Work-Life Balance: Weighing the Importance of Work-Family and Work-Health Balance

Returning to work after maternity leave: a systematic literature review

PURPOSE

Working women often experience difficulties associated with balancing family and career, particularly if they choose to have children. This systematic literature review aimed at investigating women's experience in returning to work after maternity leave.

METHODS

The review was conducted using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. The literature search led to the identification of 52 articles, which underwent data extraction and qualitative analysis.

RESULTS

Results were organized in 5 categories: (1) Work-life balance; (2) Women's mental and physical health; (3) Job-related wellbeing and working experience; (4) Breastfeeding. Women's both mental and physical health seem connected to a longer maternity leave and a greater coworkers' and supervisors' support. Returning to work seems to constitute one of the most important barriers for exclusive breastfeeding or breastfeeding continuation. A shorter duration of maternity leave, a higher workload and the lack of occupational policies supporting breastfeeding seem to be hindering factors. Partner and family support, and the opportunity for fathers to work under a flextime system after childbirth seem to increase both breastfeeding initiation and duration. Women who continue breastfeeding after returning to work seem to experience more family-to-work conflict and overload.

CONCLUSIONS

This paper show that there are still many understudied aspects in exploring women's experience of returning to work after maternity leave. This represents an important gap in the literature, since returning to work represents a particularly critical time in women's personal and occupational life, in which challenges and barriers may arise, potentially affecting their experience in the immediate future and years to come.

Long-Haul Truck Drivers' Perceptions of Truck Stops and Rest Areas: Focusing on Health and Wellness

The work and life routine of long-haul truck drivers (LHTDs) involve the use of truck stops and rest areas to meet their basic human needs. These extensions of their workspaces on the road do not always offer adequate physical structures and services that drivers need for optimal health. This study aimed to evaluate long-haul truck drivers' perceptions of food services, safety, physical activity, rest, and personal hygiene offered at truck stops and rest areas, as well as the correlation between these perceptions and sociodemographic, health, and work conditions variables. A cross-sectional, quantitative, and descriptive study was conducted with long-haul truck drivers from the southern region of Brazil. For data collection, a sociodemographic questionnaire and a Likert scale on food, rest, personal hygiene, safety, and physical activity services offered at truck stops and rest areas along Brazilian roads from March to August 2023 were used. The data were analyzed with simple frequency descriptive statistics. The sample consisted of 175 long-haul truck drivers. Out of these, 70.29% declared that the services of the truck stops and rest areas were charged; more than half (53.59%) of the professionals evaluated the rest service as "good" or "excellent"; the food services were "good" or "excellent" for 42.24% of the drivers. The spaces for physical activities were the worst evaluated as "bad" or "terrible" by 41.61%, followed by bathroom services (28.42%) and safety (34.24%). Rest and feeding services had better evaluations, while the services of bathroom, safety, and physical activity presented worse evaluations. Variables such as nationality, weekly working days, and marital status presented positive significance and influenced drivers' perceptions of the services offered at truck stops and rest areas. Drivers who were Brazilian and worked more than five days a week negatively evaluated the services of rest (p = 0.018), safety [0.020], physical activity (0.003), and bathrooms (0.020). In addition, the physical activity services were better evaluated by single drivers than married drivers. These findings suggest that the work conditions and nationality may influence LHTDs' perceptions of services and structures of truck stops and rest areas. These findings may reflect a lack of investments and support efforts to improve basic services such as personal hygiene, a safe environment, and physical exercises, which are fundamental to the health of the workers and aimed at reducing vulnerability and a sedentary lifestyle and meeting the basic human needs of LHTDs.

