Occupational Work Research Articles

A Terminological Study on the Legal Framework of Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code 2020

A Terminological Study on the Legal Framework of Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code 2020

Prevalence and correlates of mental health problems among different occupations of medical workers during COVID-19 outbreak in China.

Health workers involved in the fight to prevent the COVID-19 outbreak were exposed to hazards. Detailed information on mental health problems in different medical occupations is crucial. To examined the prevalence of mental health issues in three medical occupations as well as the relationships between mental health problems and correlates in each occupation. This study utilizing the Questionnaire Star program was conducted among medical workers working at medical institutions in China from February 17 to 24, 2020. The Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20), the Zung Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), and the Zung Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS) were used to assess mental health problems. The prevalence of any mental health problems in the three occupations was 43.6, 34.6, and 32.9% for nurses, paramedical workers (PMWs), and doctors, respectively. Three occupations shared some correlates, such as being overworked, not having enough time to rest, support from colleagues, and previous mental health status. There were specific factors for each occupation. For doctors, age, educational level, living status, support from family, and previous physical status were related factors in mental health problems. Working in a designated hospital for treating COVID-19, having COVID-19 event exposures, and receiving support from family were associated with the mental health problems of the nurses. PMWs' mental health problems was linked to educational level and care from supervisors or heads of department. Different medical occupations have distinct impacts on mental health issues. Policy makers and mental health professionals working to prepare for potential disease outbreaks should be aware of multiple factors in different occupations.

Development and Evaluation of a Clinician-Vetted Dementia Caregiver Resources Website: Mixed Methods Approach.

About 11 million Americans are caregivers for the 6.7 million Americans currently living with dementia. They provide over 18 billion hours of unpaid care per year, yet most have no formal dementia education or support. It is extremely difficult for clinicians to keep up with the demand for caregiver education, especially as dementia is neurodegenerative in nature, requiring different information at different stages of the disease process. In this digital age, caregivers often seek dementia information on the internet, but clinicians lack a single, reliable compendium of expert-approved digital resources to provide to dementia caregivers. Our aim was to create a dementia caregiver resources website to serve as a hub for user-friendly, high-quality, and expert-reviewed dementia educational resources that clinicians can easily supply to family caregivers of people with dementia. An interdisciplinary website development team (representing dementia experts from occupational therapy, nursing, social work, geriatrics, and neurology) went through 6 iterative steps of website development to ensure resource selection quality and eligibility rigor. Steps included (1) resource collection, (2) creation of eligibility criteria, (3) resource organization by topic, (4) additional content identification, (5) finalize resource selection, and (6) website testing and launch. Website visits were tracked, and a 20-item survey about website usability and utility was sent to Veterans Affairs tele-geriatrics interdisciplinary specialty care groups. Following website development, the dementia caregiver resource website was launched in February 2022. Over the first 9 months, the site averaged 1100 visits per month. The 3 subcategories with the highest number of visits were "general dementia information," "activities of daily living," and "self-care and support." Most (44/45, 98%) respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the website was easy to navigate, and all respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the resources were useful. The iterative process of creating the dementia caregiver resources website included continuous identification, categorization, and prioritization of resources, followed by clinician feedback on website usability, accessibility, and suggestions for improvement. The website received thousands of visits and positive clinician reviews in its first 9 months. Results demonstrate that an expert-vetted, nationally, and remotely available resource website allows for easy access to dementia education for clinicians to provide for their patients and caregivers. This process of website development can serve as a model for other clinical subspecialty groups seeking to create a comprehensive educational resource for populations who lack easy access to specialty care.

