Half Of Employees Research Articles

Competence Development Of State Civil Apparatus At The Ministry Of Energy And Mineral Resources

This paper aims to describe the competency condition of personnel resources at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources. This study uses interview and observation methods, the results of which are described based on the framework of the definition of competence in Law No. 5 of 2000 concerning State Civil Apparatuses. The results show that there are problems at the level of technical competence and managerial competence such as low employee ability due to the lack of opportunities to receive training and almost half of employees still do not experience higher education. Technical competence and managerial competence still have problems that need to be solved. These problems are essentially related to education, training, and placement of ASN resources at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.

Mental Health of Japanese Workers: Amotivation Mediates Self-Compassion on Mental Health Problems.

Workplace mental health is a cause for concern in many countries. Globally, 78% of the workforce experienced impairment of their mental health in 2020. In Japan, more than half of employees are mentally distressed. Previously, research has identified that self-compassion (i.e., being kind and understanding towards oneself) and work motivation were important to their mental health. However, how these three components relate to each other remains to be elucidated. Accordingly, this study aimed to examine the relationship between mental health problems, self-compassion and work motivation (i.e., intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation and amotivation). A cross-sectional design was employed, where 165 Japanese workers completed self-report scales regarding those three components. A correlation and path analyses were conducted. Mental health problems were positively associated with amotivation and negatively associated with age and self-compassion. While intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation did not mediate the impact of self-compassion on mental health problems, amotivation did. The findings can help managers and organizational psychologists help identify effective approaches to improving work mental health.

The Importance of Monitoring the Psychological Wellbeing and Mental Health of Nursing Staff for Sustainable Management

This study examines the psychological wellbeing and mental health of nursing staff and determines workplace factors that affect them. Wellbeing and sustainable workload are important for the quality of work life. A cross-sectional study of employees in nursing was conducted at Slovenian hospitals. The response was 35%. The main findings were that more than half of employees are satisfied or very satisfied with their job and with their leaders’ support, but they are often exposed to stress. Quality of work life, work–life balance, and managing stress at the workplace affect the psychological wellbeing and mental health of nursing staff. Management should identify the importance of monitoring and improving workplace factors that can affect the employees. At the same time, they should also be aware of the importance of sustainable development of nursing employees at the local and national levels to improve the working conditions and quality of work life for better psychological wellbeing and mental health for employees.

Majority of MHA survey respondents say stress affects their MH

Although nearly half of employees (47%) know of their company's mental health services, only 38% would be comfortable using their company's services, according to Mental Health America's (MHA's) fourth annual workplace report — and the second one released during the pandemic— issued on April 12.

Healthy lifestyle commitment and the workаbility index of industrial employees in the Sverdlovsk Region

Introduction. The gain in the morbidity rate and medical costs associated with the work environment and lifestyle stimulates employers to search for effective preventive measures to preserve health and longevity of workers. The study aimed to assess commitment to a healthy lifestyle (HLS) and the work ability index of employees of an industrial enterprise and to determine directions for developing effective corporate health promotion programs. Material and methods. We conducted a questionnaire-based survey of 1188 employees of a large copper smelter to assess their workability and healthy lifestyle commitment. Results. Two-thirds of the employees rated their quality of life as good; the same proportion of workers was satisfied with the psychological climate and working conditions. More than half of employees were overweight and 64.3 % of them did not adhere to a diet in an attempt to lose weight; only 34.4 % of the workers reported having regular meals in the works canteen; 51.6 % did not engage in physical training and sports, and the share of smokers in the main production workshops was 49.1 %. The average workability at the enterprise was assessed as suitable. We established an inverse relationship between chronic diseases and the workability index. A positive rating of the quality of life and working conditions correlated with satisfaction with the working conditions, the profession chosen, the quality of personal protective equipment, and the psychological climate at work. Discussion. Having a disease significantly affects the workability index, while every tenth worker has a discrepancy between the general health status and job requirements. The employees appreciate their health but fail to change their health-related behaviour, putting other life values above health and undermining it. Conclusion. Creating comfortable working conditions and motivation for a healthy lifestyle should be differentiated and aimed primarily at workers having a high risk of developing a disease and low motivation and specific behavioural patterns, depending on the initial data obtained. It is necessary to use adapted questionnaires and modern preventive, diagnostic techniques.

