Work - Volume 76, issue 2

Authors: Berglund, Leif | Johansson, Jan | Johansson, Maria | Nygren, Magnus | Stenberg, Magnus

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Despite numerous regulatory initiatives to improve health and safety in the construction industry, it still ranks as one of the most accident-prone industries worldwide. A dedicated focus on safety culture has been suggested as a complement to laws, regulations and management systems. OBJECTIVE: This article explores safety culture research conducted in the construction industry, with the aim to provide insight into the specific themes that tend to be in focus as well as what theoretical and methodological approaches that tend to be favored. METHODS: Searches in scientific databases were conducted twice. In a first attempt, …searches resulted in 54 hits but only two articles fit the scope of the study. A revision of the search phrase resulted in 124 hits. Ultimately, 17 articles fit the scope of the study and were included. The content of the articles was analyzed and sorted thematically. RESULTS: The results show that four themes are prevalent in the existing literature: 1) unique challenges entail a need for situated applications, 2) models developed to operationalize safety culture, 3) measuring safety culture, and 4) safety management and leadership as key factors. CONCLUSION: Although research focusing on the construction industry has come to favor certain study designs and definitions of safety culture, further research may be enriched by broadening the theoretical and methodological perspectives. Specifically, researchers should conduct more in-depth qualitative studies that take the complexity of the industry into account, including the interpersonal relations between the actors involved. Show more

Keywords: Construction work, occupational health and safety, safety management

DOI: 10.3233/WOR-220214

Citation: Work, vol. 76, no. 2, pp. 549-560, 2023

Authors: Wagman, Petra | Gunnarsson, A. Birgitta | Hjärthag, Fredrik | Hedin, Katarina | Håkansson, Carita

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Quality of life (QOL), sense of coherence (SOC) and occupational balance (OB) have been found to increase after rehabilitation among people living with depression and anxiety. However, these aspects have not been investigated over time in participants with different paid work situations, such as being on sick leave or not. OBJECTIVE: To describe and compare the self-rated QOL, SOC and OB after participation in occupational therapy in three groups of people with depression and anxiety disorders based on their work situation during the study period: continuous sick leave, return to work and continuous work. METHODS: …Forty-seven women and seven men, 19–60 years old with depression and anxiety were followed over time. They completed questionnaires on QOL, SOC and OB on four occasions. Data were analyzed with non-parametric statistics. RESULTS: No statistically significant differences between the groups were identified. All groups improved in at least one of the studied areas over time: the sick leave group in OB; the return-to-work group in QOL and OB; and the Work group in QOL and SOC. CONCLUSION: The results indicate variations in QOL, SOC and OB between people with different work situations over time after occupational therapy. Studies with larger samples are, however, warranted. Show more

Keywords: Mental health, rehabilitation, return to work

DOI: 10.3233/WOR-220096

Citation: Work, vol. 76, no. 2, pp. 561-568, 2023

Authors: Ipaki, Bahram | Molenbroek, Johan F.M. | Merrikhpour, Zahra | Faregh, Seyed Ali

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: The Quick Exposure Check (QEC) assesses four major body parts and engages users in assessing some physical interactions relevant to design in task analysis. OBJECTIVE: In this paper, we investigated the application of QEC as the ergonomic intervention to detect pre-production ergonomic design faults in the apple sorting machine by applying physical and virtual prototyping for three different tasks analysis divided into two phases (Task 1: Apple harvesting and preparation for sorting; Task 2: Sorting control and separation of waste fruits; Task 3: Transfer of separated apples). METHOD: First, the QEC questionnaire was administered while …Iranian participants interacted with the machine to detect abnormal posture. Second, we redesigned a concept of the machine and assessed it with QEC by a focus group. RESULTS: Before design, the high pressure in Task 1 is on the back (dynamic), shoulder/arm, and very high pressure in Task 2, and in Task 3 on the back (static), arm/shoulder/neck, making an uncomfortable situation for posture. After redesign, we observed decreased pressures on the back/shoulder/arm in Task 1 from high to medium, in Task 3 from very high to low, and also in Task 2, this was detectable decreasing from very high pressures on the back/shoulder/arm and the high pressures on the neck to medium. CONCLUSION: Prototyping with QEC demonstrated that accurate redesigning of the machine with concentration on shifting from static tasks to dynamic or conversely, and ease of access by adjusting dimensions according to anthropometry and auxiliary products, could reduce musculoskeletal disorders. Show more

