Work - Volume 56, issue 3

Authors: Peterson, Debbie | Gordon, Sarah | Neale, Jenny

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Previous research has tended to focus on the barriers to employment for people with mental illness and the extra support they may need. This research contributes to the knowledge base pertaining to this population by looking at successful employment relationships in New Zealand. OBJECTIVE: To describe factors enabling and/or sustaining the open employment of people with experience of mental illness. METHOD: Fifteen pairs of employers and employees were interviewed individually but consecutively (using a semi-structured interview schedule) about their perceptions of the critical factors that enabled and sustained the employee’s employment. Employee participants were …recruited by advertisement, with employers approached through their employees. Transcripts were analysed using a thematic analysis. RESULTS: Themes raised in the interviews included the meaning of work, disclosure of mental illness, the benefits of working, special arrangements or accommodations, the work environment and key things employers and employees do to sustain successful employment. CONCLUSION: Four critical success factors were identified relating to disclosure, the employment relationship, freedom from discrimination and workplace flexibility. Show more

Keywords: Mental health, disclosure, psychiatric disability, positive stories

DOI: 10.3233/WOR-172510

Citation: Work, vol. 56, no. 3, pp. 443-454, 2017

Authors: Higgins, Nicholas A. | Talone, Andrew B. | Fraulini, Nicholas W. | Smither, Janan A.

Article Type: Case Report

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Research assessing work processes in food pantries has been limited to the client’s experience and aspects of food donations [3–5 ]. Research on food pantries has yet to focus on understanding and evaluating worker-environment interaction. OBJECTIVE: The present case study examined the interaction between workers and their work environment while performing common tasks in a food pantry. METHODS: Data were collected through naturalistic observations and structured interviews. A task analysis was performed on the data. RESULTS: Several potential issues in the pantry were identified including with the workspace layout, environmental conditions, and …signage. Human factors and ergonomics principles were then utilized to provide insights and recommendations (e.g., use of numbered rather than color-coded signage). CONCLUSIONS: Recommendations were provided to the case study food pantry for enhancing safety and productivity. Further research is needed to assess the generalizability of our findings to other food pantries. Show more

Keywords: Ethnography, task analysis, ergonomics, workspace design

DOI: 10.3233/WOR-172511

Citation: Work, vol. 56, no. 3, pp. 455-462, 2017

Authors: Omidvar, Mohsen | Mazloumi, Adel | Mohammad Fam, Iraj | Nirumand, Fereshteh

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Resilience engineering (RE) can be an alternative technique to the traditional risk assessment and management techniques, to predict and manage safety conditions of modern socio-technical organizations. While traditional risk management approaches are retrospective and highlight error calculation and computation of malfunction possibilities, resilience engineering seeks ways to improve capacity at all levels of organizations in order to build strong yet flexible processes. OBJECTIVES: Considering the resilience potential measurement as a concern in complex working systems, the aim of this study was to quantify the resilience by the help of fuzzy sets and Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) techniques. …In this paper, we adopted the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) method to measure resilience in a gas refinery plant. METHODS: A resilience assessment framework containing six indicators, each with its own sub-indicators, was constructed. Then, the fuzzy weights of the indicators and the sub-indicators were derived from pair-wise comparisons conducted by experts. The fuzzy evaluating vectors of the indicators and the sub-indicators computed according to the initial assessment data. Finally, the Comprehensive Resilience Index (CoRI), Resilience Grade (RG), and Resilience Early Warning Grade (REWG) were established. RESULTS: To demonstrate the applicability of the proposed method, an illustrative example in a gas refinery complex (an instance of socio-technical systems) was provided. CoRI of the refinery ranked as “III ”. In addition, for the six main indicators, RG and REWG ranked as “III ” and “NEWZ ”, respectively, except for C3, in which RG ranked as “II ”, and REWG ranked as “OEWZ ”. CONCLUSIONS: The results revealed the engineering practicability and usefulness of the proposed method in resilience evaluation of socio-technical systems. Show more

Keywords: Resilience engineering, safety, fuzzy, AHP, Resilience Grade, Resilience Early Warning Grade

