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PubMedDate not supplied

[Work capacity, residual capacity and work tolerance times. A proposed measuring method].

A simple method for assessing the physical working capacity [in terms of maximal work capacity, loss of work capacity in diseased people, long-term work capacity (or critical power), endurance time] is proposed. The method consists in performing two "6 minutes workload" of different but known power and in measuring the corresponding heart rates and O2 uptakes at steady state. The effort was a "step-test" at different height of the step and rate of ascent and descent from it. The O2 uptake was measured either directly or indirectly from a nomogram (starting from the step height and the frequency of the up and down). The measured and estimated values of O2- uptake were very well correlated and this might be an indication for the method to be used in not equipped factory ambulatory or directly in workplaces. The maximal capacity to perform an effort was calculated on the basis of the linear regression between heart rate and O2-uptake, calculating the O2 maximal values (VO2MAX) from the predicted maximal heart rate (FMAX); analogously, the critical power was obtained by calculating the O2 critical values (VO2CRIT) from the predicted critical heart rate (FCRIT); the loss of work capacity is the difference between two maximal powers, the theoretical and the measured one. The endurance time was measured on the basis of the hypothesis of a linear regression between level of an effort and logarithm of the time to perform it. Finally, a few procedures to assess the actual work capacity in subjects with pulmonary or blood diseases are discussed; in these subjects the O2 transfer might be limited by ventilation disorders or by low content of haemoglobin.

Adult↗

PubMed1996

[Investigation of the actual conditions of hospital nurses working on three rotating shifts: questionnaire results of shift work schedules, feelings of sleep and fatigue, and depression].

These studies were performed to clarify (1) the actual conditions concerning rotating shift schedules of nurses in Japanese university and college hospitals and to evaluate (2) some aspects of the physical and mental health, and (3) sleep profile of hospital nurses working on counter-clockwise shift rotation. Two questionnaire surveys and the OSA sleep inventory (OSA) were carried out. The subjects in the study (1) were a total of 80 nursing directors in university and college hospitals. The questionnaire covered 4 categories, such as the schedule most frequently adopted and reasons for using the schedule. The questionnaires were returned by 67 directors (83.8%). The subjects in the study (2) were 189 nurses working on three-shift work schedules at Asahikawa Medical College Hospital. The items in the questionnaire covered 7 categories, as follows: 1) feeling of sleep after each shift (8 items); 2) feeling of fatigue after each shift (30 items); 3) physical symptoms; 4) inter-personal problems; 5) all the items on Zung's self-rating depression scale (SDS); 6) all the items on the Horne and Ostberg morningness-eveningness questionnaire; and 7) 24 items on the Maudsley personality inventory. The questionnaires were returned by 156 nurses (82.5%), whose mean age and duration of shift-work employment were 27.2 +/- 5.1 and 5.0 +/- 4.3 years (mean +/- SD), respectively. For 152 nurses (97.4%) of those returning the questionnaire, the working schedule consisted of 2 consecutive night shifts and 2 consecutive evening shifts, following a variable number of day shifts (rapid and counterclockwise shift rotation). The subjects in the study (3) were 8 healthy nurses working on above-mentioned three rotating shifts at the psychiatric ward of Asahikawa Medical College Hospital, whose mean age was 29.4 +/- 5.8 years (mean +/- SD). All the subjects recorded their sleep-logs and underwent OSA everyday for 30 consecutive days. Of the 240 OSA data, 95 data (16 after day shift, 17 after the 1st night shift, 16 after the 2nd night shift, 15 after the 1st evening shift, 16 after the 2nd evening shift, 15 after day off) were analyzed. In addition to five of sleep factors in the OSA analysis, we evaluated the global score (GS), which represents subjective global feeling of sleep. In the study (1), 47 of 66 hospitals (71.2%) adopted rapid and counterclockwise shift rotation. The results of study (2) were as follows: 1) After the first night shift (diurnal sleep), the sleep problems were worst, and the frequency of taking sleep-inducing drugs was highest (12.6%); 2) Feelings of fatigue were the highest level after each of the two night shifts; 3) SDS score was relatively high (57.8 +/- 8.1, mean +/- SD); 4) The older the nurse, the greater the aggravation of both sleep problems and fatigue; 5) Sleep problems after day shifts were worse and SDS score was higher in nurses classified as "nightowls" compared to those in nurses classified as "morning people"; and 6) There was no difference between introverts and extroverts in sleep problems, fatigue or SDS score. The results of study (3) were as follows: 1) In 3 of sleep factors (Sleepiness, Integrated sleep, sleep initiation) and GS, there were significant differences among each rotating shift schedule including day off; 2) The highest score in five of sleep factors and the highest GS were noted after the 2nd night shift (nocturnal sleep), and the lowest after the 1st night shift (diurnal sleep); and 3) The younger subjects (n = 4; mean age, 24.5 years) showed a higher GS compared with that of the older subjects (n = 4; mean age, 34.2 years).

