Handling Time in Occupational Stress and Well-Being Research: Considerations, Examples, and Recommendations

Abstract

In this chapter, the authors consider the role of time for research in occupational stress and well-being. First, temporal issues in studying occupational health longitudinally, focusing in particular on the role of time lags and their implications for observed results (e.g., effect detectability), analyses (e.g., handling unequal durations between measurement occasions), and interpretation (e.g., result generalizability, theoretical revision) were discussed. Then, time-based assumptions when modeling lagged effects in occupational health research, providing a focused review of how research has handled (or ignored) these assumptions in the past, and the relative benefits and drawbacks of these approaches were discussed. Finally, recommendations for readers, an accessible tutorial (including example data and code), and discussion of a new structural equation modeling technique, continuous time structural equation modeling, that can “handle” time in longitudinal studies of occupational health were provided.

Citation

Rauvola, R.S., Rudolph, C.W. and Zacher, H. (2021), "Handling Time in Occupational Stress and Well-Being Research: Considerations, Examples, and Recommendations", Harms, P.D., Perrewé, P.L. and Chang, C.-H.(D). (Ed.) Examining and Exploring the Shifting Nature of Occupational Stress and Well-Being (Research in Occupational Stress and Well Being, Vol. 19), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 105-135. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-355520210000019006