Occupation-Related Volunteering: A Qualitative Systematic Literature Review, Conceptualization, and Directions for Future Research

This review investigates the volunteering-work nexus, where an individual’s paid occupational work in the business, government, or voluntary sector is akin to their volunteer work: tasks and responsibilities are similar, but the structure, conditions, and relationships differ. Performing work spans their business and volunteer worlds and brings dynamic interactions between work and volunteering. Pro bono, skills-based, or corporate volunteering are terms in use; however, these conceptualizations of the underlying and interconnecting practices of work and volunteering are too limited. This transdisciplinary, qualitative systematic literature review of 62 scientific articles studies individuals using conceptualizations of work, volunteering, and occupations over their working life, from service-learning to retirement. With ambiguous boundaries and terminology in the literature, we introduce a new term— occupation-related volunteering—defined as an individual acting to benefit others without payment or coercion, developing, using, or maintaining their occupational knowledge, skills, and abilities, and drawing upon their economic, social, and cultural capital. The definition anticipates that an individual’s occupational resources change over their working life and vary depending on whether the volunteer is acting independently or with the support of their workplace. Occupation-related volunteering extends paid-unpaid and formal-informal boundaries to include volunteering in “paid” work time and in informal, community-based organizations and less public roles, such as mentoring. Finally, we encourage future research using the bibliometric data, suggestions in the reviewed articles, and our synthesis of the individual’s perspective of performing their occupational work as a volunteer.

Educating patients about health helps slow the progression of chronic kidney disease in the eastern region of India

Abstract Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) poses a well-documented burden, necessitating patient awareness of the importance of healthy lifestyle modifications to mitigate co-morbidities and mortality risks. Objective: This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of education-based conservative management in mitigating disease progression among CKD patients in the eastern region of India. Materials and Methods: A total of 248 CKD patients receiving outpatient department and inpatient department care at the nephrology and dialysis department of Belle Vue Clinic, Kolkata, West Bengal, India, were included in the study. Comprehensive data encompassing demographic details, socioeconomic status, clinical co-morbidities, and conservative management interventions via patient education were examined. The study compared the rise in creatinine levels with adherence to five key factors: dietary restrictions, medication compliance, follow-up appointments with physicians, management of co-morbidities, and adherence to lifestyle modifications. Each strategy was graded on a scale of 0, 1, or 2 based on compliance, with 0 indicating minimal or no compliance, 1 indicating moderate compliance, and 2 indicating strong compliance. Results: In this study, several factors were linked to elevated creatinine levels among CKD patients, including being in the middle-age range, male gender, living predominantly in urban areas, and working in business or service occupations. Additionally, a higher prevalence of co-existing conditions such as diabetes mellitus and hypertension was noted among CKD patients, along with documented instances of polycystic kidney disease, obstructive uropathy, and renal cell carcinoma. After educating CKD patients, those who scored 8–10 on compliance exhibited a decrease in creatinine elevation (0.35 mg/dL) among 120 cases from January 2022 to June 2023. Conversely, those with scores ranging from 5 to 7 (81 cases) showed moderate creatinine elevation (1.24 mg/dL), while those with scores of 0–4 (47 cases) demonstrated higher levels of creatinine elevation (5.48 mg/dL). Conclusion: This study concludes that the conservative management of CKD patients educates individuals about primary prevention of the disorder and provides a comprehensive understanding of secondary and tertiary prevention strategies. This cost-effective approach significantly impacts physical, mental, social, and psychological adjustment behaviors.

Stress Management Among Working Mothers in an Institution of Higher Learning in Nigeria: Implication for Social Work Practice

The growing number of working mothers, dual career couples, and working single parents raises concerns about the impact of work stress on family lifestyles and their ability to balance work and family obligations. The aim of this study is to examine the role of social workers in promoting work-life balance among working mothers at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. The cross-sectional survey design involving the mixed-methods approach was adopted for the study. A total of 604 questionnaires were distributed to the participants; of those, 99.3% ( n = 596) were correctly completed and returned, 0.7% were not, and eight were selected at random for IDI. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), while frequency and percentages were used to present the data. According to the study, 83.6% of working mothers experience work-related stress. The results also showed that working mothers’ stress levels depend on their level of education, the size of their family, and their income, as well as on their desire to publish in order to advance in their careers. The study concludes that, in order to reduce the stress experiences of working mothers, attention should be paid to their understanding of the stressors confronting them, while also recommending the establishment of an occupational social work office anchored by professional social workers, whose duties will be to offer professional advice on appropriate coping mechanisms to adopt while ensuring the welfare of university students and staff, particularly mothers.