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Causes, nature, and outcomes of work-related injuries to adolescents working at farm and non-farm jobs in rural Minnesota.

BACKGROUND: Although there are many studies on working adolescents, information on youth who simultaneously hold jobs on both a farm and in other sectors of the economy is lacking. METHODS: Six high schools in rural Minnesota were evaluated for adolescent work practices and injury incidence. A 20-page self-administered survey was administered to students. RESULTS: A total of 2,250 students completed the survey, representing 92% of the student body. Students that simultaneously hold both farm and non-farm jobs have a significantly higher proportion of injuries. However, annual injury rates are highest for those working in non-farm only (26.7/100 full-time equivalents, FTEs) or farm only (25.9/100 FTEs) employment when compared with those working simultaneously in farm and non-farm jobs (21.9/100 FTEs). CONCLUSIONS: Many rural students employed simultaneously on farm and non-farm jobs work long hours and are at significant risk of work-related injury. The annual injury rates we estimated are higher than those reported in previous studies.

Accidents, Occupational↗

PubMed2006

Long working hours, occupational health and the changing nature of work organization.

BACKGROUND: The impact of long working hours on health has been of major concern since the late 19th Century. Working hours are again increasing in the US. METHODS: An overview of historical, sociological, and health-related research presented at an international conference on long working hours is discussed as an introduction to a special section in this issue. RESULTS: Research indicates that long working hours are polarizing along class lines with professionals working regular though longer hours and less well-educated workers having fewer though more irregular hours. Extended and irregular hours are associated with acute reactions such as stress and fatigue, adverse health behavior such as smoking, and chronic outcomes such as cardiovascular and musculoskeletal disorders. CONCLUSIONS: Improved methodologies are needed to track exposure to long working hours and irregular shifts longitudinally. Research should focus on the adverse impact that sleep-deprived and stressed workers may have on the health of the public they serve. A variety of protective efforts should be undertaken and evaluated.

Fatigue↗

PubMed1999

Problematizing gender, work and health: the relationship between gender, occupational grade, working conditions and minor morbidity in full-time bank employees.

It is commonly asserted that while women have longer life expectancy than men, they have higher rates of morbidity, particularly for minor and psychological conditions. However, most research on gender and health has taken only limited account of the gendered distribution of social roles. Here we investigate gender differences in morbidity whilst controlling, as far as possible, for one major role, namely participation in paid employment. There is substantial segregation of the labour market by gender; men and women typically work different hours in different occupations which involve varying conditions and differing rewards and costs. Here, we examine men and women working full-time for the same employer. This paper reports on a postal survey of employees (1112 men and 1064 women) of a large British bank. It addresses three main questions: do gender differences in minor morbidity remain if we compare men and women who are employed in similar circumstances (same industry and employer)? What is the relative importance of gender, grade of employment within the organisation, perceived working conditions and orientation to gender roles for minor morbidity? Finally, are these factors related to health differentially for men and women? There were statistically significant gender differences amongst these full-time employees in recent experience of malaise symptoms, but not in physical symptoms or GHQ scores. Controlling for other factors did not reduce the gender differences in malaise scores and produced a weak, but significant, gender difference in GHQ scores. However, gender explained only a small proportion of variance, particularly in comparison with working conditions. Generally similar relationships between experience of work and occupational grade and morbidity were observed for men and women. Throughout the paper, we attempt to problematize gender, recognising that there are similarities between women and men and diversity amongst women and amongst men. However, we conclude that the gendered nature of much of adult life, including paid work, continues to shape the experiences and health of men and women at the end of the twentieth century.

Adult↗

PubMed1999

Strain as a moderator of the relationship between work characteristics and work attitudes.