Less smartphone and more physical activity for a better work satisfaction, motivation, work-life balance, and mental health: An experimental intervention study

Employees' work satisfaction and mental health are crucial for an organization's productivity. The current experimental study on employees (Ntotal = 278) from different professional sectors and workplaces in Germany investigated how to improve both by changes of daily non-work-related smartphone use time and physical activity time. For one week, the smartphone group (N = 73) reduced its daily smartphone use by one hour, the physical activity group (N = 69) increased its daily physical activity by 30 minutes, the combination group (N = 72) followed both interventions, the control group (N = 64) did not change its behavior. Online surveys assessed work-related and mental health-related variables at three measurement time points (baseline; post-intervention; two-week follow-up). The reduction of smartphone use time and the combination of both interventions increased work satisfaction, work motivation, work-life balance, and positive mental health significantly; experience of work overload and problematic smartphone use significantly decreased. All interventions decreased depressive symptoms and enhanced sense of control significantly. Following the present findings, a conscious and controlled reduction of non-work-related smartphone use time and its combination with more physical activity could improve employees' work satisfaction and mental health in the organizational context either as an addition to established training programs or as a separate time- and cost-efficient low threshold program.

The chain mediating role of family health and physical activity in the relationship between life satisfaction and health-promoting lifestyles among young adults in China

Background

Unhealthy lifestyles during adolescence are significant factors leading to chronic diseases in the future. Enhancing health-promoting lifestyles among young adults in China is crucial for preventing and reducing the risk factors of chronic diseases.

Objective

This study aims to explore the relationships between life satisfaction, family health, physical activity, and health-promoting lifestyles among young adults in China. It also seeks to confirm the chain mediation role of family health and physical activity in the influence of life satisfaction on health-promoting lifestyles in this population.

Methods

This study, conducted from August 2023 to November 2023, employed a random sampling method to recruit young adult participants aged 18-40 in the southwestern region of China. Variables were measured using the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), the Family Health Scale-Short Form (FHS-SF), the Physical Activity Rating Scale-3 (PARS-3), and the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II Revised (HPLP-IIR). Data analysis was performed using SPSS 27.0 and the PROCESS macro version 4.1.

Results

The results indicated that life satisfaction was positively correlated with family health (r = 0.225), physical activity (r = 0.245), and health-promoting lifestyles (r = 0.506). Family health was positively correlated with physical activity (r = 0.320) and health-promoting lifestyles (r = 0.312). Physical activity was positively correlated with health-promoting lifestyles (r = 0.429). Additionally, life satisfaction could influence health-promoting lifestyles directly (effect = 0.369) and through three mediation pathways: (a) family health (effect = 0.033); (b) physical activity (effect = 0.050); (c) family health and physical activity (effect = 0.020).

Conclusion

This study supports the mediating role of family health and physical activity in the influence of life satisfaction on health behaviors among young adults in China. Therefore, we recommend that future public health initiatives place greater emphasis on family health and create conditions that facilitate physical activity for this group. This could be an important direction for further enhancing health-promoting lifestyles among young adults in China.

Barriers to female leadership in intensive care medicine: insights from an ESICM NEXT & Diversity Monitoring Group Survey

BACKGROUND

The underrepresentation of women in leadership remains a pervasive issue, prompting a critical examination of support mechanisms within professional settings. Previous studies have identified challenges women face, ranging from limited visibility to barriers to career advancement. This survey aims to investigate perceptions regarding the effectiveness of women's leadership programs, mentoring initiatives, and a specialized communication course. Particularly it specifically targets addressing the challenges encountered by professional women.

METHODS

This multi-center, observational, international online survey was developed in partnership between ESICM NEXT and the ESICM Diversity and Inclusiveness Monitoring Group for Healthcare. Invitations to participate were distributed to both females and men through emails and social networks. Data were collected from April 1, 2023, through October 1, 2023.