A Literature Survey and Analysis on Social Engineering Defense Mechanisms and Infosec Policies

Social engineering attacks can be severe and hard to detect. Therefore, to prevent such attacks, organizations should be aware of social engineering defense mechanisms and security policies. To that end, the authors developed a taxonomy of social engineering defense mechanisms, designed a survey to measure employee awareness of these mechanisms, proposed a model of Social Engineering InfoSec Policies (SE-IPs), and designed a survey to measure the incorporation level of these SE-IPs. After analyzing the data from the first survey, the authors found that more than half of employees are not aware of social engineering attacks. The paper also analyzed a second set of survey data, which found that on average, organizations incorporated just over fifty percent of the identified formal SE-IPs. Such worrisome results show that organizations are vulnerable to social engineering attacks, and serious steps need to be taken to elevate awareness against these emerging security threats.

Mental health help-seeking experiences and service use among Australian first responders

ABSTRACT Objective: This study aimed to determine patterns of help-seeking among first responders for conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and psychological distress. Method: Data from Answering the Call, the Australian national survey of the mental health and wellbeing of police and emergency services, was analysed to determine mental health help-seeking associations, as well as to measure patterns of service use. This encompassed 14,868 employees across the ambulance, fire and rescue, police, and state emergency services sectors. Results: Over half of employees needing help for a mental health issue neither sought nor received help. First responders with severe mental distress who delayed seeking help reported that they needed a lot more help than they received. Poor help-seeking behaviour and experiences were found to be associated with high levels of PTSD and psychological distress, low levels of mental health literacy, and career concerns. No significant differences were found between the sectors with all employees exhibiting high levels of poor help-seeking behaviour. For organisation-sourced services and programmes, usage levels and perceptions of usefulness were consistently low. Conclusions: Findings support the importance of early help-seeking amongst first responders with emerging mental health conditions. All sectors exhibited sub-optimal help-seeking behaviour and experiences. The problems go beyond the organisational structures, policies and programmes of any individual sector and are likely to be systemic. While all organisations provide mental health and wellbeing programmes and services, they are either not well taken-up, or are not considered sufficiently useful by the people they are designed to help. KEY POINTS What is already known about this topic: First responders are known to be at high risk of developing mental health conditions. The rate of PTSD in Australian first responders is twice that in the general population. Early and appropriate treatment is essential in preventing mental health conditions from worsening or becoming chronic. What this study adds: This study shows consistently high levels of sub-optimal help-seeking behaviour and experiences among Australian emergency services employees across all sectors. Over half of emergency services employees needing help for a mental health issue neither sought nor received help. Usage and perceived usefulness of organisational mental health and wellbeing programs/services are very low.

A LITERATURE SURVEY AND ANALYSIS ON SOCIAL ENGINEERING DEFENSE MECHANISMS AND INFOSEC POLICIES

Social engineering attacks can be severe and hard to detect. Therefore, to prevent such attacks, organizations should be aware of social engineering defense mechanisms and security policies. To that end, the authors developed a taxonomy of social engineering defense mechanisms, designed a survey to measure employee awareness of these mechanisms, proposed a model of Social Engineering InfoSec Policies (SE-IPs), and designed a survey to measure the incorporation level of these SE-IPs. After analyzing the data from the first survey, the authors found that more than half of employees are not aware of social engineering attacks. The paper also analyzed a second set of survey data, which found that on average, organizations incorporated just over fifty percent of the identified formal SE-IPs. Such worrisome results show that organizations are vulnerable to social engineering attacks, and serious steps need to be taken to elevate awareness against these emerging security threats.

