Workplace Issues Research Articles

Non-Invasive Point-of-Care Detection of Methamphetamine and Cocaine via Aptamer-Based Lateral Flow Test.

Drug abuse is a major public problem in the workplace, traffic, and forensic issues, which requires a standardized test device to monitor on-site drug use. For field testing, the most important requirements are portability, sensitivity, non-invasiveness, and quick results. Motivated by this problem, a point of care (POC) test based on lateral flow assay (LFA) was developed for the detection of cocaine (COC) and methamphetamine (MET) in saliva which has been selected as the matrix for this study due to its rapid and non-invasive collection process. In the design strategy of an LFA test, the use of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) with strong optical properties has been combined with the advantages of selecting aptamers under in vitro conditions, making it a highly specific and stable recognition probe for the detection of small molecules in saliva. The developed aptamer-based LFA in a competitive format, was able to detect COC and MET in synthetic saliva at concentrations as low as 5.0 ng/mL. After analytical performance studies, the test system also detected COC and MET in real patient samples, which was verified by chromatographic methods.

Psychosocial Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Employees

COVID-19 has been impacting the physical, mental, and social well-being of employees worldwide. While psychological support is being offered to the frontline workers, other working populations are often neglected. Moreover, although several research papers about this topic are available internationally, no independent study on this subject has yet been conducted among workers in the Middle East. The main objective of this research is to study the psychosocial impact of COVID-19 on employees in the Sultanate of Oman. Primary data was collected from 97 employees using snowball and convenience sampling techniques and analyzed using descriptive statistics and Chi-square analyses along with post-hoc tests. Findings indicated that various workplace, family, and health-related issues arising out of COVID-19 have significantly impacted the psychosocial condition of workers. Non-payment of bonuses had a high impact on non-managerial cadres. Increased medical expenses for family members had a high impact on those in the younger age group. We recommend that the psychosocial condition of workers is recognized as clinically relevant, and that psychosocial support be made available to all workers. The theoretical implications of this research are related to the cognitive theory of anxiety and attribution theory, while practical implications include the impact of COVID-19 on the psychosocial condition of workers. This research is relevant to the Asian as well as global scenarios, as the COVID-19 situation has affected workers alike, worldwide.

Promoting Skill Development and Positive Change: An Organizational Development Project for Industrial-Organizational Psychology Courses

Background Organizational development is necessary for maintaining and promoting a positive work environment. Objective We present a unique organizational development project emphasizing understanding and applying industrial-organizational psychology concepts to resolve workplace issues and motivate organizational improvement. Method The design of the organizational development project follows both project- and problem-based learning methods. As such, the organizational development project asked students in an industrial-organizational psychology course to critically examine multifaceted workplace problems and provide evidence-based solutions. Results Students reported that the organizational development project helped them meet course learning objectives and stimulated skill development in important areas like problem-solving, professional communication, and consideration of diverse ideas. Conclusion The content and skill development associated with the organizational development project can contribute to students’ personal and professional success. Teaching Implications Instructors can use this project to foster students’ comprehension of organizational development. The opportunity to practice analyzing complicated organizational situations can enhance skill development and workforce readiness. As a result, students may be better prepared to understand how industrial-organizational principles can contribute to productive, inclusive, safe, and meaningful organizational climates.

PlayDecide teamwork: a discussion game for junior doctors to explore workplace bullying and harassment