Research on the psychological effects of work characteristics has investigated their relationships with both work attitudes and psychological strain, with the latter 2 variables being treated as alternative or joint dependent variables. The focus of this article is to propose that strain moderates the relationship between perceptions of work characteristics and work attitudes. The proposition is tested on a maximum sample of 9,327 health care employees by using moderated multiple regression followed by subgroup comparisons. The results strongly support the moderating effect, showing that as strain increases, the strength of the relationship between perceptions of work characteristics and work attitudes decreases.

Attitude↗

PubMed2006

To work or not to work? The occupational trajectories of wheelchair users.

PURPOSE: To throw light upon the dynamic processes which may or may not lead persons with severe motor disability to employment. METHOD: A qualitative approach to the chronology of both the professional and non-professional occupations of wheelchair users between acquisition of the disability and the interview; this approach focuses upon actions and meanings, thus allowing the authors to identify the diverse factors which help build the occupation situation at the time of the study. The narratives of 36 wheelchair users of working age were used. The objective of the analysis was to reconstitute the occupation trajectories of the participants and hence to suggest a typology. This involved pinpointing the various actors, the external and cognitive contexts of their decisions and actions, and their consequences and related feelings. RESULTS: The wide diversity found in the trajectories forced the authors to go beyond any simple notion of 'work versus non-work' and to focus on the quality of the individual's process of occupation appropriation. Indeed, it is possible to successfully appropriate both work and non-work situations, just as, inversely, it is possible for a person to fail to appropriate either type of situation. Analysis of this process allows one to pinpoint different types of trajectory. On the one hand, trajectories within which people appropriate their occupations--gradual, intermittent, through rupture and successive adjustment--and, on the other hand, unstable or endured occupation trajectories. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that with regard to rehabilitation practices, we should be focussing as much on the appropriation process as on return to work.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed1996

The changing scene of social work in hospitals: a report of a national study by the Society for Social Work Administrators in Health Care and NASW.

The Society for Social Work Administrators in Health Care and NASW collaborated on a national study of the changes affecting social work services in a sample of 340 hospitals drawn from the member list of the American Hospital Association. The findings suggest that the changes affecting social work need to be viewed within the context of the dramatic changes occurring in the hospital and health care field. Although social work departments are experiencing decreases, these decreases often are not occurring at the same rate as those within the hospital overall. Growth is occurring in the types and scope of services. Social work is not being singled out for change, but it is critical that these trends continue to be monitored and proactive strategies used to enhance social work viability within a changing hospital environment.

Administrative Personnel↗

PubMed1998

Permanent work incapacity, mortality and survival without work incapacity among occupations and social classes: a cohort study of ageing men in Geneva.

BACKGROUND: The objective of this retrospective cohort study was to investigate the burden of disability and death in men, from middle age to age of retirement, among occupational groups and classes in Geneva. METHODS: Men were included if they resided in the Canton of Geneva, were 45 years of age in 1970-1972, and were not receiving a disability pension at the start of the follow-up. The cohort of 5137 men was followed up for 20 years and linked to national registers of disability pension allowance and of causes of death. RESULTS: There was a steep upward trend in incidence of permanent work incapacity with lower social class for all causes as well as for the seven causes of disability studied. Compared with professional occupations (social class I), the relative risk (RR) of permanent work incapacity was 11.4 for partly skilled and unskilled occupations (class IV+V) (95% confidence interval [CI]: 5.2-28.0). The social class gradient in mortality was in the same direction as that in work incapacity although much less steep (RR class IV+V to class I = 1.6, 95% CI : 1.1-2.2). Survival without work incapacity at the time of the 65th birthday ranged from only 57% in construction workers and labourers to 89% in science and related professionals. Unemployment in Geneva was below 1.5% during almost all the study period. CONCLUSIONS: Medically-ascertained permanent work incapacity and survival without work incapacity have shown considerably greater socioeconomic differentials than the mortality differentials.

Disability Evaluation↗

PubMed2001

Effect of a changing health care environment on social work leaders: obstacles and opportunities in hospital social work.

The health care system is undergoing dramatic change in auspice, structure, and services delivery in response to an emphasis on market-driven, cost-containment strategies. Consequently, many hospital social work directors either have lost some of their administrative responsibilities or have expanded their span of control beyond social work services. This article examines the responses of social work administrators to the breadth of changes occurring throughout their hospitals; the major accomplishments of social work services within their facilities; and the failures, frustrations, and obstacles in the delivery of social work services. As a result of examining the relationship between their actual and anticipated behavior and changes in the hospital and external environment, the authors found that social work leaders in hospitals understand the complexities and challenges of the world around them. Overall, they have exhibited commitment, competence, and confidence in shaping organizational change.

