Practitioner report or field study – Work, Stress, and Health

Using workers’ compensation systems to improve workplace safety and health

November 13, 2021November 12, 2021

The mission of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Center for Workers’ Compensation Studies (CWCS) is to maximize the use of workers’ compensation (WC) claims data and systems to improve workplace safety and health through partnerships. This poster presentation will describe recent and ongoing CWCS surveillance and research studies to achieve several key goals (see https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/workercomp/cwcs/publications.html).

Continuous multimodal assessment of physiological stress responses among nurses in relation to incidents of workplace violence: A feasibility study guided by Total Worker Health principles

November 12, 2021November 12, 2021

A primary objective of the present study is to demonstrate the feasibility of a protocol for detailed and continuous assessment of physiological signals among nurses using a wearable physiological sensor system along with event-contingent experience sampling of critical incidents. Twelve registered nurses (N=12) in a university hospital emergency department wore noninvasive wearable sensors continuously for seven consecutive days and logged the occurrence of workplace violence incidents. The ability to objectively quantify stress responses over the course of the workday could serve as a valuable tool in planning Total Worker Health? interventions.

Healthy Workplace Design for Hybrid Work Arrangements

November 13, 2021November 12, 2021

COVID-19 has taught us a great deal about employees? basic needs and the importance of addressing these needs during and after COVID. A ?hybrid? work arrangement has emerged as the strategic choice for businesses to address employees? concerns about returning to the workplace and maintaining their autonomy regarding when and where they work. This study evaluates the degree to which workplace designs under a hybrid work arrangement promote employee health, well-being, and productivity, and offers recommendations for improvement.

Facilitators and Barriers of Sustainability of the Healthy Workplace Participatory Program – A Qualitative Assessment

November 13, 2021November 12, 2021

The purpose of this project was to evaluate the barriers and facilitators of long-term sustainability of a HWPP during a period of significant organizational transition. Analysis of interviews with individuals closely involved with the project were qualitatively analyzed using grounded theory methods and thematic analysis. Results from the interviews showed universal support for the continuation of the existing HWPP, but significant concerns over the sustainability of the project due to lack of formalized policy and organizational resources. Practical implications for current and future HWPP include formalizing policy across multiple sites, enhancing training and recognition for all stakeholders, and minimizing project turnover.

Impact of Surface Acting Emotional Labor on Depression in Healthcare Workers: The Role of Emotional Exhaustion as a Mediator

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 depression with preventable work environment factors using a novel mediation analysis approach. We found that emotional labor (SaEL), emotional exhaustion, job strain, and work family interference were positively associated with depression while perceived organizational support for safety and work role functioning were negatively associated. The association between emotional labor and depression was strongly mediated through emotional exhaustion. These findings suggest that interventions regarding SaEL are needed for HCWs in order to reduce emotional exhaustion and consequently decrease the risk of depression. Further longitudinal studies are needed to verify these associations.

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.

The comparison of psychological and physical well-being using interdisciplinary methods of assessment

November 13, 2021November 12, 2021

Two methods of assessing well-being were compared. Psychological well-being was appraised by standardised questionnaires and physical well-being was established by a MAS recording mobility, loads of joints during activity of machining and assembling workers. The analysis of raw data showed some difficulties in comparing it and the results were not fully convergent. In the presented study psychological well-being was on the average level while physical well-being was high. It makes the general well-being hard to establish. However practical implications from this study are comprehensive, and may be useful in many areas in the organisation including HR, H&S and ergonomics.

Understanding the importance of meaning and motivation in medicine: Preliminary findings from a mixed-method study of resilient healthcare workers

November 13, 2021November 12, 2021

In this presentation of baseline data from a longitudinal, mixed-method study of resilient healthcare workers, we provide an overview of the larger study, details about our targeted sample, and evidence that individual-level resilience should not be conceptualized or studied as a singular trait. We also demonstrate that different health-related outcomes are associated with different resilience-related individual characteristics. Further analyses of these data and the additional longitudinal and interview data we have also gathered will help us to understand factors that promote or impede resilience, including positive motivation and meaning experiences at and about work over time. Ultimately, we hope to use information from this study to develop pragmatic educational resources to help current and future HW better manage the challenging realities of their work.

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.