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Published in: BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 1/2018

Open Access 01-12-2018 | Research article

Musculoskeletal disorders among preschool teachers: analyzing the relationships among relational demands, work meaning, and intention to leave the job

Authors: Daniela Converso, Sara Viotti, Ilaria Sottimano, Vincenza Cascio, Gloria Guidetti

Published in: BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders | Issue 1/2018

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Abstract

Background

Based on the conservation of resource (COR) theory by Hobfoll, the aim of the present study was to test whether the relationships among relational demands, work meaning, and intention to leave vary as a function of the presence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs).

Method

The study was cross-sectional and non-randomized. Analyses were carried out on a dataset consisting of 429 preschool teachers, who filled out a self-report questionnaire. Of them, 238 reported a MSD diagnosis and 191 were free form MSDs.

Results

As expected, among those who reported MSDs, relational demands were significantly associated to intention to leave, and this relationship was mediated by work meaning; moreover, among those free from MSDs, no significant paths among the three variables were found.

Conclusion

In general, results showed that suffering from MSDs impairs workers’ ability to face to relational demands, thus activating a spiral that encompasses diminished work meaning and intention to leave. Practical implications of results will be discussed in the paper.
Footnotes
1
Items of this subscales were reported in the following document: http://​www.​arbejdsmiljofors​kning.​dk/​~/​media/​Spoergeskemaer/​copsoq/​english-copsoq-2-ed-2003-pdf.​pdf. Last access: 4th May, 2018.
 
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Metadata
Title
Musculoskeletal disorders among preschool teachers: analyzing the relationships among relational demands, work meaning, and intention to leave the job
Authors
Daniela Converso
Sara Viotti
Ilaria Sottimano
Vincenza Cascio
Gloria Guidetti
Publication date
01-12-2018
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders / Issue 1/2018
Electronic ISSN: 1471-2474
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12891-018-2081-z

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