Increasing Workforce Participation Research Articles

Spatial clusters for demand and supply of early childhood education and care services in Italy

In recent years, concern has increased about affordable and high-quality early childhood education and care (ECEC) services. Such services can help balance work and family life, increase workforce participation, promote gender equality, and increase fertility rates. ECEC services are then essential, especially for countries facing ultralow fertility rates like Italy. To face these challenges, the Italian government has included an unprecedented investment in the recovery and resilience plan financed with Next Generations EU funds to increase the supply of ECEC services and make them more equitably distributed across the country. However, socio-economic policies need a comprehensive understanding of demand dynamics and the intricate interplay between supply and demand of such services. Therefore, in this article, we propose a novel analysis of the complex combination of supply and demand of Italian ECEC services. We explore patterns of this combination in terms of groups of spatial areas sharing similar structures of service coverage and public expenditure rates in ECEC, as well as other socio-demographic and economic factors such as female employment, education, and grandparent rates. Our empirical findings confirm how Italy is characterized by several distinct territorial models and how some are shared across multiple regions. Current empirical findings suggest a lack of uniform governance across the Italian territory. Policymakers can use these results to plan, discuss, and implement area-specific welfare strategies regarding ECEC services.

Analytical study on the impact of legal and legislative reforms in Saudi Arabia laws on women’s empowerment and economic growth

Women play a pivotal role in national development, and it is essential for every country to harness their skills to promote economic growth and comprehensive development. The purpose of the current study is to analyze and evaluation the impact of the most recent legislatives and legal reforms in the Saudi Arabia laws in the women’s empowering and economic growth. In addition, the research method is used is analyzing laws, regulations, and reports documents related to women rights in Saudi Arabia to clarify its impact on the women’s empowerments and economic developments. The study’s results indicate a significant and positive impact of recent legal and legislative reforms in Saudi Arabia on women’s empowerment and economic growth. Legal reforms have expanded employment opportunities and fostered entrepreneurship among women, resulting in increased workforce participation and a rise in women-owned businesses. Social empowerment has been enhanced through greater autonomy and improved access to education and vocational training, equipping women with competitive skills. Additionally, reforms have facilitated women’s participation in governance that creating a safer and more equitable environment. These changes have contributed positively to the economic incomes and diversification that reflecting the efforts undertaken by the Kingdom to enhance women’s empowerment and ensure the sustainability of reforms to achieve the ambitious goals of the Kingdome Vision 2030.

Enhancing Drone Operator Competency within the Construction Industry: Assessing Training Needs and Roadmap for Skill Development

Industry 5.0 is expected to solve the issue of job insecurity and reluctance to adopt emerging technologies in Industry 4.0 through increased workforce participation. To achieve that, proactive training should be afforded to enable the workforce to co-work with new technologies. Drones are an emerging technology increasingly adopted in construction, which has enormous data collection and safety implications when operational skills are inadequate. Yet, current drone training programs appear to be generic, and their ability to equip operators for flying tasks is questioned. This study aims to answer this question by assessing the adequacy of existing drone training programs and proposing training needs and strategies for drone operators in the construction industry. Data collected using semi-structured interviews from 22 purposively selected respondents in Hong Kong and desk research of websites were subjected to inductive content and thematic analysis using MAXQDA Analytics Pro 2022 software and narrative review. It was deduced that drone training courses in Hong Kong were mostly generic (UAS Pilot Training—Level 1, FPV operation). Interviewees considered existing drone training/training courses as inadequate for four reasons, including “lack of context-fitting considerations”, “incompetence of drone operators”, and “lack of demand/interest”. Regarding the need for specialized drone training courses, two barriers and two training ecosystem themes emerged, with the high cost of specialized courses being a potential barrier to adoption since they could hamper enrolment. The training ecosystem themes were consistent with the “the training is inadequate” theme. This study proposes two drone operation training strategies: “competence-based training” and a “train-the-trainer” model. Drone training courses or programs under each training strategy should include (i) training content such as “safety training” and off-GPS training and (ii) knowledge and skill maintenance measures such as mandatory continuous professional development and retraining techniques. The proposed training strategies will equip operators to work efficiently and safely with drones. The study offers valuable references for training organizations and government authorities.

Navigating menopause at work: a preliminary study about challenges and support systems.

