Work and Wellbeing in the 21st Century †

Wellbeing After Finalization of a Workers' Compensation Claim: A Systematic Scoping Review

OBJECTIVE

A workers' compensation claim may have significant negative impacts on an injured worker's wellbeing. Wellbeing provides a good global measure of potential effects of a claim on an individual, and is important for contemporary economic modelling. The purpose of this study was to synthesize knowledge about the wellbeing of injured workers after the finalization of a workers' compensation claim and identify gaps in the current literature.

METHODS

A systematic scoping review was conducted.

RESULTS

71 full-text articles were screened for inclusion, with 32 articles eligible for this review. None of the included articles evaluated overall wellbeing. Included articles did evaluate a variety of constructs inherent in wellbeing. Injured workers were generally disadvantaged in some manner following claim finalization. The literature recommends a focus on reducing negative impacts on injured workers after finalization of a compensation claim, with a need for regulatory bodies to review policy in this area.

CONCLUSION

There appears to be potential for ongoing burden for individuals, employers, and society after finalization of a workers' compensation claim. A gap in knowledge exists regarding the specific evaluation of wellbeing of injured workers following finalization of a workers' compensation claim.

Perceived Factors Influencing Blue-Collar Workers' Participation in Worksite Health Promotion Programs in Freight Transport: A Qualitative Investigation Using the TDF and COM-B

Blue-collar workers in the freight transport industry report a high risk of developing chronic diseases, partly due to an unhealthy lifestyle. Worksite health promotion programs (WHPPs) may be able to promote a healthier lifestyle, but participation among blue-collar workers in these programs is generally lower than among other workers. The current study aimed to further examine factors that can explain participation of blue-collar workers in these programs. A pragmatic, qualitative study was conducted, and semi-structured interviews were held with 32 blue-collar workers in freight transport in the Netherlands (94% men, 81% driver, mean age 48 (SD = 11)). The interview guide was based on the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) and Capability-Opportunity-Motivation-Behavior (COM-B) model, and was used to assess perceived determinants that influence participation. A combination of framework analysis and thematic analysis was conducted, which yielded the following nine main themes: (i) not being aware of WHPPs on offer, (ii) no clear picture of what to expect, (iii) (not) giving priority to health, (iv) expecting feedback and practical support, (v) being open and ready to change, (vi) preferring to be self-dependent, (vii) being offered a practical, fun and joint WHPP, (viii) having an employer who cares, thinks along and facilitates participation, and (ix) working and living in an environment in which a healthy lifestyle is not the norm. With these insights we were able to formulate recommendations to enhance the participation of blue-collar workers in WHPPs.

A qualitative longitudinal study of traumatic orthopaedic injury survivors' experiences with pain and the long-term recovery trajectory

OBJECTIVES

To explore trauma patients' experiences of the long-term recovery pathway during 18 months following hospital discharge.

DESIGN

Longitudinal qualitative study.

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

Thirteen trauma patients with injuries associated with pain that had been interviewed 6 weeks after discharge from Oslo University Hospital in Norway, were followed up with an interview 18 months postdischarge.

METHOD

The illness trajectory framework informed the data collection, with semistructured, in-depth interviews that were analysed thematically.

RESULTS

Compared with the subacute phase 6 weeks postdischarge, several participants reported exacerbated mental and physical health, including increased pain during 18 months following discharge. This, andalternating periods of deteriorated health status during recovery, made the pathway unpredictable. At 18 months post-discharge, participants were coping with experiences of reduced mental and physical health and socioeconomic losses. Three main themes were identified: (1) coping with persistent pain and reduced physical function, (2) experiencing mental distress without access to mental healthcare and (3) unmet needs for follow-up care. Moreover, at 18 months postdischarge, prescribed opioids were found to be easily accessible from GPs. In addition to relieving chronic pain, motivations to use opioids were to induce sleep, reduce withdrawal symptoms and relieve mental distress.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

The patients' experiences from this study establish knowledge of several challenges in the trauma population's recovery trajectories, which may imply that subacute health status is a poor predictor of long-term outcomes. Throughout recovery, the participants struggled with physical and mental health needs without being met by the healthcare system. Therefore, it is necessary to provide long-term follow-up of trauma patients' health status in the specialist health service based on individual needs. Additionally, to prevent long-term opioid use beyond the subacute phase, there is a need to systematically follow-up and reassess motivations and indications for continued use throughout the recovery pathway.

Semi-Supervised Behavior Labeling Using Multimodal Data during Virtual Teamwork-Based Collaborative Activities

Adaptive human-computer systems require the recognition of human behavior states to provide real-time feedback to scaffold skill learning. These systems are being researched extensively for intervention and training in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Autistic individuals are prone to social communication and behavioral differences that contribute to their high rate of unemployment. Teamwork training, which is beneficial for all people, can be a pivotal step in securing employment for these individuals. To broaden the reach of the training, virtual reality is a good option. However, adaptive virtual reality systems require real-time detection of behavior. Manual labeling of data is time-consuming and resource-intensive, making automated data annotation essential. In this paper, we propose a semi-supervised machine learning method to supplement manual data labeling of multimodal data in a collaborative virtual environment (CVE) used to train teamwork skills. With as little as 2.5% of the data manually labeled, the proposed semi-supervised learning model predicted labels for the remaining unlabeled data with an average accuracy of 81.3%, validating the use of semi-supervised learning to predict human behavior.