RESULTS

Out of 354 respondents, 90 were men (25.42%) and 264 were women (74.58%). Among them, 251 completed the survey, shedding light on the persistent challenges faced by women in leadership roles, with 10%-50% of respondents holding such positions. Women's assertiveness is viewed differently, with 65% recognizing barriers such as harassment. Nearly half of the respondent's experience interruptions in meetings. Only 47.4% receiving conference invitations, with just over half accepting them. A mere 12% spoke at ESICM conferences in the last three years, receiving limited support from directors and colleagues, indicating varied obstacles for female professionals. Encouraging family participation, reducing fees, providing childcare, and offering economic support can enhance conference involvement. Despite 55% applying for ESICM positions, barriers like mobbing, harassment, lack of financial support, childcare, and language barriers were reported. Only 14% had access to paid family leave, while 32% benefited from subsidized childcare. Participation in the Effective Communication Course on Career Advancement Goals and engagement in women's leadership and mentoring programs could offer valuable insights and growth opportunities. Collaborating with Human Resources and leadership allies is crucial for overcoming barriers and promoting women's career growth.

CONCLUSIONS

The urgency of addressing identified barriers to female leadership in intensive care medicine is underscored by the survey's comprehensive insights. A multifaceted and intersectional approach, considering sexism, structural barriers, and targeted strategies, is essential.

Work-life balance and the psychosocial work environment in Finnish working life: The case of gender and family life stages

BACKGROUND

Work-life balance is associated with many positive effects at multiple levels and demands increased research attention. In the international literature on work-life balance, the term "gendered life-course" has been used to describe the differences between men and women in work biographies. However, whether this term applies to the Nordic work context remains underexplored.

OBJECTIVE

This study examined Finnish men's and women's subjective experience of the association between work-life balance and the psychosocial work environment (work demands and social support at work) across the life course, devoting special attention to family life stages encompassing the care of (young) children.

METHODS

Data from the Quality of Work Life Survey 2018 were utilized to conduct binary logistic regression analyses (N = 3790). Separate analyses were conducted for men and women.

RESULTS

A significant association between family life stage and high work-life balance was found for women but not for men in the Finnish working life. Women in family life stages involving the care of young, dependent children reported the lowest odds of high work-life balance. For both men and women, a positive association between social support at work and high work-life balance was found, while a negative association was found between work demands and high work-life balance.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings highlight the importance of psychosocial factors in both the work and family settings for work-life balance. Further, the findings call for an expanded focus on gender equality, also including issues in unpaid work in addition to issues in paid work.

Risk Factors for Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases of Long-Haul Truck Drivers during the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Integrative Review

Long-haul truck drivers are responsible for transporting goods valued at millions of dollars of the world economy, and may have their health affected by living and working conditions. This study analyzed and synthesized scientific findings about risk factors for the development of chronic non-communicable diseases in long-haul truck drivers. An integrative literature review was conducted. We identified 23 studies that met the inclusion criteria and evaluated the health of 7363 drivers. The biological risk factors identified were age, gender, race/ethnicity, genetics, and comorbidities, and were considered to be non-modifiable for chronic diseases. The behavioral risks considered to be modifiable were sedentary lifestyle, smoking, alcohol consumption, overweight, diet, stress, anxiety, and unfavorable socioeconomic conditions. Environmental risks involved working conditions such as the following: number of working hours per day, week, and month; time away from home; risk of musculoskeletal injury; and opportunities for rest, hours of sleep, and access to health services. The results were presented in two categories: (1) biological, behavioral, and environmental risks, and (2) general recommendations to promote physical, cognitive, and emotional health. Macro-structural changes are needed to reorganize work and rest, improve access to health services to control modifiable risk factors, and to support behavioral and environmental changes to reduce chronic non-communicable diseases and deaths.

Administrative Time Expectations for Residency Core Faculty: A CERA Study

BACKGROUND

Academic family medicine (FM) physicians aim to balance competing needs of providing clinical care with nonclinical duties of program administration, formal education, and scholarly activity. FM residency is unique in its scope of practice, clinical settings, and training priorities, which may differ between university-based and community-based programs. In both types of programs, these competing needs are a source of faculty dissatisfaction and burnout. We performed this study to explore the allocation of nonclinical administrative full-time equivalents (FTE) for FM residency core faculty members.

