Title
Team spirit makes the difference: The interactive effects of team work engagement and organizational constraints during a military operation on psychological outcomes afterwards
Author
Boermans, S.M.
Kamphuis, W.
Delahaij, R.
van den Berg, C.
Euwema, M.C.
Publication year
2014
Abstract
This article prospectively explores the effects of collective team work engagement and organizational constraints during military deployment on individual-level psychological outcomes afterwards. Participants were 971 Dutch peacekeepers within 93 teams who were deployed between the end of 2008 and beginning of 2010, for an average of 4 months, in the International Security Assistance Force. Surveys were administered 2 months into deployment and 6 months afterwards. Multi-level regression analyses demonstrated that team work engagement during deployment moderated the relation between organizational constraints and post-deployment fatigue symptoms. Team members reported less fatigue symptoms after deployment if they were part of highly engaged teams during deployment, particularly when concerns about organizational constraints during deployment were high. In contrast, low team work engagement was related to more fatigue symptoms, particularly when concerns about organizational constraints were high. Contrary to expectations, no effects for team work engagement or organizational constraints were found for post-traumatic growth. The present study highlights that investing in team work engagement is important for those working in highly demanding jobs. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Subject
Human
TPI - Training & Performance Innovations HOI - Human Behaviour & Organisational Innovations
BSS - Behavioural and Societal Sciences
Defence Research
Psychology
Defence, Safety and Security
Team work engagement
Organizational constraints
Longitudinal research
Fatigue symptoms
Post-traumatic growth
Post-traumatic growth
Army
Military deployment
Outcome assessment
Psychotrauma
Teamwork
To reference this document use:
http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:2434f083-2d1a-442c-81c9-8ac28e9ff1a5
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/smi.2621
TNO identifier
520117
Source
Stress and Health, 30 (5), 386-396
Bibliographical note
Special issue paper
Document type
article