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PubMed2005

Concordance between VDU-users' ratings of comfort and perceived exertion with experts' observations of workplace layout and working postures.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the concordance (agreement) between VDU-users' ratings of comfort and ergonomists' observations of workplace layout, and the concordance between VDU-users' ratings of perceived exertion and ergonomists' observations of working postures during VDU-work. The study population consisted of 853 symptom free subjects. Data on perceived comfort in different dimensions and data regarding perceived exertion in different body locations were collected by means of a questionnaire. Data concerning workplace layout and working postures were collected with an observation protocol, by an ergonomist. Concordance between ratings of comfort and observations of workplace layout was reasonably good for the chair and the keyboard (0.60, 0.58) and good regarding the screen and the input device (0.72, 0.61). Concordance between ratings of perceived exertion and observations of working postures indicated good agreement (0.63-0.77) for all measured body locations (neck, shoulder, wrist and trunk). In conclusion ratings of comfort and perceived exertion could be used as cost-efficient and user-friendly methods for practitioners to identify high exposure to poor workplace layout and poor working postures.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Emergent CSCW systems: the resolution and bandwidth of workplaces.

In any collaborative work settings, people naturally develop physical tools and associated work processes that support the management of the interdependencies in information, materials, and social needs. Field studies of management of operating rooms pointed out that collaborative work is supported by an infrastructure that is composed of mostly non-computerized, physical components. The supporting infrastructure is jointly maintained and exploited, with constantly evolving patterns of usage, in response to complexity of coordination needs and the uncertain environment. To represent status and plans, users seem to invent structures based both on idiosyncratic preferences and on negotiated symbols. The fluidity and ease of restructuring workplaces to support collaborative work may be explained in part by the high resolution and bandwidth of workplaces: a large number of ways in which workers could structure their work and a high capacity to convey rich information and meanings quickly to collaborators. We argue that to support health care workers, designers of computer supported cooperative work (CSCW) systems should learn how the physical and perceptual properties of workplaces are exploited, and that CSCW systems should be designed to allow maximum freedom of restructuring and reconfiguring as part of workplaces to enhance bandwidth and resolution of representation and communication.

Cooperative Behavior↗

PubMed2006

Anxiety disorders and workplace-related anxieties.

BACKGROUND: Workplace-related anxieties are often connected with sick leave. There are no established instruments which allow to assess this phenomenologically heterogeneous group of disorders. METHOD: One hundred and thirty-two psychosomatic inpatients were interviewed with a standardized diagnostic interview in respect to mental illnesses, especially primary anxiety disorders, and in addition in respect to different work-related anxiety disorders. RESULTS: Seventy-one percent of women and 54% of men complained about work-related anxiety. 20.5% of participants are suffering from work-related panic, 58% from work-related phobia, 34.1% from work-related social phobia, 39.4% from work-related generalized anxiety, and 1.5% from work-related PTSD. There is a moderate relation between mental disorders or primary anxiety disorders and work-related anxiety. Fourteen percent of the participants did only suffer from workplace-related anxiety and did not report any other anxiety disorder outside the workplace situation. CONCLUSION: There are various types of workplace-related anxieties. They are partly independent clinical phenomena deserving special diagnostic and therapeutic attention.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The relationships among workplace stressors, coping methods, demographic characteristics, and health in Australian nurses.

Nursing is known to be stressful. Stress detrimentally can influence job satisfaction, psychological well-being, and physical health. There is a need for increased understanding of the stress that nurses experience and how best to manage it. Three hundred twenty Australian acute care public hospital nurses participated in a study by completing four questionnaires that examined (a) how various workplace stressors relate to ways of coping, demographic characteristics, and physical and mental health and (b) which workplace stressors, coping mechanisms, and demographic characteristics were the best predictors of physical and mental health. Significant correlations were found between stressors and physical and mental health. Multiple regression showed age to be the only significant predictor of physical health. The best coping predictors of mental health were escape-avoidance, distancing, and self-control. Other significant predictors of mental health were support in the workplace, the number of years worked in the unit, and workload. Mental health scores were higher for nurses working more years in the unit and for those who used distancing as a way of coping. Mental health scores were lower for nurses who used escape-avoidance, lacked workplace support, had high workload, and used self-control coping. The findings have implications for organizational management, particularly in terms of recommendations for stress management, social support, and workload reduction.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2006

Workplace harassment patterning, gender, and utilization of professional services: findings from a US national study.

