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Bob Sinclair
Professor of Psychology
My current research interests.
Economic Stress
Economic Stress and Occupational Health
Annual surveys of Americans conducted by the American Psychological Association show that money, work, and the economy are among the very top sources of stress. Although IO psychologists have studied pay and pay satisfaction for decades, relatively less research has considered the occupational health implications of economic stressors. A growing body of research has investigated job insecurity and unemployment, but relatively less research has focused on money and money related perceptions. I have three broad sets of research interests in this area.
First, in my opinion, studies of financial issues in applied psychology have been hampered by the use of relatively simplistic measures for what can be very complicated constructs. My research team is currently conducting a series of studies on perceived income adequacy - a construct we believe better captures the subjective aspects of financial stress than many existing measures. I also am interested in the relative utility of efforts to improve objective financial measures by, for example, including additional considerations such as future financial expectations, debt, childhood poverty, and income trajectories over time.
Second, I am interested in how financial concerns influence one's career development and work outcomes. I have begun a program of research looking at the implications of debt for job attitudes and engagement and hope to extend that research in the near future to study how student loan debt influences students' transitions from college into careers. I am also interested in the unique experiences of low income workers and how one's financial history (e.g., in childhood) influences one's workplace experiences as an adult. I also have become increasingly interested in both the general implications of low income work for occupational health and how low income workers differ (in psychological terms) from other workers.
Third, I am interested in how the local economic/community context affects workers' occupational health. Three examples of my research include (1) a study examining whether the health-related effects of unemployment differ across communities with different kinds of access to resources and (2) a study examining how nurses' attachment to their local community affects their job-related attitudes and behaviors, and (3) a study on the effects of societal inequity on occupational health and job attitudes and behaviors. I believe there are many opportunities for occupational health researchers to make scientifically important and socially meaningful discoveries by merging both the methods and techniques of applied psychology with the knowledge generated from other disciplines such as economics and sociology.
Health
and Safety Climate
Healthy Workplace Climates
In general, climate refers to workers' perceptions about the relative priority of various organizational priorities (e.g., quality, customer service, innovation). This literature shows that workers' adapt their behavior to their perceptions of what is valued, expected, and/or rewarded by others in the organization (e.g., supervisors, coworkers, top management). In relation to occupational health, a large and steadily growing body of research has demonstrated that organizations with a stronger positive safety climate tend to have fewer accidents and injuries. However, relatively less research has focused on physical or mental health as aspects of organizational climate. My recent research in this area investigates whether workers distinguish stress-related aspects of organizational climate from those pertaining to safety. My other recent publications and work in progress examines the role of communication in developing and maintaining a strong positive safety climate as well as the role of stigma in climate-related behavior (i.e., workers' perceptions that failing to engage in certain kinds of safety-related behavior will be punished by others in the organization. I have been interested in the implications of stigma for workers' willingness to report safety hazards and to seek help for mental health-related concerns.
The Changing Employment Relationship
The Changing Employment Relationhip
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What factors influence the relationship between workers and the organizations that employ them? How have these factors changed over time (e.g., gig work, non-standard work schedules, changing economic circumstances)? What are their implications for occupational health issues such as resilience and well-being at work, work-family conflict, organizational commitment, and employee turnover/retention? I have studied these issues in a variety of occupational settings, including with nurses through a project called the Oregon Nurse Retention Project (ONRP: www.onrp.webnode.com), with emergency physicians through a collaboration with with Clemson colleagues and staff at our local healthcare system, and with military personal and their families through collaboration with the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. A few examples of these studies over the years include union members' perceptions about their relationship with their union and safety behavior, factors influencing ride-share drivers' occupational health, and research on the antecedents and consequences of occupational and organizational commitment. I hope to continue this research in the future, examining topics such as the relationship between social inequality and occupational/organizational commitment, the resurgence of the labor movement, and the implications of job insecurity for personal and social well-being.
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Just a sample of my work. To see more or discuss possible work >>
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