Mental Health /Depression at Workplaces

There is an increasing trend of mental health issues in Malaysia. 1 in 3 Malaysian aged over 16 years old is at risk of having a mental health problem, and the trend is on the rise. The burden of mental health disorders on health and productivity, however, has long been underestimated. It is partly due to the cultural stigma attached to mental disorders. The recent 2018 Malaysia's Healthiest Workplace survey reported that more than half of employees in the survey have been affected by job-related stress such as burnout, anxiety, depression, and could lead to suicide. The serious consequences of these mental health issues not only affecting the individual but also lead to negative impacts on the productivity and performance of the company. On the other hand, workplaces that promote good mental health, and support people with mental disorders are more likely to reduce absenteeism, increase productivity as well as could benefit from associated economic gains. It is crucial for the workplace to integrate mental health intervention in their health and wellbeing strategy. Among the useful intervention is mindfulness training. Mindfulness is not only proven to reduce the work stress but also teaches the employees to appreciate life and positively cope with their job demands. This presentation outlines the benefits of mindfulness and how it can be applied in daily life.

The role of human resource planning in producing well-resourced employees to public

The term Human Resource Planning (HRP) can be used to achieve organizational objectives by understanding and planning for employees’ needs in the short, medium and long term in order to deliver desired results. Little research that has been conducted on HRP and most are from the private sector and none to be found in the public sector. This study was conducted in the public institution in South Africa. The literature consulted provides an overview that HRP solves current and future organizational problems by ensuring that the right people are in the right place at the right time. This is achieved by analyzing the current profile of the workforce and comparing it with future needs so that gaps, which need to be filled, can be identified. The paper intended to investigate the extent to which employees are well-resourced to perform their duties in centres of the municipality to the community. The investigation used mixed methods in its data collection. 45 participants participated in responding the self-administered questionnaire and seven participated in one-on-one interviews. The study found that half of employees who are working for the centres of the municipality includes supervisors who lack educational attainments, as they hold only grade 12 and no development was initiated. The study recommended the whole the municipality to establish and implement a promotion policy. All necessary equipment and tools provided were insufficient, as required by the Act, to provide all services to the public.

Wellbeing in Labor Market: A False Illusion

Wellbeing at work is a basic goal of active labor market policies to reach a better productivity all over the world. The legislative decree n. 150/2009 has introduced in Italy a system of annual verification of the level of health and well-being of workers and employees in organizations of all sizes, of the evaluation system adopted and of the judgment expressed by the boss. It aims to know employees' opinions about the standard of health, wellness, relationship, evaluation system and management. This paper focuses on the perception concerning wellbeing at work in a public administration. According to the law a questionnaire with 82 items about self-confidence, health stress, discrimination, evaluation system and boss appraisal was distributed and employees should fill it up in an anonymous way. The search involved about 300 employees in a length of 2 years and it was considered a great opportunity to encourage a positive mood, to reinforce the institutional vision and mission of the public administration and to contrast corruption. The results were interesting as less than half of employees returned the filled form and all tested groups but the managers expressed a totally negative estimation. The author tries to investigate the reason why wellness is a false illusion in the Regional Council of Lombardy and to underline a possible solution.

Психологические аспекты образа пострадавшего в сознании сотрудников МЧС России при ликвидации последствий техногенных и природных ЧС

Socially-perceptive images are an important indicator of professionalism, and their analysis allows to estimate level of competence of the expert. The image of the victim can serve as an indicator of professional suitability and be the important factor of psychopreventive maintenance of employees Emercom of Russia. In article there are presented the results of the analysis of structure and the maintenance of an image of the victim in consciousness of operating employees of of State Fire Service of Emercom of Russia and cadets of Saint Petersburg University of State Fire Service of Emercom of Russia. That was done on the basis of research in which 140 examinees, among which 90 cadets of Saint Petersburg University of State Fire Service of Emercom of Russia and 50 employees of State Fire Service of Emercom of Russia who were repeatedly taking part in suppression of fires and rescue of people have taken part. V. L. Sitnikov’s technique “Structure of an image of the person (hierarchical)” was applied to studying of an image of the victim. The basic conclusions: 1) for employees and cadets the most significant are emotional, physical and behavioral characteristics at the description of victims; 2) in an image of the victim in the consciousness of operating employees the negative definitions characterizing delicacy, helplessness of victims prevail, however 75 % of operating employees used not only negative, but also positive statements at the description of the victim; 3) the maintenance of an image of the victim in the consciousness of operating employees and cadets differs in the fact that cadets apply authentically more than negative, emotional characteristics (“panic”, “stress”), and the operating employees use conventional, social characteristics more often (“child”, “woman”) and the characteristics of social intelligence (“trusting”, “understanding”); 4) for the operating employees the victim possesses a larger range of possible qualities and characteristics in comparison with cadets. From aggressive and nervous to quiet and adequate. An images of the victim have a smaller variety of statements at cadets consciousness, and all of them show feelings of pity, compassion; 5) about a half of employees oppose themselves to the victim, 49 % of examinees observed the return projection of an image of the victim. The received results allow to make recommendations about improvement of vocational training of staff of Emercom of Russia. It is necessary to apply more practical tasks, business games, trainings to form more adequate and differentiated image of the victim.

