Tag Archives: psychology

Hybrid entrepreneurship better protects mental well-being

December 16, 2022 Lisa Baker, Editor, UK Business News

Entrepreneurs who work in a hybrid mode can learn to protect their psychological well-being, new research from the University of Cologne reveals.

Over a period of 29 years, the researchers Johanna Kuske, Matthias Schulz, and Christian Schwens investigated entrepreneurs’ psychological well-being in the UK across various stages of early business development.

‘Hybrid entrepreneurs’ build their own business ventures whilst still maintaining a wage paying job, to support themselves, as opposed to only focussing on their business start-up.

This combination allows hybrid entrepreneurs to experience entrepreneurial stress and try out different strategies to cope with it — a learning experience, which benefits their psychological well-being when reaching the implementation stage of their business idea, in which they leave behind their other work.

This beneficial learning effect of hybrid entrepreneurship, however, depends on entrepreneurs’ personal circumstances: According to the findings, it is only those entrepreneurs who did not face any caring responsibilities and could therefore fully focus on learning, that benefit in term of psychological well-being.

Thus, the study suggests that entrepreneurs can learn to be well even before fully committing to their entrepreneurial venture. And that it is important to make sure that their personal circumstances provide them with enough freedom to learn from their experience.

News

Elections can change social norms, say researchers

April 28, 2022 Lisa Baker, Editor, UK Business News

Elections can change people’s perception of what is ethically right and wrong, according to new research by the University of Cologne.

The study, conducted by Arno Apffelstaedt and Christoph Oslislo together with Jana Freundt from the University of Fribourg, investigated whether and how social norms can change as a result of election outcomes.

They found that majority-elected rules can shift a person’s moral compass, and can cause actions that were once judged as ‘socially inappropriate’ to be considered socially acceptable.

As a consequence, elections can not only alter existing norms and erode previous consensus about what is considered appropriate, but they can also lead people to adapt their actual behavior.

Interestingly, these effects can even be observed after a flawed election in which voters were offered bribes, asked to pay a “poll tax” or excluded from the election.

The researchers say one example could be the aftermath of the Brexit vote in 2016, when the number of hate crimes rose sharply across the UK. In line with the study’s findings, many observers attribute this to a Brexit-induced increase in the social acceptability of xenophobic views and actions.

As a result of the Brexit referendum, “anti-immigrant and anti-foreigner rhetoric had become ‘normalised’ ”, making Britain effectively “a more racist country”, the United Nations, for instance, claim. Similar claims were made after the election of Donald Trump as president of the United States that same year.

In the experiment, the researchers asked participants to estimate the degree of social approval of different actions in different hypothetical situations.

Participants were incentivised to provide a rating that is identical with the most common rating among the other participants. With this, the researchers could directly measure changes in social norms as a result of election outcomes.

“Our experimental design allows us to directly elicit social norms and thus examine the immediate response of norms to elections. Using a well-established norm elicitation method, we highlight the role of shifts in the social appropriateness of actions in bringing about behavioral change. To our knowledge, our paper is the first to directly measure changes in social norms in response to the election of a behavioral rule.” says Christoph Oslislo.

The researchers emphasize the importance of democratic procedures in general, and elections in particular, for the effect they have on social norms.

The research was published in the Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization.

News

More than 1 in 10 employees willing to use drugs to cope with job demands

July 20, 2021 Lisa Baker, Editor, UK Business News

Over 10 percent of employees are willing to take prescription drugs to cope with strain from work, according to new research from the University of Cologne. Three percent reported that they already did so in the past.

The researchers, Professors Myriam Baum, Sebastian Sattler and Mareike Reimann, investigated employee willingness to use prescription drugs to enhance their cognitive function as a response to strain.

They found that job demands, such as agreed working time, overtime, shift work, emotional demands, job insecurity and leadership responsibility, as well as scarcity of resources such as lacking social support, increased strain – making it more likely for employees to rely on drugs for cognitive enhancement.

The researchers used data from a representative survey of employees in Germany, which analysed various job demands and resources, levels of perceived stress and willingness to use drugs for non-medical purposes.

“Our study suggests that respondents who perceive more stress hope that taking prescription drugs is sufficient to help them cope with pressure, and therefore increase or maintain their brain function,” says Dr. Sattler.

The study also found that being a woman, higher in age, and a higher level of education also increases the willingness to take drugs to cope with strain.

“Although employees might experience such drug use as beneficial, they also risk side effects and longterm health consequences, while at the same time their colleagues might perceive such behavior as getting an unfair edge”, says Dr. Sattler.The researchers hope that these results delivered new insights into mechanisms behind nonmedical prescription drug use that can be used to prevent such behaviour and potential negative health consequences.

Sattler says that “employers’, physicians’, and at-risk individuals’ awareness should be raised that resources such as active strain management, resilience training, or job crafting can help to handle stress and increase work performance”.

The research paper was published in the journal Current Psychology.

