Appreciation

Since September 1991, I have been a member of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES). For over 31 years, I have participated in HFES conferences, worked with human factors and ergonomics colleagues among other professionals such as occupational therapy practitioners, conducted and published research studies, read scientific articles and volunteered in leadership roles. Examples of these leadership roles include the technical group chair and technical program chair of both the Environmental Design and Children’s Issues Technical Groups; and as the HFES Outreach Division Chair. This latter role gave me the opportunity to work with the HFES Executive Council (EC) members and participate in EC meetings which provide me with insight into the various operations of a professional organization and how important it is to be an active participant in its activities. In 2016, I was grateful to be selected as a Fellow of the HFES and honored to join these esteemed colleagues. Internationally, I have had the opportunity to be in volunteer leadership roles with the International Ergonomics Association (IEA). The IEA is the global federation of 54 Human Factors/Ergonomics Societies which includes HFES. From 2007– 2012, I was the chairperson of the Ergonomics for Children and Educational Environments (ECEE) Technical Committee; and from 2010– 2012, the chairperson of the Science, Technology, and Practice which allowed me to work with colleagues to plan the IEA Congress in Recife, Brazil. Recently, I was nominated for and received the IEA’s Fellow Award which is given in recognition of outstanding and sustained advancement of ergonomics and human factors at an international level. Being both a HFES and IEA fellow brings special meaning to my professional journey where I have focused on strengthening the connection between ergonomics and occupational therapy locally, nationally, and internationally and by trying to inspire professionals in these areas to develop and apply new knowledge in innovative ways to meet societal needs. I am appreciative of all the mentors and colleagues who have supported me on my professional journey. WORK supports the IEA with past publications and an upcoming special issue later this year with papers from the 2021 Congress. We are appreciative of this collaboration.

I started this From the Editor with a quote about appreciation. It seemed fitting that the Editor’s Choice paper should be about this topic: Appreciation at work and the effect on employees’ presenteeism authored by Bregenzer, Jiménez and Milfelner. In their review of the evidence literature they wrote, “The appreciation that employees receive from the supervisor and the work environment can prevent illness in the first place and thus lead to lower presenteeism rates. On the other hand, a work environment with a high level of recognition empowers employees in such a way that in case of illness, staying at home is accepted rather than sanctioned.” Their findings “ ...  indicate that appreciative behavior builds resources at the workplace with are essential for showing less presenteeism at work”.

In total, there are 30 articles in this issue; five on COVID-19-related topics and others on themes such as school backpacks, non-physical factors that impact return to work, bullying, the effect of low-cost automation on labor productivity, risk factors for carpal tunnel syndrome, work activity limitations in adults with rheumatoid arthritis and many other topics.

I hope you will join us for the October 6, 2022 from 1pm-2pm EST Learn at WORK webinar on An examination of the psychosocial factors impacting workplace accommodation requests in individuals with mental disabilities. This Editor’s Choice paper was published in WORK (vol. 72, no. 3, pp. 865-874, 2022). The presenter is Dr. Shengli Dong from Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA (sdong3@fsu.edu). Register at: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8564242728282435853

With appreciation,

Founding Editor, WORK

Occupational therapist & ergonomist

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