This study constitutes the first national longitudinal survey to address the relationship between workplace harassment and service utilization. We examine how patterns of sexual harassment and generalized workplace harassment are linked to utilization of mental health, health, legal, spiritual, and work-related services, and whether and how gender influences these relationships. Data derive from a random digit dial telephone survey with a continental US sample of employed adults. Eligibility criteria were being 18 years of age or over, and being employed at least 20 h per week at some time in the 12 months prior to the wave 1 survey. Out of 4116 households with eligible individuals, 2151 agreed to participate at wave 1. At wave 2, 1418 participated, thus, the overall response rate was 34.5%. We show that the patterning of workplace harassment over two time points (chronic, remission, onset, never harassed) is associated with the use of different types of services. Gender partially moderated the relationship between workplace harassment and services.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Surveillance and assessment of workplace assault injuries: analysis of Rhode Island workers' compensation claims 1998-2002.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze workplace assault by rate, injury severity, and trends using Rhode Island workers' compensation claim data. METHOD: A total of 6402 workers' compensation assault claims from Rhode Island for the period of 1998 through 2002 was analyzed. Data from the U.S. Department of Labor was used to derive estimates of injury rates. RESULTS: An average rate of 27.7 assaults per 10,000 workers was found and varied only marginally across years. Females filed 75% of all assault claims, though injuries to males resulted in longer periods of indemnification. The total cost of workplace assaults was 7,025,997 dollars, averaging 1097 dollars per claim, and average indemnification duration was 16.8 days per claim. While the assault rate was relatively stable, a notable decline in both cost and indemnification periods over time was discovered. CONCLUSION: The assault rate found was among the highest reported to date, demonstrating that workplace violence remains a significant threat to employee safety. While a decline in incident severity was discovered over time, many outcomes were still serious. Preventive interventions to reduce incidents of workplace assaults among groups at the highest risk should be given highest priority.

Adult↗

PubMed1999

A survey on management perspectives of the state of workplace health and safety practices in Kenya.

A baseline survey was conducted in 1995 on management perspectives of occupational health and safety (OHS) structures and practices in Kenya. This was achieved by interviewing management and supervisory staff attending 1 week multi-disciplinary courses that were organized by the Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE) and the International Labour Office (ILO) at hotel venues in Kenya. The purpose of the survey was to gain some insight into work safety conditions in Kenya and to assess the potential for a new OHS manual to meet existing knowledge gaps. The manual was locally developed in 1993/4 by Kenyan OHS experts in collaboration with colleagues from the Swedish National Institute for Working Life. Results of the survey from 65 participants indicated that most workplace managers were not familiar with the Kenyan work safety legislation. Work injuries were largely attributable to working with dangerous machinery. Occupational diseases and HIV/AIDS were cited as other causes of workplace morbidity and mortality. Although most respondents (70%) were satisfied with their work safety conditions, only 37% said their workplaces were annually audited by labour inspectors while 45% said injured workers were not treated well by management. Many workplaces (65%) violated the mandatory legal requirement on the establishment of health and safety committees. The OHS resource person and course content were rated highly by most respondents (96%). The foregoing results provided the basis of a needs analysis for future OHS programs in Kenya.

Accidents, Occupational↗

PubMed2004

Workplace stressors, ways of coping and demographic characteristics as predictors of physical and mental health of Japanese hospital nurses.

Role stress has always been a concern for nurses and health care administrators. Most research, however, on role stress in nurses has taken place in Western cultures. Limited research in the area has taken place in Asian cultures and particularly in the country of Japan. Since the role of the hospital nurse in Japan is vastly different from the role of the hospital nurse in Western cultures and select Asian cultures, it is unclear what part workplace stressors, coping mechanisms and demographic characteristics play in the physical and mental health of Japanese hospital nurses. Therefore, this study chose to examine, in Japanese hospital nurses: (a) the relationships among various workplace stressors, ways of coping, demographic characteristics, and physical and mental health; and (b) which workplace stressors, coping mechanisms and demographic characteristics were the best predictors of both physical and mental health. Data were obtained from 310 nurses who completed four questionnaires. Numerous significant correlations were found among the variables. Workload and number of people living in the household were found to be the best predictors of physical health. The best predictors of mental health were likelihood to leave the current nursing position, lack of support in the workplace, and escape-avoidance coping.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1992

Prevention of low back pain: basic ergonomics in the workplace and the clinic.