Synthetic indicators to analyze work-related physical and psychosocial risk factors: evidence from the European Working Conditions Survey

In modern workplaces, alongside physical, chemical, and biological hazards, other risks are linked to the organisation of work and to the nature of the work itself. This paper investigates the association between workers' well-being and both psychosocial and physical risk factors at work proposing a synthetic measure suitable to generate insights on well-being at work and on individual risk factors. Exploiting data from the European Working Conditions Survey, we select as response variable the "self-assessed health". As this proxy of well-being is measured on a Likert scale, Ordered Probit analyses are run, and respondents' profiles are illustrated. Then, a Principal Component Analysis is carried out to build two synthetic measures summarising the selected risk determinants. The resulting first principal components are subsequently used as synthetic indicators in further, simplified, Ordered Probit models to explain the impact of different sets of risks on perceived health. Such a methodology allows for a straightforward interpretation of the results since many different risk drivers are replaced by two continuous synthetic indicators. Our findings, in line with existing research, confirm that both types of risk factors do exert a substantial impact on workers' health, although the psychosocial determinants seem to be more prominent.

Critical care staff wellbeing: A new paradigm for understanding burnout

BACKGROUND

The wellbeing of paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) staff members influences their engagement with work and the quality of care they provide to patients. Baseline burnout measures in research provide inconclusive evidence of the determinants of burnout and how to target interventions to promote staff wellbeing.

OBJECTIVES

The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of burnout using the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) burnout-engagement workplace profiles in a sample of Australian PICU staff and investigate associations between demographic characteristics, meaningful work, satisfaction with life, and psychological distress on burnout.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey was administered to a multidisciplinary sample of PICU staff (target n = 464) from three tertiary paediatric hospitals in Australia. The survey tool was comprised of the MBI, Work and Meaning Inventory, Satisfaction with Life Scale, Kessler Psychological Distress Scale, and demographic questions. Hierarchical multiple regressions examined the relationships between burnout and these variables of interest.

RESULTS

A sample of 258 participants (56%) completed the survey. For most respondents, burnout was scored as a low to moderate risk, with over half the participants scoring low risk for emotional exhaustion (EE) (56%) and depersonalisation (DP) (54%). Personal accomplishment (PA) was more evenly distributed (range of burnout risk: low, 32%; moderate, 32%; high, 36%). MBI scores were classified using the burnout-engaged workplace profile system, identifying low levels of burnout (8% burnout, 3% disengaged, 21% overextended, 29% ineffective, and 39% engaged). Psychological distress significantly increased burnout risk across all three dimensions EE (β = 0.253, p < 0.001), DP (β = 0.145, p < 0.05), and PA (β = -0.13, p < 0.05), and being aged between 41 and 55 years was protective of depersonalisation (β = -0.214, p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Utilising MBI workplace profiles, this study has built upon the demand for a more comprehensive assessment of burnout. Research that helps improve our understanding of contributory factors to burnout and wellbeing will inform the development of effective interventions that promote wellbeing of staff.

Predictors of Satisfaction With Work Environment in the Context of a Mismatch in Working Hours: A Nationwide, Large-Scale, Cross-Sectional Study

This nationwide, large-scale, cross-sectional study has hypothesized that there might be differences in workers' satisfaction with work environment depending on demographic, socio-economic, and work characteristics in the context of a mismatch between actual and preferred working hours. The current study is a secondary data analysis of the Fifth Korean Working Conditions Survey. A total of 29 694 subjects (n = 29 694) were finally included in the current study. Female gender (β = -.372, OR 0.689 [95% CI 0.646-0.736]), age of ≥60 years old (β = .226, OR 1.253 [95% CI 1.089-1.441]), graduation from middle school (β = -.320, OR 0.726 [95% CI 0.616-0.856]), college (β = .492, OR 1.636 [95% CI 1.371-1.952]), or university (β = .826, OR 2.283 [95% CI 1.918-2.718]), fixed period of work (β = -.105, OR 0.901 [95% CI 0.823-0.986]), full-time employment (β = -.105, OR 0.900 [95% CI 0.813-0.996]), the engagement in public sector (β = .544, OR 1.722 [95% CI 1.532-1.935]), private-public partnership organization (β = .605, OR 1.832 [95% CI 1.342-2.500]) or NPO or NGO (β = .780, OR 2.182 [95% CI 1.522-3.127]), regular side job (β = -.929, OR 0.395 [95% CI 0.289-0.539]), or temporary side job (β = -.330, OR 0.719 [95% CI 0.533-0.970]), membership of multiple teams (β = -.501, OR 0.606 [95% CI 0.552-0.666]), labor union (β = .143, OR 1.154 [95% CI 1.047-1.273]), and better health status (β = .977, OR 2.657 [95% CI 1.175-6.007]) were predictors of satisfaction with work environment in the context of a mismatch between actual and desired working hours. Based on the current results, it can be concluded that female gender, age of ≥60 years old, graduation from middle school, college, or university, fixed period of work, full-time employment, the engagement in public sector, private-public partnership organization or NPO or NGO, regular side job or temporary side job, membership of multiple teams, labor union, and better health status were predictors of satisfaction with work environment.

Occupational Safety and Health Staging Framework for Decent Work

The 2030 United Nations Goal 8 for sustainable development focuses on decent work. There is utility in identifying the occupational safety and health aspects of Goal 8, as they pertain to the four pillars of decent work: job creation, social protection, rights of workers, and social dialogue. A workgroup of the International Commission on Occupational Health and collaborators addressed the issue of decent work and occupational safety and health (OSH) with the objective of elaborating a framework for guidance for practitioners, researchers, employers, workers, and authorities. This article presents that framework, which is based on an examination of the literature and the perspectives of the workgroup. The framework encompasses the intersection of the pillars of decent (employment creation, social protection, rights of workers, and social dialogue) work with new and emerging hazards and risks related to various selected determinants: new technologies and new forms of work; demographics (aging and gender); globalization; informal work; migration; pandemics; and OSH policies and climate change. The OSH field will need an expanded focus to address the future of decent work. This focus should incorporate the needs of workers and workforces in terms of their well-being. The framework identifies a starting point for the OSH community to begin to promote decent work.

