Homework Condition Research Articles

My home is my new office: The relationship between environmental comfort, workplace attachment, and psychological needs in the context of remote working

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, more and more organizations have implemented remote working, and more and more workers have experienced an overlap between home and work environments. Home environments, therefore, had to be readjusted in their spatial configurations to meet and satisfy the needs of workers. Through the lens of Self-Determination Theory, the study aims to investigate how perceived remote workplace environment quality indicators (PRWEQIs) can contribute to greater home working engagement through the satisfaction of autonomy, competence, and relatedness needs and attachment to the home workplace. The research consists of two cross-sectional studies. The first one examines how the place-related needs of autonomy, competence, and relationship, satisfied by the home working place features, can mediate the effect of perceived comfort on home workplace attachment. The second study analyzes how comfort and workplace attachment can contribute to satisfying the same needs referred to the job activities, thus generating greater engagement in the home worker. The research provides supportive empirical evidence that workplace attachment can also be developed under home working conditions.

Computer and Furniture Affecting Musculoskeletal Problems and Work Performance in Work From Home During COVID-19 Pandemic.

We surveyed how home-working conditions, specifically furniture and computer use, affected self-reported musculoskeletal problems and work performance. Questionnaires from 4112 homeworkers were analyzed. The relationship between subjective musculoskeletal problems or work performance and working conditions were determined by logistic regression analyses. More than half the homeworkers used a work desk, work chair, and laptop computer. However, approximately 20% of homeworkers used a low table, floor chair/floor cushion, or other furniture that was different from the office setup. Using a table of disproportionate size and height, sofa, floor cushion, and floor chair were associated with neck/shoulder pain or low back pain. Disproportionate table and chair, floor cushion, and tablet computer were associated with poor work performance. Disproportionate desk and chair, floor cushion/chair, and computer with small screen may affect musculoskeletal problems and home-working performance.

Association between voice symptoms and college professors’ home working conditions during online classes in times of COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, teaching conditions changed around the world from in-person classes to online classes, which also determined changes on teachers’ working conditions. Method: Exploratory cross-sectional study with the aim of determining the association between two voice symptoms (vocal fatigue and throat pain) with home working conditions during online classes in times of COVID-19 pandemic. Professors answered an online survey including 27 questions about four components: sociodemographic factors, characteristics of home working, quarantine characteristics, and health conditions (including voice functioning). Results: 177 college professors from Argentina, Colombia, and Chile participated in this study. First, incidence of vocal fatigue, during online classes in times of COVID-19 pandemic, represented around 50%. Although throat pain had a smaller incidence, it was also important (35%). Second, days in quarantine, number of classes per week, people living with during quarantine, and history of vocal fatigue before quarantine were important associated factors of vocal fatigue. Third, important associated factors of throat pain were number of classes per week, level of stress, years of experience, and history of throat pain before quarantine. Conclusion: Similar to pre-COVID-19, vocal fatigue and throat pain were frequently reported voice symptoms among college professors. Associated factors of these symptoms included years of experience, number of classes per week, stress, people living with during quarantine due to COVID-19, and history of voice symptoms. Workplace Health Promotion programs should include activities that facilitate a healthy occupational voice use during and post-COVID-19 pandemic, considering the implications of online teaching on teachers’ health and safety.

Perceived stress, physiological stress reactivity, and exit exam performance in a prelicensure Bachelor of Science nursing program.

Objectives High-stakes exams are a source of chronic stress that may adversely affect nursing students' thinking, behavior, and overall health. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships of perceived stress, physiological stress reactivity, and exit exam performance. Methods A within-subjects design allowed measurement of perceived stress, salivary cortisol, and salivary alpha amylase in pre-licensure nursing students under two different conditions: a high-stakes exit exam and a low-stakes homework assignment. Results Perceived stress and salivary alpha amylase were significantly higher after the high-stakes exam compared to the homework condition. Perceived stress after the exam was correlated with lower exam score. Conclusion Study findings suggest that in response to a high-stakes exam, prelicensure nursing students experience high levels of perceived stress coupled with sympathetic activation but not activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal axis.

Can Between-Session Homework Be Delivered Digitally? A Pilot Randomized Clinical Trial of CBT for Adjustment Disorders.

Adjustment disorder (AjD) is one of the most common disorders in clinical practice, and its symptoms are severe enough to cause great distress and functional impairment. The AjD CBT protocol specifically developed for this disorder has shown positive results when delivered face to face and through virtual reality. Despite existing evidence supporting the benefits of therapeutic homework as part of a psychological intervention, little is known about how to increase homework engagement in psychotherapy. This study examines the feasibility (doability, initial efficacy and acceptability) of a digital support system to deliver homework via the Internet in the treatment of AjD. Participants were randomly assigned to a traditional homework condition or a digital support system condition. Both interventions resulted in statistically significant improvements, with large effect sizes, in all the outcome measures at post-treatment, with no significant differences between groups. At 12-month follow-up, these therapeutic gains were maintained, and an improvement was even observed in both conditions, with no significant differences between groups. Additionally, treatment satisfaction predicted efficacy in both groups separately and when the whole group was considered. This is the first study to explore the feasibility an initial efficacy of delivering a therapeutic homework component for AjD through the Internet.

