Better Working Conditions Research Articles

Perceived organizational support on employee performance: the mediating role of organization-based self-esteem

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the influence of perceived organizational support on employees’ performance through organization-based self-esteem in general banking sector in East Java, Indonesia. Data were collected from general banking sector employees through a self-administered questionnaire survey where a total of 129 questionnaires were distributed. A total of 100 completed questionnaires were received. The hypothesis was tested using an approach structural equation modeling-partial least squares (SEM-PLS) supported by program computer software Smart-PLS 3.0. This pilot study reveals that high perceived organizational support positively affect employees’ performance in general banking sector in East Java, Indonesia. Moreover, organization-based self-esteem levels would mediate the influence of perceived organizational support on employees’ performance in general banking sector in East Java, Indonesia. This study proposes managers to give chances to proficient advancement, improved occupation and satisfying the necessities identified through deference, mindfulness and endorsement. Furthermore, they ought to make more good working conditions, for example, preparing chances to support workers in their wants for self-improvement and accomplishment. This kind of research has not been thoroughly or even not been discussed in academic research. Therefore, it was necessary to put this issue into a management science.

Youth in Elderly Care Sector – Mission Impossible?

The aging of population leads to the outcome that number of social care sector clients grows steadily. Hence the research highlighted that average age of the workforce in social care sector is also rising. An important question is how to attract and retain young people in the care sector for the elderly in the context of an aging society with the growing importance of the care economy. The study aims to reveal the factors motivating young people (18-29 years old) to employ and their attitudes towards work in the elderly care sector to. The research investigated the links between prosocial motivation and the attitudes of unemployed young people registered in the Employment Service toward work in the elderly care sector.
 The results of the study identified main directions, which could encourage more young people to get involved in the elderly care sector: promoting prosocial motivation of the individuals, increasing the flexibility of social services for the elderly and ensuring good working conditions. The study revealed significant role of the employment service as an intermediary between the young person and the institution providing social services and changing public attitudes towards work in the care sector for the elderly.

Do sustainable food system innovations foster inclusiveness and social cohesion? A comparative study

IntroductionExisting food systems are not only responsible for severe environmental damage, but also face pressing social challenges, with people having uneven access to safe and healthy food, good working conditions, and political participation. These socio-ethical aspects play a key role in successful food transitions. So far, aspects of social cohesion and inclusiveness within social food innovations have rarely been analyzed in more depth. Many social innovations have emerged over the last few decades, such as land cooperatives, farm leasing models, community-supported agriculture, or citizen shareholder companies. Expectations towards these financing models vary from facilitating more investment in a sustainable and socially responsible agri-food sector and a shift towards more local food to the creation of transparent relationships between food producers and consumers.ObjectivesIt is against this backdrop that this paper compares three different food innovations—citizen shareholder companies, community-supported agriculture, and food co-ops—regarding their inclusiveness, the degree of member involvement, and the quality of experienced connectedness.MethodsEmpirically, this paper draws on quantitative and qualitative data, including an online survey, two focus group discussions, and a broad literature search.ResultsFindings reveal that all food innovations show a rather low level of inclusiveness, although efforts are being made to overcome barriers to access. Food innovations generate social cohesion between different actors along the value-added chain, which is constituted differently in a more service-oriented versus a community-oriented model.DiscussionOverall, these innovations provide key momentum towards the dominant food regime by rewarding producers for sustainable practices, establishing stronger producer–consumer relationships, and motivating consumers to assume shared responsibility. Based on the different approaches adopted, we consider the food innovations as complementary for food system transitions.

The Legal (in)Security of Foreign Workers

Portugal recognizes several rights for foreign workers in order to protect them. These rights include fundamental rights as well as labor rights and worker guarantees given by the Portuguese labor code. The constant socio-economic developments and changings bring the necessity to harmonize the legislation to these changes, helping the foreign workers to ensure their rights, guaranteeing their legal and labor security, and good working conditions as well. Although the legislation establishes a set of rights and guarantees, studies have confirmed that foreign workers are in a position of vulnerability, so its relevant to focus on questions like: Which documents allow entry and to stay in the country, the importance of holding one of those documents and possible consequences of not having such documentation? What is meant by undeclared work? What is the legal and labor insecurity of the foreign worker? Therefore, this paper focuses on the most violated rights of foreign workers in Portugal, as well as the main difficulties and obstacles to which they are subject.