Employment Industry and Occupational Class in Relation to Serious Psychological Distress in the United States

Occupational characteristics may influence serious psychological distress (SPD) and contribute to health inequities; yet, few studies have examined multiple employment industries and occupational classes in a large, racially diverse sample of the United States. Using data from the National Health Interview Survey, we investigated employment industry and occupational class in relation to SPD in the overall population and by race/ethnicity, gender, age, household income, and health status. We created eight employment industry categories: professional/administrative/management, agricultural/manufacturing/construction, retail trade, finance/information/real estate, educational services, health care/social assistance, accommodation/food services, and public administration/arts/other services. We also created three occupational class categories: professional/management, support services, and laborers. SPD was measured using the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale and scores ≥13 indicated SPD. We adjusted for confounders and used Poisson regression to estimate prevalence ratios (PRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Among the 245,038 participants, the mean age was 41.7 ± 0.1 years, 73% were Non-Hispanic (NH)-White, and 1.5% were categorized as having SPD. Compared to the professional/administrative/management industry, working in other industries (e.g., manufacturing/construction (PR = 0.82 [95% CI: 0.70–0.95]) and educational services (PR = 0.79 [95% CI: 0.66–0.94])) was associated with lower SPD. Working in support services and laborer versus professional/management positions were both associated with 19% higher prevalence of SPD (95% CI: 1.04–1.35; 95% CI: 1.04–1.38, respectively). Furthermore, working in a support services or laborer versus professional/management position was associated with higher SPD in most employment industries. Industry-specific workplace interventions to equitably improve mental health are warranted.

The Quality of Life and the Bio-Molecular Profile in Working Environment: A Systematic Review

Working life is characterised by various requirements and degrees of control in meeting these demands. The imbalance of these elements with workers’ resources can result in work-related stress involving the repeated activation of stress response systems. Modifications in the bio-molecular profile may represent a biological signature of individuals’ life experiences and provide evidence on pathways through which such stressors can result in health outcomes. The aim of our systematic review is to characterize the quality of life (QOL) and the bio-molecular profile in the working population, to highlight if the alteration observed might be related to the working conditions. The article query was performed on PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane CENTRAL and results have been presented according to three molecular pathways involved in the stress response: oxidative stress, inflammation, and neuroendocrine activation. The epidemiological sample has been sub-grouped into “clinical” and “non-clinical” populations according to the presence of a diagnosis of psychological disorders. Besides some critical issues, the review highlights the importance of developing a valid array of biological indicators, measurable in non-invasive matrices, sensitive to both derangements from physiological conditions and stress reduction, useful for identifying those groups at higher risk of health outcomes and, eventually, promoting workers’ wellbeing.

Occupational outcomes of people with multiple sclerosis: a scoping review

OBJECTIVES

To update the knowledge on the occupational outcomes associated with multiple sclerosis (MS), systematically examine the extent, scope and nature of the pre-existing literature and identify research gaps in the existing literature.

DESIGN

Scoping review.

DATA SOURCES

A comprehensive database search of PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, SciVerse ScienceDirect and Web of Science was performed. There were no time limits.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

We included any peer-reviewed original article reporting the occupational outcomes of people with MS between the ages of 18 and 65 years. We excluded those off-topic and with insufficient information.

METHODS

This review was conducted following the Joanna Briggs Institute recommendations and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses for scoping review checklist. Screening, reading of full-texts and data extraction was performed in a standardised way by expert reviewers from 14 July 2021 to 31 October 2021. We provided a narrative synthesis and an overview of findings.

RESULTS

The initial systematic search yielded 104 228 results. After removing duplicates and applying the exclusion criteria, 403 articles were included in the review. In total, the studies evaluated 492 062 subjects with MS. One hundred fifty-four (38.2%) articles were published in the last 5 years, mostly from Europe and North America (50.9% and 33.0%, respectively). Concerning the occupational outcomes, studies mostly addressed unemployment (311, 77.2%), early retirement (120, 29.8%), disability pension (117, 29.0%), sick leave (77, 19.1%), the indirect cost of MS (74, 18.4%) and work characteristics (57, 14.1%). The results were categorised into seven subtopics: 'Changes in work and occupational status due to MS', 'work-related socio-economic consequences of MS', 'risk factors for unfavourable occupational outcomes', 'reported barriers to employment', 'reported job accommodations and vocational rehabilitation strategies', 'job satisfaction, stigma, and disclosing the diagnosis in the workplace' and 'rating clinical scales'.

CONCLUSIONS

There are several issues that deserve further in-depth study by the scientific community in order to improve the occupational outcomes of people with MS.

Analysis of Start-Up Digital Mental Health Platforms for Enterprise: Opportunities for Enhancing Communication between Managers and Employees

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in employees being exposed to transformational stressors from within and outside the organization. This has created an opportunity for employee mental health solutions. Indeed, there has been a rapid growth in start-ups offering clinical mental health services via a digital health platform. These platforms servicing enterprise employee mental health needs have not been evaluated with respect to their ability to enhance management communication. Hence, the aims of the present study are to explore communication and service attributes across a sample of five operational leading commercial start-up platforms for mental service delivery to employees. We have observed that all platform models focused on providing on-demand mental health consultation services. Existing platforms fail to adequately support management communication for mental health solutions across 80% of platforms reviewed. We recommend that industry start-ups should understand the need for management engagement with digital mental health platforms. Digital mental health platform solutions in the workplace are ideally supported by valuing leadership communication. A culture around mental health will create sustainability in digital mental health solutions for an organization.