Redesigning the job is a strategy for preventing low back injuries at work or for accommodating injured employees who return to work. An evaluation of the physical job demands is necessary in either strategy. Several job demands are associated with low back pain and injury--heavy physical work, static or postural effort, dynamic work-load and exposure to wholebody vibration. Traditional work measurement studies emphasize a rigorous task analysis. By adding biomechanical, physiological and psychophysical measurements, a comprehensive evaluation is possible. There is no standard scheme for a workplace evaluation. The method depends on the end use of the analysis. Job evaluation for workplace design requires an emphasis on equipment and work conditions; evaluation for placement of injured employees should emphasize the operational demands of the tasks. Few studies considered the multifactorial aetiology of low back pain. Most studies that measured the magnitude of biomechanical, physiological and psychophysical stresses attempted to define peak work-loads. The attempt to evaluate the effects of subacute cumulative traumas is only in the beginning. Most ergonomic intervention programmes modify the loads, the design of objects handled, lifting techniques, workplace layout and task design. The effectiveness of these interventions in controlling medical costs or morbidity has not been clearly demonstrated. Consequently, occupational risk factors may be more important for evaluating disability. Job familiarity is the key to effective medical management. Ergonomic analysis procedures may be useful within rehabilitation settings that also provide placement services. The reason is that they facilitate communication between all elements involved in the rehabilitation process. Proper communication procedures are also crucial in implementing ergonomic interventions in the workplace. A health care provider should be part of a task force that oversees these interventions. Future effort should be directed to finding a method that health care practitioners could be competent to carry out effectively in a clinical setting. Expert systems offer promising results in disseminating ergonomic knowledge in primary and secondary health care facilities.

Ambulatory Care Facilities↗

PubMed2001

Does a healthy health care workplace produce higher-quality care?

BACKGROUND: The multiagency Quality Interagency Coordination Task Force (QuIC) coordinates activities and plans for quality measurement and improvement across all the U.S. federal agencies involved in health care. One of its working groups focuses on the health care workforce and ways to improve the quality of care that it provides. In October 1999 four government agencies, under the aegis of the QuIC, convened a conference to examine how health care workplace quality influences the quality of care. A healthy workplace is one in which workers will be able to deliver higher-quality care and in which worker health and patients' high-quality care are mutually supportive. In October 2000 a follow-up conference was held to focus on a specific aspect of health care quality-patient safety. WHAT WE STILL NEED TO KNOW: Although enough is known to justify some initiatives to improve the quality of the health care workplace, participants in both meetings agreed that the evidence to prove these associations is weak and that there has been too little research to evaluate the impact of interventions intended to improve quality through improvements in the health care workplace. New evidence-based information is needed to test the theory of the nature of the relationship between working conditions and care quality. CONCLUSION: The tradition of evidence-based decision making needs to be applied to health care management as it has in medicine and nursing, to show how staffing, environment, organization, and culture can each can affect the quality of care.

Advisory Committees↗

PubMed2004

Challenges and opportunities for promoting physical activity in the workplace.

Although there would appear to be considerable potential for improving the health, productivity and quality of life of the Australian workforce through workplace physical activity (PA) promotion programs, the scientific evidence that such programs are effective is limited. This review appraises the quality of intervention studies conducted since 1997. Most studies included volunteer participants, who were either sufficiently motivated to change their behaviour or already active. Interventions that focused on corporate-fitness type programs and the provision of generic health education programs were not effective in terms of adequate participation rates and sustained behaviour change. The more successful individually-based programs were those which tailored materials to individual needs. The greatest potential for influencing the overall workforce appeared to be programs that included less 'organised' approaches and promoted incidental PA within and around the workplace. Future programs should; incorporate contemporary theories of behaviour and organisational change; emphasise linkages between the workplace and external settings; expand the profile of programs to address workplace culture; and encourage management support for behavioural adjustments to the organisation. There is a need for greater understanding and evaluation of desirable employer-related outcomes, such as reduced absenteeism, job stress and turnover and improved productivity and job satisfaction, coupled with the exploration of how these factors may relate to PA promotion and adoption. Finally, more in-depth evaluation strategies and complete descriptions of intervention programs are required, in order to identify the most effective strategies.

Exercise↗

PubMed2000

Team awareness for workplace substance abuse prevention: the empirical and conceptual development of a training program.

This paper describes the empirical and theoretical development of a workplace training program to help reduce/prevent employee alcohol and drug abuse and enhance aspects of the work group environment that support ongoing prevention. The paper (1) examines the changing social context of the workplace (e.g., teamwork, privacy issues) as relevant for prevention, (2) reviews studies that assess risks and protective factors in employee substance abuse (work environment, group processes, and employee attitudes), (3) provides a conceptual model that focuses on work group processes (enabling, neutralization of deviance) as the locus of prevention efforts, (4) describes an enhanced team-oriented training that was derived from previous research and the conceptual model, and (5) describes potential applications of the program. It is suggested that the research and conceptual model may help prevention scientists to assess the organizational context of any workplace prevention strategy. The need for this team-oriented approach may be greater among employees who experience psychosocial risks such as workplace drinking climates, social alienation, and policies that emphasize deterrence (drug testing) over educative prevention. Limitations of the model are also discussed.

Attitude to Health↗

PubMed2001

Design guidelines for accommodating amputees in the workplace.

