Work-life Issues Research Articles

Quality of work life and associated factors among health professionals working at private and government health institutions in Awi zone, Amhara regional state, Ethiopia, 2022: a comparative cross-sectional study.

Quality of work-life issues significantly impact the economic, physical, and psychological well-being of health professionals and their families. Enhancing QWL aims to foster a conducive environment and improve work performance. This study evaluated the quality of work life of health professionals in government and private health institutions in the Awi zone, Ethiopia. A comparative cross-sectional approach was employed, with study participants selected via the lottery method in 2022. Socio-demographic and organizational-related data were collected, coded, cleaned, and entered into Epi-Data version 3.1, then analyzed using SPSS version 27. Candidate variables were selected using bivariable logistic regression (p < 0.20). We used multivariable logistic regression to identify factors associated with quality of work life, presenting AOR with a 95% CI at a 5% significance level. The study included 385 private health professionals and 395 government health professionals, with response rates of 90.38 and 92.72%, respectively. Overall quality of work-life satisfaction was 53.08% (95% CI: 49.2-57.0), with private health institution workers reporting satisfaction at 42.3% (95% CI: 37.4-47.30) and government health professionals at 63.54% (95% CI: 58.78-68.31). The difference between the two groups was 21.2% (95% CI: 14.3, 27.9). Factors significantly associated with quality of work life included type of health institutions (AOR = 2.272; 1.684, 3.065), family size (AOR = 1.536; 1.122, 2.103), personnel protective equipment (AOR = 1.369; 1.006, 1.863), eye protection (AOR = 2.090; 1.514, 2.885), engineering control (AOR = 1.563; 1.140, 2.143), and accessibility of alcohol (AOR = 1.714; 1.219, 2.410). Health professionals in private health institutions exhibited lower quality of work-life satisfaction than government health institutions. Quality of work life was significantly associated with the type of health institutions, family size, availability of personal protective equipment, eye protection, engineering control, and accessibility of alcohol. Regular monitoring and evaluation of the quality of work life, ensuring the availability of appropriate personal protective equipment, and providing sufficient materials and equipment for both groups were recommended based on the findings.

Burnout, Resilience and Job Satisfaction in Acute Care Nurse Practitioners.

Emerging from a pandemic only to enter a nursing shortage has placed a strain on the health human resources of the healthcare system. Little attention has been given to nurse practitioners' (NPs') burnout, resilience and job satisfaction. In this quantitative cross-sectional study using the Maslach Burnout Inventory, Misener NP Job Satisfaction Scale and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, an alarming level (80.9%) of NPs reported high to moderate levels of burnout (emotional exhaustion), on average, minimal job satisfaction and high levels of resilience. Hospital leaders play a major role in NP role optimization, NP recruitment and retention and quality of work-life issues.

From Dual Roles to Dynamic Equilibrium: An Overview of Theoretical Perspectives Used in Studies Addressing Work-Life Struggles of Working Mothers

There has been much scholarly attention given to the role of women in the labor market throughout the years. While there are plenty of evaluations of ideas and perspectives regarding work-life concepts, there is limited understanding regarding the theoretical foundation of work-life concerns specifically about mothers. This study aims to provide an overview of theories used to investigate the work-life issues of working mothers. The data were collected from the Web of Science database. A total of 63 research studies examining the work-life challenges faced by employed women were evaluated based on theoretical frameworks. It was seen that identity theory and gender perspective are dominant perspectives in the current literature. In addition, the prevailing work-life perspectives adopted in the studies are work-life balance and work-life conflict. The study offers a detailed examination of the various theoretical perspectives employed in understanding the work-life difficulties encountered by employed mothers.

