Job Conditions Research Articles

A systematic review including meta-analysis of work environment and depressive symptoms.

BackgroundDepressive symptoms are potential outcomes of poorly functioning work environments. Such symptoms are frequent and cause considerable suffering for the employees as well as financial loss for the employers. Accordingly good prospective studies of psychosocial working conditions and depressive symptoms are valuable. Scientific reviews of such studies have pointed at methodological difficulties but still established a few job risk factors. Those reviews were published some years ago. There is need for an updated systematic review using the GRADE system. In addition, gender related questions have been insufficiently reviewed.MethodInclusion criteria for the studies published 1990 to June 2013: 1. European and English speaking countries. 2. Quantified results describing the relationship between exposure (psychosocial or physical/chemical) and outcome (standardized questionnaire assessment of depressive symptoms or interview-based clinical depression). 3. Prospective or comparable case-control design with at least 100 participants. 4. Assessments of exposure (working conditions) and outcome at baseline and outcome (depressive symptoms) once again after follow-up 1-5 years later. 5. Adjustment for age and adjustment or stratification for gender.Studies filling inclusion criteria were subjected to assessment of 1.) relevance and 2.) quality using predefined criteria. Systematic review of the evidence was made using the GRADE system. When applicable, meta-analysis of the magnitude of associations was made. Consistency of findings was examined for a number of possible confounders and publication bias was discussed.ResultsFifty-nine articles of high or medium high scientific quality were included. Moderately strong evidence (grade three out of four) was found for job strain (high psychological demands and low decision latitude), low decision latitude and bullying having significant impact on development of depressive symptoms. Limited evidence (grade two) was shown for psychological demands, effort reward imbalance, low support, unfavorable social climate, lack of work justice, conflicts, limited skill discretion, job insecurity and long working hours. There was no differential gender effect of adverse job conditions on depressive symptomsConclusionThere is substantial empirical evidence that employees, both men and women, who report lack of decision latitude, job strain and bullying, will experience increasing depressive symptoms over time. These conditions are amenable to organizational interventions.

Methods to Explore Uncertainty and Bias Introduced by Job Exposure Matrices.

Job exposure matrices (JEMs) are used to measure exposures based on information about particular jobs and tasks. JEMs are especially useful when individual exposure data cannot be obtained. Nonetheless, there may be other workplace exposures associated with the study disease that are not measured in available JEMs. When these exposures are also associated with the exposures measured in the JEM, biases due to uncontrolled confounding will be introduced. Furthermore, individual exposures differ from JEM measurements due to differences in job conditions and worker practices. Uncertainty may also be present at the assessor level since exposure information for each job may be imprecise or incomplete. Assigning individuals a fixed exposure determined by the JEM ignores these uncertainty sources. We examine the uncertainty displayed by bias analyses in a study of occupational electric shocks, occupational magnetic fields, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

A Review on the Vibration Exposure Limits in Korea

Objective:The objective of this study is to review the exposure limits in the legislation, guidelines, and standards for human vibration in Korea. Background: There have been relatively less interests in vibration than other risk factors in Korea. However, the importance of vibration is increasing as industry and everyday life are more mechanized. Method: Various enforcements were examined including legislation, guidelines, and standards for whole-body vibration and localized vibration. Results: No exposure limits were found in legislation, guidelines, and standards for the human vibration in Korea. Conclusion: It is important to introduce new duties regarding vibration risks to the general duties. Further studies are expected on the vibration exposure limits appropriate for Korean people and job conditions. Application: The results from this study would be of help to induce more interests in human vibration to the occupational health and safety professionals of Korea.

Teacher shortage and attrition: Why do they leave?

This article examines the professional integration of beginning teachers in French‐speaking Belgium and the factors predicting an exit from the profession during the first years of their careers. The analysis of four successive cohorts of new teachers indicates that exit rates are very high during the first year but show a gradual decline afterwards. The exit rates are also much higher in secondary education than at pre‐school and primary levels. According to the international literature, this research also shows that teachers with training in education are much more stable than their peers without teacher qualification. Concerning the work environment, the data indicate that the school's socio‐economic level is not linked to the risk of leaving the profession. Finally, one of the main results of this study is the demonstration that over and above the influence of teachers’ and schools’ characteristics, a very close relationship is observed between job conditions over the first year in the profession and exit rates. These results argue for paying greater attention to the institutional conditions of career management in future research on teacher attrition and migration.

