Work - Volume 34, issue 3

Authors: Vingård, Eva | Blomkvist, Vanja | Rosenblad, Andreas | Lindberg, Per | Voss, Margaretha | Alfredsson, Lars | Josephson, Malin

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: In order to study the influence of a physical fitness programme on work ability among women employed in the social sector an intervention was offered to 205 women working in the social care sector in a municipality in Sweden. The reference group comprised 165 women from the same sector working in another municipality. All participants were employed and answered questionnaires at baseline and after 36 months. For women younger than 45 years, work ability and general …health improved significantly while for women, 45 years or older, future work expectations improved. For women with less musculoskeletal pain, improvements were observed regarding future work expectations, as well as work ability and general health while for women with more musculoskeletal pain, improvements were observed for general health and future work expectations. Well-structured physical fitness programmes at the worksite can be useful in contributing to individual's experiences of improvements in their own capacity as well as increased health and wellbeing. Show more

Keywords: Self-rated health, physical fitness, training programme, follow up, musculoskeletal pain

DOI: 10.3233/WOR-2009-0932

Citation: Work, vol. 34, no. 3, pp. 339-344, 2009

Authors: Trudel, Louis | Vonarx, Nicholas | Simard, Claudine | Freeman, Andrew | Vézina, Michel | Brisson, Chantal | Vinet, Alain | Bourbonnais, Renée | Dugas, Ninon

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Studies conducted with the JDC (job demand-control) or ERI (effort-reward imbalance) models highlight the links between constraints in the psychosocial work environment and psychological distress. However, the underlying mechanisms are not very well understood. The present participatory qualitative study explored these mechanisms with a view to identifying both the processes at work in these relationships and some targets for problem prevention. This investigation was conducted with white-collar workers from a public service …organisation within one Canadian province (Quebec) who participated in six discussion groups during an intervention designed to reduce psychosocial environment constraints. The data gathered in these groups was subjected to content analysis through thematic categorization. The findings indicate that psychosocial constraints take root in situations that adversely affect subjective dimensions relating to personal and professional experience. An interpretive model is proposed on the basis of these findings, which helps to elucidate the dynamic relationships that exist among the various aspects of work experience that can lead to psychological distress. From this model, some targets for problem prevention have emerged. Show more

Keywords: Psychosocial risk factors, subjective work experience, psychological distress, work stress, mental health, intervention

DOI: 10.3233/WOR-2009-0933

Citation: Work, vol. 34, no. 3, pp. 345-357, 2009

Authors: Levine, James A. | Pavlidis, Ioannis T. | MacBride, Leslie | Zhu, Zhen | Tsiamyrtzis, Panagiotis

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Occupational stress is universally experienced and is emerging as a major risk factor for physical and mental illness and a key factor in poor work performance and low job satisfaction. However, the technology does not currently exist to unobtrusively measure occupational stress in real-time. Here, we describe the design and clinical validation of an automated high-definition thermal imaging system that can be used to quantify human stress, remotely and instantaneously. Healthy human subjects underwent a …computer-based version of the Stroop-color conflict test, which is a validated stress provocation test, in an experimental office facility. In separate experiments, the same subjects completed a mental arithmetic challenge. The thermal signal associated with stress provocation is near-instantaneous corrugator warming. The stress response was detected in all subjects for all stress-events compared to the respective baselines. Furthermore, there was remarkable inter-individual preservation of the corrugator signal with stress (R^{2}= 0.96, P< 0.001). High-definition thermal imaging can be used for real-time detection of stress provocation. This technology may prove to be of help in ameliorating office-place stress. Show more

DOI: 10.3233/WOR-2009-0934

Citation: Work, vol. 34, no. 3, pp. 359-364, 2009

Authors: Cougnard, Audrey | Goumilloux, Régis | Monello, Florence | Verdoux, Hélène

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: The aim was to explore the demographic and clinical characteristics influencing the duration of employment after onset of schizophrenia. Occupational history was assessed in persons with schizophrenia (n=102) requesting the status of disabled person for the first time. Multivariate analyses were used to explore the characteristics independently associated with duration of work after the first contact with psychiatric services. Duration of employment was categorized into "never worked", "worked less than half of the time", "worked half …of the time or more". More than half of patients never worked after the first contact with psychiatric services. Compared to them, persons who were employed half of the time or more were more likely to have a higher educational level and a long duration of employment before illness onset. Persons who were employed less than half of the time presented with clinical markers of poor prognosis, i.e. higher frequency of alcohol use disorder and higher number of hospitalisations. Persons unable to keep enduring employment after illness onset may have different needs regarding social and rehabilitation management compared to those able to maintain a working activity over a long period. Show more

Keywords: Schizophrenia, employment, duration, predictors

DOI: 10.3233/WOR-2009-0935

Citation: Work, vol. 34, no. 3, pp. 365-371, 2009

Authors: Sandmark, Hélène | Hägglund, Karin | Nilsson, Kerstin | Hertting, Anna

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Few studies to date have investigated retained work ability. The aim of this explorative study was to describe female assistant nurses' experiences of high work attendance over the years The setting is a municipality in mid-Sweden that employs 466 female assistant nurses permanently within municipal elderly care. A qualitative methodology was chosen and thematic, open-ended, interviews were carried out with 12 female assistant nurses. The interviewees were selected from the 117 women who had taken the …least amount of sick leave over the past five years, which meant no sick leave at all or no more than 5 days. The interviews were transcribed verbatim, and thereafter a content analysis was carried out. Three main themes connected with the aim of the study emerged from the interviews: "a desirable job, despite low status", "supportive social networks", and "coping ability". In order to strengthen work ability among female employees in elderly care, the findings indicate that it is crucial to support mobility in working life, and to promote social support and networks at the workplace and in private life, as well as a coping-oriented approach to health issues and social life. Show more

Keywords: Women and coping, competence, desirable work, public sector, strong work team, retained work ability

DOI: 10.3233/WOR-2009-0936

Citation: Work, vol. 34, no. 3, pp. 373-383, 2009