Analysis of Organizational and Family Roles in the Work-Life Balance of Blue-Collar Employees

Objective –Blue-collar workers' work-life balance (WLB) issues have not received enough attention in the literature. This study aimed to examine the impact of organizational support and family support on blue-collar employees’ work-life balance.Design/Methodology –Employees engaged in the RMG industry in Bangladesh were surveyed using a questionnaire. 387 responses were analyzed through the PLS-SEM approach. The instrument and data were validated by a measurement model, and the hypotheses were tested by a structural model using SmartPLS 3.0 software.Results –The study revealed that firm support and home support can significantly influence work-life balance, and firm support can strongly impact an employee's home life. These findings indicated that the policies and practices of RMG companies and support from family members can help employees manage their overall life smoothly.Research limitations/implications - The study was conducted in the RMG industry, which limits the generalizability of its findings. Findings suggested that by introducing employee-friendly corporate policies and human resource practices, RMG companies can assist their employees in solving work-life issues and meeting their personal and family life challenges.Novelty/Originality –This study, for the first time, empirically validated firm support as an antecedent of home support. In addition, the WLB issues of blue-collar employees are focused on in this study, which has been overlooked in the prior studies.

Work-Life Balance Practices: Drivers of Job Engagement and Mitigators of Turnover Intention

The research aims to investigate how Work-Life Balance Practices act as catalysts for Job Engagement and as effective measures in reducing Turnover Intention. By examining these dynamics, the study seeks to provide insights into the mechanisms through which organizations can enhance employee commitment and well-being while mitigating turnover risks. Methodology – A quantitative study was conducted. The data was collected by distributing questionnaires to 233 executive employees in Infopark, Kochi. Research Findings - Interestingly, the study found a link between work-life issues and intentions to leave one's job and to engage in it. Employee inclination to leave is also connected with job engagement. Originality – WLB, work engagement, and turnover intention are the three study variables that are all holistically related. Organisational inferences in the Kochi environment - Work-life balance (WLB) initiatives must be put into place inside companies in order to promote employees' well-being, which will eventually increase engagement and retention. These results, which were obtained from Malaysian executives, provide practitioners with practical advice on how to create a supportive work environment. Research Limitations and Implications - The majority of the sample population consisted of individuals from the millennial generation, potentially introducing variances in their perceptions of work-life balance compared to those of more mature adults.

The intention to leave among academics in Iran: an examination of their work-life quality and satisfaction

BackgroundDespite the importance of faculty retention, there is little understanding of how demographic variables, professional and institutional work-life issues, and satisfaction interact to explain faculty intentions to leave. This study aimed to investigate the intention to leave among academics and their Work-Life Quality and Satisfaction.MethodsThis is a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted by 8 faculties affiliated to Urmia University of Medical Sciences located in Urmia, West Azarbaijan province, Iran. The participants in the study were 120 faculty members from Nursing and Midwifery, Medicine, Allied health professions, and Health management and medical information faculties. The Work-Life Quality and Satisfaction scale, and the intension to leave scale were used for data collection. Uni- and multivariable linear regression analyses were employed to determine predictors of the intention to leave (P-values < 0.05).ResultsThe mean scores of all dimensions of Work-Life Quality and Satisfaction scale, and intention to leave were in an average level. There is a negative correlation between Work-Life Quality and Satisfaction subscales, along with demographic factors, and the intention to leave (P < 0.05), while multivariate analysis showed that work experience and Discipline were significant independent predictors of intention to leave (P < 0.05).ConclusionsIn order to improve education in universities, it is necessary to pay attention to the conditions of creating job satisfaction in academics. Considering the high intention to leave among Nursing lecturers, without sufficient support of nursing schools in terms of human resources, it may suffer by the lack of academic staff; eventually the quality of education will reduce in undergraduate nursing in the long term.