The impact of multi-skilling on personnel scheduling in the service sector: a retail industry case

Using personnel scheduling to reduce overstaffing and understaffing in a service industry across multiple periods is often undermined by lack of flexibility due to the exclusive use of specialized personnel. This study analyses the impacts of assigning multi-skilled personnel to different activities and its potential for improving schedule efficiency. A proposed mixed integer linear programming model determines which employees are trained to work in which activities and their assignments over a one-week planning horizon. The model results show that the lowest total-cost multi-skilled configurations are obtained in scenarios where personnel supply and demand are in equilibrium. Half of employees would continue to be specialized for just one activity while the half slated for multi-skilling would be trained in most cases for just one additional activity, even though training cost is assumed to be minimal. It is also shown that multi-skilling is best applied to employees whose contracts are highly flexible.

Does workplace violence exist in primary health care? Evidence from Serbia.

Violence in the workplace is a serious social and public health problem. The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of workplace violence and to identify potential predictors of workplace violence at Serbian Primary Health Care (PHC) centres. A cross-sectional study was conducted between October 2012 and July 2013. The sample consisted of medical and non-medical staff employed at PHC centres in Belgrade, Serbia. Among 1757 currently presented at work, 1526 returned the questionnaires. The data were collected by questionnaire Workplace Violence in the Health Sector-Country Case Studies, developed by the ILO/ICN/WHO/PSI. Binary logistic regression was conducted to assess the association between exposure to workplace violence and sociodemographic and work-related characteristics. The prevalence of workplace violence, was 803 (52.6%), with 147 (18.3%), exposed to physical violence. Multiple logistic regression models indicated that the following work-related characteristics were positive associated of workplace violence with working between 18:00 and 07:00 h [odds ratio (OR): 1.37, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.08-1.73], nurses as a professional group (OR: 1.91, 95% CI: 1.16-3.17), working with preschool children (OR: 0.56, 95% CI: 0.34-0.91). There was negative association of workplace violence with encouragement to report violence (OR: 0.61, 95% CI: 0.49-0.76) and the number of staff in the same work setting (OR: 0.73, 95% CI: 0.56-0.96). More than half of employees in Belgrade PHC centres were exposed to different types of workplace violence. There is a need for interventions to protect health workers and provide safer workplace environments.

The Features of Participative Management Style

Abstract Participative management style is management style positively associated with high level of job satisfaction. It isbasedon the involvement ofemployeesin decision-making, problem-solvinginthe company and empowering employees, as well as on supporting their highautonomy,own initiative and creativity. The article describes the features of participative management style and the outcomesof our own research focused on participative management style elements. The research sample was the group of subordinates in network industries companies. In the study the employees on below manager positions evaluatedthe level of participation that they have in decision - making. They were explored by Likert-scale questionnaire. The results confirmed that more than half of employees (60,5%) don’t have enough possibilities to participate in decision – making even when the decisions are highly connected to their work and they consider them as very important. The study findings demonstrated that empowerment of employees is not on high level and the companies should consider including employee empowerment techniques as components of management development programs.