BackgroundWorkplace bullying and harassment (WBH) in healthcare settings has been widely described in the literature, although a lack of consensus on the definition of behaviours constituting WBH makes findings difficult to interpret. The consequences for those experiencing WBH can be severe, including burnout, stress, and suicidal ideation, yet formal reporting rates are low, in part due to a lack of understanding of WBH and the support services designed to address it. Those who experience WBH are more likely to reproduce the behaviour, creating a self-perpetuating cycle. There is an urgent need to develop educational tools to help trainees identify behaviours that can constitute WBH, and the support services available to address this issue.MethodsThe study setting was four acute hospital sites in Ireland; participants were interns (junior doctors in their first postgraduate year). A card-based discussion game, PlayDecide: Teamwork was developed with a multidisciplinary team (MDT), piloted, and implemented. Feedback was obtained from participants on the acceptability and educational value of the game via an anonymous online survey. The intervention is presented using the TIDieR framework. Data were analysed and presented using descriptive statistics.ResultsIntern trainers and facilitators expressed satisfaction with the game. Intern attendance at the PlayDecide sessions was estimated at 63.64% (n = 70), with a 57.14% response rate to the survey (n = 40). The majority of interns found the game acceptable, the cards realistic and relevant, and agreed that it was a safe space to discuss workplace issues. Most interns agreed that the learning objectives had been met, although fewer agreed that they had learned about support services.ConclusionPlayDecide: Teamwork is to the best of our knowledge the first intervention of its kind aimed at addressing WBH, and the first aimed at interns. We have shown it to be effective and acceptable to interns and intern trainers in the acute hospital setting. We hypothesised that strong group identification facilitated the discussion, and further, that the cards created cognitive distance, allowing for free discussion of the issues depicted without needing to divulge personal experiences. Further evaluation at behavioural and organisational levels is needed.

Asperger’s/autistic spectrum disorder project: Transition from higher education to the workplace

The main diagnostic criteria for autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) are communication and social interaction difficulties, which can make the transition from education to the workplace traumatic. A course was organised to help with this transition; with four learning outcomes: i) Knowing oneself: ASD inherent traits and the work setting; ii) Career research: mapping ASD traits onto careers; iii) Workplace issues; and iv) Developing an action plan. Qualitative interviews were conducted. All respondents agreed that the course was useful with two main themes arising: confidence building and identifying with having ASD.

Chronic Occupational Stress and Health Outcomes: A Systematic Review of Recent Findings

Chronic occupational stress has become an increasingly prevalent issue in modern workplaces, impacting employees across various sectors. Prolonged exposure to stress in professional settings is associated with numerous health risks, including both physical and mental health issues. Understanding these health outcomes is essential for developing effective strategies to mitigate workplace stress and promote employee well-being.This systematic review aims to synthesize recent findings on the health outcomes of chronic occupational stress, examining studies published within the last decade. By evaluating evidence from diverse occupational settings, this review seeks to identify the primary physical, mental, and behavioral health impacts of long-term workplace stress.A systematic literature search was conducted across major academic databases, including PubMed, Scopus, and PsycINFO. Studies were included if they focused on chronic occupational stress and reported on specific health outcomes. Data extraction focused on study design, population characteristics, stress measurement methods, and reported health effects. Studies were critically appraised for quality and relevance. Analysis of the selected studies revealed significant associations between chronic occupational stress and several health outcomes. Physical health consequences frequently included cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and metabolic disorders, while mental health impacts commonly involved anxiety, depression, and burnout. Behavioral outcomes, such as substance use and poor sleep quality, were also prevalent. Variations were observed across different job types and demographic factors, with certain high-risk sectors showing elevated levels of stress-related health issues.Chronic occupational stress is linked to a wide array of adverse health outcomes, underscoring the need for organizational interventions and policies to address long-term stress in the workplace. Future research should focus on longitudinal studies and targeted interventions to mitigate these health risks and improve employee well-being.

