Enterprise restructuring and the health of employees: a cohort study

Disparities in the impact of economic well-being on self-esteem in adulthood: Race and ethnicity

BACKGROUND

Most studies have defined economic well-being as socioeconomic status, with little attention given to whether other indicators influence self-esteem. Little is known about racial/ethnic disparities in the relationship between economic well-being and self-esteem during adulthood.

AIM

To explore the impact of economic well-being on self-esteem in adulthood and differences in the association across race/ethnicity.

METHODS

The current study used data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979. The final sample consisted of 2267 African Americans, 1425 Hispanics, and 3678 non-Hispanic Whites. Ordinary linear regression analyses and logistic regression analyses were conducted.

RESULTS

African Americans and Hispanics were more likely to be in poverty in comparison with non-Hispanic Whites. More African Americans were unemployed than Whites. Those who received fringe benefits, were more satisfied with jobs, and were employed were more likely to have higher levels of self-esteem. Poverty was negatively associated with self-esteem. Interaction effects were found between African Americans and job satisfaction predicting self-esteem.

CONCLUSION

The role of employers is important in cultivating employees' self-esteem. Satisfactory outcomes or feelings of happiness from the workplace may be more important to non-Hispanic Whites compared to African Americans and Hispanics.

Job Satisfaction Among Pain Medicine Physicians in the US

Purpose

Data are lacking on the factors that contribute to job satisfaction among pain medicine physicians. We sought to determine how sociodemographic and professional characteristics relate to job satisfaction among pain medicine physicians.

Methods

In this nationwide, multicenter, cross-sectional observational study, an electronic questionnaire related to job satisfaction was emailed in 2021 to pain medicine physicians who were members of the American Society of Anesthesiologists or the American Society of Pain and Neuroscience. The 28-item questionnaire asked physicians about sociodemographic and professional factors. Eight questions related to job satisfaction were based on a 10-point Likert scale, and 1 question was a binary (yes/no) variable. Differences in responses based on sociodemographic and professional factors were assessed with the Kruskal-Wallis rank sum test for Likert scale questions and with the Pearson χ² test for yes/no questions.

Results

We determined that several variables, including gender, parental status, geographic location, specialty, years of practice, and volume of patients, are associated with pain medicine physicians' outlook on job satisfaction. Overall, 74.9% of respondents surveyed would choose pain medicine as a specialty again.

Conclusion

High rates of poor job satisfaction persist among pain medicine physicians. This survey study identified several sociodemographic and professional factors that are associated with job satisfaction among pain medicine physicians. By identifying physicians at high risk for poor job satisfaction, healthcare leadership and occupational health agencies can aim to protect physicians' well-being, enhance working conditions, and raise awareness about burnout.

Can a workplace leadership intervention reduce job insecurity and improve health? Results from a field study

PURPOSE

To examine the effectiveness of an intervention in the workplace designed to reduce job insecurity among employees affected by organizational change.

METHODS

Supervisors were randomly allocated to an intervention (IG) or waiting-list-control group (CG) and the intervention was administered over a period of 3 months, comprising six group sessions. N = 103 supervisors and their team members (mean age 41.80 ± 9.60 years, 60.19% male) provided data prior to (t0) and 3 months post-intervention (t1) by means of questionnaires and hair samples. Job insecurity (COPSOQ), mental health (HADS) and somatic health (GBB, hair cortisol concentration) were measured.

RESULTS

Job insecurity was reduced to a marginally significant degree in the IG compared to the CG at t1 (B = - 5.78, p = .06, CI [- 11.73, 0.17]). Differential effects for supervisors and team members were not found. No effects on health could be observed overall in the IG, but supervisors in the IG reported a significant decrease in exhaustion tendency (B = - 0.92, p = 0.01, CI [- 1.64, - 0.20]) and a non-significant trend towards higher levels of anxiety (B = 2.98, p = 0.10, CI [- 0.57, 6.54]) compared to team members.

CONCLUSIONS

This is the first study to provide some evidence for the effectiveness of an intervention that aimed at reducing job insecurity during organizational change. Health-related effects were observed in supervisors but not in team members. Further intervention studies are needed to add to the current knowledge base.

Restructuring of a Textile Manufacturing Company and Workers' Health

Organizational restructuring is associated with greater mortality and morbidity of the workers affected by it. We examined the quality of workers' health at a textile manufacturing company after restructuring, comparing three groups of workers: workers who remained (survivors), workers who lost their jobs and later found new jobs (the reemployed), and unemployed workers. A total of 1046 workers participated in a telephonic survey. The data were processed using SPSS and the R package version 1.2 of prLogistic. The differences between groups were calculated using the chi-square test and adjusted prevalence ratios. The comparison between the three groups shows significantly poorer mental health of the unemployed, who more often than survivors and the reemployed reported depression, as well as significant differences in elevated blood pressure, cholesterol level, and cardiac disorders. The reemployed, who were nonetheless in better health compared to the unemployed, reported poor mental health or depression more often in comparison to survivors. Higher morbidity of the unemployed and reemployed could be influenced by numerous factors associated with restructuring.

The Relocation of a Health Care Department's Impact on Staff: A Cross-Sectional Survey

OBJECTIVE

This survey compares certain quality of work-life factors between a relocated work group and a control group.

METHODS

A self-administered, cross-sectional survey was conducted 12 months after five departments (304 workers) had been relocated between two public health sites. The survey explored the workers' psychosocial job characteristics, their perceived health, and psycho-organizational constraints. The results compared both the relocated and control groups by using univariate and then multivariate statistical analyzes.

