Work Perspective Research Articles

Representations of corporate growth and work conditions from the perspective of industrial workers

O crescimento empresarial tem sido objeto de atenção uma vez que ampliar os negócios parece evidenciar o sucesso das práticas organizacionais. Todavia, este fenômeno precisa ser examinado considerando que, numa perspectiva crítica, o processo implica politização para evitar naturalizações e considerar os diversos agentes e influências a ele associado. Neste artigo, o objetivo é analisar as representações sociais do crescimento empresarial sob a ótica dos trabalhadores, o que foi feito mediante uma pesquisa qualitativa baseada nas trajetórias profissionais de trabalhadores industriais da região metropolitana de Belo Horizonte, tratadas por meio de análise do discurso. Os principais resultados sugerem que os trabalhadores percebem as alterações no contexto e suas consequências para as empresas, o que resultou na decisão de crescimento empresarial. Todavia, os discursos são ambíguos, variando da adesão à ideia de que nada resta além de se adaptar, ao combate aos efeitos sociais do crescimento.

Community health worker perspectives: examining current responsibilities and strategies for success

BackgroundCommunity health worker (CHW) interventions have demonstrated positive impacts globally, with the COVID-19 pandemic further highlighting the potential of CHWs at the frontline to support prevention, outreach, and healthcare delivery. As the workforce expands, understanding the work and capabilities of CHWs is key to design successful interventions. This study examines the perspectives of experienced CHWs in Chicago about their current work and strategies for success.MethodsAs part of a community-academic partnership in Chicago, semi-structured interviews were completed with individuals who held positions aligned with CHW. Interviews were conducted between January and April 2022. Questions focused on participants’ work and factors contributing to their effectiveness to gain insights into workforce strategies for success to be applied in healthcare and community settings. De-identified transcripts were analyzed using inductive reasoning with codes organized into themes and subthemes under two domains identified a priori. The themes informed a logic model focused on the early stages to support the success of CHWs in their role.ResultsFourteen individuals participated in the study. The two predetermined domains in this study were: current work of CHWs and strategies for CHWs to be successful.Five themes were identified about CHWs’ current work: providing services, building alliances with clients, establishing and maintaining collaborations, collecting data, and experiencing challenges in role. From their perspectives, all these responsibilities enhance client care and support workforce sustainability efforts.Five themes emerged about strategies for the success of CHWs: background of CHWs, champions to support work of CHWs, materials to perform work of CHWs, preparation for CHW role, and characteristics of CHWs. Participants described key traits CHWs should possess to be hired, individuals who can champion and advocate for their work, and specific materials needed to fulfill responsibilities. They reported that training and familiarity with the community were integral to developing and refining the qualities and skills necessary to be effective in their role.ConclusionCHWs play an increasingly important role in enhancing healthcare delivery and improving health outcomes. This study offers a framework for policymakers, communities, and organizations to utilize for preparing CHWs to succeed in their roles.

An ontology-based framework for worker’s health reasoning enabled by machine learning

Reports of fatal and nonfatal workplace injuries depict severe circumstances involving health and safety in industries. This leads to workers staying away from work in U.S. for an average of 12 days in 2020, implicating in managerial, financial, and organizational losses. In this context, Vision-Based Deep Learning (VBDL) and Knowledge Representation and Reasoning (KRR) allow real-time data retrieval of situations along with the semantic modeling and expressivity of the real world to mitigate injuries. This article presents a framework that interoperates vision-based deep learning and ontology reasoning to identify adverse working situations, introducing a novel ontology composed of a holistic perspective of workers’ health and safety. Moreover, the article provides multi-agent framework modeling to orchestrate the components’ interoperability, describing the framework’s architecture and deployment in workrooms. As a result, a practical evaluation over five days produced 8395 axioms constituted by 1210 individuals in the ontology, which allowed a temporal analysis of harmful conditions and their multiple overlapping using SPARQL and reasoning rules, particularly relevant to understanding explanations of overexertion, physical and environmental injuries. Therefore, the proposed ontology-based framework corroborates the long-term support in identifying, assessing, and controlling risks in the industries due to a well-defined knowledge model.

