Researchers at the University of British Columbia invite men and women to participate in a ground-breaking research project examining how conversational patterns in the workplace contribute to the health, well-being, and career satisfaction of professional engineers. Volunteers will complete a series of online surveys over the course of two working weeks. In appreciation of their time, participants will be entered into a raffle for 1 in 50 chance of winning a Kindle Fire or $150. Those who complete the final survey at the end of two weeks also receive a $10 Starbucks gift card.
To sign up for the study, follow this link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/H9RT8HH. The first survey takes less than 5 minutes.
Detailed Project Description:
Research in the social and organizational sciences reveals that our social context can have a large but often under-appreciated effect on our day-to-day experience of stress and life satisfaction. When these effects are prolonged or chronic, they can tax our cardiovascular system and take a toll on both our physical and mental health. This project will examine two key aspects of how your workplace might counteract daily stress and contribute to your health and well-being: the policies that promote a safe, rewarding, and inclusive environment and the interactions you have with others during your day.
To address the above issues, the University of British Columbia needs your help. If you would like to volunteer, here is what we will ask you to do:
- You will complete an online daily diary survey over the course of two working weeks. Each survey will be sent to you over email and will take only 10-15 minutes to complete each evening.
- You will also be asked to complete two slightly longer online surveys at the beginning and end of this two week project. These surveys will ask you a series of questions about your experiences in engineering and your perceptions of the interpersonal environment and policies in your workplace.
- We will ask you for demographic information such as your age, gender, and ethnicity and you will complete validated measures of general health, life satisfaction, and career engagement.
- A subsample of participants working in the greater Vancouver, B.C, region will be invited to take part in a health monitoring arm of the study. Those who choose to participate in this part of the study will be asked to wear an ambulatory blood pressure monitor for two days during the two week survey period. The Oscar 2 ambulatory blood pressure monitor is designed so that it can be worn without restricting user’s movement during the normal working day and will allow us to identify correlations between physical stress indicators and other aspects of your workplace experience.
It is important to note that confidentiality will be maintained. All participants will be identified through a confidential participant ID and not by name. All data from participants will be coded and matched by this number. Participants’ data will be kept completely confidential and only members of the research team will have access to these data. Your place of employment will not have access to your data or responses. Participation in this survey will have no bearing whatsoever on your status or evaluation at your place of employment.
Participants who complete the final survey component will receive a $10 Starbucks gift card. In addition, participants will be entered into a raffle for one of 6 Kindle Fires (1 in 50 chance of winning). Participants who complete the ambulatory blood pressure component will be entered into an additional raffle for two $150 cash prices (1 in 20 chance of winning) and will receive a report of their blood pressure data.
If you are interested in volunteering, please complete the following short survey at the below link. If your responses to this survey make you eligible to participate in the study, we will email you with more information. Please note that not everyone who completes this initial survey will be eligible to participate. If you have further questions about the study, please contact: Project Manager, William Hall @ wmhall@psych.ubc.ca or Principal Investigator, Toni Schmader @ tschmader@psych.ubc.ca
To sign up for the study, follow this link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/H9RT8HH
FAQ
Click Here to download a list of FAQ’s about the research project