O novo sentido do trabalho para o sujeito pós-moderno: uma abordagem crítica

Análise sobre as maneiras como a sociedade gerencial desenvolve nas mentes uma representação do mundo e da própria pessoa humana, de modo que o único caminho aparente de realização de si consista na lógica da produtividade e em sua relação psíquica e social, tornando a empresa uma referência para a construção do sujeito. Hoje, há necessidade de um eu maleável, sempre aberto a novas experiências; são essas as condições adequadas ao trabalho de curto prazo, a instituições flexíveis e à nova empregabilidade. Esta última constitui um macrodispositivo de controle micropolítico na produção de subjetividades. Richard Sennett afirma que o sentido da vida e da morte não se contabiliza. E é por isso que se deve dar vazão às relações humanas e à satisfação da alma, e não só ao capital, ao capitalismo. Para embasar este artigo, busca-se o caminho de construção da noção de trabalho até alcançar o gerenciamento atual na pós-modernidade. Espera-se, assim, ampliar a compreensão desse fenômeno e viabilizar a produção de métodos mais eficazes e humanizantes da prática de gestão de pessoas nas organizações. Será adotada a pesquisa bibliográfica por meio da revisão de literatura em Ciências Sociais e da Teoria Crítica aplicada à análise da administração na atualidade. A Teoria Crítica busca desenvolver articulações que penetrem a forma e substância, visando questionar a realidade aparente e abarcar a realidade encoberta nas estruturas organizacionais.

Markets, Regimes, and the Role of Stakeholders: Explaining Precariousness of Migrant Domestic/Care Workers in Different Institutional Frameworks

Spain and Sweden represent societies with very different welfare, migration, and employment regimes in a European context, but in both countries, female migrant workers in the private domestic/care sectors experience precarious job conditions. The purpose of this article is to explain the situation of migrant workers in these societies through an analysis of both structural components and the position of stakeholders involved in the private care/domestic services sector. Comparing the cases of Spain and Sweden, I argue that different characteristics of regimes and markets—rather paradoxically—produce similar results for the workers. In both countries, there is pressure to keep the wages low. Work hours are often unpredictable and adapted to the clients’ demands. In Spain, these workers fill the “care gap”, representing a comparably affordable solution to the lack of public eldercare. In Sweden, the private domestic services market expanded after the so-called RUT tax subsidy was implemented in 2007. Here, cleaning companies play a key role as middlemen who receive a large share of the cost for these services. Few actors represent the workers, and those who do find themselves restrained by structural factors (as NGOs in Spain) or ambiguous in their support (as the Swedish trade unions). All in all, the female migrant domestic/care workers in Spain and Sweden apparently form part of the development towards a “migrant precariat” in European societies.

Developing a job-exposure matrix with exposure uncertainty from expert elicitation and data modeling.

Job exposure matrices (JEMs) are tools used to classify exposures for job titles based on general job tasks in the absence of individual level data. However, exposure uncertainty due to variations in worker practices, job conditions, and the quality of data has never been quantified systematically in a JEM. We describe a methodology for creating a JEM which defines occupational exposures on a continuous scale and utilizes elicitation methods to quantify exposure uncertainty by assigning exposures probability distributions with parameters determined through expert involvement. Experts use their knowledge to develop mathematical models using related exposure surrogate data in the absence of available occupational level data and to adjust model output against other similar occupations. Formal expert elicitation methods provided a consistent, efficient process to incorporate expert judgment into a large, consensus-based JEM. A population-based electric shock JEM was created using these methods, allowing for transparent estimates of exposure.

Job Pressure and SES-contingent Buffering: Resource Reinforcement, Substitution, or the Stress of Higher Status?