Oral Raters’ Stress, Motivation and Work Performance

The aim of this study is to investigate oral raters’ stress and motivation and the relation of these factors to work performance. In order to examine this issue thoroughly, we collected statistical data from 94 oral raters working in different English language certifiers in Greece. The quantitative results were also triangulated with the managers’ and supervisors’ comments, which were excerpted from semi-structured interviews, with the aim of arriving to a more representative picture. Work motivation, commitment and work stress were correlated with social identity factors such as gender, educational level, nationality and work experience. The results of our study concluded that a significant proportion of oral raters reported that low levels of work stress, high motivation and high work commitment can positively affect high quality service and high work performance. We further found that work motivation, task performance and work stress are positively related to personal identification. Implications of these findings are discussed proving to a large extent that a positive work environment and good working conditions can actually guarantee high work performance.

Performance of basalt fibre reinforced concrete and resistance to shrinkage, cracking, and fatigue

ABSTRACT To improve the fatigue life, concrete is reinforced with green basalt fibres (BFs). The shrinkage of a BF reinforced concrete (BFRC) during drying was investigated, and the reasons for its small deformation due to shrinkage were explained in terms of early evaporation and water storage capacity for 28 d. The results showed that evaporation during the early stage of curing was much less for BFRC than ordinary concrete; it was reduced by approximately 30% after 0.6 h. With the passage of time, the water storage capacity of BFRC gradually decreased but was still greater than that of ordinary concrete, especially the upper layer of concrete exposed to air, which had a good effect on the shrinkage of BFRC during drying. In this study, the crack expansion pattern of BFRC under wheel loading was investigated. The results showed that BFRC remained in good working condition when there were penetrating cracks in the base concrete. As a result of its water retention properties and friction between fibres and the matrix, the initial number of microcracks was reduced in the BFRC. While the initial cracks in ordinary concrete gradually expanded under loading, the BFs dispersed stress and deflected crack development, thus improving the fatigue performance of BFRC.

Design and Hybrid Simulation of a Larceny Deterrent Energy Evaluation System

The unreliability of the energy system to provide a proper account of energy utilized by consumers has been a huge burden on the distribution system network. Different metering methods and designs to detect and prevent fraud, employed in the past have proven fruitless, thus signalling the need for a much smarter energy metering system. The most frequent problem is electricity larceny, this has incurred a major economic loss in the energy distribution system. To this end, this paper presents the distinctive design and hybrid simulation of a larceny deterrent energy evaluation system, capable of detecting different methods of energy theft within power consumer premises. The method employed comprises of deep understudy of previous work in this field, a model is proposed and is simulated under good working conditions and several theft situations using MATLAB while the hardware is simulated using Proteus 8.1 and Arduino software. In conclusion, the efficiency of the proposed system is evaluated by employing different electric theft algorithms, with the results indicating significant energy cost savings in the distribution network.

Classifying academic staff according to their satisfaction as part of quality improvement project

Accreditation by a reputable organization, such as the National Commission for Academic Accreditation and Assessment (NCAAA) or the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), is a requirement for academic institutions to provide superior educational services. The challenge of quality improvement (QI) in education is still very real. Effective quality procedures in academic institutions depend on a number of quality factors, including work satisfaction and effective communication. Positive academic satisfaction and strong communication skills will not only improve the working atmosphere and boost productivity, but they will also increase job satisfaction. This quantitative research study's objectives are to examine organizational communication, define communication styles, and gauge work satisfaction at an engineering college. An online survey that is based on a questionnaire is used to gather information about job satisfaction. The perceptions of the respondents were gauged using five-point Likert-type scales. The scope of the study encompassed the entire population, or the entire academic staff employed by the college. The academic staff is divided into groups using factor analysis, which subsequently identifies a number of intriguing QI topics. The findings of this study also provide credence to the idea that academic staff members who have supportive leaders, good working conditions, and a maximized feeling of perceived job security exhibit much better levels of general academic job satisfaction. The authors feel that the same methodologies and assessments can be utilized in any kind of study, even if this case is focused on a single college of engineering.