FACTORS INHIBITING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (HOSHMS) AT CILEGON CITY REGIONAL HOSPITAL

Hospitals are one of the places that have a risk of occupational diseases and work accidents caused by various dangerous factors. The potential risk of disease or work accidents does not only occur to workers, patients but also to visitors and the community around the hospital. Therefore, hospitals are obliged to implement occupational safety and health through the management of the Hospital Occupational Safety and Health Management System (HOSHMS). This study aims to determine the relationship between inhibiting factors and the implementation of HOSHMS at Cilegon City Regional Hospital in 2023. The population in this study was all 335 nurses with a sample of 88 respondents. The samples were taken with proportional random sampling. The research design used is cross-sectional with chi square test at the level of significance (CI=95%, α=5%). The research data was collected through direct interviews using a questionnaire. The results of the analysis showed that there was no relationship between the quality of human resources and the implementation of OSHMS (p-value = 1.000) and no relationship between education and OSH training (p-value = 0.578) with the implementation of HOSHMS. In addition, there was a relationship between data management and OSH information (p value = 0.004) and a relationship between the implementation of law enforcement and the implementation of HOSHMS (p value = 0.012). Hospitals were advised to carry out a continuous OSH monitoring which is carried out in all work units and implement law enforcement more intensively.

Students Perceptions of The Implementation of Occupational Safety and Health Work on Wood Working Practices

The lack of knowledge and how to use tools when practicing can cause work accidents that harm students and schools that make this research raised. Occupational safety and health are mandatory things at work, which is the main step before starting the activity, so that students can understand the meaning of occupational safety and health itself. The purpose of this study was to reveal students' perceptions of the application of occupational safety and health in Woodworking Practices in the Class XI DPIB Workshop of SMK Negeri 1 West Sumatra. A descriptive research model was used in a quantitative approach. The product was validated by two experts and 30 students who took Woodworking Practice subjects in the July–December 2023 semester. Based on the validation that has been carried out by material expert 1, the result is 80% with good criteria; material expert 2 obtained a result of 81% with good criteria. Based on the results of this study, it can be concluded that students' perceptions of the application of occupational safety and health in woodworking practices in workshops that use descriptive research with quantitative.

New Frontiers: The Origins and Content of New Work, 1940–2018

Abstract We answer three core questions about the hypothesized role of newly emerging job categories (“new work”) in counterbalancing the erosive effect of task-displacing automation on labor demand: what is the substantive content of new work, where does it come from, and what effect does it have on labor demand? We construct a novel database spanning eight decades of new job titles linked to U.S. Census microdata and to patent-based measures of occupations’ exposure to labor-augmenting and labor-automating innovations. The majority of current employment is in new job specialties introduced since 1940, but the locus of new-work creation has shifted from middle-paid production and clerical occupations over 1940–1980 to high-paid professional occupations and secondarily to low-paid services since 1980. New work emerges in response to technological innovations that complement the outputs of occupations and demand shocks that raise occupational demand. Innovations that automate tasks or reduce occupational demand slow new-work emergence. Although the flow of augmentation and automation innovations is positively correlated across occupations, the former boosts occupational labor demand while the latter depresses it. The demand-eroding effects of automation innovations have intensified in the past four decades while the demand-increasing effects of augmentation innovations have not.

A Hidden Barrier to Diversification? Performance Recognition Penalties for Incumbent Workers in Male-Dominated Occupations

Responding to persistent gender inequity, organizations have adopted diversity initiatives to promote women’s representation in traditionally male-dominated occupations. Although studies have identified challenges to these initiatives for women entering occupations, we uncover a performance recognition penalty for incumbent workers originating from the process of occupational diversification. As women incrementally enter a male-dominated occupation, a conflict arises between the changing gender composition at the work-unit level and the masculine “ideal worker” prototype embedded in the occupation. We propose that this conflict will lower the performance expectations of the work unit, decreasing the individual likelihood of performance recognition for each worker in the unit. Using detailed panel data on police officers, we found that an officer’s individual likelihood of being nominated for a performance award consistently declined when their police unit proportionately increased in women officers. Both men and women managers enacted this penalty, with men managers penalizing men subordinates more than women subordinates. This pattern remained for awards recognizing exceptional performance, regardless of gender-typing of the unit or its work tasks, and considering officer tenure and attrition from the unit. Our findings offer novel insights into the challenge of diversifying male-dominated occupations.

