The role of employees' stress mindset for well-being, attention, and motivation: Examining short- and longer-term effects and organizational boundary conditions

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Anne Casper
• Subject Area: Social Psychology, Industrial and Organisational Psychology
• Term: since 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 519602716

The main goal of this research is to examine short- and longer-term psychological consequences of a stress mindset intervention as well as identifying boundary conditions with regard to the organizational context. More specifically, this project contributes to the literature on job stress and stress management in several ways. We address the questions (1) why a stress mindset intervention can improve employee well-being and (2) when, that is under which conditions, a stress-mindset intervention is particularly effective in the work context. With regard to the first question, this project advances the literature on job stress in general and the stress mindset in particular by examining short- and longer-term affective, attentional, and motivational consequences of a more positive stress mindset. Thus, this project contributes to knowledge on job stress by improving understanding of how changes in employees’ stress-related cognitions cause better affective, attentional, and motivational experiences at work. With regard to the second question, this research adds to the literature by examining opportunities for development, task significance, and supervisor support for recovery as organizational resources that moderate the intervention’s effects. Thus, the present research contributes to the stress-mindset literature by examining organizational factors that might impact the degree to which a positive stress mindset can unfold its beneficial consequences. While providing insight into these questions is of great theoretical importance, it is also of practical importance because these research results will provide guidance on how and when a stress mindset intervention is effective.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Finland, Israel, Switzerland
• Cooperation Partners: Professor Dr. Laurenz L. Meier; Professorin Dr. Anne Mäkikangas; Professorin Shani Pindek