Hospital Administrators↗

PubMed2003

Impact of trauma work on social work clinicians: empirical findings.

Over the past two decades, social workers have treated trauma survivors in a variety of settings. Interest has increased in the effect of this work on clinicians. Vicarious traumatization is a concept used to understand the impact of trauma work on clinicians. This article describes a study of social work clinicians working with two types of trauma: (1) the human-induced trauma, sexual abuse, and (2) the naturally caused trauma, cancer. The effect on clinician's cognitive schemas and the confounding variables of personal history of abuse and years' experience are described. Clinicians who worked primarily with clients who were sexually abused reported more disruptions in cognitive schemas than clinicians who worked with clients who had cancer. Implications for social practice and education are described.

Adult↗

PubMed2001

Age-related physical fitness and the predictive values of fitness tests for work ability in home care work.

Despite the widespread assessment of physical fitness in occupational medicine and health services, only a few validity studies have been made of the fitness tests used in relation to job demands. The purpose of this study was to assess the physical fitness of female home care workers (n = 132) in relation to age and to evaluate whether the fitness tests used predict work ability over a 5-year period of follow-up. Muscle endurance declined by 18% to 37%, and isometric muscle strength by 10% to 18%, from the youngest (21 to 35 years) to the oldest (45 to 59 years) age group. The proportion of those subjects who could be classified below the average age-related fitness categories according to the maximal oxygen consumption was highest (50%) for the 21-to-35 age group. The logistic regression model showed that obesity (odds ratio [OR] = 7.51) and poor results on the sit-up (OR, 8.9), balance (OR, 6.5), and weight-lifting (OR, 4.6) tests predicted the highest risk for reduced work ability, according to the work ability index used in the 5-year follow-up. Moreover, average results for the trunk side-bending test (OR, 4.6), poor results for the squatting test (OR, 3.8), poor knee extension strength (OR, 4.2), and the average maximal oxygen consumption (l.min-1) (OR, 3.1) indicated a high risk for reduction in work ability. The physical fitness tests were strongly associated with the physical demands of home care work and were relevant for the evaluation of work-related fitness among home care workers.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

The interference of paid work with household demands in different social policy contexts: perceived work-household conflict in Sweden, the UK, the Netherlands, Hungary, and the Czech Republic.

The article explores whether people experiences a lower level of work-household conflict in a context that is characterized by extensive family policies (Sweden and to some extent Hungary and Czech Republic) aimed at facilitating participation in the labour market. This is done by studying perceived work-household conflict among women and men living in Sweden, the UK, the Netherlands, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. The analyses are based on the answers to a questionnaire distributed to nearly 6,000 randomly selected individuals within the framework of the European Union financed 'Household, Work, and Flexibility' (HWF) study. The results show that women in Sweden experience conflicts between work and household demands to a higher degree than any other category in all five countries. The differences between Swedish women and women living in the Netherlands and the UK are explained by variables indicating qualifications and workload in the main job, but the lower degree of work-household conflict among Czech and Hungarian women is still significant when controlling for household composition and working conditions. Data indicate that a possible explanation for this can be found in the interplay between men's and women's attitudes toward gender roles and the actual situation in terms of division of labour.

Employment↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[The relation between work, health and living conditions: Negativity and positivity in nursing work at a teaching hospital].

This article results from a research carried out among nursing professionals at the Hospital das Clínicas da Universidade Federal de Uberlândia (MG), located in Uberlândia (MG), Brazil, and aimed to examine the relations between these professionals' work, health and living conditions. Data were collected through semistructured interviews and observations in the work environment. The results indicate the common occurrence of physical and mental health problems, mainly resulting from stress and exhaustion provoked by work conditions, which cause interferences in their living conditions. Paradoxically, the results show that these workers do not realize their health treatments systematically. The analysis of their work, in combination with the gender issue and the specific nature of nursing work, contributed to a better understanding of this professional group's work, living and health conditions.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Work-family conflict, work- and family-role salience, and women's well-being.