The sociocultural barriers of work‐from‐home arrangement due to COVID ‐19 pandemic in Asia: Implications and future implementation

The rapidly escalating COVID‐19 pandemic entails many unprecedented life circumstances, including in the way people work. The social distancing policy has forced companies to adopt work‐from‐home (WFH) arrangement to maintain business sustainability amidst both health and economic crises. While in many developed countries, WFH arrangement has been a common practice, this is not the case in some Asian countries, particularly in countries where high power distance emphasising heightened supervision and punishment among workers are still a preferred managerial style, such as Indonesia, China, India, and Thailand. While acknowledging that WFH is considered as beyond an option in this pandemic period, this commentary paper, built on existing literature presented in the narrative fashion, aims to critically identify key barriers of WFH implementation in some Asian countries, particularly in autocratic societies, using both theoretical and contextual approaches. The paper concludes by discussing recommendation for future studies and proposing strategic implications for companies and workers to effectively adopt WFH arrangement, especially in societies where WFH is still a new practice or is involuntarily held.

"It's a Big Family Here." Becoming and Belonging in a Service Providing Employment-Related Support for People with Mental Health Problems: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

The impact of employment for individuals with mental health problems is complex. However, research suggests that when support is provided for accessing employment and gaining roles and skills that are valued by others, a positive effect can be seen on recovery. Employment-related support can take many forms and there is a need for further research into the experience of accessing different kinds of services. The current paper examines the lived experience of 11 people participating in a UK social enterprise providing work experience, training, and skills development for those with mental health problems. Although 'sheltered', the organisational ethos strongly emphasised service-user empowerment, co-production, equality with staff, provision of valued social roles and person-centred support. Phenomenological analysis revealed that participants valued a sense of belonging and authentic relationships within the service, whilst being given the opportunity to rediscover an identity that may have been lost because of their mental health problem. However, participants also discussed how, although the service improved their self-value, some feared the 'real world' outside of the service and were unsure whether they would be met with the same support. Tensions between field dominant approaches in supported employment and the experiences and values of the participants are explored. We argue that the findings highlight the importance of a nurturing working environment and the value for recovery of a range of meaningful roles, beyond competitive employment.

Factors Associated with Work-Related Burnout among Corporate Employees Amidst COVID-19 Pandemic

Work-related burnout is common and has detrimental effects on employees in many industries. The current study aims to examine both environmental and personal factors that are associated with work-related burnout in a population of corporate employees who managed to retain their jobs amidst the global COVID-19 pandemic crisis. This cross-sectional survey served as the baseline data collection of a phase III wait-listed cluster randomised controlled trial (CRCT) of an intervention program on mental well-being at the workplace. Participants were recruited from six large-size corporations. Work-related burnout was assessed by the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), and the Moos Work Environment Scale (WES) was used for evaluating the workers’ perspective on the workplace. Information was also collected on demographics and health behaviours. Burnout in this sample was prevalent with 60% of participants rated at a moderate to a high level on emotional exhaustion. Results from the multiple linear regression analyses suggested that different factors were related to different components of burnout. For example, age, work involvement, co-worker cohesion, and work pressure were associated with emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation while others were related to professional accomplishment. The overall results suggested that the work environment is of influential importance to the burnout of employees. However, although the study was conducted during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the factors identified as relating to workplace burnout do not differ much from those identified in a crisis time. Implications of the results were discussed.

Impact of Fear of COVID-19 Pandemic on Job Insecurity and Subjective Well-Being

Earlier research on the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) mainly focused on fear and its psychological impact on frontline health workers. However, the uncertainty of COVID-19, job insecurity and its effects on non-frontline employees’ perception of their well-being is rarely explored. This study aims to assess the relationship between subjective well-being and the fear of the COVID-19 outbreak. Furthermore, this study explores how employees’ awareness of their job insecurity influences this relationship. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), and Spearman’s correlation analyses were used to examine the significance of the relationships between fear of COVID-19 and subjective well-being and the moderating role of job insecurity in this relationship. The findings indicate that greater fear of COVID-19 is associated with a lower level of perceived subjective well-being. However, a higher perception of fear of COVID-19 and its interaction with job insecurity are associated with a higher risk of employees’ well-being. Our study highlights the factors such as fear of COVID-19 and job insecurities that undermine their well-being. Our study provdies practical implications for employees’, managers, and healthcare policymakers to adopt effective strategies to reduce stress among employees. These recommendations include using practical tactics to safeguard the employees health and jobs while effectively coping with the pandemic.

Quantifying the Effect of Noise on Cognitive Processes: A Review of Psychophysiological Correlates of Workload

