Predicting general mental health and exhaustion: the role of emotion and cognition components of personal and collective work-identity

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate relationships between emotion and cognition components of personal and collective work-identity and self-reported general mental health and exhaustion, in Swedish teachers (N = 768). In line with our predictions, we showed that the emotion component of personal work-identity and the cognition component of collective work-identity associated positively with general mental health and negatively with exhaustion. The reverse result was found, however, for the cognition component of personal work-identity and emotion component of collective work-identity. In general, all this indicates that person-work bonding might, to some degree, account for general mental health and exhaustion in employees. In particular, the findings suggest that general mental health and exhaustion may vary symmetrically across the: (1) Type of person-work bonding (personal vs. collective work-identity); and (2) Type of psychological component (emotion vs. cognition) involved in personal- and collective work-identity.

Teachers' Personal and Collective Work-Identity Predicts Exhaustion and Work Motivation: Mediating Roles of Psychological Job Demands and Resources

“…Personal and collective work identifications constitute two levels of work-identity, where stronger work-identity in general is associated with stronger work-related behaviors, norms, and attitudes (Riketta, 2005 ; Riketta and Van Dick, 2005 ; Lee et al, 2015 ; Nordhall and Knez, 2018 ), better mental health and lower psychological distress (Haslam et al, 2009 ; Jetten et al, 2012 ; Haslam, 2014 ; Steffens et al, 2016 ; Nordhall et al, 2018 ). However, the impact of work-identity on work-related outcomes has been reported to a large extent by researchers working within a social identity perspective, relating to the collective level of work-identity, such as work-organizations (Riketta and Van Dick, 2005 ; Haslam et al, 2009 ; Jetten et al, 2012 ), and by that neglecting the personal level of this phenomenon (Knez, 2016 ).…”

“…However, the impact of work-identity on work-related outcomes has been reported to a large extent by researchers working within a social identity perspective, relating to the collective level of work-identity, such as work-organizations (Riketta and Van Dick, 2005 ; Haslam et al, 2009 ; Jetten et al, 2012 ), and by that neglecting the personal level of this phenomenon (Knez, 2016 ). For example, both personal and collective work-identity have recently been shown to predict employees' mental health, exhaustion, and work motivation (Nordhall and Knez, 2018 ; Nordhall et al, 2018 ). In consequence, the overarching theoretical framework of the present study is 2-fold: (1) Work-identity treated at a personal level (autobiographical memory perspective); and (2) Work-identity treated at a collective/organizational level (social identity perspective), comprising the variables of psychological job demands and resources.…”

“…Another important concept related to teachers' work motivation and mental health is work-identity (Nordhall and Knez, 2018 ; Nordhall et al, 2018 ). Here, individuals categorize and define themselves in terms of individual attributes, encompassing personal self/identity (Hogg and Terry, 2000 ; Klein, 2014 ; Knez, 2016 ; Knez et al, 2019 ).…”

“…Finally, the cognitive component of collective work-identity (in terms of incorporation, identification and assimilation) is suggested to precede the emotional component (in terms of pride, esteem, and affective commitment) when collective work-identity, is accountable for psychological wellness at work (see Mael and Ashforth, 1992 ; Keyes, 2005 ; Van Knippenberg and Sleebos, 2006 ; Howard et al, 2016 ; Van den Broeck et al, 2016 ; Nordhall and Knez, 2018 ; Nordhall et al, 2018 ).…”

“…Work-related outcomes, such as motivation and justice at work, may link differently to the emotion- and cognition components of personal and collective work-identity (Nordhall and Knez, 2018 ). In addition, Nordhall et al ( 2018 ) showed that when cognitive processes increase in personal work-identity and when emotional processes increase in the collective work-identity, teachers report a lower general mental health and, consequently, higher levels of exhaustion (see Saboonchi et al, 2012 ; Nordhall et al, 2018 ). Thus, when teachers think more regarding their personal work-identification and when they feel more regarding their collective work-identification, they feel mentally worse and are more exhausted.…”