RESULTS

Reported nonclinical administrative FTE time allocation is equivalent between university/medical school-based and community-based programs. The ideal proportion of FTE distribution identified by DCs had greater amounts of direct clinical care compared to greater emphasis on precepting time identified by PDs. DCs and PDs agreed that administrative time should be used for advising residents, curriculum development and delivery, and evaluation of resident performance. Barriers to allocating additional administrative time for DCs included loss of revenue and pressure by hospital-level leadership. PDs responded that the need for clinical supervision of residents was most significant.

METHODS

We performed our research through a cross-sectional survey of FM department chairs (DC) and residency program directors (PD) conducted by the Council of Academic Family Medicine Educational Research Alliance. We used descriptive statistics to characterize the data and Pearson's χ2 tests to evaluate bivariate relationships.

CONCLUSIONS

DCs and PDs offer a similar ideal picture of core responsibilities, though subtle differences remain. These differences should be considered for the next revision of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education minimum program standards to best meet the needs of all FM programs.

A chain mediation model on organizational support and turnover intention among healthcare workers in Guangdong province, China

Introduction

The outbreak of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 pandemic has presented significant difficulties for healthcare workers worldwide, resulting in a higher tendency to quit their jobs. This study aims to investigate the correlation between organizational support, work-family-self balance, job satisfaction, and turnover intention of healthcare professionals in China's public hospitals.

Methods

A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 5,434 health workers recruited from 15 public hospitals in Foshan municipality in China's Guangdong province. The survey was measured by organizational support, work-family-self balance, job satisfaction, and turnover intention using a five-point Likert scale. The association between organizational support, work-family-self balance, job satisfaction, and turnover intention was investigated using Pearson correlation analysis and mediation analysis through the PROCESS macro (Model 6).

Results

Organizational support indirectly affected turnover intention through three pathways: the mediating role of work-family-self balance, job satisfaction, and the chain mediating role of both work-family-self balance and job satisfaction.

Conclusion

Health administrators and relevant government sectors should provide sufficient organizational support, enhance work-family-self balance and job satisfaction among healthcare workers, and consequently reduce their turnover intentions.

Work-life balance and employee commitment: mediating effect of job satisfaction

Introduction

Work is very important to man and work experiences have implications on other aspects of human life. The major essence of work is to obtain resources to optimize other domains of life. This demands the need to strike a balance. Flowing from the positive and negative effect of the Spill over theory, the study investigated the influence of work-life balance (WLB) on employee job commitment using JS as the mediating variable.

Methods

A cross-sectional survey design elicited the desired data from 344 employees in 4 Universities and 4 multinational companies. Path diagram analysis served as the data analysis technique.

Results/discussion

The results show that all the family and religious lives have statistically significant negative influences on employee commitment (EMPC) while leisure and health have statistically significant positive influences on EMPC. The study thus, makes theoretical contributions.

Food and family care during the COVID-19 pandemic: A study of women's domestic workload during the first wave in Chile

This study aimed to explore women's perceptions of domestic work related to food and family care during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Chile and its association with sociodemographic and health variables. We conducted a cross-sectional, analytical, non-probabilistic study. A sample of 2047 women answered an online self-report survey that included a Likert scale about the perception of domestic work associated with food. The survey also included an open comment section. The survey was available between May and June 2020, during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and when most of the country had some degree of mobility restriction. 70.2% of participants perceived their domestic work as "regular"; being younger, having a higher educational level, caring for children or the elderly, and having worse self-perception of mental and general health status increased the chances of having a lower perception of the burden of these tasks. In comments, women declared how heavy the domestic work was, the challenges of being together with their families and of paid job requirements, and how family demands from them increased. Most women felt that their domestic work was heavier during this pandemic period: some groups of women could be at risk of being more affected by this extra workload at home. The importance of interventions and public policies with a gender perspective becomes relevant, considering the role of women in the home and the necessity to generate a social change regarding the domestic burden associated with gender.

