Work Home Research Articles

Prisoners in Paradise: A Study of Work Based Stressors on Funding Officers

This research aims to describe the extent of the work based stressor on funding officer in several banks in Makassar area and to understand which stressor is the most significant in triggering stress among these officers. A quantitative method employed in this reseach by using questionnaires distributed to 100 employees, the sample selection in this study used the purposive sampling method. The analytical method used is to use validity and reliability tests, and calculate the average score of each stressor variable. Work stressors that are on the low criteria are interpersonal factors and career development variables. While the variables of work conditions, role stress, organizational structure, and home life-work problems are very low criteria. The highest level of work stressor experienced by employees is the career development variable, this is because most of the funding officers were only temporary employees with probation period status.

Working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic and its longitudinal association with physical activity and sedentary behavior.

ObjectiveWorking from home during the COVID-19 pandemic has affected many workers’ daily life and possibly their physical activity behavior. We studied the longitudinal association of working from home during the pandemic with physical activity and sedentary behavior.MethodsLongitudinal data from 17 questionnaire rounds of the Lifelines COVID-19 cohort (March 2020–February 2021) were used. In total, 33 325 workers were included. In every round, participants reported their current work situation: location, home, or hybrid (working on location and from home). Physical activity levels and sedentary behavior before and during the pandemic were asked. Logistic generalized estimating equations adjusted for demographic/work/health covariates were used to study the association of work situation with physical activity and sedentary behavior.ResultsHome workers were less likely to meet the recommended ≥150 minutes/week of moderate-to-vigorous-intensity activity during the pandemic than location workers [odds ratio (OR) 0.93, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.90–0.96] and more likely to be less physically active than before the pandemic (OR 1.09, 95% CI 1.04–1.14). Furthermore, compared to location workers, home and hybrid workers were more likely to be more sedentary (sitting ≥8 hours/day) on workdays during than before the pandemic (OR 1.51, 95% CI 1.39–1.64/1.36–1.68, respectively).ConclusionsCompared to location workers, home workers (and to a lesser extent hybrid workers) were more often physically inactive and sedentary during than before the COVID-19 pandemic. As a substantial part of the working population may continue to work (partly) from home after the pandemic, workers should be supported to increase activity and reduce sitting while working from home.

Psychological first aid for workers in care and nursing homes: systematic review

BackgroundThe Covid-19 pandemic has produced unprecedented challenges across all aspects of health and social care sectors globally. Nurses and healthcare workers in care homes have been particularly impacted due to rapid and dramatic changes to their job roles, workloads, and working environments, and residents’ multimorbidity. Developed by the World Health Organisation, Psychological First Aid (PFA) is a brief training course delivering social, emotional, supportive, and pragmatic support that can reduce the initial distress after disaster and foster future adaptive functioning.ObjectivesThis review aimed to synthesise findings from studies exploring the usefulness of PFA for the well-being of nursing and residential care home staff.MethodsA systematic search was conducted across 15 databases (Social Care Online, Kings Fund Library, Prospero, Dynamed, BMJ Best Practice, SIGN, NICE, Ovid, Proquest, Campbell Library, Clinical Trials, Web of Knowledge, Scopus, Ebsco CINAHL, and Cochrane Library), identifying peer-reviewed articles published in English language from database inception to 20th June 2021.ResultsOf the 1,159 articles screened, 1,146 were excluded at title and abstract; the remaining 13 articles were screened at full text, all of which were then excluded.ConclusionThis review highlights that empirical evidence of the impact of PFA on the well-being of nursing and residential care home staff is absent. PFA has likely been recommended to healthcare staff during the Covid-19 pandemic. The lack of evidence found here reinforces the urgent need to conduct studies which evaluates the outcomes of PFA particularly in the care home staff population.

