Association of work performance and interoceptive awareness of 'body trusting' in an occupational setting: a cross-sectional study

Validation of the Italian version of the Neuroception of Psychological Safety Scale (NPSS)

Research on the neuroscience of fear in both humans and non-humans has suggested that a lack of acquisition of safety cues might be a biological hallmark of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Danger perception, and in particular, feeling as one's own life is in danger, is thought to represent a major predictor of PTSD. Persistent danger perception is concurrently associated with a persistence of lack of safety. However, despite several research efforts, no validated psychometric tools exist regarding psychological safety as a unique core construct in the domain of a soothing-contentment system. By including social, compassionate, and bodily components, the Neuroception of Psychological Safety Scale (NPSS), neurophysiologically rooted in the polyvagal theory, aims to specifically assess psychological safety. Originally developed in English, we employed a rather large non clinical sample to validate our Italian translation of the NPSS (n = 338) and the scale was found to retain a three-factor structure. In light of its positive moderate correlations with the Unconditional Self-Kindness Scale (ρ = 0.376) and the Self-Compassion Scale-Short-Form (ρ = 0.481), good convergent validity and robust psychometric properties were shown by the NPSS. The Subjective Traumatic Outlook Questionnaire (ρ = -0.283) and the three subscales of the Body Perception Questionnaire-22-Body Awareness (ρ = -0.103), Supradiaphragmatic Reactivity (ρ = -0.234), and Body Awareness/Subdiaphragmatic Reactivity (ρ = -0.146)-were found to have weak negative correlations with the NPSS, which further demonstrated its good discriminant validity. Eventually, the NPSS was found to show good test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.922; three-week time interval), and its usage is fostered in clinical and research contexts where the evaluation of psychological safety is of relevance.

A Cross-Sectional Study of the Impact of Pain Severity on Absenteeism and Presenteeism Among Japanese Full-Time Workers

INTRODUCTION

Pain is known to have a high impact on work performance, but there are several confounding factors, such as stress and mental issues. Little is known about the impact of pain severity on work performance when adjusted for such confounding factors. The aim of this study was to identify the effect of pain severity on absence from work (absenteeism) and reduced performance (presenteeism).

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted among full-time workers at an industrial manufacturing company in Japan. Participants were assessed using a self-reported questionnaire, including work performance evaluations, pain characteristics, pain-related fear, psychological distress, stress at the workplace and home, workaholism, and self-awareness. Principal component analysis was utilized to decrease the dimensions of the measures, and orthogonal rotation was performed on identified components with an eigenvalue > 1.0. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to determine the association between pain severity and absenteeism and presenteeism, and were adjusted for confounding factors. We also analyzed the association between pain intensity and presenteeism using multivariable logistic regression analyses.

RESULTS

A total of 349 workers participated in the study. Six principal components were identified as confounding factors: work stress, regulation, mental instability, less support, home stress, and life dissatisfaction. Multivariable logistic regression analyses showed significant associations of moderate to severe pain with absenteeism (p = 0.02) and low and high presenteeism (p = 0.004 and 0.009, respectively), adjusted for age, sex, body mass index, short sleep, and the six principal components. Pain intensity was also significantly associated with low and high presenteeism (p = 0.002 and 0.014, respectively) in people with pain.

CONCLUSIONS

Pain severity is a risk factor for absenteeism and presenteeism, even if workers have comorbid psychological stress or mental health problems.