English Summaries (04/2022)
Development of study-related well-being among Finnish higher education students from the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic to the beginning of the second wave
The purpose of this study was to identify different groups in terms of level and changes of study engagement and exhaustion among Finnish higher education students during the lockdown and period of remote learning caused by the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. A person-oriented approach was applied to identify the groups. It was also investigated whether the identified groups differed in self-efficacy and sense of belonging. The study utilized six-month follow-up data, collected from 612 higher education students of Tampere Universities in April 2020 (T1), June 2020 (T2) and October 2020 (T3). Three groups with different levels of study-related well-being were identified: engaged (38%), engaged-exhausted (36%) and exhausted (26%) students. The temporal changes in study engagement and exhaustion were parallel in all groups: students’ levels of study engagement increased between April and June and decreased back to their baseline between June and October. Students’ levels of exhaustion, on the other hand, remained the same between April and June and increased between June and October. Both self-efficacy and sense of belonging differentiated the groups: they were at the highest level among engaged students and the lowest among exhausted students. The results indicate that supporting students’ personal and social resources plays an important role in promoting students’ well-being during and after the coronavirus crisis.
Keywords: higher education students, study engagement, exhaustion, COVID-19, self-efficacy, belongingness, person-oriented approach, Job Demands-Resources Model
Upper secondary school students’ climate change-related well-being and behavior profiles
Adolescents around the world are feeling an increasing amount of climate change-related worries, anxiousness, uncertainty and insecurity. The well-being of adolescents is connected to their tendencies to engage in pro-environmental behavior (PB). The aim of this study is to answer two research questions: 1) What kind of climate change-related well-being and behavior profiles can be identified amongst adolescents in upper secondary school; 2) How do the profiles differ based on background and general well-being? The data was collected from 886 18–20 year-old Finnish upper secondary school students living in the capital area. Three profiles were found by using latent profile analysis: overburdened by climate change (14%), climate anxious ones (42%) and de-emphasizers of climate change (44%). Those who were overburdened by climate change scored highest on climate change-related emotional exhaustion and inadequacy. They also engaged more often in PB. Young adults belonging to the climate anxious group felt climate change-related inadequacy and engaged in PB, but they were not emotionally exhausted by climate change. De-emphasizers of climate change did not feel climate change-related exhaustion or inadequacy. They did not engage in PB. The overburdened group reported the lowest self-esteem and more depression symptoms than those belonging to the other two profiles.
Keywords: climate change-related well-being, pro-environmental behavior, adolescents and climate change, climate change
Psychological safety and employees’ innovative behavior
Today’s working life is no longer as stable and predictable as it was in the past. Employees are therefore required to develop themselves and learn new things. This often takes place in a complex and multilevel organizational system where cooperation, open communication and courage to experiment with new things are central. Psychological safety is required for employees to have the courage to bring out their ideas and try new things. The aim of this study was to examine the level of psychological safety in the Finnish working life and its association with employees’ innovative behavior. The data was drawn from the Quality of Work Life Survey of Statistics Finland from 2018. Those who worked in teams, had a shared task and were able to plan their own work were included in this study (n=3,028). Logistic regression models were used in the analyses. According to the results, a high level of psychological safety was significantly associated with employees’ innovative behavior when it was assessed with the number of initiatives taken (OR=1.53, 95% CI 1.31, 1.78) and the possibility to apply new ideas (OR=3.28, 95% CI 2.76, 3.89). The results were similar in subgroups stratified by gender, professional status, predictability or digitality of work, and did not change essentially when age, gender or professional status were adjusted for in the models. Based on the results of this study, promoting psychological safety is important for organizational innovation in different professions and different types of work.
Keywords: working life, psychological safety, innovative behavior, team, leader