Resident Mortality And Worker Infection Rates From COVID-19 Lower In Union Than Nonunion US Nursing Homes, 2020-21.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, nursing home residents have accounted for roughly one of every six COVID-19 deaths in the United States. Nursing homes have also been very dangerous places for workers, with more than one million nursing home workers testing positive for COVID-19 as of April 2022. Labor unions may play an important role in improving workplace safety, with potential benefits for both nursing home workers and residents. We examined whether unions for nursing home staff were associated with lower resident COVID-19 mortality rates and worker COVID-19 infection rates compared with rates in nonunion nursing homes, using proprietary data on nursing home-level union status from the Service Employees International Union for all forty-eight continental US states from June 8, 2020, through March 21, 2021. Using negative binomial regression and adjusting for potential confounders, we found that unions were associated with 10.8percent lower resident COVID-19 mortality rates, as well as 6.8percent lower worker COVID-19 infection rates. Substantive results were similar, although sometimes smaller and less precisely estimated, in sensitivity analyses.

Care home practitioners' perceptions of the barriers and facilitators for using off-the-shelf gaming technology with people with dementia.

Background: Off-the-shelf digital gaming technology has been shown to support the well-being of people with dementia. Yet, to date, it is rarely adopted within dementia care practice, particularly within care homes. Drawing on a descriptive, qualitative approach, this is the first study that has sought to explore care home practitioners’ perceptions of the barriers and facilitators for using gaming technology within their workplace. Method: Data were collected across eight focus groups in the south of England with a total of 39 care home workers. These were analysed inductively following the 6-stage thematic process as outlined by Braun and Clarke (2006). Findings: Three themes, constructed from the data suggested, the care environment, staff knowledge and skills for inclusive gaming, and staff perceptions about capabilities (their own and those of people with dementia) inhibited or facilitated the use of gaming technology in care homes. The findings were interpreted through a combination of the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation and Behaviour model and the Theoretical Domains Framework to provide theory-based insights into the mechanisms for supporting behaviour change and implementation within the care home context. Conclusions: We argue for the need to target wider institutional barriers alongside providing inclusive training for care staff on incorporating gaming technology within their person-centred care approaches. Through these mechanisms, they can be provided with the capabilities, opportunities and motivation to integrate gaming technology within their practice, and thus facilitate the process of culture change within care homes.

“We forget about peoples’ hearing loss”: identifying key aspects of hearing aid and communication training in residential care homes

Objectives The first objective was to assess the feasibility of training on hearing aids and communication strategies by support workers in residential care via a cascade training model using two different training packages. The second was to identify key elements of these packages to inform the design of a multimedia training package. Design Quantitative and qualitative methodologies were used. A pre-post feasibility design assessed the questionnaire data from residential care support workers to measure knowledge and confidence at three stages during the training. Semi-structured interviews explored the support workers’ experiences and adherence to cascading the training packages. Study sample Fourteen support workers employed by Sense (charity for deafblind people) were trained to become “Hearing Champions” and cascaded their learning to 117 support colleagues. Results Hearing Champions gained knowledge, skills and confidence, which were subsequently enhanced by sharing their learning with others. Despite individual and organisational barriers, they reported examples of improved practice and feelings of empowerment. Conclusions It is feasible to deliver training to support workers in residential homes using the face-to-face “Hearing Champions” and multimedia C2Hear training methods by cascading training to their colleagues. Support workers expressed a preference for training that is portable, adaptable and interactive.

Nursing Home Workers' Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic in France.