RETRACTED: Critical safety climate dimensions for improved safety behavior: perspectives of construction workers

Although extensive research has been conducted to explain the high accident rates in the Indian construction industry, studies focusing on the contributions of the prevailing safety climate as an enabler of such incidences remain sparse. Safety climate plays a crucial role in shaping workers’ safety behaviors. Therefore, eliciting the perspectives of construction workers concerning safety climate dimensions that are critical for engendering improved safety behavior will provide valuable insights into the dimensions required to sustain the desired safety performance levels on construction sites. This study adopted a sequential mixed-methods research design. Purposively selected respondents and interviewees were surveyed and interviewed at various intervals. The study established that safety climate dimensions, such as effective leadership, effective communication, consultation, training, resources, incentives, and recognition, are critical in improving safety behavior among construction workers. The results of this study have significant implications for practice and knowledge, as they provide an approach for assessing the impact of different safety climate dimensions on the safety behavior of construction workers in India. Understanding these dimensions will lead to a framework for managing these challenges and improving construction safety performance. The study reported in this paper remains one of the few studies seeking to explore the impact of safety-climate dimensions on worker safety behavior in the construction industry.

Multidimensional analysis of supervisors’ safety leadership on safety violations of construction workers: An empirical investigation

BACKGROUND: Frontline supervisors have the most frequent interactions with workers on construction projects. Although Supervisors’ Safety Leadership (SSL) is commonly practiced, its specific inter-relationship with workers’ safety violations remains unclear, especially when it comes to detailed interactions between supervisors and workers, such as supervisors’ safety coaching/safety controlling/safety caring against workers’ situational/routine safety violations. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to uncover the intrinsic relationship between SSL and safety violations from the perspective of construction workers with the help of mediating variables at both organizational and individual levels. METHODS: A questionnaire survey was conducted to test all hypotheses based on empirical data from 346 construction workers. The path coefficient of the fitted model was then analyzed, including associated mediating effects. RESULTS: Situational safety violations are directly affected only by safety caring (β= –0.161, p < 0.05), while routine safety violations are impacted only by safety coaching (β= –0.159, p < 0.05). SSL can influence different types of safety violations through differing mediators. In particular, safety coaching acts on individuals’ routine safety violations mainly through self-efficacy (β= 0.199, p < 0.01; standardized indirect effect = –0.121, 95% CI[–0.226, –0.024]); safety controlling is more oriented to influence individuals’ situational safety violations through group safety norm (β= 0.383, p < 0.001; standardized indirect effect = –0.091, 95% CI[–0.177, –0.036]); and safety caring further influences individuals’ situational safety violations mainly through safety motivation (β= 0.581, p < 0.001; standardized indirect effect = –0.263, 95% CI[–0.418, –0.146]). CONCLUSION: The research enhances existing knowledge by clarifying the complex relationships between supervisor behavior and safety outcomes, particularly from the perceptions of construction workers towards supervisors’ actions and leadership.

Invisible struggles: unveiling the mental health implications of job insecurity among migrant hospitality workers

ABSTRACT Migrant workers in India, who are often seen as the backbone of the nation, live in highly precarious conditions, experiencing heightened job insecurity. Nevertheless, they received little attention in scholarly investigations. This study utilises the latent deprivation theory to investigate the impact of quantitative and qualitative job insecurity experienced by interstate migrant hospitality workers in India and its impact on their mental health. The study also explores the potential mediating role of employee morale in this relationship. Additionally, it investigates whether the perception of employability, which refers to the likelihood of finding alternative employment, moderates the link between job insecurity dimensions and mental health. Data was collected from interstate migrant workers employed in tourist hotels in Delhi, India. Findings revealed that both dimensions of job insecurity have been negatively associated with the mental health of these workers, with employee morale serving as a partial mediator in the relationship. Employability is found to be a crucial moderator in alleviating the negative impact of quantitative job insecurity on mental health. In light of the findings, the study offers key interventions required at the policy and organisational levels to enhance well-being while utilising the unique skills and diverse perspectives of these migrant workers.