Keywords: Equipment design, task analysis, ergonomic design, prototyping technique, human-machine interaction

DOI: 10.3233/WOR-220503

Citation: Work, vol. 76, no. 2, pp. 569-586, 2023

Authors: Cropley, Mark | Rydstedt, Leif W. | Chelidoni, Olga | Ollis, Lucie | Querstret, Dawn

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Much is known about the physical effects of work and health, but less is known about how older workers unwind mentally from work, and their post-work ruminative thinking. OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to explore the association between age, gender and two types of work-related rumination: affective rumination, and problem-solving pondering. METHODS: This study utilized a sample of 3991 full-time employees (working 30 or more hours per week), who were stratified into five age bands (18–25, 26–35, 36–45, 46–55, and 56–65 yrs.). RESULTS: Affective rumination was found to significantly decline in the older …age groups (46 + yrs.), but this finding was moderated by gender. Males reported lower work-related rumination over the entire age range, but the greatest difference between males and females was observed in the 56–65 age category. The results for problem-solving pondering mirrored those of affective rumination but with the only exception that there was no significant difference in gender between those aged 18–25 years. CONCLUSION: These findings add to our understanding about how workers (between different age groups) mentally switch off from work and highlight the need for interventions to help older workers mentally recover from the effects of work. Show more

Keywords: Affective rumination, problem-solving pondering, work-related rumination, age, gender

DOI: 10.3233/WOR-220288

Citation: Work, vol. 76, no. 2, pp. 587-594, 2023

Authors: McIntire, Ryan | Howard, Conner | McIntosh, Haddon | Ricken, Rileigh | Warren, Aric J. | Volberding, Jennifer L.

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Firefighting is among the most dangerous professions and requires exceptional physical fitness and focus while working. Patient-reported outcomes are a commonly used method to evaluate subjective health information and may be utilized by fire departments to identify the health status of firefighters and provide insight to promote their health and wellness. OBJECTIVE: This study is a novel analysis of firefighters’ self-reported health to potentially identify musculoskeletal dysfunction, assist in therapeutic intervention, and improve overall health and wellness. METHODS: Firefighters were evaluated using seven different self-reported health surveys to assess various physical capabilities and quality of …life. The questionnaires were delivered via online format and administered once to provide a snapshot of a suburban Oklahoma fire department. RESULTS: Using the Disablement in the Physically Active Scale, 14 of the 35 firefighters answered “slight, moderate, or severe” for the pain and motion variables. Only two of the firefighters indicated no stiffness or soreness after activity on the Nirschl Phase Rating Scale. The firefighters mean rating for “energy/fatigue” via the RAND-36 was 54.14 out of 100. CONCLUSION: Firefighters frequently report pain, impaired motion, and soreness, indicating areas in which health and wellness interventions may be helpful. The incorporation of periodic health surveys into firefighter health and wellness programming can highlight the presence of concerns, as well as intervention effectiveness by subjective health status reporting. By combining the health surveys with aerobic and core strength exercises, fire departments may be able to monitor and improve firefighter health. Show more

Keywords: Health surveys, surveys and questionnaires, fire and rescue personnel, diagnostic self evaluation

DOI: 10.3233/WOR-220334

Citation: Work, vol. 76, no. 2, pp. 595-609, 2023

Authors: Braun, Kay-Patrick | Shaar, Mohammad | Herrmann, Markus | Gumz, Antje | Brookman-May, Sabine D. | Bartolf, Elisabeth | Barakat, Bara | Gilfrich, Christian | May, Matthias | Pantenburg, Birte