Rehabilitation experts have been addressing the problem of accommodating disabled workers in the workplace for many years. When these disabled workers return to work, accomplishing the tasks they performed prior to their disability can present a serious challenge. Meeting this challenge successfully requires that employers provide accommodations at the workplace so that the disabled workers can continue to contribute efficiently to the operation of the enterprise. Disabilities that are caused by amputations are quite critical. The severity of the injury in terms of loss of a limb and the costs associated with accommodations make this type of disability extremely significant. This paper deals with accommodating "permanent partial" and "permanent total disabilities" due to amputations. The paper is divided into two main parts. The first part focuses on the causes of amputations, types, and difficulties that an amputee faces in the work environment. In this part, an understanding of the amputee physiology has been developed. The second part of the paper addresses the various measures that employers may take in accommodating the amputees at the workplace. Design guidelines are provided to make the workplace suitable for the amputees.

Amputation, Surgical↗

PubMed2002

Interpersonal workplace stressors and well-being: a multi-wave study of employees with and without arthritis.

The within-person influence of interpersonal stressors on affective well-being and physical well-being was investigated for 109 women with and without arthritis. Participants were interviewed on a weekly basis for 12 consecutive weeks, and the prospective data were analyzed by using hierarchical linear modeling. Overall, interpersonal workplace stressors independently predicted both well-being outcomes. Interpersonal stressors outside the workplace were related to negative affect but not to arthritis symptoms. Compared with healthy controls, arthritis patients' ratings of negative affect were equally reactive to workplace stressors. Neuroticism did not moderate stressor reactivity for either dependent variable but did predict mean levels of negative affect. The data support the hypothesis that the psychosocial environment of the workplace contributes unique effects on well-being.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Predicting workplace outcomes from the ability to eavesdrop on feelings.

Emotion recognition, the most reliably validated component within the construct of emotional intelligence, is a complicated skill. Although emotion recognition skill is generally valued in the workplace, "eavesdropping," or relatively better recognition ability with emotions expressed through the less controllable "leaky" nonverbal channels, can have detrimental social and workplace consequences. In light of theory regarding positive emotion in organizations, as well as research on the consequences of perceiving negative information, the authors hypothesized and found an interaction between nonverbal channel and emotional valence in predicting workplace ratings from colleagues and supervisors. Ratings were higher for eavesdropping ability with positive emotion and lower for eavesdropping ability with negative emotion. The authors discuss implications for the complexity of interventions associated with emotional intelligence in workplace settings.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

A longitudinal study of the effects of dual-earner couples' utilization of family-friendly workplace supports on work and family outcomes.

Little research exists on the effects of the utilization of workplace supports on work-family conflict and job satisfaction. With family systems theory as a framework, 2 waves of national survey data were collected from 234 couples (N = 468) caring for children and for aging parents. Data were analyzed with structural equation modeling techniques. Longitudinal results indicate that individuals' use of workplace supports was related to work-family conflict in the direction opposite to expectations and was related to job satisfaction in the direction consistent with expectations. Differential effects for wives versus husbands were found. In addition, couples' use of workplace supports was only minimally related to wives' outcomes. Results are discussed in terms of gender differences, family systems theory, and methodological and measurement issues related to the longitudinal study of utilization of workplace supports.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Prevalence and distribution of illicit drug use in the workforce and in the workplace: findings and implications from a U.S. national survey.

This U.S. national study explored the overall prevalence, frequency, and distribution of illicit drug use in the workforce and in the workplace during the preceding 12 months. Illicit drug use in the workforce involved an estimated 14.1% of employed adults (17.7 million workers). Illicit drug use in the workplace involved an estimated 3.1% of employed adults (3.9 million workers). Illicit drug use in the workforce and in the workplace is not distributed uniformly in the employed population. At-risk, though circumscribed, segments of the U.S. workforce were identified with prevalence rates up to 55.8% for any use of illicit drugs and up to 28.0% for illicit drug use in the workplace. The implications of these data for future theoretical research and for management policy and practice are discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Development and validation of the uncivil workplace behavior questionnaire.

This article describes the development and validation of a new measure of workplace incivility, the Uncivil Workplace Behavior Questionnaire (UWBQ). Participants included 5 samples of Australian adult employees (total N=368). Principal axis factoring of the UWBQ yielded 4 interpretable factors (Hostility, Privacy Invasion, Exclusionary Behavior, and Gossiping), all of which exhibited high internal consistency. The 4-factor structure received further support from a confirmatory factor analysis on a hold-out sample. A series of correlation and regression analyses revealed that the UWBQ subscales exhibited sound convergent, divergent, and concurrent validity. The psychometric properties of the UWBQ are contrasted with those of the Workplace Incivility Scale (L. M. Cortina, V. J. Magley, J. H. Williams, & R. D. Langhout, 2001), to the authors' knowledge the only other measure of the workplace incivility construct available to date.

Adult↗