ObjectivesThe present study sought to examine mental health problems among nursing home workers in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, to investigate COVID-19–related fears, and to identify prepandemic factors associated with current mental health issues.DesignA cross-sectional, online survey was used.Setting and ParticipantsAll employees among 6 nursing homes in southwestern France (N = 455) were solicited between November, 2020 and June, 2021.MethodsThe survey instrument was developed within the World Mental Health consortium to screen for COVID-related fears, probable generalized anxiety, panic attacks, depression, posttraumatic stress and substance use disorders in the past 30 days.ResultsThe survey was completed by 127 workers (89.0% female, mean age = 43.42 years, SD = 11.29), yielding a 28.5% response rate. Overall, 48.03% reported experiencing fear of infecting others at least most of the time. One in 8 (14.96%) indicated that close others feared being infected by them. One-third of the sample (34.65%) met criteria for at least 1 probable current mental disorder. Panic attacks (22.05%) were the most frequently reported mental health problem, followed by depression (16.54%). In multivariate analyses, the only factor associated with having a current probable mental disorder was the presence of any prepandemic mental health problem (adjusted odds ratio 4.76, 95% CI 2.08-10.89). Type of employment contract, full-time status, and medical vs nonmedical staff status were not significantly associated with mental health status.Conclusions and ImplicationsThe study reveals that one-third of nursing home workers in the sample report current probable mental disorders, and these were largely associated with prepandemic mental health status. Screening for common mental health problems and facilitating access to appropriate care should be prioritized in nursing homes.

Witnessing interparental violence and leader role occupancy: the roles of insecure attachment and gender

PurposeGiven the role leaders play in organizational effectiveness, there is growing interest in understanding the antecedents of leader emergence. The authors consider parental influence by examining how witnessing interparental violence during adolescence indirectly affects adult leader role occupancy. Drawing on the work–home resources (W-HR) model, the authors hypothesize that witnessing interparental violence serves as a distal, chronic contextual demand that hinders leader role occupancy through its effects on constructive personal resources, operationalized as insecure attachment. Based on role congruity theory, the authors also predict that the relationship between attachment style and leader role occupancy will differ for women and men.Design/methodology/approachTo test the hypotheses, the authors used data from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication (NCS-R) (n = 1,665 full-time employees).FindingsAfter controlling for age, education, childhood socioeconomic status and experienced violence, results showed that the negative indirect effects of witnessing interparental violence on leader role occupancy through avoidant attachment was significant for females only, while the negative effects of anxious attachment hindered leader role occupancy across sexes.Originality/valueResults identify novel distal (interparental violence) and proximal (attachment style) barriers to leader role occupancy, showing empirical support for the life-span approach to leadership and the persistent effects of home demands on work.

Decent work in care homes: lessons and implications of the pandemic experience from Scotland

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify lessons and implications on the theme of decent work in social care. This has long been highlighted as integral to improving social care for the elderly. The COVID-19 pandemic experience reveals lessons and implications about the systemic absence of decent work in one place, Scotland, in care homes. The main lesson and implication is a need for change beyond the focus on levels of pay and systemic advocacy of decent work as it is conventionally understood.Design/methodology/approachData was collected using qualitative, semi-structured interviews with 20 care workers in care homes.[AQ4] A range of care system institutional stakeholders was also interviewed. A range of care system institutional stakeholders was also interviewed.FindingsDecent work in social care may only be progressed to the extent that a culture change is achieved, transcending the institutional stasis about who owns and engages with progressing decent work.Research limitations/implicationsThis is a study in one place, Scotland, with a small sample of frontline care workers in care homes and representatives from a range of institutions.Practical implicationsEffective culture change for decent work in care homes needs to be a higher research priority. More explicit culture policies can be a mechanism by which overall decent work and system change may be catalysed and sustainably secured together. Explicit culture change is here set out with respect to operational, institutional and national domains.Social implicationsThere needs to be social policy and political support for situating decent work to be part of a broader culture change around care work with the elderly. A culture-oriented change plan as well as new resourcing and structures can together ensure that the nadir of the pandemic experience was a historical turning point towards transformation rather than being just another low point in a recurring cycle.Originality/valueThe situating of systemic decent work progress within a broader culture change, and modelling that culture change, are original contributions.