Noise is present in most work environments, including emissions from machines and devices, irrelevant speech from colleagues, and traffic noise. Although it is generally accepted that noise below the permissible exposure limits does not pose a considerable risk for auditory effects like hearing impairments. Yet, noise can have a direct adverse effect on cognitive performance (non-auditory effects like workload or stress). Under certain circumstances, the observable performance for a task carried out in silence compared to noisy surroundings may not differ. One possible explanation for this phenomenon needs further investigation: individuals may invest additional cognitive resources to overcome the distraction from irrelevant auditory stimulation. Recent developments in measurements of psychophysiological correlates and analysis methods of load-related parameters can shed light on this complex interaction. These objective measurements complement subjective self-report of perceived effort by quantifying unnoticed noise-related cognitive workload. In this review, literature databases were searched for peer-reviewed journal articles that deal with an at least partially irrelevant "auditory stimulation" during an ongoing "cognitive task" that is accompanied by "psychophysiological correlates" to quantify the "momentary workload." The spectrum of assessed types of "auditory stimulations" extended from speech stimuli (varying intelligibility), oddball sounds (repeating short tone sequences), and auditory stressors (white noise, task-irrelevant real-life sounds). The type of "auditory stimulation" was related (speech stimuli) or unrelated (oddball, auditory stressor) to the type of primary "cognitive task." The types of "cognitive tasks" include speech-related tasks, fundamental psychological assessment tasks, and real-world/simulated tasks. The "psychophysiological correlates" include pupillometry and eye-tracking, recordings of brain activity (hemodynamic, potentials), cardiovascular markers, skin conductance, endocrinological markers, and behavioral markers. The prevention of negative effects on health by unexpected stressful soundscapes during mental work starts with the continuous estimation of cognitive workload triggered by auditory noise. This review gives a comprehensive overview of methods that were tested for their sensitivity as markers of workload in various auditory settings during cognitive processing.

The Associations between Job Strain, Workplace PERMA Profiler, and Work Engagement

OBJECTIVE

Our purpose was to examine the relationship between job strain, work engagement, and the dimensions of well-being according to the Workplace PERMA (Positive Emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, Accomplishment) model.

METHODS

310 workers completed a web-based questionnaire, namely, the Brief Job Stress Questionnaire, Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, and the Workplace PERMA Profiler. Regression analyses were conducted on well-being and each scale of job strain, including job demands, job control, supervisor support and co-worker support.

RESULTS

Job control, supervisor support, and co-worker support were significantly correlated with the scores of five dimensions, and Happiness of the PERMA Profiler (except for between supervisor support and Accomplishment). Job demands was only significantly correlated with Engagement and Meaning.

CONCLUSIONS

All well-being dimensions were commonly influenced by job control and workplace support, while Engagement and Meaning were also facilitated by challenging job demands.

Sustainability in the Case of Small Vegetable Farmers: A Matrix Approach

Considering that sustainability is a relative concept, but also that this limitation could be avoided through continuous adaptation of the evaluation tools by taking into account the directions of change (such as time, space, application domain), the goal of the present study is to elaborate a matrix for measuring the level of sustainability for small vegetable farms. Thus, looking at what sustainability could represent under such circumstances, we divided its characteristics into four main dimensions (economic, social, environmental, cultural), while adding the private dimension. Inclusion of the private dimension may provide potential added value to this study, and thus enrich the general perspective of producers’ capacity to meet the sustainability goals in their entrepreneurial activity. To quantify these five dimensions of the sustainability matrix, a questionnaire was built up and used as support for face-to-face interviews conducted at the level of the North-East Development Region of Romania. Our results showed associations between diverse components of the dimensions considered, revealing their synergy in farm activity, along with the occurrence of some differences in the levels of sustainability dimensions and sub-dimensions, which differ as a function of the specific types of vegetable production (conventional, ecologic, natural, mixed).

How Will the Future of Work Shape OSH Research and Practice? A Workshop Summary

Growth of the information economy and globalization of labor markets will be marked by exponential growth in emerging technologies that will cause considerable disruption of the social and economic sectors that drive the global job market. These disruptions will alter the way we work, where we work, and will be further affected by the changing demographic characteristics and level of training of the available workforce. These changes will likely result in scenarios where existing workplace hazards are exacerbated and new hazards with unknown health effects are created. The pace of these changes heralds an urgent need for a proactive approach to understand the potential effects new and emerging workplace hazards will have on worker health, safety, and well-being. As employers increasingly rely on non-standard work arrangements, research is needed to better understand the work organization and employment models that best support decent work and improved worker health, safety, and well-being. This need has been made more acute by the SARS-CoV-2 global pandemic that has resulted in dramatic changes in employment patterns, millions of lost jobs, an erosion of many economic sectors, and widespread disparities which further challenge occupational safety and health (OSH) systems to ensure a healthy and productive workplace. To help identify new research approaches to address OSH challenges in the future, a virtual workshop was organized in June 2020 with leading experts in the fields of OSH, well-being, research methods, mental health, economics, and life-course analysis. A paradigm shift will be needed for OSH research in the future of work that embraces key stakeholders and thinks differently about research that will improve lives of workers and enhance enterprise success. A more transdisciplinary approach to research will be needed that integrates the skills of traditional and non-traditional OSH research disciplines, as well as broader research methods that support the transdisciplinary character of an expanded OSH paradigm. This article provides a summary of the presentations, discussion, and recommendations that will inform the agenda of the Expanded Focus for Occupational Safety and Health (Ex4OSH) International Conference, planned for December 2021.

The future of research on work, safety, health and wellbeing: A guiding conceptual framework

Work plays a central role in health. A conceptual model can help frame research priorities and questions to explore determinants of workers' safety, health, and wellbeing. A previous conceptual model focused on the workplace setting to emphasize the role of conditions of work in shaping workers' safety, health and wellbeing. These conditions of work include physical, organizational, and psychosocial factors. This manuscript presents and discusses an updated and expanded conceptual model, placing the workplace and the conditions of work within the broader context of socio-political-economic environments and consequent trends in employment and labor force patterns. Social, political and economic trends, such as growing reliance on technology, climate change, and globalization, have significant implications for workers' day-to-day experiences. These structural forces in turn shape employment and labor patterns, with implications for the availability and quality of jobs; the nature of relationships between employers and workers; and the benefits and protections available to workers. Understanding these patterns will be critical for anticipating the consequences of future changes in the conditions of work, and ultimately help inform decision-making around policies and practices intended to protect and promote worker safety, health, and wellbeing. This model provides a structure for anticipating research needs in response to the changing nature of work, including the formation of research priorities, the need for expanded research methods and measures, and attention to diverse populations of enterprises and workers. This approach anticipates changes in the way work is structured, managed, and experienced by workers and can effectively inform policies and practices needed to protect and promote worker safety, health and wellbeing.