Women's increasing workforce participation necessitates understanding unique life phases like menopause for enhanced workplace inclusivity. This research investigates the challenges and needs of peri-menopausal women in work settings, using the Job Demands-Resources model as a foundation. A cross-sectional survey was administered to 351 working women aged 40 to 65 years in the United States. Hierarchical multiple regression models were employed to assess the relationship between the severity of menopausal symptoms, emotional exhaustion, work engagement, and turnover intentions. Most of the respondents reported moderate (38.46%) to severe (35.9%) menopausal symptoms. Notably, 54% of the women were caregivers for children or adults. About 77.7% of participants reported work-related challenges due to menopause, with a perceived reduction in productivity (56.8%) being the most common issue. The severity of menopausal symptoms was found to significantly predict more emotional exhaustion ( P < 0.001), less work engagement ( P < 0.001), and greater turnover intentions ( P = 0.03). Concerns about being perceived as less capable in the workplace due to menopausal symptoms were reported by 51.2% of respondents. A striking gap exists between the workplace measures desired by women, such as formal menopause policies and managerial training (65.4%-68%), and their actual implementation (2%-6.3%). This study reveals an exigent need for increased awareness and structural changes to support working women going through menopause. The findings have far-reaching implications for not just promoting gender equity and well-being but are also pivotal for maintaining a diversified, engaged, and effective workforce.

COMMUNITY DISADVANTAGE AND WORKFORCE PARTICIPATION AMONG LATE MIDDLE-AGED MEDICAID BENEFICIARIES

Abstract There have been numerous efforts to increase workforce participation among Medicaid beneficiaries in an effort to reduce program costs. We know little, however, about whether Medicaid beneficiaries with low workforce participation live in communities that support employment. The purpose of the current study was to determine if community disadvantage was associated with workforce participation among late middle-aged Medicaid beneficiaries, an age group that commonly faces difficulty entering the workforce. Participants were 1418 Medicaid beneficiaries ages 51-64 who participated in the 2016 wave of the Health and Retirement Study, a population-based study of community-dwelling adults aged &amp;gt;50. Community disadvantage was measured using the Social Vulnerability Index (SVI). We evaluated the association between community social vulnerability and reduced workforce participation (defined as working &amp;lt; 20 hours per week). We performed additional analyses to determine if the association between community disadvantage and reduced workforce participation was driven by any one of four subthemes of the SVI:(1) community socioeconomic status, (2) household composition/disability, (3) minority status &amp; language and (4) housing type &amp; transportation. Community disadvantages was associated with reduced workforce participation (OR: 2.82; 95% CI: 1.05-7.56). Analyses by SVI theme showed that the association between community disadvantage and reduced workforce participation was largely driven by community socioeconomic status (SES). Those living in low SES communities were more likely to report reduced workforce participation than those living in high SES communities: (OR: 5.48; 95% CI: 3.28-8.18). Policy interventions that focus on disadvantaged communities are likely needed to improve employment rates among late middle-aged Medicaid beneficiaries.

Opium and the Family in the Writings of Karl Marx

Marx's assertion that religion “is the opium of the people” is his most famous invocation of opium, but references to the drug appear throughout his work, providing a window into his theories of gender, the family, and the state. Responding to moral panics around a spike in rates of infanticide by opium among the working class in 19th-century England, Marx suggests that the spike was caused by women's increasing workforce participation. Marx uses trades of opium and cotton between England and China to exemplify problems with prevailing economic theories of money and exchange, but he also explains why opium and cotton were not comparable trades: the illicit opium trade in China undermined the Chinese government by promoting corruption. While many accounts of commodity trades in the 19th century treat opium as either a normal commodity or a moral disaster, Marx's invocations of opium and infanticide encompass a debate about working-class subsistence, changing bourgeois norms, and state power.

Workforce participation, health and wealth inequality among older Australians between 2001 and 2015

BackgroundAustralians born in 2012 can expect to live about 33 years longer than those born 100 years earlier. However, only seven of these additional years are spent in the workforce. Longer life expectancy has driven policies to extend working life and increase retirement age; the current Australian policy, which has increased the eligibility for the pension from 65 to 67 by 2023, assumes that an improvement in longevity corresponds with an improvement in healthy life expectancy. However, there is mixed evidence of health trends in Australia over the past two decades. Although some health outcomes are improving among older age groups, many are either stable or deteriorating. This raises a question of how health trends intersect with policy for older Australians aged from 50 to 70. This paper considers the interplay between older workers’ health and workforce participation rates over the past 15 years when extended workforce participation has been actively encouraged.MethodsWe compared health and economic outcomes of the older people in following years with the base year (start of the study period), adjusting for some key socio-economic characteristics such as age, sex, ethnicity, education and equivalized household income by applying the Random effects estimator with maximum likelihood estimation technique.ResultsWe find that regardless of increasing longevity, the health of older adults aged between 50 and 70 has slightly deteriorated. In addition, health gaps between those who were working into their older age and those who were not have widened over the 15-year period. Finally, we find that widening health gaps linked to workforce participation are also accompanied by rising economic inequality in incomes, financial assets and superannuation. With the exception of a small group of healthy and very wealthy retirees, the majority of the older Australians who were not working had low incomes, assets, superannuation, and poor health.ConclusionsThe widening economic and health gap within older population over time indicates a clear and urgent need to add policy actions on income and health, to those that seek to increase workforce participation among older adults.