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Studies are available on physician burnout and job satisfaction (JS) in relation to the specific income structure of the country of residence. However, no studies exist that investigate burnout of immigrated physicians taking into account the income structure of their country of origin (IS-COO) as well as duration of immigration. OBJECTIVE: To determine the influence of IS-COO on JS, income satisfaction, and critical burnout thresholds in the domains of emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization (DP) and reduction in personal accomplishment (RPA) among urologists with a migrant background working at German hospitals. METHODS: A questionnaire (Survey-Monkey® /101-items) …was conducted among urologists of German hospitals with a migrant background. The online questionnaire was open for study participation from 1 August to 31 October 2020. The study included all physicians with a migration background who were born in a country other than Germany and were currently employed in a German department of urology. Physician burnout (Maslach-Burnout-Inventory) and JS were assessed using validated instruments. The influence of IS-COO and different covariates on the designated endpoints was tested using multivariate-models. RESULTS: 96 urologists with a median stay in Germany of 7 years participated and were stratified according to low (LIC/41.7%), middle (MIC/36.5%) and high (HIC/21.9%) income based on IS-COO. No significant influence of IS-COO on critical thresholds in each burnout domain could be found. Of urologists from LIC, MIC and HIC, 42%, 59% and 57%, respectively, showed rather or extreme JS (p  = .446). There was also no significant difference between groups in income satisfaction (p  = .838). However, in multivariate-models, duration of stay in Germany (≥7 vs. <7 years) had significant effects on DP (OR: 0.28, p  = .038) and RPA (OR: 0.09, p  = .014), but not on EE and JS. CONCLUSION: IS-COO has no impact on burnout and JS among urologists who immigrated to Germany. Similarly, income satisfaction in the country of residence is not influenced by IS-COO. Show more

Keywords: Clinicians, urologists, emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, personal accomplishment, Maslach Burnout-Inventory

DOI: 10.3233/WOR-220602

Citation: Work, vol. 76, no. 2, pp. 611-621, 2023

Authors: Golmohammadi, Rostam | Motlagh, Masoud Shafiee | Aliabadi, Mohsen | Faradmal, Javad | Ranjbar, Akram

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Acoustic comfort is one of the most critical challenges in the open-plan workspace. OBJECTIVE: This study was aimed to assess the effect of irrelevant background speech (IBS) and mental workload (MWL) on staffs’ physiological parameters in open-plan bank office workspaces. METHODS: In this study, 109 male cashier staff of the banks were randomly selected. The 30-minute equivalent noise level (LAeq) of the participants was measured in three intervals at the beginning (section A), middle (section B), and end of working hours (section C). The heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV): low frequency (LF), …high frequency (HF), and LF/HF of the staff were also recorded in sections A, B, and C. Moreover, staff was asked to rate the MWL using the NASA-Task load. RESULTS: The dominant frequency of the LAeq was 500 Hz, and the LAeq in the frequency range of 250 to 2000 was higher than other frequencies. The LAeq (500 Hz) was 55.82, 69.35, and 69.64 dB(A) in sections A, B, and C, respectively. The results show that the IBS affects staffs’ physiological responses so that with increasing in IBS, the HF power decreases. Moreover, with higher MWL, increasing noise exposure, especially IBS, causes more increases in LF power and LF/HF ratio. CONCLUSION: It seems that the IBS can affect physiological responses and increase staff stress in open-plan bank office workspaces. Moreover, the mental workload can intensify these consequences in these working settings. Show more

Keywords: Noise, speech acoustics, heart rate, staff workload, autonomic nervous system