Архивные документы Объединенного государственного архива Челябинской области как источник изучения производственной повседневности женского населения Челябинской области в годы Великой Отечественной войны

The article analyzes a set of documents of the United State Archive of the Chelyabinsk region (OGACHO) on the problem of the organization of women’s daily work during the Great Patriotic War. Understanding the need for proper organization of labor at industrial enterprises of our time requires studying the historical experience of solving the problems of industrial everyday life of the female population during the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945. Despite the introduction into scientific circulation of a significant volume of archival documents reflecting the daily production of wartime, a whole layer of archival documents of OGACHO remains outside the field of research, the analysis of which will make it possible to fill in the gaps in the research of regional history of the period 1941–1945. The study was carried out on the basis of an institutional methodological approach using archival heuristics, historical-critical method. The documents identified in OGACHO relate to documents of official origin and consist of materials from regional and city party committees, political departments of various departments. This office documentation allows you to analyze the official level of perception of everyday problems.As a result of the research, the author came to the conclusion that the identified documents have a high degree of objectivity and allow to fully analyze the most important issues of the daily working life of the female population of the Chelyabinsk region during the Great Patriotic War. The revealed documents demonstrate that industrial activity has become the main way of survival in crisis conditions. This process was not natural, gradual, since it was the war that provoked rapid female emancipation

Challenges in Work-Life Balance of Gynecologists Perspectives

Objective: Challenges gynecologists face in work life issues and their opinion how they cope. Material and Method: The Study type was Qualitative of phenomenological type and the study was conducted for 15 days at two places Gynae Unit V, King Edward Medical University, Lahore Lady Aitchison Hospital Lahore and Obstestric &amp; Gynaecology Unit-2 Services Institute of Medical Sciences, Lahore. The qualitative, phenomenological study was conducted, views of consultants in the field of gynecology were explored and a self-designed Performa were given to participants to answer open-ended questions. The answers were transcribed manually and codes were formed that led to themes. Results: out of 10 subjects included, 1 (10%) was department head, 2 (20%) were associate professors, 2 (20%) were assistant professors, and 5 (50%) were senior registrars. Data was segregated into codes of the workplace, home challenges, coping strategies, job satisfaction, and maintaining work-life balance. There are 5 -7 themes that fell under each of these seven codes. Conclusion: Challenges faced by consultants in field of gynecology are explored and we can suggest and recommend policies at work place and how these can help in policy-making rules at local and national levels.

A STUDY ON WORK LIFE BALANCE OF EMPLOYEES AT HYUNDAI MOTORS INDIA LIMITED, SRIPERUMBUDUR

The project entitled “A STUDY ON WORK LIFE BALANCE OF EMPLOYEES AT “HYUNDAI MOTORS INDIA LIMITED, SRIPERUMBUDUR “ The objective of the study includes to study the Work Life Balance of employees at Hyundai Motor India Limited, Sriperumbudur, to study the level of stress among employees, to study the existing Work Life Balance policies, to analyse whether their designation affects their work life balance, to analyse the effectiveness of Work Life Balance and to study whether the employees are satisfied with their Work Life Balance. The research design used here is descriptive research design and the researcher adopted convenience sampling method. The sample size is taken as 70 and analysis was done based on the data collected from the questionnaire. The tools used to analyse the data are Percentage analysis, Correlation, One-way Anova and T-Test. Various suggestions were advised to the management that a coordinating committee with the representatives of management and employees should be constituted which is a great initiative from employee‘s point of view. The committee can give broad guidelines to the management in creating a family friendly and work support environment in their respective departments which can also become a platform for employees to voice their concerns about work-life issues.

Work-family conflict among hotel housekeepers in the Balearic Islands (Spain).

The massive incorporation of women to the labour market has increased academic and applied interest on work-life issues throughout the years. This article aims to describe the domestic burden and difficulties in work-life balance (WLB) and to understand the intersection of work and family spheres among hotel housekeepers (HHs). A cross-sectional study was conducted through Primary Health Care in the Balearic Islands (Spain); 1,043 HHs were enrolled. 56.7% reported difficulties in WLB. Risk factors for perceiving difficulties in WLB were: living with someone else (regardless of the number of co-habitants), having difficulties making ends meet, being the main person in charge of domestic tasks, having a dependant, having an external locus of control, presenting higher levels of stress at work, working more hours a week and being younger. Protective factors from experiencing work-family conflict (WFC) were job and wage satisfaction. WFC is strongly influenced by individual, economic, labour and domestic factors: these relationships show that labour and domestic spheres are non-separate worlds.