Social workers’ experiences of the use of experts in child protection cases: a comparative study from Norway and England

ABSTRACT The use of independent experts varies by context, specifically in terms of the dynamics among experts, the child welfare services, and the legal system. This study enriches the current discussion of expertise in child protection cases, a subject that has received limited attention from the perspective of social workers. This explorative study delves into the experiences of social workers in child protection, comparing the use of independent experts in two settings: Norway and England. Comparing these two contexts allows us to better understand the different aspects of independent experts’ roles and functions and provide a nuanced picture of their varying contributions. These stories from social work practice in these settings not only inform our understanding of the dynamics within these specific contexts but also spark enquiry into the broader dynamics of expert involvement in child protection cases.

Youth Justice Staff Perspectives on Psychological Resilience Interventions and Outcomes in Young People Who Offend

ABSTRACT Interventions aimed at increasing psychological resilience are an important factor in reducing recidivism in young people. However, little is known about how practitioners understand, apply, and assess the efficacy of the interventions they deliver. This knowledge gap is concerning as case workers are at the forefront of intervention delivery, where intervention success has wide implications for the young person and society. To provide some of the first evidence in this area, we conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews with 12 Youth Justice case workers based in Wales (UK). We used reflexive thematic analysis to examine four pre-conceived key themes. The first theme involved understanding what resilience is in young people along with the psychological factors that promoted resilience and psychological factors that undermined it. The second theme revolved around intervention strategies used to develop resilience in young people. The third theme focused upon intervention delivery, and the final theme related to intervention outcomes that included behavioral and psychological changes. Our findings offer some of the first evidence into effective psychological based resilience interventions, methods of delivery, psychological and behavioral changes related to desistance from a case workers perspective. Potential future considerations for interventions relating to youth who continue offending are discussed.

The Professionalisation of Child and Youth Care: Perspectives of Child and Youth Care Workers in eThekwini, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

The Professionalisation of Child and Youth Care: Perspectives of Child and Youth Care Workers in eThekwini, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Making Mistakes Together: Therapy Participant, Parent, and Therapist Perspectives on Music Therapy in Two Different Settings

Abstract The impact of setting and therapist perspective are explored through the shared experiences of Morgan (a therapy participant), Cheryl (a parent), and Kerry (a music therapist). Undertaken through a series of conversations, the authors identify three themes that reflect differences in the school setting and music therapy clinic where Morgan, a teenager with Down syndrome, participated in music therapy: (1) The structure and expectations of the setting, (2) the values of the setting, and (3) The perspectives of the people working in the setting. Each theme is explored in relation to these two settings, revealing important differences in the experiences and perceptions of each author. Further reflections provide opportunities for readers to consider their own perspectives with regard to music therapy service delivery, particularly in terms of how one aligns with, or is differentiated from, the setting in which they work. Plain language abstract (written by Morgan) This project is about music therapy at school and at the clinic. Readers will learn how music therapy helps Morgan. People, like teachers, should read the project to know Morgan. Music therapists should read the project to be happy and proud. Please go to Appendix A for a plain language summary of the whole article.

Navigating the challenges of extending working life: a study of employment support services for older workers in Hong Kong

PurposeThis research highlights age-specific barriers to employment for older workers and the gap between activation policy design and implementation, focusing on difficulties in extending working life under employment support services.Design/methodology/approachThis research employed a qualitative approach, utilizing semi-structured interviews to gather perspectives on extending the working lives of older adults. Eighteen experienced social workers who worked in employment support services for older workers who aged fifty-five and above participated in the study.FindingsThis study underscores the importance of comprehensively understanding the heterogeneity of individuals' circumstances and emphasizes the impact of intersectionality on the development of extending working life. It incorporates individual and familial difficulties, including considering caregiving responsibilities, health issues and housing challenges before exploring employment-related concerns. The study also highlights external factors influencing older workers' employment prospects, including employer perspectives, government support levels and public recognition of the necessity to extend working life.Research limitations/implicationsThis research sheds light on the impact of welfare-related stigma, which imposes obstacles and inflexibility on older workers seeking employment. It ultimately contributes to the sustainability and dynamism of the Asia–Pacific workforce while also informing regional discussions on social security and welfare services.Originality/valueIt uniquely employs the perspectives of social workers providing employment support services to highlight challenges and policy gaps in extending the working lives of older workers in Hong Kong. It also provides practical insights into strategies and mechanisms for extending working life across diverse social contexts.