Variáveis bioquímicas, antropométricas e pressóricas como indicadores de risco cardiovascular em servidores públicos

INTRODUÇÃO: As doenças cardiovasculares têm sido apontadas como a principal causa de mortalidade e morbidade no Brasil e no mundo. OBJETIVO: Verificar a prevalência dos fatores de risco cardiovascular em servidores universitários, utilizando as variáveis bioquímicas, antropométricas e pressóricas. MATERIAIS E MÉTODOS: Participaram do estudo 107 servidores técnico-administrativos da Universidade Federal de Viçosa, no ano de 2010, com idade média de 46,1 ± 10,4 anos. Os parâmetros analisados foram: índice de massa corporal, relação cintura-quadril (RCQ), pressão arterial sistólica (PAS), pressão arterial diastólica (PAD), colesterol total (CT), triglicerídeos (TG), lipoproteína de alta densidade (HDL-C) e lipoproteína de baixa densidade (LDL-C). A análise dos dados consistiu no cálculo das prevalências das variáveis estudadas. Para todos os tratamentos estatísticos adotou-se um nível de significância de p < 0,05. RESULTADOS: Foram encontrados 45% de excesso de peso (IMC ≥ 25,0 kg/m²), 20% da população apresentou RCQ elevada (> 0,85 para as mulheres e ≥ 0,95 para os homens), a pressão arterial se apresentou alta (PAS ≥ 140 mmHg; PAD ≥ 90mmHg) em 24% dos avaliados, o CT obteve 49% de valores elevados (> 199 mg/dL), os triglicerídeos apresentaram 23% valores alterados (> 149 mg/dL), em relação ao LDL-C foram encontrados 31% de valores acima de 129 mg/dL, e 30% dos avaliados apresentaram valores reduzidos de HDL-C (< 40 mg/dL). Observamos que apenas 18,6% dos avaliados não apresentaram nenhum dos FRC analisados, sendo que cerca de metade dos servidores se encontraram na faixa de 2 a 4 FRC. CONCLUSÃO: Foi verificado um elevado percentual de FRC na população de servidores universitários. Dentre as variáveis analisadas, verificamos que excesso de peso, CT, níveis reduzidos de HDL-C e aumentados de LDL-C foram os FRC mais prevalentes.

Employee and Employer Support for Workplace‐based Smoking Cessation: Results from an International Survey

Workplace smoking cessation programs can increase smoking cessation rates, improve employee health, reduce exposure to second-hand smoke, and decrease costs. To assist with the development of such programs, we conducted a Global Workplace Smoking Survey to collect information on workplace attitudes towards smoking cessation programs. Data were collected from 1,403 employers (smoking and non-smoking) and 3,525 smoking employees participating in surveys in 14 countries in Asia, Europe, and South America in 2007. Results were weighted to ensure that they were representative of smokers and employers at companies with the specified number of employees. More than two-thirds of employers (69%) but less than half of employees (48%) indicated that their company should help employees with smoking cessation. Approximately two-thirds of employees and 81% of employers overall felt that smoke-free policies encourage cessation, but fewer individuals from Europe (vs. from Asia or South America) agreed with this. In companies with a smoke-free policy, 76% of employees and 80% of employers felt that their policy had been somewhat, very, or extremely effective in motivating employees to quit or reduce smoking. Employers and employees differed substantially regarding appropriate methods for encouraging cessation, with more employees favouring financial incentives and more employers favouring education. Both employees and employers value smoke-free workplace programs and workplace cessation support activities, although many would like their companies to offer more support. These results will be useful for organizations exploring means of facilitating smoking cessation amongst employees.

Mental Health and Selection of Preferred Providers

While Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs) are designed to contain the costs of health care, they may not be able to do so if sicker individuals opt not to use PPO providers. This study examined how level of mental health status and prior use of mental health services affected the decision to use or not use PPO providers for mental health care for employees enrolled in fee-for-service plans with a PPO option. Data were obtained from an employee survey and claims data on three large employee groups. It was not possible to examine effects of sickliness on the intent to select PPO providers for mental health care directly because about one half of employees could not identify who they would visit for mental health care or even how they would select a provider for such care. The intent to use PPO or non-PPO providers for general medical care, however, was not significantly associated with mental health status when other factors were controlled. Furthermore, among persons who used mental health services after implementation of the PPO option, those who had previously visited providers who were to become part of the PPO panel tended to stay with PPO providers, while those who previously visited providers who were not to enter the PPO panel subsequently selected away from PPO providers for mental health care. This pattern of results suggests that established individual patient-provider relationships, rather than sickliness, determined the selection of PPO versus non-PPO providers for mental health care for employees enrolled in these optional PPO fee-for-service plans.