A study on work-family life imbalance among women administrators in UAE higher education institutions

The study explored the factors causing work-family imbalance among women administrators in higher education institutions in the UAE and how it affects their personal and organizational well-being. The research found that the existing literature doesn't give enough attention to the mismatch between women administrators' work and family goals. Furthermore, it provides little insight into the integration of work-family support systems. The study applied the Spillover theory to explain that women administrators face significant work-family imbalances that adversely impact their personal well-being and organizational effectiveness. The research also used Facilitation theory to examine how work-family support systems could reduce the adverse effects of work-family imbalances. The study surveyed 271 female administrators working in higher education institutions in the UAE. The findings, presented through structural equation modeling, showed that the demanding nature of research, teaching, and administrative work in higher education and women administrators' professional aspirations in socially demanding societies create work-life imbalance and work stress. The study proposed work-family support systems that could moderate the effect of work-family imbalances on work stress.

Household unclean fuel use, indoor pollution and self-rated health: risk assessment of environmental pollution caused by energy poverty from a public health perspective

The lack of access to clean energy remains one of the major challenges in the global energy sector. Access to clean, sustainable and affordable energy, outlined in the seventh Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 7) of the United Nations, plays a crucial role in advancing health (SDG 3), as unclean cooking energy may endanger people's health by causing air pollution. However, due to endogeneity problems such as reverse causality, the health consequences of environmental pollution caused by unclean fuel usage are difficult to be scientifically and accurately evaluated. This paper aims to systematically assess the health cost of unclean fuel usage based on tackling endogeneity, using the data from Chinese General Social Survey. The ordinary least squares model, ordered regression methods, instrumental variable approach, penalized machine learning methods, placebo test, and mediation models are applied in this research. Analytical results demonstrate that households' unclean fuel use significantly damages people's health. Specifically, the use of dirty fuel leads to an average of about a one-standard-deviation decline in self-rated health, demonstrating its notable negative effect. The findings are robust to a series of robustness and endogeneity tests. The impact mechanism is that unclean fuel usage reduces people's self-rated health through increasing indoor pollution. Meanwhile, the negative effect of dirty fuel use on health has significant heterogeneity among different subgroups. The consequences are more prominent for the vulnerable groups who are female, younger, living in rural areas and older buildings, with lower socio-economic status and uncovered by social security. Therefore, necessary measures should be taken to improve energy infrastructure to make clean cooking energy more affordable and accessible as well as to enhance people's health. Besides, more attention should be paid to the energy needs of the above specific vulnerable groups faced with energy poverty.

Factors associated with perceived work-life balance among health workers in Gulu District, Northern Uganda: a health facility-based cross-sectional study

INTRODUCTION

Work-life balance (WLB) plays a significant role in improving career satisfaction and reducing burnout. While health workers' productivity is considered a key factor in client care, there is limited effort put into examining how health workers perceive the balance of their jobs with family and other societal responsibilities (PWLB), especially in low-income countries where the number of health workers in active patient care is low. The purpose of this study was to assess factors associated with perceived work-life balance (PWLB) among health workers in the rural district of Gulu, Northern Uganda.

METHODS

A health facility-based cross-sectional analytical study was conducted. A simple random sampling technique was used to select 384 study participants from the three main hospitals in Gulu District. Data were collected from health workers using a self-administered semi-structured questionnaire and analyzed using STATA version 15. Factors associated with PWLB were determined at a multivariable level using a modified Poisson regression with robust variance with a 95% confidence level and 5% statistical significance. Adjusted prevalent ratios (APR) were used to report the Factors associated with PWLB.