Fostering sustainability in local government: The institutional work perspective on the accounting–management nexus

AbstractSustainability is a critical societal aim, and local governments (LGs) play an important role in fostering sustainability, as the implementation of the global aims set by the United Nations—namely, the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs offer novel accounting, reporting, and management perspectives for LGs. The objective of the study is to understand the role of the accounting–management nexus which is needed to institutionalize sustainability in LG practices. We adopted an institutional work perspective to investigate how actors at the field, organizational, and suborganizational levels of LGs can foster sustainability in accounting and management. Based on interviews with managers and other representatives from the 18 largest LGs in Finland, we found that although sustainability integration is still in the early stages and there is considerable heterogeneity in LGs’ handling of sustainability issues, there is clear potential for the simultaneous deployment of different institutional work types. This has positive implications for the institutionalization of sustainability accounting and management practices in LGs, enhancing understanding of how sustainability is fostered in public sector accounting and management by focusing on organizational‐level institutional work.

DEMANDS AND OFFERS OF PRIMARY CARE IN CHILDREN’S MENTAL HEALTH

The objective was to understand the demands and offers of Primary Care with regard to mental health care for children and adolescents, from the perspective of workers. This is a qualitative research, made with 41 primary care (BA) health workers in a municipality in the Southeast region. As an adopted methodology semi-structured interviews were used and two focus groups, in the latter, 20 workers participated among those who were interviewed. This was followed by a lexical analysis of the Descending Hierarchical Classification type with the help of the IRAMUTEQ software, resulting in five classes. Conceptions of childhood and adolescence appeared in the reports, still marked by ideas of incompleteness and a logic of specialized care.

Experiences and perspectives regarding human papillomavirus self-sampling in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review of qualitative evidence

IntroductionCervical cancer screening coverage remains low in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) due to limited access and low uptake of available services by women. The use of HPV-based self-sampling intervention for cervical cancer screening has the potential to increase screening coverage in the region. This study aimed to analyse qualitative evidence on the experiences and perspectives of women, healthcare workers, and policymakers regarding HPV self-sampling. MethodsWe reviewed qualitative studies from January 2011 to March 2023 in PubMed, Scopus, Medline Ovid, Cochrane, and WEB of Science databases for articles with qualitative data on HPV self-sampling from different countries in SSA. The socio-ecological model was used to guide data analysis and the study findings. ResultsThirteen qualitative studies were included for analysis, and they revealed themes under the intrapersonal, interpersonal, community, and health systems constructs of the Socio-ecological model. Intrapersonal themes included the acceptability of self-sampling, self-efficacy, and the perceived value of self-sampling. The interpersonal construct had themes such as women's spousal relationships, peer support, and the health worker's relationship with the women. The community construct had two themes: social stigma and misinformation, and the influence of cultural norms and religion. Finally, the health systems construct had themes such as the setting for self-sampling, follow-up availability of treatment services and education and awareness. ConclusionThis study highlights the factors influencing the acceptability and uptake of an HPV-based self-sampling intervention for cervical cancer screening in SSA. Considering these findings when designing interventions in SSA is crucial to ensure acceptance and demand among end-users. Self-sampling interventions offer the potential to reach many unscreened women and increase cervical cancer screening coverage in SSA, which is an essential strategy towards achieving the World Health Organisation's cervical cancer elimination targets by the close of the century.

Caminhos e intermediações entre serviços do Sistema de Saúde e da Socioeducação

Abstract Socio-education is an educational and (re)socialization proposal for young people having troubles with the law, a law which also includes the right to health care guaranteed by the Unified Health System (SUS). This study aims to investigate the relationship between health services and socio-educational units in Paraná state, from the perspective of service workers and managers. The qualitative and exploratory research consisted of sixteen semi-structured interviews in five municipalities in the state, with subsequent categorization of the narratives based on hermeneutic analysis. As a result, there was considerable weakness in the coordination between the network’s facilities to promote overall health care, specifically the mental health of young people. Security issues have a strong influence on the regulation of actions, even health actions, in socio-education. The current policy of comprehensive health care in socio-education, implemented in Brazil in 2014, is, however, an important counterpoint for the reordering and nudging policies in this area.