The “lived” experience of menstruating women commencing anticoagulants

BackgroundAlthough there is increased recognition that many menstruating women commenced on anticoagulants experience heavy menstrual bleeding, little research has been published describing what women go through and actually experience. ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to understand the “lived” experience of menstruating women commencing anticoagulants. MethodsWe undertook a qualitative study using semistructured interviews. Women who had taken part in the parent PERIOD study and expressed an interest in an in-depth interview were recruited. Interviews were conducted online, and transcripts were generated through MS Teams. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Ethics committee approval: REC reference: 19/SW/0211. ResultsA total of 15 participants were interviewed. The median age of the participants was 36 years (range, 20-49 years). The following 7 primary themes emerged from the interviews: (1) information received when commencing anticoagulation, (2) mood, (3) strategies used to manage heavy bleeding, (4) social/family life, (5) work life, (6) finances, and (7) multiple health issues—with saturation of themes achieved following 9 interviews. Women affected by heavy menstrual bleeding experienced a negative change in their work/social life and mood. ConclusionHeavy menstrual bleeding experienced by women commencing anticoagulants has a significant impact on their lives. Recognized measures should be employed to support and minimize the problem for menstruating people.

A Call to Action for Lactation Support at Colleges of Pharmacy

Faculty well-being has been promoted and emphasized in recent years, and the Academy has been implored to develop and implement strategies to minimize stress and burnout among its members. Among those at highest risk of succumbing to burnout are female faculty, particularly those with young children. Numerous work-life issues predispose this cohort to stressors. One specific change that could address the needs of this group is providing lactation support in the workplace. Responding to the broader directive to promote faculty well-being, the aim of this commentary is to stimulate conversation regarding providing lactation support at colleges of pharmacy. Establishing such services has the potential to improve the personal and professional well-being of female faculty who are breastfeeding while also creating a more inclusive and supportive workplace. This article discusses the benefits of breastfeeding; highlights the personal, professional, and institutional ramifications of breastfeeding discrimination; and summarizes best practices related to implementing lactation support services.

Characterizing Work-Life for Information Work on Mars

We present a design fiction, which is set in the near future as significant Mars habitation begins. Our goal in creating this fiction is to address current work-life issues on Earth and Mars in the future. With shelter-in-place measures, established norms of productivity and relaxation have been shaken. The fiction creates an opportunity to explore boundaries between work and life, which are changing with shelter-in-place and will continue to change. Our work includes two primary artifacts: (1) a propaganda recruitment poster and (2) a fictional narrative account. The former paints the work-life on Mars as heroic, fulfilling, and fun. The latter provides a contrast that depicts the lived experience of early Mars inhabitants. Our statement draws from our design fiction in order to reflect on the structure of work, stress identification and management, family and work-family communication, and the role of automation.

Investigating the work–life experiences of nursing faculty in Canadian academic settings and the factors that influence their retention: protocol for a mixed-method study

IntroductionWhile all research-oriented faculty face the pressures of academia, female faculty in fields including science, engineering, medicine and nursing, are especially susceptible to burnout. Nursing is unique in that it...