Psychometric Properties of the Psychological Well-being at Work Scale in Gabonese Public Administration

The objective of this article is to corroborate the original Dagenais-Desmarais & Savoie psychological well-being measurement instrument in the civil service in Gabon. This instrument is composed of five factors relating to lived experiences of psychological well-being in the workplace. To adapt it to the civil service in Gabon, 310 civil servants from various ministries completed a measurement tool. This was also done for nomological purposes and to assess job demands, job control, social support, and job satisfaction. Following exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, it appears that the dimensional structure of psychological well-being in the workplace (PWBW) is identical to the initial structure developed by Dagenais-Desmarais and Savoie. Moreover, the metric properties on the PWBW scale of the present research are satisfactory. The analyses confirm all the predictions of the nomological network, reinforcing the validity of the adaptation of the scale developed by Dagenais-Desmarais and Savoie to the world of public service work in Gabon.

The Power of Empowerment: Predictors and Benefits of Shared Leadership in Organizations

Leadership plays an essential part in creating competitive advantage and well-being among employees. One way in which formal leaders can deal with the variety of responsibilities that comes with their role is to share their responsibilities with team members (i.e., shared leadership). Although there is abundant literature on how high-quality peer leadership benefits team effectiveness (TE) and well-being, there is only limited evidence about the underpinning mechanisms of these relationships and how the formal leader can support this process. To address this lacuna, we conducted an online survey study with 146 employees from various organizations. The results suggest that an empowering leadership style of the formal leader is associated with higher perceived peer leadership quality (PLQ) on four different leadership roles (i.e., task, motivational, social, and external leader). In addition, formal leaders who empower their team members are also perceived as better leaders themselves. Moreover, the improved PLQ was in turn positively related to TE and work satisfaction, while being negatively related to burnout. In line with the social identity approach, we found that team identification mediated these relationships. Thus, high-quality peer leaders succeeded in creating a shared sense of “us” in the team, and this team identification in turn generated all the positive outcomes. To conclude, by sharing their lead and empowering the peer leaders in their team, formal leaders are key drivers of the team’s effectiveness, while also enhancing team members’ health and well-being.

Information communication technology, knowledge management, job and customer satisfaction: a study of healthcare workers in Lebanon

Purpose

The paper aims to identify, analyze and discuss the links between information and communications technology (ICT) and knowledge management (KM), on the one hand, and job satisfaction (JS) and customer satisfaction (CSAT), on the other hand, in hospitals in Lebanon.

Design/methodology/approach

A mixed-methods approach has been adopted that utilizes both quantitative and qualitative primary data, along with supportive and peripheral secondary ones. Specifically, a survey measuring variables was conducted among health-care professionals, with whom interviews were also conducted for greater depth and to refine the findings and relationships under study.

Findings

The results of the quantitative study find no statistically significant relationships between the variables. The qualitative study suggests that this is likely because of the subjectivity of the evaluations and/or their mutual canceling. This is further partly explained not only through technical/functional deficiencies of the system but also through the impact of implicit and peripheral forces, adjacent to contextual aspects.

Originality/value

The research adds significant and focused knowledge on the subject of the linkage of ICT and KM with JS and CSAT, in the context of emerging economies.

Potential Scenarios and Hazards in the Work of the Future: A Systematic Review of the Peer-Reviewed and Gray Literatures

It would be useful for researchers, practitioners, and decision-makers to anticipate the hazards that workers will face in the future. The focus of this study is a systematic review of published information to identify and characterize scenarios and hazards in the future of work. Eleven bibliographic databases were systematically searched for papers and reports published from 1999 to 2019 that described future of work scenarios or identified future work-related hazards. To compile a comprehensive collection of views of the future, supplemental and ad hoc searches were also performed. After screening all search records against a set of predetermined criteria, the review yielded 36 references (17 peer-reviewed, 4 gray, and 15 supplemental) containing scenarios. In these, the future of work was described along multiple conceptual axes (e.g. labor market changes, societal values, and manual versus cognitive work). Technology was identified as the primary driver of the future of work in most scenarios, and there were divergent views in the literature as to whether technology will create more or fewer jobs than it displaces. Workforce demographics, globalization, climate change, economic conditions, and urbanization were also mentioned as influential factors. Other important themes included human enhancement, social isolation, loneliness, worker monitoring, advanced manufacturing, hazardous exposures, sustainability, biotechnology, and synthetic biology. Pandemics have not been widely considered in the future of work literature, but the recent COVID-19 pandemic illustrates that was short-sighted. Pandemics may accelerate future of work trends and merit critical consideration in scenario development. Many scenarios described 'new' or 'exacerbated' psychosocial hazards of work, whereas comparatively fewer discussed physical, chemical, or biological hazards. Various preventive recommendations were identified. In particular, reducing stress associated with precarious work and its requirements of continual skill preparation and training was acknowledged as critical for protecting and promoting the health and well-being of the future workforce. In conclusion, the future of work will be comprised of diverse complex scenarios and a mosaic of old and new hazards. These findings may serve as the basis for considering how to shape the future of work.

