Work Norms Research Articles

Steering a path to cultural change: Emerging and enduring characteristics of policing cultures in the UK

In the 25 years since the first issue of the International Journal of Police Science & Management was published, policing has undergone significant change as a result of economic, political and social change. Yet this period has unfortunately been bookended by the Macpherson Report in 1999 and the Casey Review in 2023, both highly critical of the occupational cultures within policing. This article takes the issue of policing cultures and examines the extent to which early ethnographic writings on the everyday realities of policing reflect the cultures of today and examines the potential and the desire for both continued research in this area and for cultural change itself. An understanding of cultural characteristics as individual layers contributing to the overall sedimentation of policing practices enables us to see how change, albeit slowly, can potentially happen. The article also suggests, however, that the tendency towards conformity within policing – in terms of both conforming to organisational working practices and norms and conforming to informal occupational cultures – puts pressure on everyone within the policing organisation to ‘fit in’, restricting difference, challenge and ultimately, significant change. A better understanding of the deep roots of occupational cultures within policing and an appreciation of both its benefits and appeal is necessary for a whole organisation approach to reform.

A “Promise” of Proximity in Pandemic Times: Governing Urban Marginality in the Netherlands and France

In early 2020, the world went into lockdown. New norms of social distancing and remote work were implemented in response to the Covid‐19 crisis. These appeared to challenge a key aspect of the current governance of urban marginality: proximity. This article asks how proximity, involving physical presence in the neighborhood and direct contact with urban residents, changed and remained the same during the pandemic and what that means for the governance of urban marginality beyond pandemic times. To answer this question, I draw on ethnographic research in marginalized neighborhoods in the Netherlands and France. Studying how local actors practiced proximity and responded to the pandemic, I found that Covid‐19 did not simply challenge proximate governance. While physical presence decreased, the pandemic instigated direct daily contact and community response and relief, albeit at a distance. Yet, the pandemic also exposed and aggravated existing difficulties in working “close by,” particularly integrated approaches and civic engagement. The analysis, first, highlights the importance of daily contact beyond mere physical presence in the neighborhood, deepening current understanding of proximity in practice. Second, it demonstrates that local actors continuously negotiate community involvement, advancing understanding of civic engagement in proximate governance and the assumed inherent qualities and fixed nature of “the local.” Third, it challenges the centrality of “the local” in urban governance, revealing the impact of a “far‐away” state on local actors’ ability to improve living conditions in marginalized neighborhoods, in and beyond pandemic times.

Factors influencing community engagement approaches used in Aedes aegypti management in Cairns, Australia.

An important part of preventing and managing Aedes-borne mosquito disease outbreak risk is engaging the community. Research shows that high-income countries tend to use top-down measures for Aedes mosquito management, favouring educational approaches to engage the community over participatory approaches that actively involve and empower the community in addressing disease risk. Little is known about the reasons behind the use of these approaches and how they could be strengthened. This research explores the community engagement approaches used in Aedes mosquito management in Cairns, Queensland, Australia and the factors influencing the choice of these approaches. A case study design was used, drawing on two qualitative methods-key informant, semi-structured interviews (n = 25), and a document review (n = 20). Thematic analysis was used to identify, analyse and attribute meaning from the data. Various approaches were used to engage the community, including direct interaction through door-to-door inspections, broad outreach via mass media campaigns, and community participation in a novel mosquito replacement strategy. Factors influencing the choice of these approaches included government legislative responsibilities, research-related ethical obligations, work norms within local government and public health units, the perceived importance of gaining community trust, constraints on workforce capacity, time and funding. There were multiple factors influencing the community engagement approaches used in this study. Resource constraints, institutional norms and prevailing attitudes and beliefs were identified as hindering the use of more empowering approaches to engaging the community. These barriers should be considered and addressed in the planning of Aedes mosquito management to better support community engagement in this setting. SO WHAT?: Community engagement is an important aspect of managing the Aedes mosquito disease threat. With the global increase in Aedes mosquito-borne disease risk, these findings can help other at-risk settings understand potential organisational impediments to engaging the community. This is particularly important when advocating for the inclusion of bottom-up approaches in policy, and to ensure sufficient resources are allocated to strengthen community engagement in Aedes mosquito management.

The call for hybrid work arrangement post-pandemic

COVID-19 has led to abrupt changes in work norms and practices. Despite receding pandemic restrictions, the popularity of remote or hybrid work has not subsided. As employees around the world continue to call for more flexibility and autonomy in the way they work, human resource leaders must continuously consider and evaluate decisions based on ever-changing sentiment, balancing the interests of employees and employers alike. In this perspective article, we review the current state of work in the Southeast Asian region, focusing on Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand, and present preliminary results from a region-wide mental health assessment that was conducted in late 2022. We argue for the continuation of hybrid work in the region and elaborate on the mental health risks that come with remote working.