Who Requests and Receives Workplace Accommodations? An Intersectional Analysis.

This study investigates who requests workplace accommodations and who is more likely to have requests granted. We investigate the role of demographic characteristics and their intersection, including disability, gender, race/ethnicity, and age. We also consider the role of other personal and job-related factors. We use the data from the Current Population Survey (CPS) 2021 Disability Supplement to estimate the odds ratio of having requested workplace accommodations and having such request granted during the COVID-19 pandemic when the survey was conducted. In supplementary analyses, we explore the relationship between remote work and flexible scheduling and workplace accommodations, as well as possible trends using CPS 2019 Disability Supplement. Our results indicate that Hispanics with disabilities are more likely than others to request workplace accommodations, but they are substantially less likely to be granted accommodations. Consistent with other studies, our paper also finds that people with disabilities, women, and older people are more likely to request accommodations than their respective counterparts. Other personal and job-related factors such as higher education, parenthood, being single, being a citizen, and working in management-related occupations are associated with higher likelihood of requesting workplace accommodations compared to their counterparts, while receiving accommodations is largely explained by occupational differences. Our findings show that there are still disparities in the rates of workplace accommodation requests and provision for multiply marginalized groups, and as such, taking into account intersectional differences in addition and in relation to disability is important.

Dietary habits, traveling and the living situation potentially influence the susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection: results from healthcare workers participating in the RisCoin Study

PurposeTo explore occupational and non-occupational risk and protective factors for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in healthcare workers (HCWs).MethodsSerum specimens and questionnaire data were obtained between October 7 and December 16, 2021 from COVID-19-vaccinated HCWs at a quaternary care hospital in Munich, Germany, and were analyzed in the RisCoin Study.ResultsOf 3,696 participants evaluated, 6.6% have had COVID-19 at least once. Multivariate logistic regression analysis identified working in patient care occupations (7.3% had COVID-19, 95% CI 6.4–8.3, Pr = 0.0002), especially as nurses, to be a potential occupation-related COVID-19 risk factor. Non-occupational factors significantly associated with high rates of the disease were contacts to COVID-19 cases in the community (12.8% had COVID-19, 95% CI 10.3–15.8, Pr < 0.0001), being obese (9.9% had COVID-19, 95% CI 7.1–13.5, Pr = 0.0014), and frequent traveling abroad (9.4% had COVID-19, 95% CI 7.1–12.3, Pr = 0.0088). On the contrary, receiving the basic COVID-19 immunization early during the pandemic (5.9% had COVID-19, 95% CI 5.1–6.8, Pr < 0.0001), regular smoking (3.6% had COVID-19, 95% CI 2.1–6.0, Pr = 0.0088), living with the elderly (3.0% had COVID-19, 95% CI 1.0–8.0, Pr = 0.0475), and frequent consumption of ready-to-eat meals (2.6% had COVID-19, 95% CI 1.1–5.4, Pr = 0.0045) were non-occupational factors potentially protecting study participants against COVID-19.ConclusionThe newly discovered associations between the living situation, traveling as well as dietary habits and altered COVID-19 risk can potentially help refine containment measures and, furthermore, contribute to new mechanistic insights that may aid the protection of risk groups and vulnerable individuals.

Integrating “old” truths and “new” evidence to address people's evolving career counselling needs

The article examines the link between career counselling waves, helping models, theoretical foundations, and interventions. An adapted qualitative systematic literature review was conducted to facilitate examination of people's evolving career counselling needs during changes in the workplace with a view to recommend strategies to innovate career counselling in the (post-)post-modern era. Articles for review were selected if they dealt with transformative shifts in the occupational world and workers' lifestyles The articles were then analysed in the context of shifts in career counselling approaches during the past 120. years Key findings indicate a need for advocating a dynamic blend of tradition and innovation, integrating accepted but outdated practices of career counselling. They also point to recent research outcomes in career counselling highlighting the implementation of career counselling in future workplaces aimed at helping people understand the need for work-life transformation, social justice, and ethical behaviour. Findings call for innovation and renewal in career counselling for bridging the gap between traditional wisdom and contemporary realities and for offering transformational career trajectories to promote success and fulfilment in the ever-evolving world of work.