Diversity Climate, Salutogenic Theory, and the Occupational Health of College-Educated Women from Conservative Communities.

Over the past four decades, there have been significant changes in workplaces around the world, including a workforce that has become more diverse as the relative proportion of women in the workforce has increased. This trend has included the increased workforce participation of women from conservative minority groups. This article discusses the significance of the integration of college-educated women from conservative minority groups into the workforce in terms of their own personal health and well-being. This work focuses on two groups of college-educated women from conservative minority groups that have joined the Israeli workforce: Ultra-Orthodox women and Bedouin Arab women. This qualitative study was based on five focus groups, which included 16 women from the two examined groups. The main themes raised in those focus groups were categorized and analyzed. The data analysis was guided by the diversity-climate approach and salutogenic theory. The research findings indicate that a diversity climate that included most of the different aspects of this approach was present in the participants’ statements regarding their workplaces. In practice, diversity climate supported sense of coherence, such that both diversity climate and a sense of coherence led directly to the occupational health of these college-educated, minority women.

Trends in Associations Between Sickness Absence Before the Age of 65 and Being in Paid Work After the Age of 65: Prospective Study of Three Total Population Cohorts

ABSTRACT The increasing workforce participation at higher ages may impact social insurance systems, however, this has hardly been studied at all. We studied associations between sociodemographic factors and prior sickness absence and disability pension, with having paid work and sickness absence after age 65, and if such associations changed over time. We used longitudinal register data regarding three cohorts of all residents in Sweden who turned 65 in 2000, 2005, or 2010 (N = 50,000, 68,000, and 99,000, respectively). Although employment rates when aged 66–71 increased between the cohorts, associations of sociodemographic factors with paid work and sickness absence, when aged 66–71 did not. Both sickness absence and disability pension when aged 60–64 were negatively associated with working past 65. Sickness absence when aged 60–64 was positively associated and disability pension was negatively associated with sickness absence after 65. Possibilities to remain in paid work with different health conditions need to be strengthened to avoid inequalities when raising the retirement age.

Trends in associations between sickness absence, disability pension and paid work after age 65

Abstract Aim The increasing workforce participation at higher ages may impact social insurance systems, however, this has hardly been studied at all. We investigated associations between sociodemographic factors, prior sickness absence, and prior disability pension, with being in paid work after age 65 and to what extent they then had any sickness absence, and if such associations changed over time. Methods We conducted three prospective cohort studies. We used longitudinal data from three nationwide registers linked at individual level covering all residents in Sweden who turned 65 years in 2000, 2005, or 2010 (N = 50,000, 68,000, and 99,000, respectively). Logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the association between sickness absence and disability pension when aged 60-64 and a) being in paid work when aged 66-71, and b) having sickness absence when aged 66-71 among those in paid work, adjusted for sociodemographic variables in each of the three cohorts. Results Although the percentage of individuals in paid work when aged 66-71 increased substantially between the cohorts (2000 cohort 28.7%, 2005 cohort 39.5%, 2010 cohort 48.2%), associations of sociodemographic factors with being in paid work or having sickness absence when aged 66-71 remained steady. Both sickness absence and disability pension when aged 60-64 were negatively associated with working past 65 (sickness absence 2000 cohort OR 0.86, 95% CI 0.82-0.90; 2010 cohort OR 0.89, CI 0.87-0.92 - disability pension 2000 cohort OR 0.41, 0.39-0.44; 2010 cohort OR 0.36, CI 0.35-0.38). Sickness absence when aged 60-64 was positively associated with sickness absence after 65 (2000 cohort OR 2.16, CI 1.86-2.51; 2010 cohort OR 2.15, CI 1.98-2.33) while disability pension was negatively associated with sickness absence after 65 (2000 cohort OR 0.69, CI 0.52-0.92; 2010 cohort OR 0.83, CI 0.68-1.01). Key messages Rates of people in paid work &amp;gt;65 increased much from 2000 to 2010; their sickness absence increased marginally, while associations of sociodemographic factors with paid work did not change over time. Prior sickness absence was associated with paid work and sickness absence after age 65, while disability pension before age 65 was associated with less sickness absence after 65.