RESULTS

Only 157/384 (40.9%) of the health workers reported a positive perceived work-life balance. Multivariable modified Poisson regression analysis showed positive statistical association with PWLB of a laboratory worker(APR = 1.74, 95% CI: 1.10-2.75); a midwife(APR = 1.82, 95% CI:1.13-2.93) or a nurse (APR = 2.19, 95% CI = 1.45-3.30); working in the inpatient department (APR = 1.97, 95% CI: 1.31-2.96) or laboratory (APR = 2.09, 95%CI: 1.34-3.28); and having a flexible work schedule (APR = 28.32, 95%CI:14.52-55.22); feeling satisfied at work (APR = 1.58; 95% CI:1.17-2.10), and belonging to an association in the community (APR = 32.71, 95% Cl:11.91-89.88). On the other hand, employment tenure of 1-4 years (APR = 0.63,95% CI:0.40-0.99) was negatively associated with perceived work-life balance.

CONCLUSION

Only four in every 10 health workers experienced a positive perceived work-life balance. The type of profession, duty station, flexibility in work schedule, satisfaction with work, and availability of social support systems, were independent determinants of perceived WLB. Therefore, nurturing a system of reviews of the scheduling of health workers, allowing internal staff rotation, and fostering support systems around the health workers could be beneficial for WLB.

Experiences of cancer survivors returning to work decision-making: a meta-synthesis of qualitative studies

PURPOSE

Return to work for cancer survivors (CSs) may be challenging, and there is a research gap in integrating the relevant experiences of the return-to-work decision-making process for CSs. Our aim was to synthesize existing qualitative research that integrates the dynamic experiences of CSs in the return-to-work decision-making process and highlights the factors influencing the return-to-work decisions of CSs.

METHODS

We retrieved qualitative studies on a relevant theme published in the PubMed, EBSCO, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and CINAHL databases since construction to December 2023. Literature screening, quality evaluation, and data analysis followed the PRISMA, Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Tool (2016), and thematic analysis methods to ensure study reliability. The study was registered on PROSPERO (registration number: CRD42023429623).

RESULTS

Ten articles were included, and six key outcomes were identified based on Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) integration: points of concern for individuals, sense of self-efficacy, outcome expectations, work perception and belonging, medical advice and guidance, and effects of the external reactions.

CONCLUSION

The decision-making process for CSs to return to work is affected by various personal and external factors. Effectively addressing personal appearance, financial, and emotional issues can enhance self-efficacy of CSs. Improving external perceptions of cancer patients and enhancing social support in the workplace and medical settings can help CSs make informed decisions regarding their return to work.

IMPLICATIONS FOR CANCER SURVIVORS

The decision of CSs to return to work is a result of integrating personal, job, and medical care considerations. These findings contribute to the development of future interventions for CSs' return-to-work decisions that target an array of potential factors.

A Survey on Factors Influencing the Work-Family-Health Balance of an Interventional Radiologist

Aim: Burnout and stress-related health disorders are on the rise among physicians. The aim of this study is to report the results of a survey on factors affecting the work-life balance of interventional radiologists (IR). Material: The survey consisted of 30 questions focusing on work, family, and personal health. The questionnaire addressed knowledge, attitude, and practice. This online survey was sent to IRs across the globe and the responses were analyzed by three IRs (SH, SNK, SK). Results: On univariate analysis, the major risk factors for burnout were presence of weekend duties ( n  = 91, 98.9%, p  = 0.02), absence of support group at workplace ( n  = 36, 39.1%, p  = 0.005), having tough time with administration ( n  = 61, 66.3%, p  = 0.001), not able to spend quality time on family ( n  = 30, 32.6%, p  = 0.035), and inability to find time to do things that one enjoys ( n  = 53, 57.6%, p  = 0.0002). However, multivariate analysis revealed that those having tough time with administration (odds ratio = 2.77 [95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.12-6.48], p  = 0.02) and those who could not find time to do things one enjoys (odds ratio = 4.79 [95% CI: 1.42-16.1], p  = 0.01) were only statistically significant. Conclusion: Burnout is common among IRs and is considered a significant issue that needs to be addressed. Teamwork, a support structure for major events, healthy lifestyle, and dedicated time for family may combat the burnout.