Is Online Teaching Challenging Faculty Well-Being?

Organizations that practice Sustainable Human Resource Management are socially responsible and concerned with the safety, health and satisfaction of their employees. Under this sustainability orientation, it is very relevant to analyze whether the sudden transition to e-learning as a strategy of adaptation to the COVID-19 pandemic affected the well-being of faculty. One hundred and two college teachers at a business school in Lisbon completed a web-based questionnaire administrated during the second lockdown due to the pandemic. The questionnaire included the Online Faculty Satisfaction Survey (OFSS) and the Work-Related Quality of Life (WRQoL) questionnaire. We use Partial Least Squares Path Modeling to derive to what extent the satisfaction with online teaching has impacted faculty well-being measured by the quality of working life. Results show that interaction with students, student engagement, flexibility and technology are the most relevant factors to faculty satisfaction with online teaching. Having control at work, good working conditions and general well-being are the most relevant factors for faculty overall well-being. As proposed, faculty satisfaction with online teaching positively and significantly influences faculty general well-being, home–work interface and job and career satisfaction.

Factors in the psychosocial work environment of staff are associated with satisfaction with care among older persons receiving home care services.

Older persons in Sweden are increasingly encouraged to continue living at home and, if necessary, be supported by home care services (HCS). Studies have examined whether the work environment of staff has an impact on the experiences and well-being of older persons in residential care facilities, but few have examined such associations in HCS. This study examined associations between home care staff's perceptions of their psychosocial work environment and satisfaction with care among older people receiving HCS. The setting was 16 HCS work units. Two surveys were conducted, one on psychosocial working conditions of staff, one on satisfaction of older persons receiving HCS. For each work unit, data on individual satisfaction were matched to average values concerning psychosocial work conditions. Outcomes analysed with linear regressions were overall satisfaction and indices regarding assessment of performance of services, contact with staff and sense of security. The index for treatment by staff was analysed with ordered logistic regressions. Cluster correlated-standard error clustering on work units was used. Results showed that good working conditions were important for satisfaction with care, specifically overall satisfaction, treatment by staff and sense of security. The most important psychosocial work factors were work group climate, sense of mastery, job control, overall job strain, frustrated empathy, balancing competing needs, balancing emotional involvement and lack of recognition. Receiving more HCS hours was associated with stronger relationships between working conditions and satisfaction with care, especially with overall satisfaction and treatment by staff as outcomes. Managers and policymakers for home care need to acknowledge that the working conditions of home care staff are crucial for the satisfaction of older persons receiving HCS, particularly those receiving many HCS hours. Psychosocial work factors together with job strain factors are areas to focus on in order to improve working conditions for staff and outcomes for older persons.

Efficient and Effective Management of Organizations Require Appropriate Ethical Relations Between Stockholders and Stakeholders. What Should be Their Morality (Ethics) on the Organization and the Relationship with Employees?

Peaceful co-existence of stockholders and stakeholders, comprising customers, consumers, employees, managers, suppliers/vendors, shareholders, etc. has always been problematic for organizations to thrive. Stockholders and owners of entities normally invest a lot of money into business with the sole aim of recouping their funds, and with interest. However, managers and employees also accept to work in organizations with the aim of earning good emolument to be able to live and survive. For the organization to be able to achieve competitive advantage, there should be understanding by employees to work hard and co-operate with stockholders by observing the laid down rules, and the owners equally providing good working conditions. This would enable managers and employees to give their best for the success and sustenance of the organization. Unfortunately, the globe is experiencing hard times due to the upsurge of Covid-19 which affected development and destroyed lot of lives, and currently the Russia and Ukraine war, which has also exacerbated the situation and escalated prices of goods. Both stockholders and stakeholders have the moral rights to co-exist peacefully for the success of organizations, which would benefit all parties.