DOI: 10.3233/WOR-172512

Citation: Work, vol. 56, no. 3, pp. 463-474, 2017

Authors: Frank, Hanna A. | Jacobs, Karen | McLoone, Hugh

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Increasingly, evidence shows that prolonged sedentary behavior factors into the health equation on its own, unrelated to weight and periods of intense exercise. In schools, students are required to sit for long periods of time. OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether reminders (via a wearable device) to change posture, can change students’ behavior and impact their subjective wellbeing. PARTICIPANTS: Ten students of ages 17 to 18 years at a public high school in Bellevue, Washington, USA. METHODS: To monitor students’ behaviors, specially designed wearable devices recorded periods of sitting, standing and moving of participants …throughout the school day for one week. During the second week of the study session, reminders were given via the devices providing vibration feedback after 20 minutes of uninterrupted sitting. Subjective wellbeing was evaluated through a daily questionnaire. RESULTS: The reminders given by the devices were effective in changing students’ behavior. Students took significantly more breaks from sitting during the week with reminders. However, changes in subjective well-being were inconclusive. CONCLUSION: The reminders were effective in changing students’ behavior, demonstrating that behavior can be changed through individual feedback. Further study is required to explore benefits of such breaks on students’ subjective wellbeing, but other studies suggest that such breaks improve their physical health. Show more

Keywords: Measuring posture, recording sitting time, individual feedback, reducing sedentary behavior

DOI: 10.3233/WOR-172513

Citation: Work, vol. 56, no. 3, pp. 475-482, 2017

Authors: Suleiman, Abdulqadir Mohamad

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) professionals are key players in workplace regulation compliance and promotion of health. OBJECTIVES: To assess OSH professionals’ perceptions of the concept of work ability in an attempt to explain the varied, and in some cases failure of, implementation of regulations and policies. METHOD: An electronic questionnaire sent to approved Occupational Health Services (OHS) in Norway asked several questions, including one on the concept of work ability. Responses from OSH professionals in the OHS serving cleaning companies were analysed for commonalities and dissimilarities, thereby establishing some perception patterns. RESULTS: …OSH professionals from 40 OHS included in the study responded with explanations characterized by variations. Some included elaborate aspects in the explanations, others ranged from simple to lacking aspects of explanation compared to an identified benchmark definition. CONCLUSION: There are significant comprehension disparities in the understanding of the concept of work ability. Correct understanding of the concepts and constructs in a given regulatory framework are tantamount to the proper implementation of the requirements of the regulation provisions. There is a need to streamline and improve the understanding of OSH professionals in order to ensure uniformity of purpose, and hence fulfilment of the vision of the regulation in focus. Show more

Keywords: OSH professionals, Occupational Health Services (OHS), understanding regulation, uniformity of purpose, cleaning companies

DOI: 10.3233/WOR-172514

Citation: Work, vol. 56, no. 3, pp. 483-490, 2017

Authors: Lee, DongGeon | Yu, SeoJeong | Song, SunHae | Lee, Se-Han | An, SeungHeon | Cho, Hwi-young | Cho, Ki-Hun | Lee, GyuChang

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Different postural positions can be characterized by the activation and relative contributions of different postural muscles, and may variously contribute to the recovery from or worsening of chronic lower back pain. OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to investigates trunk muscle activities in four types of seated postures: cross-legged, long, side, and W-shaped. METHODS: Eight healthy adults participated in the study. Trunk muscle activities of the external oblique (EO), rectus abdominis (RA), latissimus dorsi (LD), and erector spinae (ES) muscles in each of the sitting postures including cross-legged, long, side, and W-shaped were collected utilizing …surface electromyography (sEMG). The mean sEMG signals in each of the sitting postures were used for statistical comparisons. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in electromyographic muscle activity of EO, RA, LD, and ES in the four postures (p  > 0.05). However, in the W-shape sitting posture, the left LD showed the greatest electromyographic muscle activity, followed by the right LD and left EO, respectively. The right and left LD in the long sitting posture and left ES in the side sitting posture showed greater electromyographic muscle activity than that of other muscles. CONCLUSION: Based on the results, trunk muscle activity did not significantly differ between the four types of sitting postures. However, our study is limited by its experimental method and sample size. Thus, in the Future, further study will be needed. Show more

Keywords: Electromyographic activity, sitting posture, trunk muscle

DOI: 10.3233/WOR-172515

Citation: Work, vol. 56, no. 3, pp. 491-495, 2017