Understanding the pathway between work and health outcomes for women during the preconception, pregnancy, and postpartum periods through the framing of maternal obesity

The link between work and health outcomes for preconception, pregnant, and postpartum (PPP) working women is complex. Further, innovation and enhanced understanding are required to address the work-related determinants of maternal obesity. However, workplace health promotion is not typically systems-based nor attuned to the specific needs and context of individual PPP women. We propose that to improve health outcomes for PPP women, we must understand the pathways between paid work and health for the individual woman by taking a systems-thinking approach. In this paper, we (a) outline the rationale for why the oversimplification or "dilution" of individual context may occur; (b) present a systems-informed pathway model (the "Context-Exposure-Response" Model) and overview of potential work-related impacts on health and wellbeing outcomes for PPP women using maternal obesity to provide context examples; (c) further investigate the role of motivational factors from a systems perspective; and (d) briefly examine the implications for policy, practice, and intervention design. It is anticipated that this research may act as a starting point to assist program developers, researchers, and policymakers to adopt a systems-focused perspective while contributing to the health improvement and obesity prevention of PPP women.

Relation of the work ability index to fitness for work in healthcare and public employees in a region of Northeastern Italy

PURPOSE

Work ability indicates an individual's capacity to match job demands according to his/her physical and mental conditions and work circumstances. Occupational physicians should take into consideration the global health status of a worker in order to correctly assess if he/she is fit for the job. The aim of this study was to verify the association between fitness for work evaluation and Work Ability Index scores, as well as individual factors (age, gender, and anthropometric characteristics) and work-related variables (job type, years of working duration).

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted within the occupational health surveillance of health and public employers in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region (2018-2022). The participants voluntarily agreed to answer the standard Work Ability Index questionnaire. Data were investigated by univariable as well as multivariable regression analysis.

RESULTS

The Work Ability Index of the workers included in the study (N = 6893) resulted negatively associated with age, female sex, and body mass index. It was averagely lower in nurses and assistive personnel, and the highest in medical doctors and public employers. The fitness for work assessments was also statistically related to WAI scores. The results obtained from the univariable and the multivariable analysis were consistent.

CONCLUSIONS

The Work Ability Index is an efficient tool to measure an individual's capability to sustain job demands, and can be taken into account to produce a correct fitness for work evaluation and consequently preserve workers' health status.

Obstacles Deterring Medical Students From Pursuing a Career in the Field of Surgery in Jazan University, Saudi Arabia

BACKGROUND

Particularly in Saudi Arabia, there is a dearth of trained specialists in the field of surgery. Understanding the obstacles that discourage medical students and residents from pursuing a surgical career is essential for resolving this shortage. This study intended to investigate the characteristics that influence medical students and trainees at Jazan University, Saudi Arabia, to pursue a career in surgery.

METHODOLOGY

This observational study employed a descriptive, cross-sectional approach. The intended audience consisted of fourth- to sixth-year medical students and medical residents. The questionnaire gathered information on demographics, academic year, previous surgical experience, perceptions of surgery as a specialty, and variables influencing career selections.

RESULTS

Out of 413 participants, 74.3% were considering a surgical career, with 24.4% interested in general surgery, followed by cardiac surgery (14.3%) and pediatric surgery (12.4%). Factors influencing career decisions included potential income (82%), the possibility of part-time work (82%), and partial leave (74%). A significant proportion of participants agreed or strongly agreed that the incidence of suicide (62%) and the risk of depression (72%) are higher in surgical specialties. Female participants were more likely to agree that their chance of becoming a spouse could be affected by a surgical career (p=0.002) and that meeting role models could influence their choice of surgical specialty (p=0.015).

CONCLUSION

Work-life balance, long working hours, and mental health concerns are identified as variables that discourage medical students and residents from pursuing a surgical career in the study. Efforts to encourage work-life balance, minimize workload, and provide support and resources for mental health issues should help surgeons suffer less stress and burnout. Moreover, encouraging an open-minded attitude and de-stigmatizing mental health concerns in the medical field should encourage individuals to seek assistance when necessary and lower the incidence of suicide and depression. Finally, tackling gender discrimination and encouraging diversity and inclusion in surgical specialties could attract more skilled surgeons.