Happiness - An Evasive State of Mind

The daily strive to get to work and back home through traffic congestions; passing the day without conflicts; improving the life style when money is short; overcoming medical problems; raising and securing the family, and tolerating unfulfilled dreams are only a portion of constantly bothering issues. No wonder then that in this chaotic reality and despite various joyful and satisfying moments, the majority of grown-ups claim that they are unhappy. Amazingly, however, there are always those who believe and declare that they are happy, which raises the question what is happiness and what is it constituted from. Google suggests that “Happiness is that feeling that comes over you when you know life is good and you can’t help but smile. It’s the opposite of sadness. Happiness is a sense of well-being, joy, or contentment. When people are successful, or safe, or lucky, they feel happy”. This description combines a number of positive experiences and feelings, that most likely affect our brain to release chemicals recognized as the ‘good guys’, in contrast to the ‘bad guys’, chemicals secreted in situations of sadness, agony, pain, failures, disappointments and frustrations that affect brain circuits associated with unpleasant emotions and thoughts. Although moments of satisfaction, joy and pleasure raise good feelings, these are usually temporary, whereas happiness in its broader essence reflects a positive state of mind based on numerous parameters that collectively raise a long-lasting contentment. When a person claims he is happy, he probably disregards his difficulties and concentrates on a particular issue that makes him feel good (e.g., love, professional success, good health, overcoming a major difficulty, listening to beloved music, winning in sport).

“Don’t Bring Work Home”: How Career Orientation Moderates Permeable Parenting Boundaries in Dual-earner Couples

“Don’t Bring Work Home”: How Career Orientation Moderates Permeable Parenting Boundaries in Dual-earner Couples

Boundary management and recovery when working from home: The moderating roles of segmentation preference and availability demands

Blurred work–home boundaries can hamper teleworkers’ recovery from job demands. In this study, we investigate teleworkers’ temporal, physical, communicative, and technological boundary tactics as predictors of recovery experiences (i.e. psychological detachment and control during leisure time) and recovery outcomes (i.e. exhaustion). We hypothesized that individuals’ work–home segmentation preference as a personal factor and availability demands as a situational factor should moderate the relations between boundary tactics and recovery. Using a web-based survey, we collected data from 274 individuals who mainly worked from home in a lockdown period during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results of hierarchical regression analyses revealed that the use of temporal boundary tactics was positively associated with psychological detachment, control, and lower exhaustion. The use of technological boundary tactics was related to higher psychological detachment. Our moderator hypotheses were partly confirmed: Segmentation preference and availability demands strengthened the relationships between several boundary tactics and psychological detachment, control, and exhaustion. In sum, our study contributes to a better understanding of teleworkers’ recovery processes and provides actionable knowledge for teleworkers on how to enable and sustain their recovery.

Exploring the Reciprocal Relationships between Happiness and Life Satisfaction of Working Adults-Evidence from Abu Dhabi.

This paper examines the relationships between a range of well-being factors and two commonly used subjective well-being measures—happiness and life satisfaction. Data from the second cycle of the Quality of Life (QoL) Survey in Abu Dhabi were used, which included 32,087 working adults. The well-being factors included in the analysis covered various aspects of life themes: income and jobs, work–home balance, health and physical activities, social and community services, living environment, and family/friends’ relationships and connections. Using standardized data, path analysis yielded an optimal path model that suggested the presence of a reciprocal relationship between happiness and life satisfaction. In addition, the final model suggested that four variables—job satisfaction, mental health, satisfaction with relationships with people, and the size of the social support network—had direct effects on happiness and life satisfaction. The model also identified three variables—satisfaction with family life, mental health, and job satisfaction—to have the most significant effect on happiness.