Introduction and development of foster cow systems on organic dairy farms in France

ABSTRACT The rearing of dairy calves, whether in conventional or organic farming, is questioned in society, particularly due to its lack of naturalness caused by the limited contact between age groups. Foster cow systems, where foster cows stay with calves in low-input pasture-based systems, have been implemented in France since 2010. The aims of this study were to explain farmers’ motivations for establishing their cow-calf contact systems and to describe the ways in which they have implemented them, in terms of daily practice and as part of their organic dairy farm. A documented investigation of the introduction of these rearing systems in France was carried out. In addition, individual semi-structured interviews were conducted between January and March 2019 on 20 organic farms that had implemented this practice. Farmers’ perceptions of the practice were explored through content analysis of the interview responses. Calves were separated from their dam after an average of 4.5 days. The bonding phase was conducted by leaving them together for 2–7 days in small bonding pens. Weaning and separation took place either simultaneously or gradually, between the age of 4–10 months. The farmers perceived these systems as working very well and being easy to implement on grazing-based farms, as well as ensuring good profitability and working conditions. According to the farmers, the calves appeared to have high growth rates and good health status, enabling the first calving at a younger age. These rearing systems seemed to be compatible with an agroecological transition.

Shipping network optimization of port equipment components based on improved genetic algorithm

The management of components ensures that the port equipment is in good working condition, ensure port production safety and continuity. In this paper, a port equipment component supply network optimization model that considers the characteristics of shipping network is proposed to optimize hub port selection, route choice, ship deployment, inventory optimization, etc. At the same time, an improved genetic algorithm is developed, including chromosome matrix, row column crossover genetic operation, and double-layer parallel search. The results show that the model and algorithm can effectively obtain a better solution and achieve the optimization goal.

Study of anxiety and job burnout, and awareness amongyoung anesthetists during COVID-19 pandemic.

To describe the psychological impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) on young doctors and their job burnout in the Department of Anesthesiology during the initial days of the pandemic and examine their awareness and familiarity with this pneumonia. We conducted a cross‐sectional study in West China Hospital in February 2020. A self‐designed questionnaire was sent to all young doctors working in the department of anesthesiology. Impact of Event Scale‐Revised and Maslach Burnout Inventory General Survey were used to evaluate the psychological impact and degree of job burnout. Another questionnaire was conducted to explore the awareness and familiarity of COVID‐19. All participants were divided into five groups according to the time of clinical practice: Postgraduate year (PGY) 0.5 (less than 0.5 year), 0.6–1 (0.6–1 year), 1–2 (1–2 years), 2–3 (2–3 years), 3 (more than 3 years) groups. The results were collected and analyzed subsequently. A total of 188 questionnaires were collected. There were significant differences in distress level between PGY 0.5 and PGY 0.6–1 (17.60 ± 12.53 vs. 12.05 ± 10.65; p = 0.029), and PGY 3 and PGY 0.6–1 (19.92 ± 11.88 vs. 12.05 ± 10.65; p = 0.031). As for job burnout, there were no differences among the five subgroups. Most participants (86.70%) were kept in good working condition, and 25 participants showed a mild level of job burnout. Although all of the respondents had high awareness of the basic elements of COVID‐19, they had little knowledge about the details, such as lab tests, release criteria, and recommended therapy, and this result had no significant difference among the five groups. COVID‐19 had caused a mild level of distress and work burnout in young anesthetists. Most of the participants were not clear about the diagnostic, release criteria, and therapeutic method, which will become key teaching points in the future.

Running out of time: using job ads to analyse the demand for messengers in the twentieth century

ABSTRACT Youth labour remained important well into the twentieth century, although it is often elusive in traditional sources. In this article, we investigate messengers – a category of occupational titles, including errand and office boys, which is thought of as youth jobs. We sketch the long-term development of the occupation by making use of digitised Swedish daily newspapers and discuss demand-side, supply-side and institutional factors for the disappearance of the occupation. Our investigation suggests that the messenger jobs reached their peak around 1945 and thereafter decreased to low levels in the 1960s. We find that employers looking for messengers were large organisations that needed in-house help with deliveries and simple office tasks. These employers originally aimed at young men aged 15–17 years. The minimum age requirement was not loosened over time; instead, employers began to announce for older workers. We interpret this as employers’ adapting to a situation where the supply of young messengers had decreased. Employers made their ads appealing by emphasising good working conditions and career prospects, indicating that there was still a demand for messengers despite the changing times.

