High Risk Jobs; Vulnerable/At-Risk Populations – Page 2

The price of pain: Pain as an explanatory mechanism for the relationship between physical job demands and intentions to turnover

November 13, 2021November 12, 2021

Our presentation conceptualizes pain as an explanatory mechanism for the relationship between physical job demands and intentions to turnover (ITO), using the fear-avoidance (FA) model as the theoretical framework. Data from a multi-wave study on work capacity and aging, which included 360 participants recruited from five manufacturing organizations in the northeastern U.S., were analyzed using the SPSS PROCESS macro (model 4) to estimate direct and indirect effects, while controlling for various covariates. Our results indicated that high physical job demands were significantly related to increased perceptions of pain; high perceptions of pain and high physical job demands were significantly related to higher ITO; and the relationship between physical job demands and ITO was partially mediated by perceptions of pain. Collectively, these results indicate that ITO is a potential outcome of physical job demands, and that pain may partially explain this relationship. As such, in order to reduce instances of ITO, research as well as organizations that require employees to engage in physically demanding work should focus on uncovering interventions that may reduce an employee?s associated experience of pain.

Emotional exhaustion in healthcare workers: The importance of organizational leadership and safety

November 13, 2021November 12, 2021

In this study conducted in a mixed population of non-clinical and clinical healthcare staff, we examined the association of emotional exhaustion-a dimension of burnout-with understudied work environment exposures including organizational-level policies and practices as well as job-level hazardous work conditions, using a novel mediation analysis approach proposed by Valerie and VanderWeele. We found that job safety, emotional labor, psychological demands, physical demands, job strain, assault and negative acts (bullying) were positively associated with emotional exhaustion while organizational support for safety was negatively associated. Job hazards served as both mediator and moderator in the association between organizational support for safety and emotional exhaustion. These findings suggest that policies for organizational commitment to employee safety should be efficiently applied to ensure reduction of job hazards in order to improve burnout. Future longitudinal studies are needed to further examine this association.

Occupational Health Impact of COVID-19 Response on Nurses’ Stress and Well-being in Hospital Setting

November 13, 2021November 12, 2021

This study examined COVID-19 and personal factors associated with the health and well-being of 314 US nurses in hospital setting, during a heightened wave of the pandemic. A significant percentage of nurses reported high level of stressors associated with COVID-19 experience at work and in their personal lives, significant COVID-19 related anxiety, depression, and high levels of burnout. Nurses with children at home, caring for COVID-19 patients, with higher workload and less seniority, reported worse mental health and well-being outcomes. The results indicate the need for interventions to support nurses during and post-pandemic.

Longitudinal Trends in Musculoskeletal Health, Chronic Pain, and Occupational Factors Among correctional Officers.

November 12, 2021November 12, 2021

This study investigates the trend of musculoskeletal health, chronic pain, violence/assault exposures, physical and psychosocial work factors, and individual health of Correctional Officers. A group of 120 correctional officers from two facilities were followed at two time points with self-reported survey and physical assessments. We will examine the changes in musculoskeletal health and physical and psychosocial work exposures overtime.

Loneliness at work. A systematic review.

November 12, 2021November 12, 2021

The objective of this study was to provide an integrative review analyzing the relation between loneliness and workplace. A systematic review was conducted using Web of Science and Semantic Scholar with ?loneliness?, ?perceived social isolation? and ?workplace? , ?work environment? as the main keywords in the field of psychology and neuroscience. Results suggest that loneliness at work decreases job performance, organizational commitment, trusting in leaders, and is the strongest predictor of mental health problems. Practical implications for designing loneliness-reduction based interventions in the work environment are further discussed.

A Spanish Translation of Zohar and Luria’s Safety Climate Scale and a Test of Measurement Equivalence

November 13, 2021November 12, 2021

The purpose of this study is to provide a Spanish-language version of Zohar and Luria?s (Zohar & Luria, 2005) commonly-used safety climate scale using a rigorous translation-back translation process. Given the widespread use of the Spanish language across the globe and that as of 2020, 17.6% percent of the United States working population is Hispanic (BLS, 2021), there is a need for valid safety climate scales written in Spanish. This study demonstrates that a test of measurement equivalency can provide confidence of the translation process from one language to another. There is significant evidence supporting the reliability and validity of this safety climate scale.

Worry about COVID-19 Vaccination and Mental Health

November 13, 2021November 12, 2021

The purpose of this research was to examine hospitality employees? worries about guest vaccination status, and its impact on mental health. Participants of a short survey included 219 laid-off or furloughed hospitality workers from Prolific.com. This study found that hospitality employees? worry about COVID-19 exposure partially mediated the relationship between worry about guest vaccination status and mental health. Employees who were more concerned about guest vaccination had worsened mental health, and some of this effect was explained by worry about COVID-19 exposure.

Developing and Validating a Respectful Workplace Climate Scale with Construction Workers as Exemplar: A Total Worker Health Approach (Phase I)

November 13, 2021November 12, 2021

Our project aims to develop and validate a Respectful Workplace Climate Scale to support the goal of fostering, promoting, and measuring a respectful workplace culture and climate in the workplace. In order to develop a reliable and valid respectful climate scale, we will utilize a mixed methods approach with both qualitative and quantitative methods. The current study represents Phase I of the project, providing insight on this topic based on the literature review and analysis of 10 SME?s responses. The long-term goal of this project is to help companies build a respectful workplace by developing a psychometrically sound Respectful Workplace Climate Scale that they can use to gauge the status of respect in their workplaces and the progress of interventions implemented.

A Mokken Scale Analysis of the Occupational Depression Inventory

November 13, 2021November 12, 2021

Using a sample of 3,454 education staff members, we subjected the Occupational Depression Inventory (ODI), a recently developed instrument designed to assess depressive symptoms that individuals specifically attribute to their job, to a Mokken scale analysis (MSA), a method anchored in nonparametric Item Response Theory. MSA revealed that the ODI?s scalability was strong, no monotonicity violations were detected, invariant item ordering was satisfactory, and total score reliability was excellent. The ODI?s suicidal ideation item acted as a sentinel item–its endorsement signaled that the endorser likely had a host of other symptoms. Our findings indicate that because ODI items order individuals, and individuals order ODI items, accurately, occupational health specialists can confidently employ the ODI to examine work-attributed depressive symptoms.

On the job during COVID-19: Exploring the effect of COVID-19 safety climate on employees’ fatigue, performance, and mental health

November 13, 2021November 12, 2021

This poster aimed to investigate the role of COVID-19 safety climate on employees’ fatigue, performance, and mental health. We found that enactment of COVID-19 preventative behaviors in the workplace predicted higher COVID-19 fatigue only at lower levels of safety climate. In turn, fatigue predicted lower performance, but not lower mental health.