|
International Journal of Workplace Health Management
Journal Prestige (SJR): 0.303  Citation Impact (citeScore): 1 Number of Followers: 7  Hybrid journal * Containing 1  Open Access article(s) in this issue *ISSN (Print) 1753-8351 - ISSN (Online) 1753-836X Published by Emerald  [362 journals]
|
- Protecting workers' well-being in times of crisis: the first wave
of COVID-19 in an Australian healthcare setting in 2020-
Free pre-print version: Loading...
Authors: Helen M. Achat, Joanne M. Stubbs, Rakhi Mittal, Suzanne Schindeler, Nicole Gilroy
Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic continues to challenge healthcare systems worldwide. The authors examined the lived experiences and perceptions of healthcare workers (HCWs) in managerial and senior positions to explore the pandemic's effects on well-being and valued organisational responses. Using purposive sampling, the authors conducted 39 semi-structured interviews with senior staff including health service administrators, heads of department and senior clinicians at a designated COVID-19 facility in New South Wales, Australia. Interviews were conducted from November 2020 to February 2021 to reflect on experiences during the height of the pandemic in 2020 (mid-March to the end of May 2020). Workplace experiences affecting HCWs' well-being included being shunned by others, fear of infecting family, fear of the unknown, concerns about personal protective equipment, lack of direction from above and increased workload. Organisational interventions to protect the health and safety of HCWs and their patients included redeployment, improved communication, effective management committees, education and mental health supports. Organisations can minimise worker-identified factors threatening their well-being during a health crisis by applying broad-ranging initiatives including inclusive and open communication, promoting flexible work practices, providing up-to-date guidelines and policies and fostering camaraderie between workers. The voices of senior clinical and managerial staff have been largely unheard during the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors addressed this deficit by describing their experiences and insights regarding the pandemic's impact on well-being and the organisation's responses to simultaneously safeguarding its staff and providing quality patient care.
Citation: International Journal of Workplace Health Management
PubDate: 2023-01-31
DOI: 10.1108/IJWHM-04-2022-0071
Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2023)
-
- Changes in sick leave utilization at an academic medical center during the
COVID-19 pandemic-
Free pre-print version: Loading...
Authors: Kelly Lancaster, Dmitry Tumin, Kendall M. Campbell
Abstract: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic drastically changed work arrangements, but COVID-19's impact on employee leave utilization is unclear. The authors sought to understand how sick leave and vacation leave utilization changed during the pandemic among clinical and non-clinical departments at an academic medical center (AMC). Clinical departments were defined as work units with a primary mission of providing direct patient care. Per-person, per-month leave utilization data were obtained from the AMC's time-keeping system for 3 clinical departments and 4 non-clinical departments in the first 12 months of the pandemic and the preceding 12 months. Monthly data for each department were analyzed with mixed-effects regression. Available data represented 402 employees from 3 clinical departments and 73 employees from 4 non-clinical departments. The authors found no statistically significant change in sick leave utilization among either clinical or non-clinical departments. Vacation leave utilization decreased during the pandemic by 5.9 h per person per month in non-clinical departments (95% confidence interval [CI]: −8.1, −3.8; p
Citation: International Journal of Workplace Health Management
PubDate: 2023-01-17
DOI: 10.1108/IJWHM-02-2022-0025
Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2023)
-
- Physical activity in the workplace: a cost or a benefit for
organizations' A systematic review-
Free pre-print version: Loading...
Authors: Inês Lopes Santos, Dina Miragaia
Abstract: Most adults do not follow the minimum requirements for physical activity despite the benefits such activity can provide toward improving quality of life. On average, an adult spends 60% of daily hours in the workplace, making it essential to create working environments that are favorable to avoiding harmful effects on the health of workers. Toward this end, the application of physical activity programs in a work context is one of the possible interventions. This study aims to carry out a systematic review of the literature to identify the impact of physical activity programs applied in the workplace, on employee wellness and organizational productivity. The search for reports was carried out in two databases, namely, Thomson Reuters Web of Science and Scopus, according to several inclusion and exclusion criteria. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) was applied to ensure the quality of the study. Microsoft Excel 2016 was used to organize the database to support the data analysis. The sample comprised 64 reports published in international journals between 1986 and 2019. From these studies, six thematic clusters were formed: Workplace Physical Activity Interventions, Workplace Wellness, Physical Activity and Organizational Performance, Barriers to Developing Physical Activity Programs in the Workplace, Physical Activity and Sedentary Occupations and Workplace Physical Activity Incentives. The analysis of these clusters confirmed that the implementation of physical activity programs in this context could represent beneficial effects for workers and the organizational system by contributing to a reduction in the rates of absenteeism and presenteeism. However, there are still many organizations that do not implement such programs. The results of this study are essential for managers of organizations to be able to implement physical activity programs in a work context, similarly to the application of a strategy of corporate social responsibility in an intra-organizational environment. This research may also be useful for professionals in the areas of sports and physical exercise, who want to build their business around physical exercise programs applied to a work context.