Relationship of Nurse Manager’s Practices with Nurse’s Retention and Quality of Care Among Registered Nurses in Public Hospital Lahore

Back ground of the study: Nurse Manager’s practices play a vital role in nursing retention and promotion of best care in nursing. Improved the nursing retention will prompt reserve the organization, which may additionally be allocated to activities, for example preparing and mentorship to help nurse managers in making these imperative management capabilities. Approaches also want to be set up to ensure that nurse managers accomplish adequate organizational support from nursing administrators ( C. M. Duffield, Roche, Blay, &amp; Stasa, 2011 ). In Pakistan, the nursing profession has been experiencing a workforce shortage staff in recent years, making nurses a precious resource. The substantial low retention of nurses is mainly due to their intent to leave, absenteeism. The work-life issues threatening retention of nurses and quality of care are serious concern for health administrators ( Hamid, Malik, Kamran, &amp; Ramzan, 2014 ). Objectives: To assess the Relationship of Nurse manager’s practices with nurse’s retention and quality of care in Public Hospital of Lahore. Methodology: A quantitative descriptive cross sectional study was conducted to assess the relationship of nurse manager’s practices with nurse’s retention and quality of care. The instrument use for the data collection was adopted questioner and convenient sampling technique was used. Conclusion: The present study is considered as a cornerstone that gives strong support towards understanding of nurses’ manager’s practices and their retention. It highlighted that a significant difference was found between management practices with nurse’ retention and patient care. These results substantiate the belief that aspects of the practice environment affect staff nurse retention, and most importantly, the quality of care delivered on hospital nursing units. Keywords: Quality; Care; Retention; Nurse Manager.. DOI: 10.7176/JHMN/94-02 Publication date: October 31 st 2021

Seeing an occupational health psychologist reduces sickness absence due to mental disorders: A quasi-experimental study

Mental health problems are a major public health and work-life issue. We examined in a quasi-experimental design whether occupational health psychologist (OHP) appointment reduces subsequent sickness absence (SA) due to mental disorders among younger Finnish employees.The present study was conducted among 18–39-year-old employees of the City of Helsinki using register data from the City of Helsinki and the Social lnsurance Institution of Finland. We examined differences in SA days due to mental disorders (ICD-10, F-diagnosed sickness allowances) between those treated (at least one OHP appointment for work ability support) and the comparison group (no OHP appointment) during a one-year follow-up. The full sample (n = 2286, 84% women) consisted of employees with SA due to a diagnosed mental disorder during 2008–2017. To account for the systematic differences between the treatment and comparison groups, the included participants were matched according to age, sex, occupational class, education, previous SA, occupational health primary care visits and psychotropic medication. The weighted matched sample included 1351 participants. In the weighted matched sample, the mean of SA days due to mental disorders was 11.4 (95% CI, 6.4–16.5) for those treated (n = 238) and 20.2 (95% CI, 17.0–23.4) for the comparison group (p < 0.01) during the follow-up year. The corresponding figures in the full sample were (11.1, 6.7–15.4) days for those treated (n = 288) and (18.9, 16.7–21.1) days for the comparison group (p < 0.01). This quasi-experimental study suggests that seeing an OHP to support work ability reduces SA due to mental disorders.

Specific work-life issues of single and childless female expatriates: an exploratory study in the Swiss context

PurposeResearch on work–life interface in the expatriation context has to date focused on expatriates relocating with a family, and the work–life experiences of single and childless expatriates remain largely unexplored. This is particularly relevant for women, as female expatriates appear to be more often single than their male counterparts and have children less often. The aim of this paper is, therefore, to examine the specific work–life experiences of single and childless female expatriates who are working and living in the French-speaking part of Switzerland.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative research design has been adopted for this exploratory study. Data was collected through semi-structured face-to-face interviews with 20 single and childless female expatriates living and working in the French-speaking part of Switzerland.FindingsOur findings identify a set of personal, work-related, and social and cultural factors contributing to single and childless female expatriates’ conflict and enrichment between work and nonwork spheres, as well as a range of sources and types of social support they rely upon. Our findings demonstrate that work–life issues are also exacerbated for single and childless women in the international context.Originality/valueThis study is the first dedicated to the examination of specific work–life issues of single and childless women in the expatriate context. By revealing the specificities of their work–life experiences, this study contributes to the fields of (female) expatriate research and work–life research and advances current knowledge on nontraditional expatriates.