The author considered both the direct effect and the moderator effect of role salience in the stress-strain relationship. In contrast to previous studies that have examined the effects of salience on well-being within specific social roles, the present study focused on the work-family interface. From a sample of 147 employed English women with children, the present results of the regression analyses showed that both effects are possible, depending on the outcome measures used. The author observed a direct effect of role salience in the prediction of job satisfaction; work salience was positively related to job satisfaction, over and above the main-effect terms of work-interfering-with-family (WIF) conflict and family-interfering-with-work (FIW) conflict. In contrast, the author found a moderator effect of role salience and conflict for symptoms of psychological distress. However, contrary to predictions, the author found that work salience exacerbated the negative impact of WIF conflict, rather than FIW conflict, on well-being. The author discussed these results in relation to the literature on work-family conflict, role salience, and the issue of stress-strain specificity.

Adult↗

PubMed1999

[Little communication between company doctors and private physicians with respect to hindrances to return to work after prolonged absence from work because of low back pain].

OBJECTIVE: To determine occurrence and reasons of contact between company doctors and treating physicians with respect to patients absent with low back pain for three months. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. METHOD: A cohort of employees who were absent for 3 months with back pain were selected according to defined criteria. A questionnaire about medical status and communication with treating physicians was sent to their company doctors. RESULTS: The company doctors of 300 of 467 employees participated. In 19% of the employees the company doctor contacted the curative sector (56 contacts had taken place, 14 were planned). The contact consisted almost always of exchange of information and less frequently of co-operation towards a mutual policy. In almost 50% of the cases the company doctors regarded the clinical waiting period, length of treatment and opinion of the curative sector as disincentives to return to work. Psychosocial factors such as psychological problems, work-related motivation, private problems and a conflict between employer and employee all were mentioned less frequently. Although contacts were slightly more frequent when psychosocial factors, treatment or opinion of the curative sector inhibited return to work, only disincentives such as work-related motivation, motivation to return to work and the waiting period were significantly associated with the contact frequency. CONCLUSION: The communication rate between company doctors and the curative sector in employees long absent with back pain is low. Communication consists of exchange of information rather than co-operation towards a mutual policy. Although according to many company doctors the curative sector plays an inhibitive role in return to work, they do not communicate accordingly.

Absenteeism↗

PubMed2002

[Mortality associated with physical activity in leisure time, at work, in sports and cycling to work].

INTRODUCTION: Previous studies have shown that high levels of physical activity are associated with lower mortality in middle-aged men. Few studies have investigated this association in women and the independent effects of cycling to work and participation in sports. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The participants were 13,445 women and 17,441 men aged 20 to 93 years. Self-reported physical activity included general questions about leisure time physical activity and physical activity at work, sports participation, and cycling to work. Adjustment was made for blood pressure, total cholesterol, triglyceride, body mass index, smoking, and educational level. RESULTS: During 433,000 person-years of observation, 2738 women and 4672 men died. Physical inactivity during leisure time predicted mortality in both men and women in all age groups. In women and men, the most physically active in leisure time experienced only half the mortality of the sedentary. Even in the moderately and highly active persons, sports participants experienced only half the mortality of non-participants. Physical activity at work predicted mortality in women only. The men and women who rode a bicycle to work had a 39% lower risk of mortality after multivariate adjustment including leisure time physical activity. DISCUSSION: Leisure time physical activity was inversely associated with all-cause mortality in both men and women in all age groups. Benefit was found from moderate leisure time physical activity with further benefit from sports activity and bicycling as transportation. Benefit from physical activity at work was found in women only.

Adult↗

PubMed2001

A cross-sectional study of the health effects of work schedules on 3212 hospital workers in France: implications for the new French work schedules policy.

This study was designed to investigate the effects of work schedules on the health of hospital workers at the Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP). Out of 40 hospitals, 17 volunteered to participate in this study. The Standard Shiftwork Index and a questionnaire concerning physicians' work schedules were used. Ten thousand questionnaires were distributed anonymously to hospital workers between March and April 1999. Professional categories comprised head nurses, nurses, nursing auxiliaries, hospital agents, midwives and full time physicians. Departments included internal and geriatric medicine, general paediatrics, orthopaedic and general surgery, operating and emergency rooms, and anaesthesiology and intensive care units. 3250 questionnaires were returned. Demographics for the respondents were: 79.2% female, average age 38.1 +/- 9.1 years old. Eleven work schedules were identified. One fourth of the personnel had fixed morning work schedules. The highest level of job satisfaction was found in personnel working in paediatrics while dissatisfaction was strongest in the gerontology and, emergency room personnel. General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) scores were high for head nurses, operating room nurses and junior doctors as well as for personnel with rotating and flexible shifts. This study will be used to make recommendations concerning the reduction of working time for French hospital workers.

Adult↗