Analyses of the 2008 National Study of the Changing Workforce demonstrate that job pressure is associated with greater anxiety and job dissatisfaction. In this paper we ask, What conditions protect workers? The conventional buffering hypothesis in the Job-Demands Resource (JD-R) model predicts that job resources should attenuate the relationship. We test whether the conventional buffering hypothesis depends on socioeconomic status (SES). Support for conventional buffering is evident only for job dissatisfaction--and that generalizes across SES. When anxiety is assessed, however, we observe an SES contingency: Job resources attenuate the positive association between job pressure and anxiety among workers with lower SES, but exacerbate it among those with higher SES. We discuss the implications of this SES-contingent pattern for theoretical scenarios about "resource reinforcement," "resource substitution," and the "stress of higher status." Future research should consider SES indicators as potential contingencies in the relationship between job conditions and mental health.

Community health workers and social change:

Major global health institutions, public and private, currently see community health workers (CHWs) as crucial resources. But the daily experiences and complex motives of CHWs, as well as their concerns and criticisms, remain poorly understood by the institutions that promote their value and draw on their labor. Donors, states, NGOs, and other public health institutions often approach the motivations and performance of CHWs as problems that can be solved with a mix of psychological, economic, and management theories; novel incentive packages and supervisory structures; and surveys, interviews, and randomized controlled trials. This special issue shifts the goal toward documenting power inequalities, labor relations, and interactions among CHWs, donors, health officials, supervisors, and care recipients. The articles in this issue offer valuable ethnographic accounts of CHWs in 21st‐century Africa, Latin America, and Asia, and deliver a clear message: CHWs participate in important relationships and politics, seeking change in their own job conditions and roles, and other social, political, and economic changes. These forms of “participation” are variable, evolving, and shaped by unique local histories as well as transnational policies and norms. The articles here aim to demonstrate that ethnography and mixed methods can help bring about improvements in policy and practice by explaining and interpreting CHW practices and governance and by encouraging global health actors to treat CHWs not as magic bullets or human resources, but as people with multiple skills, desires, and perspectives.

수산·해운 직업기초능력에 관한 연안어업 현장 어민의 인식 분석

The aims of this study were to analyze the coastal Fisherman's awareness for the Fisheries and Maritime Job Skills. Fisheries & Maritime key competencies were defined as the abilities that include the essential knowledge, skills, attitude, and experiences required for the workforce on the fisheries and maritime job condition. This research collected preliminary data from 65 coastal fishermen. Data were analyzed to obtain content validity analysis. The results of the study were as follows; First, Fisheries & Maritime key competencies were divided into 6 elements in coastal fisheries. Second, Fisheries & Maritime key competencies were consisted of basic skills, marine vocational ethics, marine information capacity, marine elementary knowledge, marine safety management skill and marine consciousness. Third, CVR proves that the value analyzed in the study was validation. In consequence, the study suggested that Fisheries & Maritime key competencies were different in accordance with work environment.

Border-line Personality Disorders Among Workers Under Exposure of Physical Agents

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder 4.2.1., (it is also indicated as F43.1 at DSM-V) and Other mental or behavioral disorders not mentioned in the preceding item where a direct link is established scientifically, or determined by methods appropriate to national conditions and practice, between the exposure to risk factors arising from work activities and the mental and behavioral disorder(s) contracted by the worker are included into List of Occupational Diseases (ILO, 2010). In Russia we are working on the recognition of Mental Disorder(s) as an occupational one. In Russian Federation from 1993 till current period we continue mental health examination of workers at the aircraft industry, who are working under exposure of noise, vibration, the sensory deprivation and radio frequency electromagnetic field to identify premorbid factors of job conditions and personality characteristics of workers who are more likely to get BPD. Methods clinical examination, SMIL, Lusher-test, Test of neurotic disorders, Memory test. Follow to our results, we make a list of Mental and behavioral disorders and gave criteria of general and special medical condition of mental health with which workers are not allowed to begin or continue their job to prevent harmful which could be done by exposure of job conditions on the workers. We gave the model of mental health examination follow the Russian Federation low in health.

