Coping with dirty work: A meta-synthesis from a resource perspective

Challenging aged care stigma through communication: discursive responses to stigmatising discourses about aged care work and implications for workers' mental health

Occupational stigma can negatively impact aged care workers' (ACWs) mental health. This mixed-methods study investigates whether ACWs who challenge stigmatising discourses, through communication, experience reduced psychological costs of aged care stigma. We screened 184 ACWs' discursive responses and tested for differences in ACWs' mental health between those who challenge stigma and those who do not. A discourse approach was further employed to examine recurring language patterns in 'challenge' discursive responses. ACWs (n = 95) who discursively challenged stigmatising discourses reported lower internalised occupational stigma and psychological distress than those who did not challenge stigma (n = 89). These workers chose to infuse positive value into negative evaluations about ACWs and aged care work. Overall, findings suggest that ACWs may spontaneously challenge occupational stigma, through their discursive responses, which may proactively protect their mental health. We offer practical implications for challenging stigma, including developing guidelines, training, and language-based interventions.

Migrant Work Conditions and Health Status-A Longitudinal Study on 'Dirty Work' Among Undocumented and Newly Regularized Workers

Migrant workers, particularly undocumented migrants, may be constrained to accept 'dirty work'. This term refers to poorly paid jobs with long working hours and significant exposure to various risks, potentially affecting their health. While many scholars discuss the health-related risks associated with these work conditions, empirical quantitative evidence is scarce regarding their direct effects on health among undocumented and newly regularized migrants. Consequently, we have formulated the following research question: Does 'dirty work' have an influence on the self-rated health of undocumented and newly regularized migrants over time? To answer this question, we utilized a dataset collected during an exceptional regularization procedure in the Swiss Canton of Geneva. Through surveys conducted across four waves, we demonstrate the direct and indirect effects of work conditions on migrants' health using both random effects and fixed effects models. Our operationalization of 'dirty work' reveals that exposure to physically demanding positions has a direct, negative impact on migrants' self-rated health. This result holds independently of the development of chronic health conditions over time. Our study confirms the existence of a relationship between occupational risks and health and underscores the significance of residence status in this context.

Occupational stigma consciousness and professional commitment among Chinese nursing students: Path analysis of survey data

Pervasive stigma exists around nursing in Chinese society and can affect nursing students' commitment to the profession. Based on the resource conservation theory, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between occupational stigma consciousness and psychological empowerment in nursing students' professional commitment in China. Data were collected from November 2021 to May 2022, and 1189 nursing students participated in the study. Occupational stigma consciousness, professional commitment, and psychological empowerment were assessed using a questionnaire. The path analysis indicated that occupational stigma consciousness negatively predicted professional commitment (β = -0.127, p < 0.001) and psychological empowerment (β = -0.329, p < 0.001), and psychological empowerment mediated the relationship between occupational stigma consciousness and professional commitment. To resist occupational stigma consciousness and improve nursing students' professional commitment, nursing policies and education should focus on improving psychological empowerment.

The role of knowledge management in the tourism sector: a synthesis and way forward

Purpose

This study aims to explore and synthesize the role of knowledge management (KM) in tourism organizations (including micro, small, medium and large enterprises and destination management organizations).

Design/methodology/approach

This study adopts systematic review methods to synthesize the role of KM in tourism from 90 journal articles.

Findings

This study identifies the prominent theories adopted to explore the relation and impact of KM in the tourism sector, the geographic distribution of the literature and thorough qualitative synthesis. This study identifies the critical research themes investigated and the outcome of KM applications. Finally, through reviews, this study identifies critical gaps in the literature and offer promising avenues to advance the KM in tourism research.

Originality/value

This is one of the few papers that comprehensively review the role of KM in the tourism industry and offer implications.