & S. L. Sauter (Eds.), Work and well-being: An agenda for the 1990s (pp. 73-107). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
36.
Kavanaugh, J. (2005). Stress and performance: A review of the literature and its applicability to the military. Santa Monica, CA : RAND.
37.
Kristof, A.L. (1996). Person-organization fit: An integrative review of its conceptualizations, measurement, and implications. Personnel Psychology, 49, 1-49.
38.
Kristof-Brown, A.L., Jansen, K.J., & Colbert, A.E. (2002). A policy-capturing study of the simultaneous effects of fit with jobs, groups, and organizations. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87, 985-993.
39.
Landy, F.J. (1992). Work design and stress. In G. P. Keita & S. L. Sauter (Eds.), Work and well-being: An agenda for the 1990s (pp. 119-158). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association .
40.
Lauver, K., & Kristof-Brown, A. (2001). Distinguishing between employees' perceptions of person-job and person-organization fit. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 59, 454-470.
41.
Levinson, H., & Weinbaum, L. (1984). The impact of organization on mental health. In M. F. R. Kets de Vries (Ed.), The irrational executive: Psychoanalytic explorations in management (pp. 249-263). New York: International Universities.
42.
Markus, H., & Nurius, P. (1987). Possible selves: The interface between motivation and the self-concept. In K. Yardley & T. Honess (Eds.), Self and identity: Psychosocial perspectives (pp. 157-172). Chichester , UK: Wiley.
43.
Marsick, V.J., & Watkins, K.E. (1997). Case study research methods. In R. A. Swanson & E. F. Holton III (Eds.), Human resource development research handbook: Linking research and practice (pp. 138-157). San Francisco : Berrett-Koehler.
44.
McDonald, K.S., & Hite, L.M. (2005). Reviving the relevance of career development in human resource development. Human Resource Development Review , 4, 418-439.
45.
McDonald, K.S., Hite, L.M., & Gilbreath, B. (2002). Nonsalaried US employees' careers: An exploratory study. Career Development International, 7, 398-406.
46.
Mikkelsen, A., & Gundersen, M. (2003). The effect of a participatory organizational intervention on work environment, job stress, and subjective health complaints. International Journal of StressManagement, 10, 91-110.
47.
Moos, R.H. (1988). Psychosocial factors in the workplace. In S. Fisher & J. Reason (Eds.), Handbook of life stress (pp. 193-209). Chichester, UK: Wiley.
48.
Moos, R.H. (1994). Work Environment Scale: Development, applications, research (3rd ed.). Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.
49.
Morgan, G. (2006). Images of organization. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
50.
Murphy, L.R. (1988). Workplace interventions for stress reduction and prevention. In C. L. Cooper & R. Payne (Eds.), Causes, coping and consequences of stress at work (pp. 301-339). Chichester , UK: Wiley.
51.
Murphy, L.R. (2003). Stress management at work: Secondary prevention of stress. In M. J. Schabracq, J. A. M. Winnubst, & C. L. Cooper (Eds.), The handbook of work and health psychology (2nd ed., pp. 191-206). Chichester , UK: Wiley.
52.
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. (2002). The changing organization of work and the safety and health of working people: Knowledge gaps and research directions (DHHS Publication No. 2002-116). Cincinnati, OH: Author.
53.
Ormond, W.E., Keown-Gerrard, J.L., & Kline, T. (2003). Stress audits as a precursor to stress management workshops: An evaluation of the process. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 14, 111-116.
54.
Oyserman, D., & Markus, H.R. (1990). Possible selves and delinquency. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59, 112-125.
55.
Parkes, K.R., & Sparkes, T.J. (1998). Organizational interventions to reduce work stress: Are they effective? Sudbury, UK: HSE Books.
56.
Pasmore, W., & Friedlander, F. (1982). An action-research program for increasing employee involvement in problem solving. Administrative Science Quarterly,27, 343-362.
57.