Equity in practice: Lessons from a cohort-based model for community voice and input in data linkage and use

Objective and ApproachCross-sector data sharing and linkage can transform information about individuals into actionable intelligence to build stronger, healthier, and more just communities. Yet, the use of cross-sector data can also reinforce legacies of racist policies and produce inequitable resource allocation, access, and outcomes. To avoid this, we must embed data equity practices throughout the data life cycle and provide mechanisms for community voice and input. However, few integrated data systems are doing this well. To combat this challenge, AISP designed a 30-month technical assistance program–the Equity in Practice Learning Community (EiPLC)--to collaboratively develop guidance and models for centering racial equity in data integration. This session provides an overview of our EiPLC Scope & Sequence, a curriculum we designed to guide this work. Currently, 10 jurisdictions in the U.S. are receiving coaching around this curriculum and shifting their data integration practices to advance equity. ResultsTo date, progress has been nonlinear, with positive results. Work in action across the cohorts includes changes to cross-agency data governance, collaborative research agendas, legal agreements, staffing, and community participation practices including. ConclusionsWhile these efforts are nascent, progress is evident and site team members indicate growth as individuals and as site teams. Key features of success include a focus on building relationships, establishing working norms, grappling with racialized histories, and interrogating the role of structural racism and systems of power. ImplicationsThe EiPLC provides a successful model for supporting sites to embed data equity principles throughout the data life cycle.

The Occupational Safety and Health Education for Indonesian Migrant Workers (PMI)

The large number of Indonesian Migrant Workers (PMI) requires protection of Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) which is the human right of every worker. However, in practice there are still many OSH problems among PMI in South Korea, including: work accidents, violence, problems related to work legality, and PMI's knowledge regarding OSH implementation and norms is still very minimal, therefore the aim of this activity is to provide education through training and discussions related to aspects of OSH which include efforts to prevent work accidents and implementation of work norms. The method for implementing this activity includes: 1) preparation stage, 2) implementation stage and 3) evaluation stage. This activity has received an ethical certificate no. 315/KEPK/FK/KLE/2024 from the Health Research Ethics Commission, Faculty of Medicine, UNNES. The results of this activity can be seen that PMI is very enthusiastic about participating in this activity and states that this activity is very beneficial for them, especially in increasing their knowledge regarding the application of OSH aspects in the workplace which is not only useful for preventing work accidents but also improving their work productivity.

Research on the Identification of Work-related Injuries of labourers under the new form of Employment in China

With the in-depth development of digital technology and the emergence of new forms of employment, the telecommuting mode of home-based work has been brought into the job market, which has been widely promoted after the outbreak of COVID-19. It may become the norm of people's work in the future. Home office, as a typical example of high integration and intersection of work and living space, can indeed save commuting time from the point of view of workers, but on the other hand, the personal subordinate attribute of home office workers is weak. when they are injured at work, according to the traditional identification standard of industrial injury, it is difficult to bring this new type of workers into the scope of industrial injury insurance. It is also difficult to provide occupational injury protection, let alone to achieve the goal of harmonious labor relations. Therefore, through the discrimination of the examples of the identification of work-related injuries in home work, this paper expounds the problems existing in the identification of work-related injuries and analyzes the causes. Finally, it puts forward some suggestions on the“three work”standards and the“48 hours”clause in the industrial injury as well as the distribution system of the burden of proof, hoping to strengthen the legal norms of long-distance labor and realize the harmonious labor relations under the new employment form.

A STUDY ON UNDERSTANDING THE STATE AND DIRECTION OF HR AS AN OCCUPATION THROUGH INSTITUTIONAL THEORY – THE CASE OF JAPAN 1.

Using institutional theory as a lens, this study explores how the field of human resources (HR) has changed in Japan. An understanding of the influences influencing the HR profession can be gained through an examination of institutional theory, which studies how routines, conventions, and institutions come to be recognized as authoritative standards for social behavior. This study aims to identify the institutional elements driving HR in Japan by looking at historical data, contemporary practices, and developing trends. The sociocultural, economic, and legal contexts that influence HR practices are explored in depth in this study. It draws attention to the ways that globalization, technology improvements, and demographic changes are posing a threat to long-standing Japanese work norms, such as lifelong employment and promotions based on seniority. By employing a blend of qualitative and quantitative techniques, such as conducting interviews with HR specialists, administering surveys, and examining secondary data, the study pinpoints the principal patterns and influences propelling transformations in HR positions and duties. Keywords: Institutional theory, sociocultural, HR practices, demographic changes, Japanese work norms.