Fathers of children with a disability: health, work, and family life issues

Purpose Fathers in families raising children with disabilities are under-researched. Fathers’ perspectives can be better accommodated in childhood disability services that operate on a family-centred paradigm if their perspectives are understood. This study aimed to investigate the perspectives of fathers on caring and family life, work, and health. Methods A mixed-methods design with an online questionnaire included open-ended questions and three instruments: Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS); Health Promoting Activities Scale (HPAS-M); Fathers of Children with Developmental Challenges (FCDC) Scale. Results Fathers (n = 33) reported high depressive (58%), anxiety (37%), and stress symptoms (61%). Fathers reported low participation in health-promoting activity with less than weekly: planning health activities (58%); solo physical activity (26%); social activity (3%); time relaxing (16%). Sixty-four percent worked full-time, although work was reported to be challenged by family responsibilities. Fathers described directly caring for their children although service interactions were low and delegated to mothers. Conclusions Fathers in this study reported stress, mental health issues, and low participation in healthy activity. Fathers experienced challenges related to career progression and job choices due to family responsibilities. Providing individualised and responsive support to fathers of a child with a disability would better support the family unit. IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION Fathers of children with a disability in this study experienced high mental health symptoms. Fathers were involved with their child’s care at home but had low service interactions suggesting that service providers need to discover new ways to better engage fathers. Fathers experienced challenges to participation in paid work secondary to care responsibilities for their child with a disability and resulting needs of their family. Services that better support fathers are important to promote better health and wellbeing and support families.

Issues of Attraction and Retention of Nurses: Job Control, Time and Work-Family Issues

Over the years there have been many challenges in attracting and retaining various workers, especially in the health sector, and for nurses in particular. Literature has often mentioned the increased difficulties in attracting and retaining young nurses in particular and this increases labour shortage due to the demographic evolution and also to retirement of many nurses. With the aging of population, we see an increase in demand for health services, which makes the labor shortage even more preoccupying. Two main issues have been put forward a few years ago in order to try to explain the difficulty in attracting and retaining nurses: work organization and Lean Management, in particular job control and work-family balance issues. We conducted a research in Canada (Québec) with an online questionnaire sent to a sample of nurses. The article presents the result in the form of descriptive statistics. In this article, we address these challenges and identify the elements on which the Health Department and hospitals could act in order to increase the number of nurses, and more specifically to attract and retain more. For this, two main issues are addressed in the literature that is firstly work-life issues, and second, work organization, including (lean) management and job control, which we discuss here. These results could also be useful for attraction and retention of other health personnel and also for managers facing labor shortages in other sectors.

The Academicians on Quarantine: Reflexivity and Fragility of the Privileged Group at the Start of Pandemic

The goal of this article is to analyze the challenges faced by social researchers during the first months of the pandemic of 2020 when work-life issues were problematized and academic routine changed. The article is based on a dataset of diaries in which researchers with an academic background in social sciences and humanities were fixing their everyday life and reflecting on its changes. We explore why academicians, a relatively privileged group due to their possibilities of safe remote-working and maintaining professional obligations during the period of lockdown, experienced strong moral emotions related to work. We argue that basic references of space and time lost their routine structure, hindered work productivity, and threatened the “proper”, disciplined, and productive academic self. In their written narratives, participants of the project describe different emotional responses to this situation, with a focus on negative feelings including anxiety and guilt. The new reality was characterized by the layering of previously separated tasks at the same time and space boundaries, and therefore, in overload. At the same time, academicians were deprived of routine forms of face-to-face professional communications and networking. Academicians are oriented towards self-discipline and productivity, and self is produced via normative (self) evaluation and the juxtaposition with reference group(s). When the rules are changed, unstable, or constantly violated, it threatens the self. Moral emotions indicate this process until the new social order becomes inhabited and routinized.