Two Pandemics and Workplace Shifts: Generational Considerations: A Multi-Factor Comparison of How Pandemics Impact Young Workers: Insights for Management and Employees©

This paper will compare several business-related factors. There has been relatively little academic research conducted to compare and contrast a breadth of workplace issues and dimensions during the early twentieth century’s Spanish Flu epidemic and the early twenty-first century’s COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. This manuscript analyzes several variables and adds to the literature by examining significant factors that impacted workers and their workplaces during these two significant healthcare incidents. The major factors discussed include the labor force members during both of these pandemics, the demographics of those workforces, the workplace safety, the labor economic data during these two pandemics, the wages & how they fluctuated, the labor unions & evolving perspectives towards unionization, and the dominant industry shifts. Several of the findings regarding Millennials and Generation Z workers are supported by this author’s current research of university students who were employed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The insights provided in this manuscript are instrumental for business managers and human resource management professionals, higher education, and for those who provide corporate training.

Seen but not heard: the voice of women at work and the mediating role of culture

While there is now an extensive body of literature on employee voice behaviour in the global North, research evidence from the global South is limited. This has constrained our understanding of the barriers that female workers face in expressing their views and concerns in developing countries such as Nigeria. This article examines the cultural factors that shape female employee voice behaviour in Nigerian workplaces. Using a meta-synthesis of 52 semi-structured interviews and approximately 200 h of non-participant observation, we identify a high-power distance orientation and patriarchal norms as two cultural factors that contribute to gender imbalance in the workplace, making it difficult for female employees to express their opinions, suggestions, ideas, or complaints about important workplace issues. Our findings highlight a system of patriarchal hegemony and gender inequality that makes voice behaviour difficult for female workers. The findings also show that contextualised religious norms and teachings encourage silence among female employees. We provide valuable insights into the cultural norms that inhibit female employee voice behaviour in the Global South context.

You have got a nerve: examining the nexus between coworkers' cyberloafing and workplace incivility

PurposeWhile cyberloafing has emerged as a prevalent issue in numerous workplaces, research on its consequences is still underdeveloped, highlighting a need for further exploration and analysis. Drawing upon the cognitive appraisal theory of emotion, this study investigates the influence of coworkers' cyberloafing on employees' workplace incivility, mediated by negative emotions and moderated by task interdependence.Design/methodology/approachIn Study 1, the hypothesized research model was tested utilizing three-wave time-lagged survey data collected from 333 employees and their coworkers. In Study 2, an additional sample of 274 employees was surveyed. Data were analyzed using hierarchical regression analysis and the bootstrap method.FindingsThe results indicated that coworkers' cyberloafing positively influenced employees' workplace incivility, with this relationship mediated by negative emotions. Additionally, task interdependence was found to positively moderate both the direct relationship between coworkers' cyberloafing and negative emotions and the indirect path from coworkers' cyberloafing to employees' workplace incivility through negative emotions.Practical implicationsThis study helps managers gain a deeper understanding of cyberloafing's effects, enabling them to manage and curb it more effectively.Originality/valuePrior research has predominantly explored the effects of cyberloafing on its implementers. However, this study innovatively shifts focus to the observer perspective, empirically demonstrating whether and how coworkers' cyberloafing affects employees' workplace incivility, enriching and expanding the existing literature.

The effect of organizational silence on the relationship between workplace ostracism and nurses' procrastination behavior: A structural equation modeling.