Linking the Fit Between Achievement Goal Orientation and Learning Opportunities With Employee Well-Being and Absenteeism

Abstract. We examined the effects of a (mis)match between learning opportunities and individuals’ mastery goal orientation (GO; approach and avoidance) on well-being (i.e., job satisfaction, task enjoyment, need for recovery, and absenteeism). Data from a sample of 212 employees of an organization that provides guardianship for youngsters were collected and analyzed by means of polynomial regression and surface plot analysis. Our results indicate that a person's mastery GO enhances the positive effects of perceived learning opportunities. Hence, to foster employee well-being, organizations should not only provide ample learning opportunities but also foster a mastery GO. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Complex care needs and devolution in Greater Manchester: a pilot study to explore social care innovation in newly integrated service arrangements for older people

Objective The aim of this study was to describe emergent approaches to integrated care for older people with complex care needs and investigate the viability of measuring integrated care. Methods A case study approach was used. Sites were recruited following discussion with senior staff in health and social care agencies. Service arrangements were categorised using a framework developed by the researchers. To investigate joint working within the sites, the development model for integrated care was adapted and administered to the manager of each service. Data were collected in 2018. Results Six case study sites were recruited illustrating adult social care services partnerships in services for older people with home care providers, mental health and community nursing services. Most were established in 2018. Service arrangements were characterised by joint assessment and informal face-to-face discussions between staff. The development of an infrastructure to promote partnership working was evident between adult social care and each of the other services and most developed with home care providers. There was little evidence of a sequential approach to the development of integrated working practices. Conclusion Components of partnerships promoting integrated care have been highlighted and understanding of the complexity of measuring integrated care enhanced. Means of information sharing and work force development require further consideration. What is known about the topic? The devolution of health and social care arrangements in Greater Manchester has aroused considerable interest in much wider arenas. Necessarily much of the focus in available material has been upon strategic development, analysis of broader trends and mechanisms and a concern with changes in the healthcare system. What does this paper add? The findings from this study will enable emerging approaches to be described and codified, and permit the specific social care contribution to the new arrangements to be discerned. The findings are relevant beyond the immediate context of Greater Manchester to wider integrated care. The evidence can be used by commissioners and services, providing a sound basis for further work as service systems develop. What are the implications for practitioners? This research is important because it is one of the first pieces of work to examine the new integrated care arrangements in Greater Manchester. By providing guidance to promote evidence-based practice, this study contributes to service development in Greater Manchester and the achievement of the broad national service objectives of improving user and carer experiences and ensuring value for money.

Well-Being in Life and Well-Being at Work: Which Comes First? Evidence From a Longitudinal Study

Understanding reciprocal relationships between specific arenas in life and at work is critical for designing interventions to improve workplace health and safety. Most studies about the links between dimensions of well-being in life and at work have been cross-sectional and usually narrowly focused on one of the dimensions of the work-life well-being link. The issues of causality and feedback between life and work well-being have often not been addressed. We overcome these issues by measuring six aspects of well-being for both the work arena and life in general, using longitudinal data with a clear temporal sequence of cause and effect, and by explicitly accounting for feedback with potential effects in both directions. Nine hundred and fifty-four Mexican apparel factory workers at a major global brand participated in two waves of the Worker Well-Being Survey. Data on life satisfaction and job satisfaction, happiness and positive affect, meaning and purpose, health, and social relationships in life and at work were used. Lagged regression controlling for confounders and prior outcomes was employed. Sensitivity analysis was used to assess the robustness of the results to potential unmeasured confounding. For the relationships between life satisfaction and job satisfaction and between happiness in life and happiness at work effects in both directions were found. Nevertheless, indication of a larger effect of life satisfaction on job satisfaction than the reverse was obtained. For depression and meaning in life, there was evidence for an effect of life well-being on work-related well-being, but not for the reverse. For social relationships and purpose, there was evidence for an effect of work-related well-being on life well-being, but not the reverse. Relationships based on the longitudinal data were considerably weaker than their respective cross-sectional associations. This study contributes to our understanding of the nature of the relationship between aspects of well-being in the arenas of life and work. Findings from this study may facilitate the development of novel workplace programs promoting working conditions that enable lifelong flourishing in life and at work.

Oxytocin & well-being as promoters of affect regulation and homeostasis: a neuroscientific review

Neurohormone oxytocin release affects mood and behavior in humans, regulating emotional and physiologic aspects.  Neuroscience associates well-being to oxytocin to characterize a general positive-valenced emotional state.  However, the terms well-being and oxytocin are absent, or present in a limited way, in most indexes of psychological terminology and health science descriptors.  This study aimed at studying how this association occurs in literature, based on a systematic review on oxytocin and well-being in the last five years.  Main results: the neuroscientific context seemed to be the most adequate to the study between oxytocin and well-being; association between psychological and neuroendocrine aspects was unusual; medical templates predominated over psychological references;  oxytocin release and feelings of well-being were associated to stimuli of the affective-sensorial type, to psychiatric interventions, to familiarity; results varied according to age, gender, context and personality.  