Patients satisfaction of core health-care business: the mediating effect of the quality of health-care infrastructure and equipment

PurposeAlthough the quality of health-care infrastructure and equipment influences patient’s overall health-care experience, health-care infrastructure and equipment are not always managed and maintained with the attention required. This is due mainly to the complexity of health-care infrastructure and equipment and shortage of maintenance budget. This study aims to determine if patient’s satisfaction of core health-care business is mediated by the quality of health-care infrastructure and equipment.Design/methodology/approachThis cross-sectional study comprises 622 adult patients at the Physician OPD and Polyclinic of Komfo Anokye Teaching hospital, Tamale Teaching hospital and Cape Coast Teaching hospital in Ghana. Structural equation model Smart PLS was used to analyse the data.FindingsThe study results showed that the quality of health-care infrastructure and equipment has a positive significant influence (mediation) on the relationship between health-care delivery and patient’s satisfaction as well as the relationship between adequacy of health-care resources and patient’s satisfaction. However, it was shown not to have a positive significant influence (mediation) on the relationship between quality of health-care personnel and patients’ satisfaction as well as health-care administrative process and patient’s satisfaction.Research limitations/implicationsFirst, the study findings are centred on cross-sectional data, which capture the opinion of the patients at a specific time period instead of over a period of time. Consequently, in future, though difficult to achieve, a longitudinal study can be piloted to provide more insight. Second, the data was collected from only one country (Ghana); thus, the ability to generalise the results may be a challenge.Practical implicationsThe implication of this study is that there is the need to prudently maintain hospital infrastructure and equipment in good working condition as it has a positive effect on patients’ satisfaction of their overall health-care experience.Originality/valueMost studies have concentrated on patient’s health-care experience. This study extends the knowledge of patient’s health-care experience by determining the mediating role of quality of health-care infrastructure and equipment on the relationship between patient’s satisfaction and core health-care business. There are limited studies of such nature in Ghana. Therefore, this study will provide invaluable empirical data for the health-care sector of a developing African country.

Medical Equipment Maintenance Management System: Review and Analysis

Maintenance management is an orderly and systematic approach for planning, organizing, monitoring, and evaluating maintenance activities and their costs. A good maintenance management system coupled with knowledgeable and capable maintenance staff can prevent health and safety problems and environmental damage; yield longer asset life with fewer breakdowns; and result in lower operating costs and a higher quality of life. The medical equipment maintenance could be either preventive or corrective. The medical equipment management professionals ensure that equipment used in the patients care is operational, safe, and properly configured to meet the mission of the medical treatment facility and continue to function effectively in a good working condition. For example, proper maintenance can extend the life of equipment. This is essential for providing good health services and saving the scarce resources. A comprehensive review on the subject of medical device maintenance management system has been done to give an overview of the development of this system in the hospitals and to shine what could be enhanced and improved in this system to promote the patient healthcare.

Impact of Work-School Conflict to Employee Performance: Moderation of Perception Organizational Support and Work Characteristics

Objectives: This study aims to analyze the role of perceived organizational support and job characteristics in the effect of work-school conflict on employee performance.Methodology: The population of this study is employees who work in several agencies in Jakarta, who are also master’s degree students in private universities which are excellence accredited, located in region of Jakarta, with a total sample of 275 respondents. The data analysis was conducted through Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Model (PLS-SEM).Finding: The results showed that work-school conflict has a negative effect on employee performance. Perceived organizational support has a positive effect on employee performance. This study found that organizational support was not able to weaken the effect of work-school conflict on employee performance in employees who were also students. Job characteristics have a positive effect on employee performance.Conclusion: The condition of a person playing multiple roles can cause stress, busy activities, and disturbances that have an impact on sub-optimal performance. Employees believe that the organization cares for and supports them, which is shown fairly in the decisions taken, the existence of good rewards, good working conditions, and support from superiors that will improve employee performance. Variation in skills, task identity, task autonomy, and feedback can affect employee performance, because the greater the diversity of work activities carried out, the more meaningful a person will feel. If a worker who is also a student is not able to manage the role conflict between work and school, the job characteristics will not be able to reduce the conflict, and it will impact to the decrease of employee performance.