Do shifts in the racial and ethnic composition of a neighborhood lead to extreme changes in commuting times? evidence from New York City

From 2000 to 2016, NYC average commuting times increased by a marginal 0.24 s across all transit modes. Depending on one’s viewpoint, this could be a policy success due to no significant increase in commuting times or it could be a policy failure due to no substantial decrease in commuting time over almost two decades. Nevertheless, many census tracts actually experienced extreme increases or decreases in commuting times. The goal of this paper is to examine these extreme changes by focusing on understanding how changes in census tracts', racial and ethnic compositions influence commuting time changes. Analyzing NYC as a case study, we use logistic regressions with eigenvector spatial filtering (ESF) to identify the likelihood of extreme changes in commuting time from 2000 to 2016 given changes in various neighborhood characteristics. Overall, census tracts experiencing increases in Black, Asian, and Hispanic or Latino residents, female-headed households, and workers in professional occupations as well as higher highway densities are likely to have experienced extreme increases in commuting times. Meanwhile, census tracts experiencing increases in White residents, income, rental occupancy, housing burden, and proportions of their census tract within a subway shed are likely to have experienced extreme decreases in commuting times. The results for race and ethnicity support existing research indicating that racial and ethnic minorities are likelier to experience longer commuting times compared to White residents. The importance of our research, though, lies in showing that even when overall commuting times remain relatively stable, racial/ethnic minorities still face commuting disadvantages.

Occupational Health and Safety Digitalization in Thailand: A Framework and Case Study.

Disruptive technological change plays a major role in the development of not only the global economy and traditional business operations but also in occupational health and work safety. Many countries, including Thailand, use digital technology to improve the quality of life of their citizens. This paper aims to describe digitization in Thailand and the digitalization of occupational health and safety in Thailand. We also provide a case study in which the Internet of Things (IoT) was applied to forklift management to improve occupational health and safety and productivity outcomes.

RETRACTED: Lai, Q.; Lee, G. An Exploratory Study of the Intrinsic Mechanisms of Occupational Stigma Consciousness, Career Development, and Work–Life Balance among Female Leaders. Sustainability 2023, 15, 15945

The Sustainability Editorial Office retracts the article “An Exploratory Study of the Intrinsic Mechanisms of Occupational Stigma Consciousness, Career Development, and Work–Life Balance among Female Leaders” [...]

Knowledge and Awareness Regarding Keratoplasty and Eye Donation in High Risk Occupations

Purpose: To determine the attitude regarding corneal transplantation or eye donation among high-risk occupations. Methodology: Descriptive cross sectional design was used in this study. Non- probability purposive sampling technique was used. People with age group between 25 to 60 years of either gender were included. Mechanics, Auto Drivers, Tailor, and Welders were included. Age below 25 and above 60 years was excluded. After informed consent, Self-design questionnaire was used to collect data. Data was entered and analyzed in SPSS 25. Mann Whitney-U test was applied to find the significance of data. P value &lt; 0.05 was considered as significant. Results: 64 participants (50.8%) heard about corneal transplantation or eye donation while 62 (49.2%) participants didn't hear about eye donation. Forty one (41 ) participants (11.1%) said that only those people can donate who haven't undergone cataract surgery. Eighty one (81) participants (64.3%) said that only more than 18 years old individuals can donate eyes. Forty Four (44) participants (34.9%) thought that blood group is a hurdle for donation of eye. P-value was 0.034 that is significant. Conclusion: This study concluded that a large proportion of the population do not have proper knowledge regarding corneal transplantation and eye donation. The study reveals that high-risk occupation workers have low level of awareness and knowledge regarding corneal transplantation and eye donation.

Drug poisoning deaths by occupation and drug type, Massachusetts 2010-2019.