Negative Influences of the 4th Industrial Revolution on the Workplace: Towards a Theoretical Model of Entropic Citizen Behavior in Toxic Organizations

The 4th industrial revolution, referred to as a ‘second coming’ of the ‘digital era,’ has introduced both positive and negative effects on the workplace. While digitalization and automation have taken the drudgery out of work for some and released them to enjoy qualitative improvements at work and higher salaries, others have been thrust into low-paying work and unemployment with negative effects on their well-being and mental health. In many cases stress and threats of job loss created by digital era automation have generated negative workplace behavior and workplace outcomes. The 4th industrial revolution and its burgeoning information technology have presented widespread access to information to stakeholders and the general public about organizational business and environmental performance. This open access to information has driven toxic business leaders to maintain company profitability and environmental sustainability by pressuring employees to find solutions to difficult organizational problems with short timelines attached. Employees often are required to ‘go the extra mile’ to achieve organizational goals through forms of organizational citizenship behavior. Additionally, although organizational citizenship behavior can generate significant benefits for a company, toxic and entropic workplace outcomes can also occur from its more extreme manifestations arising from the stressful circumstances digitalization and automation of work have created. The methodological approach adopted in this paper is a secondary data analysis which uses reliable and valid sources of report documentation to corroborate a theoretical model of organizational citizenship behavior entropy. The theoretical model suggests that extreme forms of organizational citizenship behavior associated with the digital era can create toxic leaders and business organizations that lead to organizational entropy.

Creating a Culture of Health in Planning and Implementing Innovative Strategies Addressing Non-communicable Chronic Diseases

Ongoing demographic changes are challenging health systems worldwide especially in relation to increasing longevity and the resultant rise of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). To meet these challenges, a paradigm shift to a more proactive approach to health promotion, and maintenance is needed. This new paradigm focuses on creating and implementing an ecological model of Culture of Health. The conceptualization of the Culture of Health is defined as one where good health and well-being flourish across geographic, demographic, and social sectors; fostering healthy equitable communities where citizens have the opportunity to make choices and be co-producers of healthy lifestyles. Based on Antonovsky's Salutogenesis model which asserts that the experience of health moves along a continuum across the lifespan, we will identify the key drivers for achieving a Culture of Health. These include mindset/expectations, sense of community, and civic engagement. The present article discusses these drivers and identifies areas where policy and research actions are needed to advance positive change on population health and well-being. We highlight empirical evidence of drivers within the EU guided by the activities within the thematic Action Groups of the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Aging (EIP on AHA), focusing on Lifespan Health Promotion and Prevention of Age-Related Frailty and Disease (A3 Action Group). We will specifically focus on the effect of Culture on Health, highlighting cross-cutting drivers across domains such as innovations at the individual and community level, and in synergies with business, policy, and research entities. We will present examples of drivers for creating a Culture of Health, the barriers, the remaining gaps, and areas of future research to achieve an inclusive and sustainable asset-based community.

Perceived Job Insecurity and Sustainable Wellbeing: Do Coping Strategies Help?

For workers, perceived job insecurity represents a threat and an obstacle towards achieving a decent and sustainable dimension of wellbeing at work and in life. Using the theoretical background of the psychology of sustainability and sustainable development, the aim of this study is to deepen the relation between subjective job insecurity, self-related health and life satisfaction considering the effect of personal resources, such as specific coping strategies that people may undertake facing job insecurity perceptions. The hypotheses were tested in a convenience sample of 769 employees in France. Data were collected with a self-report questionnaire and analyzed with the Statistical Package for the Social Science (IBM SPSS). Results showed that job insecurity was negatively related to self-reported health and life satisfaction; furthermore, problem-focused coping of the type of job, social support and training searching behaviors resulted in worsening this negative relationship. This study expanded the understanding of coping in the context of job insecurity and showed the limitations that proactive coping strategies have against job insecurity. These results encourage the debate on how far is it possible to attain sustainable wellbeing by relying on personal resources when job insecurity is experienced.

Stress-Preventive Management Competencies, Psychosocial Work Environments, and Affective Well-Being: A Multilevel, Multisource Investigation

The Management Competencies for Preventing and Reducing Stress at Work framework represents one of the few tailored models of leadership for work stress prevention purposes, but it has never been empirically evaluated. The aim of this study was to investigate whether supervisors’ stress-preventive management competencies, as measured by the Stress Management Competencies Indicator Tool (SMCIT), are related to employees’ affective well-being through psychosocial work environmental factors. To this end, multilevel structural equation modelling (MSEM) was developed and tested, including data provided by both supervisors and employees. Supervisors (n = 84) self-assessed their stress-preventive management competencies (i.e., being respectful and responsible, managing and communicating existing and future work, reasoning and managing difficult situations, and managing the individual within the team) with a previously validated reduced version of the SMCIT. The supervised employees (n = 584) rated job content (e.g., job demands) and work context (e.g., role clarity) psychosocial factors and their job-related affective well-being. Supervisors’ job-related affective well-being was also included in the tested model. The results revealed that the stress-preventive competencies factor was related to employees’ affective well-being through the psychosocial work environment only when the latter was operationalized by means of contextual work factors. Supervisors’ affective well-being was related to their stress-preventive competencies, but it was not related to employees’ affective well-being. We discuss the implications of the results obtained.

Well-Being and the Social Environment of Work: A Systematic Review of Intervention Studies

There is consistent evidence that a good social environment in the workplace is associated with employee well-being. However, there has been no specific review of interventions to improve well-being through improving social environments at work. We conducted a systematic review of such interventions, and also considered performance as an outcome. We found eight studies of interventions. Six studies were of interventions that were based on introducing shared social activities into workgroups. Six out of the six studies demonstrated improvements in well-being across the sample (five studies), or for an identifiable sub-group (one study). Four out of the five studies demonstrated improvements in social environments, and four out of the five studies demonstrated improvements in indicators of performance. Analysis of implementation factors indicated that the interventions based on shared activities require some external facilitation, favorable worker attitudes prior to the intervention, and several different components. We found two studies that focused on improving fairness perceptions in the workplace. There were no consistent effects of these interventions on well-being or performance. We conclude that there is some evidence that interventions that increase the frequency of shared activities between workers can improve worker well-being and performance. We offer suggestions for improving the evidence base.