Low humoral immune response to the BNT162b2 vaccine against COVID-19 in nursing home residents undergoing hemodialysis: a case\u2013control observational study

BackgroundPatients on hemodialysis (HD) face a high mortality risk from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and they are therefore prioritized for vaccination. However, the efficacy of vaccination in this vulnerable population has not been confirmed. Although age is negatively correlated with serum immunoglobulin (Ig) levels, humoral responses to vaccination in elderly patients undergoing HD have not been investigated. To address this issue, we evaluated the anti-SARS-CoV-2 spike protein antibodies in nursing home residents on HD after BNT162b2 vaccine administration.MethodsPatients on HD from a nursing home and care workers (controls) receiving two doses of the BNT162b2 vaccine between April and May 2021 were enrolled in this study. Those with a prior history of COVID-19 were excluded. Anti-spike protein antibodies were measured with the Elecsys (Roche) immunoassay system.ResultsThe study included 26 nursing home residents (41% male; median age, 86 years) and 184 care workers (28% male; median age, 45 years). The median HD vintage was 51 months. After two doses of BNT162b2, 73% of the nursing home residents and 99.5% of the control group developed sufficient anti-spike protein antibodies (> 29 U/mL) to neutralize SARS-CoV-2. Three weeks after the second dose, median IgG titers of the residents and care workers were 83 [interquartile range (IQR) 17–511] and 1365 (IQR 847–2245) U/mL, respectively (p < 0.001).ConclusionsThe humoral response to BNT162b2 among elderly HD patients was relatively low; therefore, the optimal vaccination strategy for this population should be studied further to avoid COVID-19 outbreaks in healthcare facilities.

“If you don’t agree to be available 24/7, then you have nothing to do in journalism”: the boundary work tactics of precarious journalists

ABSTRACT A satisfactory work–home balance in journalism is valuable for employees and organisations but for citizens as well because the work of journalists in a democracy is vital in terms of keeping the public informed and shaping public debate. Drawing on boundary theory, this study aims to examine how precariously employed journalists manage their role boundaries as they negotiate their work and home life demands. In-depth interviews conducted in 2017 and 2021 allowed us to obtain a longitudinal perspective on boundary work and to detect the tactics to create and maintain the preferred work-home role boundaries. The results show that work comes first with respect to the work–home balance in journalism. In the early years of their career, immersed in a labour-of-love ethic, journalists preferred to integrate work–home boundaries by being journalists 24 hours a day. Over time, a preference for the segmentation of work–home roles emerged along with different boundary work tactics. However, it is often impossible to segment boundaries due to the nature of the profession, and thus many of them leave the profession for public relations. The study makes an original contribution by adding a new boundary work tactic to the previously established typology.

Work-Time Control and Exhaustion: Internal Work-to-Home Interference and Internal Home-to-Work Interference as Mediators.

Strong work-time control (WTC) has been linked to reduced employee exhaustion, with work-to-home interference as an underlying mechanism. In this study, we aimed to investigate the mediation effect of both directions of internal work–home interference, namely internal work-to-home interference (IWHI) and internal home-to-work interference (IHWI). The analysis is based on data from the 2015, 2017, and 2019 BAuA-Working Time Survey, a representative German panel study. Cross-lagged panel models were estimated separately for IWHI and IHWI, based on the balanced panel (n = 3390). We investigated the hypothesized indirect as well as potential direct, reversed, and reciprocal effects of the constructs. WTC had a small but significant indirect effect on exhaustion via IWHI. Contrary to assumptions, WTC positively affected IHWI. Unexpectedly, there was no significant effect of IHWI on exhaustion. Hence, only IWHI was identified to mediate WTC’s effect on exhaustion. This implies that WTC helps employees avoid exhaustion from psychological preoccupation with work during free time. In addition, analyses suggested reversed and reciprocal relationships between the investigated constructs. Further investigation is needed to explore the role of psychological preoccupation with private matters during work time in the context of WTC and employee well-being.

