The impact of Perspective Taking on Coping and Work Engagement
The mediating effects of Problem-Focused Coping and Avoidant Coping
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51094/jxiv.1451Keywords:
Work Engagement,, Perspective Taking,, Problem-Focused coping,, Avoidance coping,, Mediating EffectAbstract
The present study examined the hypothesis that perspective-taking mediates problem-focused and avoidant coping and promotes work engagement. A structural analysis of covariance was conducted on 368 employees of a Japanese pharmaceutical company. The bootstrap test was used to examine indirect effects. The results showed that higher perspective-taking, which is the tendency to imagine the position and feelings of others, promotes work engagement through a process in which problem-solving coping strategies such as proactive problem-solving, consultation for solutions, and perspective-shifting are enhanced, while avoidance coping such as putting off problems is reduced. The hypothesis was supported. New findings that higher perspective taking makes workers' stress coping strategies more effective and promotes work engagement.
Conflicts of Interest Disclosure
The authors declare no conflict of interest.Downloads *Displays the aggregated results up to the previous day.
References
Bakker, A. B. (2011). An evidence-based model of work engagement. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 20(4), 265-269. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721411414534
Bakker, A. B., & Leiter, M. P. (2010). Where to go from here: Integration and future research on work engagement. Work engagement: A handbook of essential theory and research, 181-196.
Baron-Cohen, S., & Wheelwright, S. (2004). The empathy quotient: an investigation of adults with Asperger syndrome or high functioning autism, and normal sex differences. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 34, 163-175.
Bernstein, W. M., & Davis, M. H. (1982). Perspective-taking, self-consciousness, and accuracy in person perception. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 3(1), 1-19. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1207/s15324834basp0301_1
Cadamuro, A., Versari, A., Vezzali, L., Giovannini, D., & Trifiletti, E. (2015). Cognitive performance in the aftermath of a natural disaster: The role of coping strategies, theory of mind and peer social support. Child & Youth Care Forum,
Davis, M. H. (1983). Measuring individual differences in empathy: Evidence for a multidimensional approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 44(1), 113. https://doi.org/https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/0022-3514.44.1.113
Davis, M. H., & Kikuchi, A. (1999). Empathy : a social psychological approach. Kawashima Shoten. https://ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BA41057829 (Westview Press)
Dietvorst, R. C., Verbeke, W. J., Bagozzi, R. P., Yoon, C., Smits, M., & Van Der Lugt, A. (2009). A sales force–specific theory-of-mind scale: Tests of its validity by classical methods and functional magnetic resonance imaging. Journal of Marketing Research, 46(5), 653-668. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkr.46.5.653
Eisenberg, N., Fabes, R. A., Murphy, B., Karbon, M., Maszk, P., Smith, M., O'Boyle, C., & Suh, K. (1994). The relations of emotionality and regulation to dispositional and situational empathy-related responding. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66(4), 776. https://doi.org/https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/0022-3514.66.4.776
Eisenberg, N., & Miller, P. A. (1987). The relation of empathy to prosocial and related behaviors. Psychological Bulletin, 101(1), 91. https://doi.org/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/19598630
Feshbach, N. D. (1978). Studies of empathic behavior in children. Progress in Experimental Personality Research, 8, 1-47.
Folkman, S., & Lazarus, R. S. (1980). An analysis of coping in a middle-aged community sample. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 219-239. https://doi.org/https://www.jstor.org/stable/2136617
Folkman, S., & Lazarus, R. S. (1988). Coping as a mediator of emotion. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54(3), 466. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.54.3.466
Fonagy, P., Luyten, P., Moulton-Perkins, A., Lee, Y.-W., Warren, F., Howard, S., Ghinai, R., Fearon, P., &
Lowyck, B. (2016). Development and validation of a self-report measure of mentalizing: The reflective functioning questionnaire. PloS One, 11(7), e0158678. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0158678
Furumi, F., & Koyasu, M. (2012). Does experience with role play activate “mindreading” in a perspective-taking task? The Japanese journal of psychology, 83(1), 18-26 (in Japanese). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.4992/jjpsy.83.18
Hakanen, J. J., Schaufeli, W. B., & Ahola, K. (2008). The Job Demands-Resources model: A three-year cross-lagged study of burnout, depression, commitment, and work engagement. Work and Stress, 22(3), 224-241. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/02678370802379432
Kageyama, T., Kobayashi, T., Kawashima, M., & Kanamaru, Y. (2004). Development of the Brief Scales for Coping Profile (BSCP) for Workers: Basic Information about its Reliability and Validity. Sangyo Eiseigaku Zasshi, 46(4), 103-114 (in Japanese). https://doi.org/10.1539/sangyoeisei.46.103
Kaiseler, M., Passos, F., Queirós, C., & Sousa, P. (2014). Stress appraisal, coping, and work engagement among police recruits: An exploratory study. Psychological Reports, 114(2), 635-646. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.2466/01.16.PR0.114k21w2
Kobayashi, M., Yamaguchi, H., Amano, S., & Irie, M. (2023). Examination of Factors that Prevent Power Harassment and Improve Work Engagement: Focusing on Perspective Taking, Anger Expression, and Workplace Resources. Japanese Association of Industrial/Organizational Psychology Journal, 37(1), 51-61 (in Japanese). https://doi.org/10.32222/jaiop.37.1_51
Lazarus, R. S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. In: Springer.
Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1987). Transactional theory and research on emotions and coping. European Journal of personality, 1(3), 141-169. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/per.2410010304
McFarland, R. G., & Dixon, A. L. (2021). The impact of salesperson interpersonal mentalizing skills on coping and burnout: The critical role of coping oscillation. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 41(4), 285-300.
Mukae, R. (2018). A Literature Review for Practical Interventions to Improve Work Engagement. Japanese Association of Industrial/Organizational Psychology Journal, 32(1), 55-78 (in Japanese). https://doi.org/10.32222/jaiop.32.1_55
Sakurai, S. (1988). The Relationship between Empathy and Helping Behavior in College Students. Depertment of Psychology, Nara Univers, 37(1), 149-154 (in Japanese). https://doi.org/http://hdl.handle.net/10105/2054
Santarnecchi, E., Sprugnoli, G., Tatti, E., Mencarelli, L., Neri, F., Momi, D., Di Lorenzo, G., Pascual-Leone, A., Rossi, S., & Rossi, A. (2018). Brain functional connectivity correlates of coping styles. Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience, 18, 495-508. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.3758/s13415-018-0583-7
Schaufeli, W. B., & Bakker, A. B. (2004). Job demands, job resources, and their relationship with burnout and engagement: A multi‐sample study. Journal of Organizational Behavior: The International Journal of Industrial, Occupational and Organizational Psychology and Behavior, 25(3), 293-315. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/job.248
Shepherd, D. A. (2003). Learning from business failure: Propositions of grief recovery for the self-employed. Academy of Management Review, 28(2), 318-328. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2003.9416377
Downloads
Posted
Submitted: 2025-08-14 02:29:13 UTC
Published: 2025-08-15 09:19:24 UTC
License
Copyright (c) 2025
Momoko Kobayashi
Hiroshi Ikeda
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