Efforts to Improve the Transit Trade in Iran in the Republic Period (1923-1950)

Milattan önce ve sonra Asya’nın Avrupa ticaret merkezleri ile bağlantısını sağlayan transit yolu bütün Anadolu’yu kat ederek İstanbul’dan geçiyordu. Bilahare bu taşımacılığın önemli bir kısmı deniz yollarına intikal etti. Osmanlı Devleti döneminde Küçük Kaynarca Antlaşması’na kadar yabancı gemilere kapalı olan Karadeniz, bu antlaşma ile Rusların Karadeniz’e girmesiyle uluslararası ticarete açıldı. İngiltere ve İran’ın Trabzon üzerinden ticaret yapmaya başlaması, 19. yüzyıl başından itibaren Karadeniz ticaretinin canlanmasını ve Doğu Karadeniz’den İran’a uzanan yolların da stratejik bakımdan önem kazanmasını sağladı. Böylece Doğu Karadeniz limanlarından İran’a kadar transit ticaret yolları işlerlik kazanmaya başladı. Bu yollar Avrupa’nın mamul mallarını Doğu’ya ve Doğu’nun hammaddelerini Avrupa’ya ulaştıran Trabzon-Erzurum-Tebriz yolu ile Sohum-Poti veya Batum-Tiflis-Tebriz yolu idi. Bu çalışmada ele alınacak yol aynı dönemde faal olan Trabzon-Erzurum-Tebriz yoludur. Bir zamanlar bu yolda kervanlarla yapılan İran transit ticareti 20. yüzyıl başlarından itibaren kamyonlar vasıtasıyla yapılmaya başlandı. Kervanlarla kamyonların rekabetine sahne olan bu tarihi İran transit ticaret yolu I. Dünya Savaşı’ndan önce gayet işler bir haldeydi. Savaşla birlikte bu durum değişti. Türkiye üzerinden geçen İran transit ticaret yolu canlılığını yitirmeye ve buradan yapılan ticaret Beyrut ve Basra limanlarına doğru kaymaya başladı. Böylece Trabzon-Erzurum-Tebriz yolu da ticari canlılığını yitirdi. Canlılığını yitiren bu yolu, tekrar eski ticari canlılığına kavuşturmak için 1930’larda Türkiye Cumhuriyeti tarafından birtakım çalışmalar yapıldı ve projeler geliştirildi. İşte bu çalışmada Cumhuriyetin ilk yıllarında Trabzon-Erzurum-Tebriz yolunun tekrar eski işlerliğine kavuşturulması için yapılan faaliyetler ve özellikle Türkiye üzerinden geçen İran transit ticaret yolunun Cumhuriyetin ilanından itibaren 1950’lere kadarki durumu ele alınarak yolun Cumhuriyet döneminde geçirdiği evreler ve rakip yollarla rekabeti mukayeseli bir şekilde ortaya konulacaktır. Arşiv, ulusal ve yerel basından elde edilen bilgi ve belgelere dayanan çalışmada tetkik eserlerden de faydalanılmıştır.

Maintenance Culture in Selected Public Buildings within Ibadan Metropolis

This study examined the current states and maintenance culture in some selected public buildings in Ibadan. Case study research approach was adopted using researchers' observation and structured interviews as a tool for data collection. Three public buildings (Adeoyo Maternity Hospital, Yemetu, Queen's School, Apata and Lekan Salami Stadium, Adamasingba), were purposively selected. Descriptive and content analysis was used, and the results were presented using pictures and tables. The major findings show that building structures at Adeoyo Maternity Hospital appears neat and physically sound. However, building structures at Lekan Salami Stadium and Queen's School were observed not to be in good working conditions due to insufficient funds and high cost of maintenance work among others. Routine cleaning exercise was identified as the only regular maintenance carried out on these facilities aside Adeoyo maternity hospital where servicing and repairs was done as need be. The study conclusively revealed that maintenance culture in public buildings is observed to be poor on a general note. The study thus recommends that government should respond quickly to maintenance request to keep the building in good working condition and extends its lifespan.