Servant Leadership Philosophy Across Intergenerational Cohorts: An Empirical Inquiry

In the second decade of 21st century, with Millennials (1981-2004) increased workforce participation and Baby Boomers’ (1946-1964) resistance to retirement, the United States has witnessed a genera...

Konstruksi Sosial Pekerja Perempuan dan Anak pada Industri Perikanan

&lt;p&gt;Women worker and children employee on fishery industry aims to increase workforce participation around seashore edge beside budgeting pressure for labor cost. What is more necessary, the fishery industry is known as fishing manufacture in Pasuruan, tend to save their expenditure budget due to social subsidies to their employee. Thirty-four women who work at fishery industry was aged from 18 to 55 years old and the 8 children who engage with work was aged from 8 to 16 years old. There was wage gap between women worker and children worker. Gender dualism belongs to women worker and the children create social construction among local society in Pasuruan. Social construction happened because of dichotomy aspect. The first is working in the fishery industry was done with pride in breaking patriarchy rules, Secondly, they set to work for long-life family needed.&lt;/p&gt;

What is the impact of dementia on occupational competence, occupational participation and occupational identity for people who experience onset of symptoms while in paid employment? A scoping review.

Engagement in meaningful occupation, including paid work is considered an important determinant of health, impacted by injury or illness. Dementia is one neurodegenerative syndrome with potential to compromise capacity for remaining engaged in paid employment. In response to 'ageing' populations globally, policy shifts within developed economies are increasing workforce participation for those over 45years and eligibility ages for retirement pensions. Dementia onset is not limited to 'older age', consequently an increased impact of dementia is likely for both older workers and those experiencing younger onset dementia. Therefore, identifying and addressing workforce participation issues confronting people with dementia is becoming increasingly important for occupational therapy practice. This scoping review draws on peer reviewed literature to explore the impact of dementia on workers across the three domains of occupational engagement: occupational competence; occupational participation; and occupational identity using the Model of Human Occupation (MOHO). International studies published in English including full-text translations between 2000 and 2017 were identified from an incremental search of electronic databases (Web of Science; Scopus; Proquest; MEDLINE; CINAHL; and Health Business Elite) and hand searched reference lists. Six relevant papers were identified and retained for analysis, all reporting qualitative studies. Data were collated under the three domains of occupational engagement and further organised into emergent subcategories. While evidence was limited, person-centred approaches addressing dementia-related changes in occupational competence; workforce participation choices; and redefinition of occupational identity may mitigate negative experiences associated with transitioning from paid worker roles. There is a significant need for further research exploring the impact of dementia on engagement in paid work. Occupational therapists have an important part to play in enabling access to person-centred interventions that promote continued engagement in meaningful occupational roles, including opportunities to extend workforce participation and engage in supported transitions to retirement.

Public transport and people with impairments – exploring non-use of public transport through the case of Oslo, Norway

abstractDespite the attention given to universal design in recent years, many people with impairments still refrain from travelling on public transport. This explorative case study, conducted in the greater Oslo region in Norway, aims to add knowledge on why this is so. Findings indicate that insecurity while travelling and expectations of problems along the way are significant barriers. For many it is the sum of all challenges combined, from experience or anticipation that leads to non-use of public transport. The study shows that universal design policy, as of today, does not lead to accessible public transport systems that rendered impairments irrelevant. If society could safeguard the individuals’ travel needs, this might have profound societal repercussions through increased workforce participation and value added in society. Only then can society make the best use of all its inhabitants while championing inclusiveness and equality.

Work after age 65: A prospective study of Australian men and women.

This study describes hours in paid work for Australian men and women aged over 65, focusing on associations between work and education. Data were analysed separately for men and women, from baseline and first follow-up surveys of the 45 and Up Study. Generalised estimating equationmodels were used to identify associations between work, education and other factors over time. The odds of doing paid work increased with higher education level and decreased with time, age, poorer physical function and having health conditions (high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke and breast cancer). Un-partnered women were more likely to work in later life than partnered women. This study quantifies the importance of education and health factors in determining continued participation of Australian men and women in paid work in later life. These factors need to be considered for policies aiming to increase workforce participation beyond 65years of age.

Sexual discrimination, attitudes toward sexual health, and consciousness of biomedical ethics in Korea

With industrialization, increasing workforce participation of women, and advances in information and communications technology, South Korean society is experiencing conflict and confusion regarding sexual ethics. We investigated the relationships among sexual discrimination, attitudes toward sexual health, and consciousness of biomedical ethics with a sample of 142 Korean adults in Seoul, South Korea. Men exhibited greater sexual discrimination than did women. Consciousness of biomedical ethics was higher in those with religious faith and married individuals, those with a higher level of education, individuals in paid employment, and those with firmly held ethical values, than in people without these characteristics. Finally, consciousness of biomedical ethics was higher in individuals with a more positive attitude toward sexual health. On the basis of these results, we proposed the development of a sex education program in South Korea to encourage gender-equality awareness, strengthen sound attitudes toward sexual health, and increase consciousness of biomedical ethics.