Therapeutic management in the low-wage workplace

Medicalization represents an increasingly significant form of social control. Emergent evidence suggests that workplace managers take up medicalized practices and discourses to produce a compliant labor force, but this phenomenon has received limited sociological attention. This paper extends prior theories of medicalization to investigate therapeutic management in the low-wage workplace. I draw upon eight months of ethnographic fieldwork in Disability Works, a nonprofit job training program for people with mental illnesses, and interviews with other providers and advocates within this field. Disability Works harnesses therapy, psychiatry, and “softer” therapeutic practices such as mindfulness meditation, sleep hygiene, and positive affirmations to produce its workforce. This paper identifies two dimensions of therapeutic management: (1) it aims to inculcate work norms at the level of client-workers’ embodied dispositions, and (2) it aims to transform structural problems into individual ones. Findings illuminate therapeutic management as an emergent workplace regime and may guide future research on its effects.

To the question of the constitutional and legal regulation of ensuring the right to education in the conditions of modern crisis situations

In the context of an increasing number of crisis events, such as natural disasters, epidemics, terrorist attacks, armed conflicts and states of war, ensuring access to quality education becomes extremely important for maintaining the stability of society and developing civil capacity. Within the scope of this scientific work, international and national legal norms that guarantee educational rights in crisis situations are analyzed, as well as practical aspects of their implementation are considered. Special attention is paid to measures aimed at ensuring access to education for all sections of society, including vulnerable population groups. Issues of managing the educational process in crisis conditions are also studied, including the impact of crisis situations on the organization of teaching methods and educational institutions in general. It was established that, in order to ensure proper access to education in Ukraine, we consider it expedient to implement and observe the following aspects: providing comprehensive access to education, which involves not only the creation of conditions for distance learning, but also the supply of high-quality Internet services, the necessary devices and infrastructure for the implementation of the educational process in conditions of war. For full-time education, the priority is the reconstruction of schools and the construction of shelters with the possibility of continuing the educational process in conflict conditions; provision of psychological and social support to children and adults who survived war or conflict, within the framework of educational programs; development and implementation of innovations in the field of education, in particular, the introduction of cloud-based learning environments, electronic journals, as well as an emphasis on the development of skills in the field of digital technologies for preparation for future professional activities; ensuring cyber security of data to protect personal information and prevent unauthorized access; involvement of parents and relatives of children in a certain part of pedagogical duties; development of special educational programs for Ukrainian children abroad; cooperation with international organizations and partners to ensure the necessary resources and financing of educational projects; improvement of pedagogical approaches aimed at raising a tolerant and peaceful society. the implementation of «peace education», which involves the inclusion of the study of the history of conflicts and wars in the curricula, the development of conflict resolution skills and cooperation between countries and cultures, as well as the involvement of students in discussions and projects aimed at supporting peace.

Remote Working: Examining Benefits, Challenges and Organizational Practices

In 2020, during COVID-19 pandemic, to maintain the smooth flow of work and reduce the chance of getting infected and transmitting the virus, businesses had no choice but to shut down the offices and adapt remote working. The development of information and communication technologies has made it possible for workers to work remotely without much difficulty. Like everything, working from home has upsides and downsides of its own. Thus, the objective of this study was to describe the benefits of remote working along with the challenges that comes with it. With the help of existing literature, the study also identified organizational practices that will improve the experience of remote working for employees. The research finds that setting clear goals, use of appropriate communication tools, establish clear remote work policies and norms, flexibility, timely performance assessment and feedback, and mental health assistance enhances the successful implementation and employee’s experience in remote working.

Labor Inspection Mechanism for the Implementation of Labor Norms in the Workplace

Workers and employers in carrying out employment relations must comply with labor norms which consist of work norms and occupational safety and health norms. Implementation of labor norms in the workplace requires the role of labor inspectors in carrying out supervision. The formulation of the problem in this research is what is the Labor Inspection mechanism for the Implementation of Labor Norms in the Workplace? This research is a type of normative legal research with a statutory approach, data collection through library research, and data analysis carried out descriptively. Labor inspections regarding the implementation of Labor Norms in the workplace are carried out by labor inspectors under the authority granted by Article 176 of Law Number 13 of 2003 concerning Employment. Labor inspectors carry out labor inspection mechanisms for the implementation of Labor Norms under the provisions of Article 4 to Article 51 of the Regulation of the Minister of Manpower of the Republic of Indonesia Number 33 of 2016 which consists of the planning stage, implementation stage and reporting stage.