This study aims to assess the relationship between workplace ostracism and the procrastination behavior of nurses, as well as examine the effect of organizational silence on this relationship. Controlling workplace ostracism and eradicating time wasters, especially procrastination behavior among nurses, are key strategies that add value to organizational effectiveness. In addition, remaining silent about significant issues facing nurses is a devastating approach to the success of both healthcare organizations and the nursing profession. A cross-sectional descriptive correlational exploratory research design was used to conduct the study. Data were collected from 352 nurses recruited from three large university hospitals in Alexandria, Egypt. Four instruments, namely, the Workplace Ostracism Questionnaire, the Organizational Silence Scale, the Active Procrastination Scale, and the Unintentional Procrastination Scale, were used. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesized relationships among the variables. The findings demonstrated a significant positive and moderate association between workplace ostracism and both active and passive procrastination behaviors among nurses. Moreover, there was a strong positive and significant correlation between organizational silence and workplace ostracism. The results of mediation revealed that the indirect effect of workplace ostracism on both active and passive procrastination behavior through organizational silence was statistically significant, suggesting that organizational silence partially mediated this relationship. The study highlighted the ongoing challenges posed by toxic workplace issues, such as organizational ostracism and silence, as significant factors contributing to nurses' procrastination behaviors. Not only do these factors directly impact nurses' productivity, but they also interact to exacerbate negative outcomes in nursing care. Addressing these toxic dynamics is critical to improving nurse performance and ensuring quality care in healthcare settings. This study offers new insights for navigating toxicity and upgrading nursing productivity in healthcare organizations through fostering a more inclusive and communicative work environment. Promoting team cohesion and ensuring that all staff members feel valued and included can reduce feelings of isolation that may lead to procrastination. Also, creating safe spaces for nurses to voice concerns without fear of reprisal could significantly diminish passive procrastination, which ultimately enhances overall patient care quality and organizational efficiency.

Exploring Communication Barriers in Bridge-Teams: An Innovative Fuzzy-Bayesian Approach

The bridge teams on merchant vessels have a grave responsibility to guarantee the safe navigation and management of ships in the critical waterways of the world. In addition to maintaining effective communication between external stations (other ships-Vessel Traffic Service), it is crucial to ensure continuous internal collaboration among the bridge team in order to fulfil this important task to the highest standard. Nevertheless, the challenging working conditions and harsh environmental factors may impede the uninterrupted flow of information between bridge teams and disrupt the communication. Communication issues among team members are frequently mentioned as a root cause in maritime accident investigation reports. The aim of this research is to propose a novel model for identifying the factors that may cause to inadequate communication among bridge team members, employing a fuzzy Bayesian network (FBN) approach. As indicated by the findings, attitudinal and behavioural barriers exert a greater influence (43.3%) on communication than language barriers (41.5%), representing the most significant factors affecting communication. Environmental barriers and cultural barriers, on the other hand, have comparatively less impact, at 38.7% and 31.2%, respectively. The sensivity analysis also revealed that the root nodes exhibiting the highest degree of impacts were cultural barriers (31.2%), age differences (20.6%), and workplace issues (20.2%). The findings suggest that bridge communication refresher training programs are essential for the mitigation of the aforementioned barriers, and are expected to lead to the development of new strategies for the overcoming of these communication barriers.

Psychoeducational Burnout Intervention for Nurses: Protocol for a Systematic Review.

Nurses face high levels of stress and emotional exhaustion due to heavy workloads and demanding work environments. Prolonged exposure to these stressors predisposes nurses to burnout, which can adversely affect patient care. Addressing burnout among nurses requires a multifaceted approach, involving both personal and organizational strategies. While organizational strategies target systemic workplace issues, personal interventions are often favored for their ease of implementation, immediate benefits, and empowerment of health care workers through stress management and resilience-building. Prioritizing evidence-based interventions to mitigate burnout among nurses is crucial for managing occupational stress and promoting well-being. Person-directed psychoeducation is an effective personal intervention strategy used to equip nurses with the appropriate knowledge and skills to handle stressors, thereby safeguarding their mental health and ensuring high-quality patient care. This protocol proposes a systematic review that aims to identify and assess the effectiveness of person-directed psychoeducational interventions for nurses. The review aims to pinpoint effective interventions that can be implemented to manage burnout and support the mental health of nurses. This systematic review will follow the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis) guidelines. In total of 5 electronic databases (PubMed-MEDLINE, EBSCOhost, Ovid MEDLINE, Scopus, and ScienceDirect) will be searched for studies published between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2023. The search will encompass 3 main keywords: "nurses," "burnout intervention," and "burnout." Predefined eligibility criteria will guide the screening process. Data will be extracted to address the objectives of the review. The risk of bias for each study will be assessed using Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Tools. Preliminary searches have been initiated since February 2024, with the review expected to be completed by June 2024. The expected results will include a comprehensive list of psychoeducational interventions and their effectiveness in reducing burnout among nurses. The review will highlight interventions that demonstrate significant impact in published studies from various countries. Given the rising prevalence of burnout among nurses and its detrimental effects on individuals and health care organizations, the findings from this systematic review are expected to inform health care policy and practice. By evaluating different interventions, it will provide insights into the most effective strategies, contributing to evidence-based practices that support nurses' mental health and well-being. The findings can support stakeholders in developing and implementing targeted strategies to combat nurse burnout, ultimately enhancing the quality of patient care and health care delivery. In addition, the findings will also offer valuable information for researchers, guiding future practice and research in this area. PROSPERO CRD42024505762; https://tinyurl.com/4p84dk3d. DERR1-10.2196/58692.

SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW: LEAN ERGONOMICS ANALYSIS IN SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES (SMEs) MANUFACTURING SECTOR

Ergonomics has emerged as a significant workplace issue, negatively impacting finances due to worker absence and reduced productivity. Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are particularly prone to occupational accidents, contributing to over 80% of such incidents. This review delves into the perspective of lean ergonomics within SMEs. The study followed a structured review protocol,formulating research questions and systematically searching the Scopus and WoS databases. The findings reveal several key points: (1) SMEs commonly implement ergonomics principles addressing awkward postures, repetitive movements, manual material handling, hand-wrist postures, excessive reach, grip strength, and prolonged standing; (2) Lean principles such as SMED, 5S, standardized work,TPM, VSM, and kanban positively impact ergonomics; (3) Various ergonomics assessment methods, including REBA, RULA, HFE, JSI, KIM, OCRA, and Shoaf’s model, are recommended for future research and practical application; (4) Ergonomics can underpin lean transformation efforts, with Lean Manufacturing (LM) contributing to reduced ergonomics risks. However, the review identified alimitation in the scope of databases used (WoS and Scopus), suggesting that expanding the range of databases and research keywords could improve future article searches. The study's primary focus serves as a reference point for future researchers and manufacturers interested in lean ergonomics, emphasizing the need for comprehensive approaches to enhance worker safety and productivity through ergonomic and lean practices.

Constructing inclusion and exclusion in and through leaders’ communication discourses and practices

This study explores the discourses and communication practices of five leaders working in elderly care units in a mid-size city in Sweden and the construct of inclusion and exclusion by examining their daily communicative leadership practices with their work groups, consisting of Swedish-born and foreigner-born migrants. The results were drawn from an analysis of interviews with five leaders and the observation of eight meetings led by three of them. The findings indicate that leaders’ different strategies of inclusion are related to the engagement and participation of workers in discussions and decision-making. Some salient practices and discourses are pertinent to leaders’ cultural biases that can lead to ethnocentrism and essentialism, which might have a negative impact on inclusion. Leaders who practice inclusiveness through connecting, relating, and giving space for engagement and participation might better contribute to workplaces. The aspects and strategies of inclusion and exclusion are embedded in leaders’ practices and discourses and present them as bridge builders, empathetic and supportive, and culture enhancers. This study presents leaders' communication styles to include and exclude migrant workers and their strategies for engagement and participation in workplace issues. The leaders' communication styles emerged from the data and were defined as bridge builders, empathetic and supportive, and culture enhancers.

Enabling work for people with dementia - Recommendations for interventions: A mixed-methods review.