The Development and the Effect of A Preschool Teacher Training Program for Pretend Play Competence

This study developed a teacher training program aimed at promoting preschool teachers’ competence in relation to pretend play and examined its effects on the teachers’ knowledge, efficacy and interaction in pretend play. Regarding the learner’s job characteristics and conditions, a small group session of 90 minutes per week was conducted for 8 weeks. To examine the effects of this program, the researcher collected data on the teachers’ knowledge and the efficacy by means of questionnaires and the teachers’ interaction by observation before and after the program execution. The fourteen child care centers were randomly assigned to both an experimental group or a control group, in which 38 teachers were included. In conclusion, the pretend play competence training program for preschool teacher was observed to be effective in improving their knowledge, efficacy and interactions in pretend play. 색인어: ì—­í• ë†€ì´, ìœ ëŠ¥ì„±, 교사교육 프로그램, ì—­í• ë†€ì´ 지식, ì—­í• ë†€ì´ 효능감, ì—­í• ë†€ì´ 상호작용 Keywords: pretend play, competence, teacher training program, pretend play knowledge, pretend play efficacy, pretend play interaction

수산·해운계 고등학교 직업기초능력 척도의 타당화

Abstract The aims of this study were to validate the Occupational Basic Competencies of Fisheries and Maritime High school. Fisheries & Maritime key competencies were defined as the abilities that include the essential knowledge, skills, attitude, and experiences required for the workforce on the fisheries and maritime job condition. This research collected preliminary data from 1,113 fisheries & maritime high school students. Data were analyzed to obtain reliability and validity analysis.The results of the study were as follows; First, fisheries & maritime key competencies were divided into 6 elements. Second, fisheries & maritime key competencies were consisted of marine vocational ethics, marine information capacity, marine elementary knowlegde, marine safety management skill, management & utilization of marine life and marine consciousness. Third, Cronbach-α proves that the scale developed in the study is reliable. In consequence, the results of this study help to reconceptualize fisheries & maritime and apply the scale to measure students in high school settings.Key words : Occupational basic competencies of fisheries & maritime high school, Occupational Basic Competencies, Validation Corresponding author : 051-629-5972, wonhyo@pknu.ac.kr (2014 ) .

IS WORK-FAMILY CONFLICT A MULTILEVEL STRESSOR LINKING JOB CONDITIONS TO MENTAL HEALTH? EVIDENCE FROM THE WORK, FAMILY AND HEALTH NETWORK.

Most research on the work conditions and family responsibilities associated with work-family conflict and other measures of mental health uses the individual employee as the unit of analysis. We argue that work conditions are both individual psychosocial assessments and objective characteristics of the proximal work environment, necessitating multilevel analyses of both individual- and team-level work conditions on mental health. This study uses multilevel data on 748 high-tech professionals in 120 teams to investigate relationships between team- and individual-level job conditions, work-family conflict, and four mental health outcomes (job satisfaction, emotional exhaustion, perceived stress, and psychological distress). We find that work-to-family conflict is socially patterned across teams, as are job satisfaction and emotional exhaustion. Team-level job conditions predict team-level outcomes, while individuals' perceptions of their job conditions are better predictors of individuals' work-to-family conflict and mental health. Work-to-family conflict operates as a partial mediator between job demands and mental health outcomes. Our findings suggest that organizational leaders concerned about presenteeism, sickness absences, and productivity would do well to focus on changing job conditions in ways that reduce job demands and work-to-family conflict in order to promote employees' mental health. We show that both work-to-family conflict and job conditions can be fruitfully framed as team characteristics, shared appraisals held in common by team members. This challenges the framing of work-to-family conflict as a "private trouble" and provides support for work-to-family conflict as a structural mismatch grounded in the social and temporal organization of work.

Gender Differences in the Effects of Job Control and Demands on the Health of Korean Manual Workers

We used the job-demand-control model to answer our two research questions concerning the effects of working conditions on self-rated health and gender differences and the association between these working conditions and health among Korean manual workers. Since a disproportionate representation of women in nonstandard work positions is found in many countries, including Korea, it is important to examine how working conditions explain gender inequality in health. We used data from the 2008–2009 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and analyzed a total sample of 1,482 men and 1,350 women using logistic regression. We found that job control was positively related to self-rated health, while both physical and mental job demands were negatively related to self-rated health. We also found significant interaction effects of job demands, control, and gender on health. Particularly, female workers’ health was more vulnerable to mentally demanding job conditions. We discussed theoretical and practice implications based on these findings.

The association between type and number of adverse working conditions and mental health during a time of economic crisis (2010-2012).