The Role of Homework and Skill Acquisition in the Outcome of Group Cognitive Therapy for Depression – Republished Article

Despite the crucial role typically accorded to between-session self-help assignments in cognitive therapy of depression, the actual impact of homework assignment on therapy outcome has received little empirical attention. The present study evaluated the effect of homework by assigning 63 carefully diagnosed unipolar depressives to one of two otherwise identical 10-week cognitive therapy conditions, only one of which utilized weekly homework assignments. As predicted, assignment to the homework condition predicted more substantial improvement in symptomatic features of depression as rated by an independent clinician at therapy termination, although this effect was not maintained at six month follow-up. However, a post-therapy assessment of skill acquisition in completing the core cognitive restructuring technique did predict self-rated maintenance of treatment gains six months later, irrespective of the treatment condition to which the subject had been assigned. Taken together, these findings reinforce the value of homework in improving treatment response during the active treatment phase of cognitive therapy for depression, and the importance of skill acquisition in promoting maintenance of treatment gams once therapy has ended.

Risk factors for work-related stress and subjective hardship in health-care staff in nursing homes for the elderly: A cross-sectional study.

This study aimed to explore potential risk factors for work-related stress by, detailing working conditions and subjective hardship according to occupational category in health-care staff working with elderly patients. A cross-sectional descriptive survey was conducted in 105 nursing homes for the elderly in France. Data on nursing home working conditions were collected by occupational physicians. The study population was limited to those in direct contact with the elderly, who were divided into 3 occupational groups defined by qualifications and tasks: housekeepers (HKs), nursing assistants (NAs) and nurses (Ns). Employees answered a questionnaire on their perceived working conditions and vocational training courses. Psychosocial stress was assessed with the Siegrist questionnaire. The subjects included 706 HKs, 1,565 NAs and 378 Ns, and the findings showed confusion of tasks and responsibilities in the study population. Verbal abuse by residents was reported by 60.9% of HKs (versus 76.2% of NAs and 76.7% of Ns, p<0.001). Physical attack by residents was more frequently reported by NAs (59.1%) than Ns (52.8%) or HKs (38.0%) (p<0.001). Nearly 10% of employees reported clear effort/reward imbalance (10.4% of NAs, 9.2% of Ns and 7.0% of HKs, p=0.059). Great hardship related to proximity to death was reported by 40.5% of HKs (versus 37.3% of NAs and 22.6% of Ns; p<0.001). To prevent stress related to insufficient ability, nursing home workers should be encouraged to attend job training courses, which should cover knowledge of the specific care needs of elderly patients and of the authority/responsibility required to do their job.

A Comparison of Traditional Homework to Computer-Supported Homework

This study compared learning for fifth grade students in two math homework conditions. The paper-and-pencil condition represented traditional homework, with review of problems in class the following day. The Web-based homework condition provided immediate feedback in the form of hints on demand and step-by-step scaffolding. We analyzed the results for students who completed both the paper-and-pencil and the Web-based conditions. In this group of 28 students, students learned significantly more when given computer feedback than when doing traditional paper-and-pencil homework, with an effect size of .61. The implications of this study are that, given the large effect size, it may be worth the cost and effort to give Web-based homework when students have access to the needed equipment, such as in schools that have implemented one-to-one computing programs.

Linking Nursing Home Working Conditions to Organizational Performance

Exploring selected working conditions and performance in nursing homes suggests that high and low performers can be determined based on both quantitative and qualitative findings.

Using Tests as an Incentive to Motivate Procrastinators to Study

The purposes of this study were to compare two approaches for enhancing the recall and understanding of text and to compare the effectiveness of the two approaches for students differing in procrastination tendency. The first approach was to provide incentive motivation by giving a test on each text chapter; the second approach was to provide a learning strategy by requiring students to outline each chapter as a homework assignment. Eighty-two students were classified by level of procrastination based on scores on the Procrastination Scale. Half of the students experienced the test condition; the other half experienced the homework condition. Although the test condition produced significantly higher scores overall on a final achievement examination than the outline condition did, a significant interaction between condition and student procrastination level reflected an almost 12% advantage for the test condition among high procrastinators. There was virtually no difference between conditions for medium and low procrastinators.

The role of homework and skill acquisition in the outcome of group cognitive therapy for depression

Despite the crucial role typically accorded to between-session self-help assignments in cognitive therapy of depression, the actual impact of homework assignment on therapy outcome has received little empirical attention. The present study evaluated the effect of homework by assigning 63 carefully diagnosed unipolar depressives to one of two otherwise identical 10-week cognitive therapy conditions, only one of which utilized weekly homework assignments. As predicted, assignment to the homework condition predicted more substantial improvement in symptomatic features of depression as rated by an independent clinician at therapy termination, although this effect was not maintained at six month follow-up. However, a post-therapy assessment of skill acquisition in completing the core cognitive restructuring technique did predict self-rated maintenance of treatment gains six months later, irrespective of the treatment condition to which the subject had been assigned. Taken together, these findings reinforce the value of homework in improving treatment response during the active treatment phase of cognitive therapy for depression, and the importance of skill acquisition in promoting maintenance of treatment gains once therapy has ended.