Worldwide, 50 million people are living with dementia. As more individuals develop dementia while still working, dementia will increasingly become a workplace issue and a societal concern. Interventions targeted at work retainment, can reduce, and postpone the loss of cognitive functioning following dementia. However, there is a small body of research focused on recommendations for work interventions for people with dementia. The aim of this mixed-methods review was to investigate experiences of work following a dementia diagnosis from the perspective of people with dementia, their relatives, employers, co-workers and HR-professionals, with the objective of formulating recommendations for work interventions for people with dementia. A mixed-method approach guided the review. 16 original studies published between 1989 to 2023 were included, with a collective sample of 684 participants. The review shows that it is possible to live and work well with dementia, if collaborative solutions are continuously negotiated to meet the needs of the person with dementia and the workplace, and with attention to possible contextual enablers and barriers. The review highlights four key elements for successful work interventions for people with dementia: 1) Person-centered Approach, 2) Contextual Relevance, 3) Knowledge-based and 4) Dynamic Approach.

Pandemic Impact, Support Received, and Policies for Health Worker Retention: An Environmental Scan.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought additional strain to health workers in the Philippines, leading to a significant proportion of them leaving the workforce. The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of the pandemic on health workers, the support that they received and associated challenges; and identify relevant policies for better workplace conditions. An environmental scanning method was utilized. Particularly, a literature review and policy scan that were validated through key informant interviews with administrators and frontline health workers from selected urban and rural sites in the three main islands in the Philippines. These were framed into a background note to springboard the discussions during a national policy dialogue participated by representatives from key government organizations, professional organizations of physicians, nurses, and midwives, professional regulatory bodies, hospital administrators, frontline health workers, and donor agencies in the Philippines. Deaths, burn-out, mental health problems, lack of personal protective equipment and poor allocation of vaccines were reported in the early phases of the pandemic. Support varied across settings but included additional allowance, free meals, accomodation, transportation, training and psychosocial services. Furthermore, pre-pandemic issues such as as low salaries and heavy workload continue to be the main reasons for leaving the workforce or the country. The proposed solutions are as follows: (1) creating policies and strategies for appropriate production, recruitment, and retention of human resources for health; (2) allocating regular permanent positions for both the education and health sector; (3) augmenting and continuation of deployment programs; (3) expanding roles of nurses to push for advanced practice nursing; (4) providing fair compensation along with risk allowances, non-financial incentives, and expanded benefits; (5) supporting mental health wellness by providing an appropriate work-rest balance and safe work environment; (6) providing opportunities for professional development and scholarships with accompanying return-service agreement; and (7) strengthening the reintegration programs for returning overseas health workers. The pandemic has affected the well-being of health workers and disparities in support were reported due to longstanding workplace issues and policy implementation gaps. Stakeholder commitments require sustained monitoring while policies that are in place and yet to be developed demand stronger support from the government, members of Congress, the private sector, and other key decision-makers.

More Than a Joke: The Intersection of Gender-Based Humor and Gender Inequities Experienced by Women Department Chairs in Academic Medicine.

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study is to describe how women academic department chairs in emergency medicine, surgery, and anesthesiology experience humor in the workplace. Method: Interviews were conducted with 35 women department chairs in academic medicine from 27 institutions that aimed to describe women's leadership emergence. The data from the primary study yielded rich and revealing themes involving participants' experiences with humor in the context of their leadership roles, justifying a secondary analysis focusing specifically on these experiences. Relevant remarks were extracted, coded, and summarized. Results: Participants discussed two broad types of humor-related experiences. First, they described how they responded to aggressive gender-based humor directed at themselves or their colleagues by tolerating it or expressing disapproval. This humor includes demeaning quips, insulting monikers, sexist jokes, and derogatory stories. Participants often did not confront this humor directly as they feared being rejected or ostracized by colleagues. Second, they described how they initiated humor to address gender-related workplace issues by highlighting gender inequalities, coping with sexual harassment and assault, and managing gender-based leadership challenges. Participants felt constrained in their own use of humor because of the need to be taken seriously as women leaders. Conclusion: Women leaders in academic medicine use humor to confront gender-related issues and experience aggressive gender-based humor in the workplace. The constraints placed on women leaders discourage them from effectively confronting this aggressive gender-based humor and perpetuating gender inequities. Eliminating aggressive gender-based humor is needed to create safe and equitable work environments in academic medicine.