How to attract employees back to the office? A stated choice study on hybrid working preferences

It is expected that most office workers will work from home more often after COVID-19, but it remains unclear who is inclined to go back to the office and who is not when hybrid working becomes reality. Existing studies lack insights how (design) characteristics of the available office and home workspace influences workspace choice behavior. This survey-based stated choice experiment identifies two employee segments: one that intends to re-embrace the office and one that prefers to stay home a lot. Especially the expected crowdedness on the floor and availability of private spaces for concentration and meetings determined these employees’ choices. Also, the office workers segment contained relatively more male, highly educated, full-time workers with communication as an important component of their work and a short commute, while the home workers segment contained relatively more females, part-time employees, and administrative roles, plus employees with more individually focused work and a long commute.

COVID-19-Related Job Demands and Resources, Organizational Support, and Employee Well-Being: A Study of Two Nordic Countries

The purpose of this study is to examine how COVID-19-related job demands and resources have been associated with employee well-being in Nordic countries across specific occupational groups. The study investigated four occupational groups: (1) professional, scientific, and technical occupations in Norway (n = 301); (2) teachers in Finland (n = 315); (3) health and social service occupations in Norway (n = 267); and (4) geriatric nurses in Finland (n = 105). Hypotheses were tested using two-step hierarchical regression analysis. Work–home imbalance in Groups 1, 2, and 3, workload increase in Groups 1 and 3, and fear of infection in Groups 2 and 3 were positively related with exhaustion. A positive attitude towards digital solutions was positively related to work engagement in Groups 2 and 3. In addition, there was a significant positive relationship between COVID-19-related organizational support and work engagement in Groups 2, 3, and 4, and a negative relationship with exhaustion in Group 2. In conclusion, pandemic-related job demands and resources were differently associated with employee well-being across different occupational groups and countries. Further, organizational support may act as a supportive element for sustaining employee well-being during pandemics.

Proactive Vitality Management, Work-Home Enrichment, and Performance: A Two-Wave Cross-Lagged Study on Entrepreneurs.

This study provides a cross-lagged examination of the relationships between proactive vitality management, work–home enrichment, and entrepreneurial performance. Specifically, based on the Job Demands-Resources and Conservation of Resources theories, we postulate a mediation model where proactive vitality management leads to entrepreneurs transferring resources developed in their work role to thrive in their home role (i.e., work–home enrichment), resulting in augmented entrepreneurial performance. The hypotheses were tested with data collected at two time points, 1 onth apart—T1 (N = 277) and T2 (N = 249), from Romanian entrepreneurs. We analyzed autoregressive, causal, reversed, and reciprocal models to test the mediation model. In the linkage between predictor and outcome variable, the reversed model is the best-fitting model, showing that proactive vitality management is only a distal precursor of performance. However, the best-fitting models for the relationship between predictor and mediator and between mediator and outcome were the reciprocal models. Thus, proactive vitality management and work–home enrichment have reciprocal effects on each other over time, as was the case between work–home enrichment and entrepreneurial performance. These results are in line with the resource gain cycle perspective of the Conservation of Resources theory. Employing proactive behaviors to optimize functioning at work enables the transfer of resources to the home role. Potentiating one role through aspects of another will thus generate additional resources reflecting on entrepreneurial performance. Hence, this study provides insights into precursors and mechanisms that can shape entrepreneurial performance.

Promoting remote workers' psychological health: Effective management practices during the COVID‐19 crisis

The aim of this study was to identify specific management practices that promote the psychological health of remote workers in the context of the COVID‐19 crisis. A two‐round Delphi study was conducted among 28 teleworkers and 22 managers. A list of 60 specific management practices was presented and participants had to identify whether each one could be used in the current remote working context and, if so, how useful it was to promote psychological health at work. Results indicate that most specific management practices usually used in a face‐to‐face setting can also be used in a remote context (85%). Practices that show consideration, establishing work structure, and allowing flexibility were also identified as the most useful to promote remote workers' psychological health during the pandemic. This study contributes to the advancement of knowledge about specific management practices, remote working, and crisis management. It also suggests specific practices that managers can adopt to promote the psychological health of their employees during a period of crisis, even while managing from a distance.