Quick, J.C., Murphy, L.R., Hurrell, J.J., Jr., & Orman, D. (1992). The value of work, the risk of distress, and the power of prevention. In J. C. Quick, L. Murphy, & J. J. Hurrell, Jr. (Eds.), Stress & well-being at work: Assessments and interventions for occupational mental health (pp. 3-13). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
58.
Resource Systems Limited. (2007). What does the PMI measure? Retrieved September 14, 2006, from http://www.resourcesystems.co.uk/pmi/pmi5.htm
59.
Russ-Eft, D. (2001). Workload, stress, and human resource development . Human Resource Development Quarterly, 12, 1-3.
60.
Sauter, S., Murphy, L., Colligan, M., Swanson, N., Hurrell, J., Jr., Scharf, F., Jr., et al. (1999). Stress . . . at work (DHHS Publication No. 99-101). Retrieved April 4, 2007, from http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/stresswk.html
61.
Schabracq, M.J., Cooper, C.L., & Winnubst, J.A.M. (2003). Introduction. In M. J. Schabracq, J. A. M. Winnubst, & C. L. Cooper (Eds.), The handbook of work and health psychology (2nd ed., pp. 1-6). Chichester, UK: Wiley .
62.
Scroggins, W.A. (2003). Selection, meaningful work and employee retention: A self concept based approach to person-job fit. Dissertation Abstracts International, 64(5), 1754A. (UMI No. 5779007)
63.
Scroggins, W.A., & Benson, P.G. (2007). Self-concept-job fit: Expanding the person—job fit construct and implications for retention management. In D. J. Svyantek & E. McChrystal (Eds.), Refining familiar constructs: Alternative views in OB, HR, and I/O (pp. 209-229). Charlotte, NC: Information Age.
64.
Spector, P. (2006). Stress at work. In J. H. Greenhaus & G. A. Callanan (Eds.), Encyclopedia of career development (pp. 771-777). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
65.
Sturman, G. (2002). If you knew . . . who you were, you could be who you are! Your personal career profile. Bedford, NY: Bierman House.
66.
Taris, T.W., & Feu, J.A. (2004). Learning and strain among newcomers: A three-wave study on the effects of job demands and control. Journal of Psychology, 138, 543-563.
67.
Terra, N. (1995). The prevention of job stress by redesigning jobs and implementing self-regulating teams. In L. R. Murphy, J. J. Hurrell, Jr., S. L. Sauter, & G. P. Keita (Eds.), Job stress interventions (pp. 265-281). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association .
68.
Ulrich, D. (1997). Human resource champions: The next agenda for adding value and delivering results. Boston: Harvard Business School.
69.
Wadsworth, Y. (1998). What is participatory action research? (Action Research International Paper 2). Retrieved July 26, 2001, from http://www.scu.edu.au/schools/gcm/ar/ari/p-ywadsworth98.html
70.
Werbel, J.D., & Johnson, D.J. (2001). The use of person—group fit for employment selection: A missing link in person—environment fit. Human Resource Management, 40, 227-240.
71.
Weyers, S., Peter, R., Boggild, H., Jeppesen, J., & Siegrist, J. (2006). Psychosocial work stress is associated with poor self-rated health in Danish nurses: A test of the effort—reward imbalance model. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, 20, 26-34.
72.
Whyte, W.F., Greenwood, D.J., & Lazes, P. (1991). Participatory action research: Through practice to science in social research. In W. F. Whyte (Ed.), Participatory action research (pp. 19-55). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
73.
Williams, S., & Cooper, L. (1999). Dangerous waters: Strategies for improving wellbeing at work. Chichester, UK: Wiley.
74.
Williams, S., & Cooper, L. (2002). Managing workplace stress: A best practice blueprint. Chichester, UK: Wiley.
75.
Zaccaro, S.J., & Riley, A.W. (1987). Stress, coping, and organizational effectiveness . In W. Riley & S. J. Zaccaro (Eds.), Occupational stress and organizational effectiveness (pp. 1-28). New York: Praeger.