Please visit: https://wiso.uni-koeln.de/de/

Children and Childcare, News

Whether a mother works or not has little impact on their child’s behaviour, say researchers

March 26, 2021 Lisa Baker, Editor, UK Business News

Mothers who work full-time or part-time in the first six years of their child’s life have little impact on the child’s behaviour, according to new research by the University of Cologne, contrary to what many believe.

The study, conducted by Professor Marita Jacob and Dr Michael Kühhirt, investigated the link between maternal employment history in the first six years after birth and child behavioural problems at around age eight in Scotland.

They found that children whose mothers have spent more years in full time and part time employment actually display fewer behaviour problems at around eight years old.

However, these results are mitigated by other factors, such as economic resources, family structure, maternal health, child development and neighbourhood characteristics– this means that mothers who work do not impact their child’s behaviour at all, but these other factors do.

The research also found that children from disadvantaged households, measured by a lack of university education in mothers, are not at greater risks of behavioural difficulties if their mothers are engaged in paid work.

This means that directly addressing maternal employment participation through maternal leave policies or welfare-to-work policies does not harm children’s social and emotional development. But it may also not be an effective strategy to reduce child disadvantages and promote social mobility.

“Policies that aim at establishing and maintaining a positive child-rearing environment, for example providing high-quality childcare and stimulating social and cognitive learning, or growing up in secure neighbourhoods might be more successful in mitigating social inequalities in children’s development,” says Professor Jacob.

The research has been published in Longitudinal and Life Course Studies (LINK).

COVID-19, News

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF ADHERING TO COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS

November 24, 2020 Lisa Baker, Editor, UK Business News

Dr Lynda Shaw, neuroscientist, business psychologist and change specialist, considers the psychology behind adhering to Covid-19 restrictions

Being under Covid-19 related social restrictions for most of the year, now being back in national lockdown with infection rates spiralling out of control again, the long-term reality of Covid-19 is a frightening and unknown prospect. There is in addition a lot of confusion and restriction fatigue, but putting aside any political frustrations, why do we struggle to adhere to the guidelines and rules and what can we do to help?

1. The long-term reality… Whilst there have been periods in which restrictions were eased, our freedoms have been curtailed in a more permanent than originally thought way, leaving many of us feeling overwhelmed and disheartened. Most difficult of all is not knowing what is going to happen next and when this unprecedented time will be behind us. For now, living in the present and knowing that this isn’t forever may be the mindset that will help many of us get through.

2. Not naturally compliant… Unlike other societies around the world where they take their leader’s word as law, we are more likely to openly question our politicians. At the beginning of lockdown, adherence to restrictions amongst the Brits was very high, but increasing frustration and feelings of defeat of those who have been adhering to the rules means they too may start taking increased risks.

3. Lack of trust… Trust is essential in difficult times, but trust is at an all-time low. Brits don’t trust that their jobs, their health or that of their families are safe. There is also a lack of trust in the leaders making the decisions that are affecting all our futures. If the trust isn’t there when we are being told to do something, then the rules are less likely to be adhered to. Honesty, transparency, and being authentic, timely and decisive are key.

4. Economic pressures… are practical barriers to adherence to rules. You are more likely to take risks if you are struggling with money and have a sense of personal unfairness.

5. Weighing up the cost. When deciding to embark on any major health treatment, we need a reason to believe the treatment is helpful even if the side effects are unpleasant or reduce quality of life or we feel anxious about it. We have to know the benefits outweigh risks. In the case of Covid-19 there is a split between focusing on public health versus the effect on the economy and other areas of physical and mental health. Focusing on the benefits rather than the side effects will help.

6. Confusion. Using the same analogy, equally many of us are confused about when and how much of the treatment is required. Because Covid-19 is a new disease we still lack knowledge and fake news, changing opinions and confusion means compliance will naturally be lower. Good clear communication about what is expected and why is essential. We need to fully understand the rationale to agree to comply.

7. It won’t happen to me – Those of us who believe we are unlikely to be at risk of Covid-19 are less likely to comply with regulations although we are more likely to adhere to rules if we think it will affect us or a loved one. Avoid statistic overload as it can be exhausting.

8. Personal action – If you believe your personal action will have an impact then you are more likely to comply. The slogan “Stay at home. Protect the NHS. Save lives.” was effective at the start of the lockdown because it was clear and asked for action to be taken be each individual. Building a sense of unity is important as is understanding why this is personal to each of us.

9. It is a very divisive time…with Covid-19. Brexit, the US election and George Floyd’s murder amongst just a few enormous issues we currently face, which means that agreement to follow guidelines are at risk. By being aware and respectful and listening well and putting others first we can get through this time with greater ease.

10. Young Adults…feel both thoroughly fed up and are naturally inclined to put their own needs first, but as a generation they are extremely compassionate so we need to stop blaming them and focus on showing them why they are so important and how they can help.

To learn more, visit www.drlyndashaw.com

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