Assisting Social Security Disability Insurance Beneficiaries With Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, or Major Depression in Returning to Work

People with psychiatric impairments (primarily schizophrenia or a mood disorder) are the largest and fastest-growing group of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) beneficiaries. The authors investigated whether evidence-based supported employment and mental health treatments can improve vocational and mental health recovery for this population. Using a randomized controlled trial design, the authors tested a multifaceted intervention: team-based supported employment, systematic medication management, and other behavioral health services, along with elimination of barriers by providing complete health insurance coverage (with no out-of-pocket expenses) and suspending disability reviews. The control group received usual services. Paid employment was the primary outcome measure, and overall mental health and quality of life were secondary outcome measures. Overall, 2,059 SSDI beneficiaries with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or depression in 23 cities participated in the 2-year intervention. The teams implemented the intervention package with acceptable fidelity. The intervention group experienced more paid employment (60.3% compared with 40.2%) and reported better mental health and quality of life than the control group. Implementation of the complex intervention in routine mental health treatment settings was feasible, and the intervention was effective in assisting individuals disabled by schizophrenia or depression to return to work and improve their mental health and quality of life.

Voices from the Working Lives Project: The Push-pull of Work and Care

A recent policy direction in many OECD countries has been to increase workforce participation for women of childbearing age; a policy direction which seemingly runs counter to a need for improved work-life balance for women themselves. This article explores the impact of this somewhat contradictory ‘push-pull’ of policy by examining some difficulties of workforce participation, transition and re-entry articulated by female case study participants from an Australian Research Council funded study, which examined the career decision-making of contemporary Australian workers. Against a backdrop of the larger study, this article features detail from interviews with skilled women workers on their return from maternity leave, particularly addressing their difficult transitions between work and care and their varying responses to workplace marginalisation. In light of policy initiatives aimed to boost workforce participation, this article aims to contribute to raising the profile of issues surrounding the cost of parenting to contemporary women.

Do Australian Teenagers Work? Why We Should Care

This paper addresses the lack of systematic attention to teenagers' work in feminist economics. Drawing on historical sociology, it suggests why paid or unpaid work by children has been difficult to discuss, define, and measure in contemporary industrialized countries, in part by comparing debates on child workers and “economically inactive” housewives. The paper then asks whether mothers' increasing workforce participation has led to a rise in the number of children whose labor is “domestically useful.” The answer, focusing on Australian research, considers ethnographies of teenagers who resist housework, accounts of those who make substantial contributions to their families, surveys of children's employment, and data from national time-use surveys. The paper concludes that the interdependence of all family members should be considered in one analytical frame.

Descriptive Epidemiology of Serious Work-Related Injuries in British Columbia, Canada

ObjectiveThis study examined the rates and distribution of serious work-related injuries by demographic, work and injury characteristics in British Columbia, Canada from 2002–2008, using population-based data.MethodsClaims for workers with a serious injury were extracted from workers’ compensation data. Serious injuries were defined by long duration, high cost, serious medical diagnosis, or fatality. Workforce estimates were used to calculate stratum-specific rates. Rate-ratios (RR) and 95% CIs were calculated using negative binomial regression for the comparison of rates, adjusting for gender, age and occupation.ResultsWomen had a lower overall serious injury rate compared to men (RR: 0.93, 95% CI: 0.87–0.99). The 35–44 age group had the highest overall rate compared to the youngest age group. The rate for severe strains/sprains was similarly high for men and women in the 35–44 age group, although there was a differential pattern by gender for other injury types: the rate of fracture was similar across age groups for men, but increased with age for women (RR: 2.7, 95% CI: 2.2–3.3); and the rate of severe falls increased with age for men and women, with a larger three-fold increase for older women (men: RR: 1.8, 95% CI: 1.7–2.1; women: RR: 3.2, 95% CI: 2.7–3.7).ConclusionsThe risk of serious injuries is higher among specific age groups with different patterns emerging for men and women. Variations persisted within similar injury types and occupation groups in our adjusted models. These results provide evidence for the burden of serious injuries and a basis for future analytic research. Given projected demographic shifts and increasing workforce participation of older workers, intervention programs should be carefully implemented with consideration to demographic groups at risk for serious injuries in the workplace.