DOI: 10.3233/WOR-220502

Citation: Work, vol. 76, no. 2, pp. 623-636, 2023

Authors: Wang, Qingqing | Shi, Ping | He, Chen | Yu, Hongliu

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) are a serious problem, and manual material handling (MMH) tasks remain common in most industries. Thus, a lightweight and active exoskeleton is needed. OBJECTIVE: A facile, convenient, multifunctional, wearable lumbar support exoskeleton (WLSE) was proposed to relieve the muscular tension and fatigue especially in the way of WMSDs. METHOD: Based on the screw theory and virtual power principle, the parallel structure was used as the scheme choice for selecting suitable actuators and joints. The exoskeleton, which was characterized by high adaptability and complied with human motion, included branch unit, mechanism branch …units, control units and sensors. Furthermore, using surface electromyography (sEMG) signal evaluation, an experiment which contains several tests was designed to evaluate whether WLSE had effect on supporting and reliving muscular fatigue while lifting-up different weight of objects under wearing without traction (T1) and wearing with traction (T2). RESULTS: Data collected were analyzed statistically by the two-way ANOVA. It showed that the RMS of sEMG was obviously reduced while carrying the heavy objects with WLSE under T2, and the MF values always performed the decreasing trend in T2/T1. CONCLUSION: This paper proposed a facile, convenient, multifunctional WLSE. From the results, it was concluded that the WLSE was significantly effective in reliving the muscle tension and muscle fatigue while lifting to prevent and treat WMSDs. Show more

Keywords: Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), muscle fatigue, muscle tension, surface eletromyography (sEMG)

DOI: 10.3233/WOR-211381

Citation: Work, vol. 76, no. 2, pp. 637-651, 2023

Authors: Zvekić-Svorcan, Jelena | Krasnik, Rastislava | Kuhajda, Danijela | Mikov, Jelena | Lacokova Krasnikova, Jarmila | Dimitrov, Dejan | Kovacevic, Milena | Vuklis, Dragana

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Neck pain (NP) is associated with high disability rates among healthcare workers. OBJECTIVE: To determine the potential risk factors associated with disability due to NP among healthcare staff working in primary care settings. METHODS: This 30-day prospective cross-sectional study involved a survey of 63 healthcare personnel (55 women and 8 men aged 45.30±12.34 years) of two primary healthcare centers in Serbia, who completed a general questionnaire developed for this purpose along with the Neck Disability Index (NDI), whereby the potential predictors of NP-related disability were assessed using the statistical package SPSS ver. 24. …RESULTS: Female healthcare workers achieved a higher score on the NDI scale (Me = 8.00, p  < 0.05), as did older respondents (r  = 0.260, p  < 0.05), those with longer work experience (r  = 0.323, p  < 0.05), and those that wear prescription glasses (Me = 9.00, p  < 0.01). Higher NDI scores were also achieved by respondents that suffered from neck pain at the time of the study (Me = 12.50, p  < 0.001), especially if they relied on pain medication (Me = 13.00, p  < 0.05), and topical analgesic creams (Me = 12.50, p  < 0.05) for treating neck pain. CONCLUSION: Female sex, older age, greater work experience, current neck pain, use of pain-relieving medications and creams, and need for prescription glasses to correct vision increase the risk of disability due to pain in the cervical spine among healthcare workers. Show more

Keywords: Neck pain, workplace, health personnel, primary health care

DOI: 10.3233/WOR-220482

Citation: Work, vol. 76, no. 2, pp. 653-661, 2023

Authors: Whybrow, Dean | Milligan, Christine

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Background: Armed forces are reinventive institutions that shape the identity of their members. Leaving the military involves an adjustment to civilian employment that may be turbulent at times. Objective: The aim is to understand the experiences of self and other military healthcare professionals’ midlife career transitions. Methods: This qualitative study applied heuristic inquiry research methods. This included a thematic analysis of the researcher’s personal experience (diary and reflections) combined with data from interviews or communication with other veterans (n  = 10) within a creative synthesis. Results: The themes identified within the study were: The tipping …point for leaving; adjustment as a veteran; progression within a new workplace. We experienced a divergence in values away from military service leading to a tipping point for leaving that was followed by a triple whammy of uncertainty about leaving, insecurity in a new job, and loss of identity that impacted mental wellbeing and needed to be overcome. Conclusion: This study has revealed new insights about being a military veteran and transitioning to civilian employment. These insights could lead to changes in how veterans prepare for a midlife career change, retention of personnel within military forces, and how civilian employers support veterans. Show more

Keywords: Veterans, work, culture, military

DOI: 10.3233/WOR-220317

Citation: Work, vol. 76, no. 2, pp. 663-677, 2023