The flexibility paradox and spatial‐temporal dimensions of COVID‐19 remote work adaptation among dual‐earner mothers and fathers

AbstractThere is an increased blurring of work and home life in contemporary society due to access to technology and the mass expansion of remote work during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Flexible working arrangements like remote work can lead to men self‐exploiting themselves in the workplace and women self‐exploiting themselves in the domestic sphere in the context of a work‐centric society that is reliant upon passion at work and traditional gender norms. This study extends Chung's ideas on gendered patterns in the flexibility paradox by examining spatial‐temporal dimensions of COVID‐19 remote work adaptation among an extreme sample: dual‐earner parents with young children. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted on Zoom with 20 mothers and 17 fathers working from home in the U.S. with children ages 5 and under between the summer of 2020 and the spring of 2021. Findings indicate that fathers' work is prioritized in spatio‐temporal terms whereas mothers' work is fragmented and dispersed. Gendered patterns in the flexibility paradox and labor shouldered by mothers as primary caregivers are considered as potential theoretical explanations for the privileging of fathers' workspace and work time.

Quality Journalism in Social Media – What We Know and Where We Need to Dig Deeper

ABSTRACT While research on journalism in social media is extensive and approaches the topic from different perspectives, the consideration of what contributes to quality journalism in social media is underdeveloped. Our paper addresses this by providing a comprehensive literature review of journalism research relating to aspects of quality in social media. Based on a systematic Scopus search, 54 peer-reviewed, English-language papers published between 2015 and 2022 were selected for in-depth textual analysis using MAXQDA. Two important takeaways emerge from the analysis. First, the literature suggests that journalists and media organizations adapt work routines, norms, and values in a context-sensitive manner when producing content for social media. By enabling many-to-many communication, social media platforms force journalists and media outlets to reflect on audience demands and to develop audience engagement strategies. Second, the findings underscore that journalistic social media activities diverge depending on how individual journalists and organizations approach journalistic quality in social media. As these findings are only pieces to the puzzle of what quality journalism in social media entails, we hope to encourage further research in this area.

Application of Ergonomics in the Field of Waste Management (Case Study : Waste4Change)

One of the serious environmental problems the Indonesian people face today is the waste problem. Waste separation is still an effective solution to facilitate the next waste-handling process. In Indonesia, most of the work of waste sorting is done manually, causing work risks, one of which is related to ergonomics at work. Ergonomics is a work rule or norm that can bring comfort and productivity to work. Waste4Change is a social entrepreneurship that provides responsible waste management services. This research aims to improve ergonomics and working methods in waste separation at Waste4Change. A combination of literature review and field studies is used as the research method. The results showed that waste separation by sitting for too long causes pain in the waist and back of workers. Additionally, the repetitive combination of sitting and standing movements when collecting waste for further separation is felt to be slow and inefficient. The solution to this problem is providing a sorting table made of stainless steel with a height of 100 cm, which is adjusted to the average height of waste sorting workers at Waste4Change. By using the sorting table method, the work of sorting waste is more effective and healthier for the bodies of the waste sorters

“Am I supposed to call them?” Relearning interactions in the digital workplace

PurposeThis study aims to develop the understanding of learning processes related to the new ways of interacting in the enforced digital workplace over time.Design/methodology/approachA multiple, longitudinal case study of knowledge-based workers in three firms located in Sweden has been conducted from March 2020 to March 2023. In total, 89 interviews with 32 employees in three knowledge-based firms have been collected.FindingsThe study shows how the intricate interaction between rules and norms for interaction and work must be renegotiated as well as un- and relearned when the physical work environment no longer frames the work context. Furthermore, technology can be viewed as both an enable and a barrier, that is, technology has enhanced collaboration between organizational members yet also created social difficulties, for example, related to communication and interaction. The study emphasizes that individuals learned through trial and error. That is, they tried behaviors such as translating social interactions" to a digital arena, appraised the outcomes and modified the practices if the outcomes were poor.Research limitations/implicationsThe present study does have several limitations. First, it is based on interviews with respondents within three organizations in Sweden. To broaden and deepen the understanding of both organizational and learning, future studies can contribute by studying other contexts as well as using a mixed method approach in other countries.Practical implicationsResults from the study can provide a practical understanding of how the rapid change from working at the office to working from home using digital technologies can be understood and managed.Originality/valueContributions include combining interaction order and un- and relearning among organizational employees. This insight is important given that the rapid digital transformation of our society has changed how work is performed and how the future workplace will be both structured and organized.