Paths and inter-mediations between Brazilian Health Services and Youth Detention Centers.

Socio-education is an educational and (re)socialization proposal for young people having troubles with the law, a law which also includes the right to health care guaranteed by the Unified Health System (SUS). This study aims to investigate the relationship between health services and socio-educational units in Paraná state, from the perspective of service workers and managers. The qualitative and exploratory research consisted of sixteen semi-structured interviews in five municipalities in the state, with subsequent categorization of the narratives based on hermeneutic analysis. As a result, there was considerable weakness in the coordination between the network's facilities to promote overall health care, specifically the mental health of young people. Security issues have a strong influence on the regulation of actions, even health actions, in socio-education. The current policy of comprehensive health care in socio-education, implemented in Brazil in 2014, is, however, an important counterpoint for the reordering and nudging policies in this area.

P435 Recognising and responding to risk &need: a social work perspective. A thematic analysis exploring professional confidence, knowledge, and responsibility

P435 Recognising and responding to risk &need: a social work perspective. A thematic analysis exploring professional confidence, knowledge, and responsibility

Rights-based social work as a practice. The role of child welfare social work in the repatriations of Finnish children from the camps in north-eastern Syria

ABSTRACT In this article, we present an interdisciplinary analysis that combines perspectives of law and social work on the role of child welfare social work in Finnish repatriations of children from camps in north-eastern Syria after the territorial losses of the terrorist organisation ISIS in 2019. We used qualitative data that consists of interviews of professionals, which we analysed using thematic analysis. The findings show how a rights-based approach to the issue of repatriation helped to decrease tension in a highly politicised situation, making children’s rights the starting point of the decision making process followed by a professionally led bureaucratic process in which several children were repatriated from the camps in Syria. Social workers’ decisions in individual cases both affected the legal obligations of the state to repatriate and the repatriation processes. The actions taken by the social workers emerge as practices of rights-based social work. Importantly, the role of social workers has been essential in how rights of the children were negotiated and understood in an evolving process between authorities.

Towards an understanding of maltreatment in football.

This study explored the understanding of maltreatment from the perspective of various personnel working in roles related to safeguarding and welfare in English professional and semi-professional football. Through a social constructivist position, the present study was able to explore multiple understandings and perceptions of maltreatment in football. Individual semi-structured interviews (MDuration = 68.00 minutes, SD = 9.05 minutes) were conducted with 19 participants working across league structures ranging from the English Premier League (EPL) to the English Northern Premier League Division One, as well as individuals working with some of the principal organizations in English professional football. Through reflexive thematic analysis, three general dimensions were highlighted: "current understanding of maltreatment in football," "constituents of maltreatment," and "signs and symptoms of maltreatment." Findings from those working in a safeguarding capacity mirror the research literature around understanding the components of maltreatment but also demonstrate how wrongdoing is nuanced by the football context, in that certain forms of maltreatment are driven by the unique nature of this environment. From an applied perspective, the findings also outline how to distinguish both the more overt and covert signs and symptoms of maltreatment, whilst also highlighting the impact of maltreatment on individuals' mental health and their sense of self. Overall, the findings provide a platform for practitioners and researchers to consider in the design of safeguarding and welfare provision by highlighting the need to raise knowledge and awareness of maltreatment whilst intervening to challenge the prevailing workplace culture within professional football.

Analyzing the Difficulties Facing Sex Education for Children with Disabilities in China and Social Workers' Intervention Countermeasures

As an important part of the disabled population in China, children with disabilities are basically the same as normal children in terms of physiological development, although they lag significantly behind normal children in terms of self-cognition, self-control and self-protection. Because of the mismatch between the cognitive ability and physiological development of disabled children, they are vulnerable to sexual abuse and sexual assault, or become the sender of sexual assault, causing serious social problems, so sex education for disabled children is urgent. This paper analyses the dilemma of sex education for children with disabilities in China and the reasons behind it from the perspective of social work, and explores the solution strategies for social worker intervention.