RESULTS

When compared with the control group (n = 272), the relocated group (n = 180) showed a higher prevalence of psychosocial job characteristic "isostrain." The relocated group showed greater psycho-organizational constraints regarding the organizations favoring communication and team relationships.

CONCLUSIONS

It seems that staff relocation can provoke a sense of uncertainty and isolation. Perhaps better communication might have reduced this and deter possible negative health outcomes.

Dimensional comparability of psychosocial working conditions as covered in European monitoring questionnaires

BACKGROUND

In most countries in the EU, national surveys are used to monitor working conditions and health. Since the development processes behind the various surveys are not necessarily theoretical, but certainly practical and political, the extent of similarity among the dimensions covered in these surveys has been unclear. Another interesting question is whether prominent models from scientific research on work and health are present in the surveys--bearing in mind that the primary focus of these surveys is on monitoring status and trends, not on mapping scientific models. Moreover, it is relevant to know which other scales and concepts not stemming from these models have been included in the surveys. The purpose of this paper is to determine (1) the similarity of dimensions covered in the surveys included and (2) the congruence of dimensions of scientific research and of dimensions present in the monitoring systems.

METHOD

Items from surveys representing six European countries and one European wide survey were classified into the dimensions they cover, using a taxonomy agreed upon among all involved partners from the six countries.

RESULTS

The classification reveals that there is a large overlap of dimensions, albeit not in the formulation of items, covered in the seven surveys. Among the available items, the two prominent work-stress-models--job-demand-control-support-model (DCS) and effort-reward-imbalance-model (ERI)--are covered in most surveys even though this has not been the primary aim in the compilation of these surveys. In addition, a large variety of items included in the surveillance systems are not part of these models and are--at least partly--used in nearly all surveys. These additional items reflect concepts such as "restructuring", "meaning of work", "emotional demands" and "offensive behaviour/violence & harassment".

CONCLUSIONS

The overlap of the dimensions being covered in the various questionnaires indicates that the interests of the parties deciding on the questionnaires in the different countries overlap. The large number of dimensions measured in the questionnaires and not being part of the DCS and ERI models is striking. These "new" dimensions could inspire the research community to further investigate their possible health and labour market effects.

Burnout in Veterans Health Administration mental health providers in posttraumatic stress clinics

The purpose of this study was to conduct the first assessment of burnout among Veterans Health Administration (VHA) mental health clinicians providing evidence-based posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) care. This study consisted of 138 participants and the sample was mostly female (67%), Caucasian (non-Hispanic; 81%), and married (70%) with a mean age of 44.3 years (SD = 11.2). Recruitment was directed through VHA PTSD Clinical Teams (PCT) throughout the United States based on a nationwide mailing list of PCT Clinic Directors. Participants completed an electronic survey that assessed demographics, organizational work factors, absenteeism, and burnout (assessed through the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey, MBI-GS). Twelve percent of the sample reported low Professional Efficacy, 50% reported high levels of Exhaustion, and 47% reported high levels of Cynicism as determined by the MBI-GS cut-off scores. Only workplace characteristics were significantly associated with provider scores on all 3 scales. Exhaustion and Cynicism were most impacted by perceptions of organizational politics/bureaucracy, increased clinical workload, and control over how work is done. Organizational factors were also significantly associated with provider absenteeism and intent to leave his or her job. Findings suggest that providers in VHA specialty PTSD-care settings may benefit from programs or supports aimed at preventing and/or ameliorating burnout.

Importance of change appraisal for employee well-being during organizational restructuring: findings from the Finnish paper industry's extensive transition

The global recession has forced the Finnish forest industry to carry out major restructuring activities. Employees have faced different kinds of restructuring, mainly aimed at reducing staff and production. Many studies have shown the negative consequences of restructuring on employee well-being by using negative, ill-health indicators. Our aim is to examine the extent to which change appraisal influences both the negative and positive aspects of work-related well-being among employees who continue working in the organization after the restructuring process. We also examine the role of different actors (top management, immediate supervisor, employees themselves) in how the change is appraised. The study investigated blue-collar employees working in the Finnish forest industry during a period of extensive transition (2008-2009). All six participating factories underwent restructuring between baseline and the follow-up survey (n=369). After adjustment for gender, age and baseline well-being, negative change appraisal increased the risk of experiencing more stress and less work enjoyment. Negative change appraisals thus also damaged the positive, motivational aspects of employee well-being. The results showed the importance of offering employees the opportunity to participate in the planning of changes related to their work as regards positive change appraisal.

Bad Jobs, Bad Health? How Work and Working Conditions Contribute to Health Disparities

In this review, we touch on a broad array of ways that work is linked to health and health disparities for individuals and societies. First focusing on the health of individuals, we discuss the health differences between those who do and do not work for pay, and review key positive and negative exposures that can generate health disparities among the employed. These include both psychosocial factors like the benefits of a high status job or the burden of perceived job insecurity, as well as physical exposures to dangerous working conditions like asbestos or rotating shift work. We also provide a discussion of the ways differential exposure to these aspects of work contributes to social disparities in health within and across generations. Analytic complexities in assessing the link between work and health for individuals, such as health selection, are also discussed. We then touch on several contextual level associations between work and the health of populations, discussing the importance of the occupational structure in a given society, the policy environment that prevails there, and the oscillations of the macroeconomy for generating societal disparities in health. We close with a discussion of four areas and associated recommendations that draw on this corpus of knowledge but would push the research on work, health and inequality toward even greater scholarly and policy relevance.