Citation: International Journal of Workplace Health Management
PubDate: 2023-01-06
DOI: 10.1108/IJWHM-04-2021-0076
Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2023)
-
- Editorial: Fusing management and workplace health: a research agenda on
digitalization-
Free pre-print version: Loading...
Authors: Kathrin Kirchner, Christine Ipsen
Abstract: Editorial: Fusing management and workplace health: a research agenda on digitalization
Citation: International Journal of Workplace Health Management
PubDate: 2023-01-24
DOI: 10.1108/IJWHM-02-2023-231
Issue No: Vol. 16, No. 1 (2023)
-
- Art-of-living at work: interventions to reduce stress
and increase well-being-
Free pre-print version: Loading...
Authors: Mira Schwarz, Franziska Feldmann, Bernhard Schmitz
Abstract: Due to the increasing burden of stress in the workplace, it is necessary to develop interventions to prevent long-term overload. The present study is based on the concept of art-of-living, which promotes a more reflective and conscious approach to life. In study 1, an online training designed to increase well-being was administered. Study 2 investigated the impact of an art-of-living training in a workplace environment. Study 1 employed a two-factorial design, crossing time of testing (pre-test, post-test and follow-up-test) with group (three experimental groups; one control group); 67 participants received art-of-living training on their individual weaknesses and/or strengths or alternative control training. Study 2 used repeated measures and a waiting-list control group; 20 employees of a pharmaceutical company took part in the two-day intervention with a two-week learning phase in between. The results of Study 1 indicated that even brief online art-of-living interventions can be effective. Significant differences between pre-, post- and follow-up-tests were observed in art-of-living and well-being scores among participants who had undergone training in art-of-living components identified as representing their strengths or a combination of their strengths and their weaknesses. The results of Study 2 also indicated positive outcomes in the experimental group, with significant increases between pre- and post-test in art-of-living, flourishing, positive affect and occupational self-efficacy, and significant decreases in negative affect. The results demonstrate that art-of-living training can be used to increase art-of-living, well-being and occupational self-efficacy. Therefore, this type of intervention should attract further attention in future studies especially in the context of the workplace.
Citation: International Journal of Workplace Health Management
PubDate: 2022-12-23
DOI: 10.1108/IJWHM-05-2021-0121
Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2022)
-
- Managers' experiences of promoting employees' health and work environment
from a salutogenic perspective during organizational change-
Free pre-print version: Loading...
Authors: Louise Fransson, Marie Lydell
Abstract: This study aims to describe the managers' experiences of promoting employees' health and work environment from a salutogenic perspective during an organizational change. Ten managers going through an organizational change, including three men and seven women. The managers belonged to the same management team and was participating in discussions with researchers regarding organizational changes. The managers were between the age of 32 and 59 and had between one and 25 years of experience in a managerial position. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, and the analysis was performed using qualitative content analysis with an abductive approach. The experiences from the managers were described, and during the analysis, six categories emerged. The categories were about the salutogenic theory sense of coherence, and therefore, the categories were placed in the domains comprehensibility, manageability and meaningfulness. In the domain comprehensibility, two categories emerged in the analysis; transparent managers create an understandable change and continuous information contributes to comprehensibility. In the domain manageability, two categories emerged in the analysis; clear structure provides manageable change and balance between requirements and expectations provides manageable change. In the domain meaningfulness, two categories emerged in the analysis; an open conversational climate creates meaningful participation and common consensus contributes to meaningfulness in work. This study highlights what it is like to be a manager during an organizational change and describes how employees' health and work environment can be promoted. By being clear with information about the change and being transparent in what is happening, an opportunity is created to promote good health among employees during the change period.
Citation: International Journal of Workplace Health Management
PubDate: 2022-12-01
DOI: 10.1108/IJWHM-01-2021-0008
Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2022)
-
- The moderating role of time perspective profiles in the association of
workaholism, work engagement and perfectionism among Japanese employees-
Free pre-print version: Loading...
Authors: Armaghan Eslami, Atsuko Kanai, Miyuki Matsumoto
Abstract: First, this study aimed to investigate the association of time perspective (TP) profiles with work engagement and workaholism. Second, it tested TP profiles as the moderator of perfectionism with work engagement and workaholism relationship. The sample of this study comprised 148 Japanese employees, and snowball sampling was used for data collection. The authors found the TP profiles in the first step using cluster analysis with five TP dimensions. Next, the authors tested workaholism and work engagement in three clusters. The two dimensions of perfectionistic strivings and perfectionistic concerns were extracted through the exploratory factor analysis of Sakurai and Ohtani's (1997) perfectionism measure. Further, their relationship with workaholism and work engagement was tested in the TP profiles using multiple group analysis in structural equation modeling (SEM). Three TP profiles were found, which the authors named: Future (F), Hedonistic and Balanced. There was a significant difference between the three groups. Notably, working compulsively was significantly higher in the Future cluster in the three clusters. The moderator analysis results indicated that perfectionistic concerns positively affected workaholism in the Future cluster but not for the Balanced cluster. To the best of authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the relationship between perspective profiles, workaholism and work engagement. The relationship between these factors can be a stepping stone for further research.