Many studies have been published on the association between adverse psychosocial working conditions and mental health, but only a few related types of adverse job conditions and a count of these adversities to workers' mental health, using standardized diagnostic interviews. This study addresses this issue. Data were used from the second wave of the Netherlands Mental Health Survey and Incidence Study-2, a nationally representative face-to-face survey of the general population, including 3,672 workers, 166 unemployed and 239 disabled persons. Among workers, psychosocial working conditions (decision latitude, psychological job demands, job security and co-worker support) were assessed with the Job Content Questionnaire. Mental health symptoms were assessed with the Mental Health Inventory (MHI)-5 and DSM-IV diagnoses/syndromes with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview 3.0. Adverse psychosocial job conditions were related to workers' mental health. The strongest association was found for low job security which increased the chance of mental health symptoms and mental disorders by twofold. Workers in the poorest quality jobs, i.e. experiencing at least three adverse working conditions, had a 3 to almost 5 times higher chance of mental disorders than those in the most optimal jobs. Having a poor quality job was not associated with better mental health compared to being unemployed or disabled. In general, similar relations were found for mood, anxiety and substance use disorders. In planning future strategies to prevent mental disorders at the workplace, the focus should be on workers who experience job insecurity and on those who report several adversities.

Employee subjective well-being and physiological functioning: An integrative model.

Research shows that worker subjective well-being influences physiological functioning—an early signal of poor health outcomes. While several theoretical perspectives provide insights on this relationship, the literature lacks an integrative framework explaining the relationship. We develop a conceptual model explaining the link between subjective well-being and physiological functioning in the context of work. Integrating positive psychology and occupational stress perspectives, our model explains the relationship between subjective well-being and physiological functioning as a result of the direct influence of subjective well-being on physiological functioning and of their common relationships with work stress and personal resources, both of which are influenced by job conditions.

Job Conditions and Quality of Education in Brazilian Universities: How Do Higher Education Policies Affect Them?

Job Conditions and Quality of Education in Brazilian Universities: How Do Higher Education Policies Affect Them?

Socio–Economical Impact Assessment of Drought on the Rural Agriculture; a Case Study of Rural District in Southern Iran

This study has aimed to assess the social and economic impacts of drought on agriculture of a rural district in southern Iran entitled Jiroft County. To prepare data, about 217 questionnaire forms were collected in the field works during 2011-2012 then statistically analyzed. According to drought time series of the study area, the year 2008 is known as a strongest drought, which has effected on job sharing, income rate and cultivated areas. The impacts of drought on agricultural workforces and migration are approximately negligible, while the changes on job condition after drought are temporarily high (P<0.01). The correlation analysis exhibited a positive meaningful relation between drought effect and economic income. Income of household from agricultural activities has been remarkable declined hence the rate of investment on agricultural section has been reduced. The changes in household income, cultivated areas and agricultural employment have leaded the various migrations in recent years. About 30% of the population has migrated out of the study area after the 2008 drought event. Due to the migration of ~1100 populations with mean monthly income of ~30 USD, the volume of ~400,000 USD have been lost annually after the 2008 drought event in the study area.

Work-Family Supportive Strategy: A Perfect Remedy to Manage Human Resources in Indian Health Care Organizations

Purpose: Main motto of this study is to find out the influence of work- family supportive strategies used by the health care organizations on the quality of care provided by medical professionals and their organizational commitment. The study examined differences in the perceived level of work-family supportive organizational strategies in the form of perceived organizational support and its effect on quality of patient care and organizational commitment of medical professionals in private and public hospitals. It was expected that the relationship between perceived organizational support and these outcome variables were more likely to be positive. Sample and Method: The study was conducted on a sample of 253 medical professionals from a large public hospital (N=127) and a large private hospital (N=126) in north India using questionnaire method. Finding: Correlation and stepwise regression analysis of the data revealed that amongst the workplace process factor, 'perceived level of organizational support' of medical professionals emerged as a positive predictor of quality of patient care and organizational commitment in both the hospitals equally. Implication and Value: The study has important implications for Indian hospitals in the private and public sector which are currently facing problems of providing quality of care to their patients and maintain organizational commitment of medical professionals due to staff perceptions of inadequacy of their workplace environments and job conditions. Data also showed that HR management strategies of West, to manage Indian employees are not always applicable and suitable for Indian context.