Вмешательство полиции в дела о домашнем насилии: посредническая деятельность, предупреждение или административное наказание?

China’s first law on domestic violence (DV) was passed in 2015 and implemented in 2016, which creatively established the DV warning system. It provides a way for police stations to intervene in DV and ensures family harmony and stability to some extent. However, there are regional and individual differences in implementation. In this study, information was collected during personal interviews with 12 police officers from three police stations in the same city in China. Through the discussion of police intervention in DV, we found that mediation was still the main way to settle a DV case due to the traditional concepts, ambiguity of related terms, weak deterrent of a warning paper, and inadequate understanding of related guide. Also, the support and cooperation mechanism to intervene in DV has not been established. Based on our findings, we will put forward suggestions on improving work norms and procedures, strengthening training and guidance, and establishing multi-party cooperation mechanisms.

Day care availability and awareness of gendered economic risks: How they shape work and care norms

Family policies not only provide money, time and infrastructure to families, but also convey normative assumptions about what is considered desirable or acceptable in paid work and family care. This study conceptualises and empirically investigates how priming respondents with brief media report-like information on existing day care policy entitlements and economic consequences of maternal employment interruptions may change personal normative judgements about parental work–care arrangements. Furthermore, we analyse whether these effects differ between groups of respondents assumed to vary in their degree of affectedness by the information as well as previous knowledge. The theoretical framework builds on the concept of normative policy feedback effects combined with social norm theory and human cognition theories. The study is based on a fully randomized survey experiment combined with a vignette experiment in Wave 12 of the German Family Panel (pairfam). It applies linear and ordinal logistic regressions with cluster-robust standard errors to a sample of 5,783 respondents. Our results suggest that priming respondents with information on day care policy and long-term economic risks of maternal employment interruptions increases acceptance of intensive day care use across the full sample and especially for mothers with children below school entry age. It further increases support for longer maternal hours spent in paid work among childless women and mothers with school-aged children. Norms regarding paternal working hours are largely unaffected by the information given in this survey experiment.

Change in women's work burden and gender norms of unpaid care work after the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in India.

The COVID-19 pandemic and resultant lockdown has increased the burden of unpaid care work. Hence it is essential to evaluate the crisis response in change of women's work burden and gender norms of their unpaid care work and social status. To investigate change in women's job roles after second the wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on physical and psychological burden of work along with identification of common contributors of gendering of care work. Using a structured questionnaire and simple random sampling technique, the study was conducted on married women (n = 691) in West Bengal, India after the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Significant job loss (p = 0.014) occurred during COVID-19. Unpaid care work increased (p = 0.04) with reduction in rest hours (p = 0.002). 62.3% women felt increased burden of work. Work burden score increased with age (p = 0.003), reduction of rest (p < 0.001) and increased care work (p = 0.022). Gendering occurred due to male partner's less contribution to care work and respondents' cognitive agreement with expected gender role. Gendering of work is less in urban areas (OR = 0.379, p = 0.008) and higher income group (OR = 5.37, p = 0.026). Women faced more gendering in case of job loss (OR = 9.27, p = 0.001) or if burdened with work (OR = 3.92, P < 0.001). The impact of employability of women on their work role during the COVID-19 outbreak has highlighted both theoretical and practical significance that opens up the scope of further studies at national and larger ethno-geographic levels.

Legal Protection for Medical Volunteers in the Implementation of Emergency Medical Measures

The presence of medical volunteers during a medical emergency is very much needed and expected. Their presence is temporary according to the duration of the crisis. However, the current regulations do not explicitly discuss legal protection for medical volunteers during a health emergency. This type of research is normative juridical research that focuses on examining the application of rules or norms in positive law, especially concerning legal synchronization. Due to the type of normative juridical research, the approach used is the statute approach, which is taken by examining various laws that have to do with the legal issues being handled. The results of the study explain that the form of legal protection for medical volunteers in an emergency period can be understood and developed in the context of health, disaster, and employment regulations, namely Law Number 36 the Year 2009 concerning Health, Law Number 29 the Year 2004 concerning Medical Practice, Law No. 36 of 2014 concerning Health Workers and Law Number 38 of 2014 concerning Nursing, Regulation of the Minister of Health of the Republic of Indonesia Number 75 of 2019 concerning Health Crisis Management, Law Number 11 of 2020 concerning Job Creation. For its implementation, several Decrees of the Minister of Health and Circular Letters of the Ministry of Manpower were issued which regulate and guarantee legal protection for health workers, including medical volunteers, during a health emergency which includes protection of work norms, protection of Occupational Health and Safety norms and protection labor social security norms.