To investigate variation in drug poisoning mortality rates by drug type and occupation in Massachusetts. Death certificates for deaths by drug poisonings occurring between 2010 and 2019 in Massachusetts were coded based on the decedent's occupation. Mortality rates and rate ratios (with all other occupations as the reference group) were calculated based on the occupation of the workers according to drug type. Poisson regression was used to determine significantly elevated mortality rates and trends in drug poisoning deaths by occupation and drug type. The rate of drug poisoning deaths increased from 2010 to 2016 after which they plateaued. With respect to specific substances, fentanyl- and cocaine-related deaths increased throughout the surveillance period. For drug poisoning deaths overall, workers in construction trades (3,017); food preparation and serving (1,116); transportation and material moving (1,062) occupations had the highest number of drug poisoning deaths. When adjusting for age, sex, race/ethnicity, and educational attainment, workers in 7 occupations had significantly elevated mortality rate ratios for drug poisonings overall: farming, fishing, and forestry (3.42, P < 0.001); construction trades (2.58, P < 0.001); health care support (1.61, P < 0.001); community and social service (1.60, P < 0.001); food preparation and serving related (1.54, P < 0.001); personal care and service (1.37, P < 0.001); and arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media (1.21, P = 0.010). In many cases, workers in these same occupations had elevated mortality rate ratios for poisonings from specific substances. Health care practitioners and technical occupation workers only had elevated rates for methadone-related poisonings (1.73, P = 0.010). These findings highlight that workers in certain occupations have an elevated risk for drug poisonings and that the patterns differ with respect to the drug type. These findings can be useful for providing services to workers in high-risk occupations and in identifying occupational factors that may be related to the risk of drug poisoning death. While previous research has begun to uncover work-related factors that may contribute to opioid use, further work is needed to identify occupational factors that may contribute to psychostimulant and benzodiazepine use.

Status, influencing factors and paths on professional identity of special education teachers

ABSTRACT The aim of the present study was to explore the status, influencing factors and paths on professional identity of special education teachers. The statistical population of the study included 438 special education teachers in Guangdong Province, China. The age of the participants ranged from 22 to 57 years old (M = 32.16, SD = 1.85 years). Of the 438 teachers, 346 were females, 92 were males. The Occupational Stress Questionnaire (He, J. H. 2013. A Study on the Occupational Stress and Work Engagement of Special Education Teacher. Hangzhou: Hangzhou Preschool Normal College of Zhejiang Normal University), School Support Questionnaire (Zhang, Y. 2018. Study on Professional Identity and School Support of Special Education Teachers in Guizhou. Chengdu: Sichuan Normal University), and Professional Identity Questionnaire (Tang, J. R. 2012. Study on Professional Identity of Special School Teachers. Shanghai: East China Normal University) were used. The independent sample t-test, one way ANOVA, correlation analysis, and multiple stepwise regression were used for the data analysis. The results show that: (1) the professional identity of special education teachers is relatively high in the overall and dimensions. (2) There are significant differences in the professional identity in terms of leadership, marriage, education level, teaching years and professional titles. (3) Both occupational stress and school support can significantly predict the professional identity of special education teachers.

“How Long Are You Gonna Stay?” Implications of Residents’ Perceptions of Refugees’ Occupational Future Time Perspective in Receiving Countries

Occupational work is a cornerstone for refugees’ integration in a receiving country, and residents’ perceptions of refugees is a key factor in this process. As compared to migrants in general, refugee migrants have been forced to leave their home country, which should have multiple implications for their integration in receiving countries. In the current study, we investigated whether residents’ perception of migration forcedness affects their expectations about migrants’ occupational future time perspectives (OFTP) in the receiving country, which in turn should correspond to expectations about migrants’ occupational integration efforts. We tested our hypotheses in a preregistered online experiment with N = 190 working adults in Germany (71% women; age: M = 50.26, SD = 10.78). The results confirmed the hypothesized negative relation between perceived migration forcedness and expected OFTP, the hypothesized positive relation between expected OFTP and expected occupational integration efforts, and the hypothesized mediation mechanism of expected OFTP. Overall, our results demonstrate that residents’ perception of migration forcedness and related OFTP are relevant processes that affect the integration of migrants into the labor market of receiving countries.