Citation: International Journal of Workplace Health Management
PubDate: 2022-11-29
DOI: 10.1108/IJWHM-05-2022-0079
Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2022)
-
- Perceived workplace incivility and psychological well-being
in higher education teachers: a multigroup analysis-
Free pre-print version: Loading...
Authors: Sarita Sood, Dhanvir Kour
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of perceived workplace incivility (WPI) on psychological well-being (PWB) in teachers of higher education and to test for the moderating role of gender and organizational tenure on the relationship between perceived WPI and PWB. Data were collected from teachers (N = 341) employed in government and private colleges through convenience sampling. A structural equation modeling technique was used for model testing. Results showed a moderate level of perceived WPI by teachers from their colleagues or supervisors. Perceived WPI had a negative impact on PWB. Sixteen percent of the variance in PWB was explained by perceived WPI. Further, the multigroup analysis showed gender to moderate the relationship between perceived WPI and PWB, and this relationship was stronger for males than females. Organizational tenure was not a significant moderator. These findings expand the literature on perceived WPI and suggest that stringent policies are essential in academia to minimize the incidence of WPI. Additionally, interventions are to be introduced to mitigate the negative outcomes of WPI both at the individual and organizational levels. The study explores the role of demographic variables (gender and organizational tenure) in the relationship between perceived WPI and PWB in teachers. The empirical evidence suggests higher perceived WPI in male teachers leading to lower PWB. The organizational tenure of an employee shows no influence on the assessment of the stressor.
Citation: International Journal of Workplace Health Management
PubDate: 2022-09-27
DOI: 10.1108/IJWHM-03-2021-0048
Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2022)
-
- An assessment of tendencies toward teleworking using TAMs: lessons from
Covid-19 era for post-pandemic days-
Free pre-print version: Loading...
Authors: Hossein Nosratzadeh, Ali Edrisi
Abstract: During the Covid-19 period, when human beings are socially isolated, telework is a viable solution to safeguard employees' health. Because many employees have never experienced such a working system and organizations have not planned for it before the pandemic, imposing employees to telework has adversely affected their productivity and efficiency. This study aims to identify factors affecting individuals' tendency toward teleworking during the pandemic, which can lead to practical solutions for the post-pandemic era. Through the use of technology acceptance models, a conceptual model was designed. Data used to assess the model were cross-sectional and derived from 229 questionnaires filled out by employees in Tehran. The AMOS24 software processed the corresponding structural equation model. The results from the cross-sectional data indicated that attitude toward telework and perceived behavioral control over the system were significantly correlated directly with the intention to telework, while perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use of telework were correlated indirectly. Therefore, the integrated model predicts behavioral intentions better than single models performed separately. Psychological and mental health research describing adoption intentions of telework, particularly those focusing on employees, is still lacking. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study in this regard that has used a conceptual model derived from two technology acceptance models during the Covid-19 outbreak. An era in which the extent of the pandemic has forced employees to experience such working systems and thus the importance and practicality of teleworking have been more evident to nearly every individual.
Citation: International Journal of Workplace Health Management
PubDate: 2022-09-23
DOI: 10.1108/IJWHM-10-2021-0198
Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2022)
-
- Bringing risk back in: managers' prioritization of the work environment
during the pandemic
Open Access Article-
Free pre-print version: Loading...
Authors: Cathrine Reineholm, Christian Ståhl, Daniel Lundqvist
Abstract: The purpose of the paper is to investigate managers' experiences of managing work environment and risks during the Covid-19 pandemic and to explore how managers might use these experiences to develop future risk management. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 18 Swedish managers at different hierarchical levels working in 11 different organizations. A directed content analysis was carried out, informed by theory on risk management. The results point to the pandemic as a societal crisis which workplaces needed to manage through large means of improvisation. Regular work environment routines were put to the test, and several deficiencies in the work environment and risk management were identified. Organizations that handle occupational safety and risks on a daily basis through established routines were less affected and could easier adjust work environment and risk management, compared to organizations prioritizing the social and organizational work environment, which had to re-prioritize and start paying more attention to the physical work environment and to bring risk management into their daily routines. The study offers an account of how managers in different labor market sectors in Sweden have acted in the midst of the pandemic by handling real-time crises, how these experiences can be used for engaging in retrospective learning and how this may imply changes to their prospective risk management.
Citation: International Journal of Workplace Health Management
PubDate: 2022-07-15
DOI: 10.1108/IJWHM-03-2022-0041
Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2022)
-