Workforce nurturing: an approach to improving wellbeing, burnout and professional fulfilment among Australian doctors.

To assess the workplace drivers of professional fulfilment, burnout and perceived impact of workplace issues on wellbeing in doctors working in a regional Australian hospital, following a 6-month period of comprehensive workforce nurturing strategies. An online cross-sectional survey combined both qualitative feedback and quantitative measures of wellbeing including the Stanford Professional Fulfillment Index to assess professional fulfillment and burnout and a workplace issues inventory to assess the relative perceived influence on work-related wellbeing. Survey responses from 124 doctors comprised approximately 60% (n=74) prevocational doctors, 12% (n=15) registrars and 28% (n=35) specialist doctors. Around 63% (n=78) of participants were international medical graduates. Overall, 25% (n=31) reported professional fulfilment and 13% (n=13) reported burnout. The top 6 workplace issues were (i) inefficient work practices and/or processes, (ii) medical officer vacancies in my department, (iii) inadequate support staff and/or excessive admin burden, (iv) inadequate workplace staff amenities, (v) poor access to nutritious onsite food, (vi) inability to access my entitled daily meal break. Factors perceived as having a minimal impact on wellbeing included learning opportunities, rostering, access to leave and support during challenging clinical situations, were directly related to the workforce nurturing strategies implemented. This comprehensive evaluation of wellbeing in a regional healthcare setting provides a novel contribution to the literature by illustrating the transformative potential of workforce nurturing. Notably, the findings reflect the potential impact of workforce nurturing upon professional fulfilment and burnout, in the context of a regional hospital setting.

A Novel IMU-Based System for Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders Risk Assessment.

This study introduces a novel wearable Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU)-based system for an objective and comprehensive assessment of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders (WMSDs), thus enhancing workplace safety. The system integrates wearable technology with a user-friendly interface, providing magnetometer-free orientation estimation, joint angle measurements, and WMSDs risk evaluation. Tested in a cable manufacturing facility, the system was evaluated with ten female employees. The evaluation involved work cycle identification, inter-subject comparisons, and benchmarking against standard WMSD risk assessments like RULA, REBA, Strain Index, and Rodgers Muscle Fatigue Analysis. The evaluation demonstrated uniform joint patterns across participants (ICC=0.72±0.23) and revealed a higher occurrence of postures warranting further investigation, which is not easily detected by traditional methods such as RULA. The experimental results showed that the proposed system's risk assessments closely aligned with the established methods and enabled detailed and targeted risk assessments, pinpointing specific bodily areas for immediate ergonomic interventions. This approach not only enhances the detection of ergonomic risks but also supports the development of personalized intervention strategies, addressing common workplace issues such as tendinitis, low back pain, and carpal tunnel syndrome. The outcomes highlight the system's sensitivity and specificity in identifying ergonomic hazards. Future efforts should focus on broader validation and exploring the relative influence of various WMSDs risk factors to refine risk assessment and intervention strategies for improved applicability in occupational health.

Beyond workplace‐related issues: How Global Unions use digital activism to engage in social agenda‐setting

AbstractDigital information and communications technologies like social media are critical for trade union renewal. Yet, although many unions now use social media, there remain ongoing debates as to what effective digital activism looks like. This question is even more pressing for the Global Unions, as international labour movement organizations without grassroots members. Drawing on social movement and networked communication theories, this article interrogates Global Unions’ social media practices through a mixed‐method analysis of 19,009 Facebook posts created between 2017 and 2022. Based on this analysis, we find that Global Unions that adopt crowd‐focused communication styles and post on broader social issues have more success in engaging with online crowds than those that emphasize workplace or organizational issues and adopt top‐down communication styles. At the same time, our findings challenge assumptions in the literature that crowd‐led, connective communication styles associated with engagement are necessarily the most effective in today's digital society.