A pathway to greater meaning in life and well-being for senior executives beset by anti-meaning

Introduction

Although work is a significant source of meaning for most people, the role of senior executive generates different meaning and well-being complexities than those experienced or faced by general employees. This study explored how meaning and anti-meaning components affect senior executives' experiences of meaning in life and well-being. The findings enabled devising a pathway to enhance senior executives' net experiences of meaning in life and well-being.

Methods

A cross-sectional, semi-structured interview study design was used to gather rich qualitative data. Eight participants from southern and eastern Africa, who had held the position of chief executive officer or managing director for at least five years, were interviewed.

Results

The findings demonstrated that senior executives' work roles provide a significant source of meaning. However, the roles are accompanied by unavoidable anti-meanings, which are likely to generate additional anti-meanings if not tempered sufficiently, thus reducing the net meaning experienced.

Discussion

From the findings, a practical pathway was devised to assist top executives to deal with the bipolar relationship between meaning and anti-meaning. Consulting and counseling practitioners can utilize the pathway to guide, support, and counsel senior executives towards improved meaning, temper anti-meaning and improve well-being.

How work-family conflict influences emergency department nurses' turnover intention: The mediating role of positive and negative affect

BACKGROUND

Turnover has significant impact on nursing management and nursing safety. Nurses working in the Emergency Department are especially vulnerable to high turnover intention because of their increased risk of work-family conflict associated with the work characteristics.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to investigate the effects of work-family conflict on emergency nurses' turnover intention and the role of positive and negative affect between work-family conflict and turnover intention.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study. Data were collected from 17582 nurses working in emergency department in China. We employed a standardized questionnaire to collect sociodemographic information and target work-family conflict, affect and turnover intention. Mediation analyses were performed for the data analyses.

RESULTS

On turnover intention, work-family conflict exerted both direct effect and indirect effect. The results also indicated that positive and negative affect partially mediated the effect of work-family conflict on turnover intention, and that 35.7% of this effect could be explained by mediating effects totally.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings highlight positive and negative affect concern during the process of nursing management and nursing managers should take active measures to reduce negative affect and improve positive affect in order to reduce turnover intention and maintain the stability of the emergency nursing workforce.

The Effect of Stress of COVID-19 on Chinese Adults' Work-Family Conflict: Testing a Moderated Mediation Model

Purpose

The current study examined the effect of stress of COVID-19 on work-family conflict, how perceived work ability may mediate this effect, and lastly how perceived social support may moderate the various indirect pathway during COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods

A total of 2558 Chinese adults were recruited from the first author's university completed the questionnaire including stress of COVID-19 scale, work-family conflict, perceived social support and perceived work ability scale.

Results

The present study showed that stress of COVID-19 was positively associated with work-family conflict while negatively associated with perceived work ability, which in turn, was negatively associated with work-family conflict. Perceived social support magnified the effects of perceived work ability on work-family conflict.

Conclusion

Findings of this study shed light on a correlation between stress of COVID-19 and work-family conflict. Moreover, this study emphasizes the value of intervening individuals' perceived work ability and increasing the ability of perceived social support in the context of COVID-19.

Demystifying the life domain in work-life balance: A Malaysian perspective

Traditionally, the word 'life' in the concept of work-life balance focuses on family obligations. This conceptual paper sets out to present the notion that "life" goes beyond family responsibilities and is unique to employees of different demographics. Given the impending difference in how "life" is viewed by different groups of employees, this study reviews the literature and argues for the need to distinguish between different dimensions of the non-work domain. The discussion is centered on the transformation taking place within the Malaysian workforce. Recent trends indicate that "life" and "family" are indeed distinct domains. There is a need for organizations to acknowledge this distinction and provide relevant support to attain a balance between work, life, and family. The paper will help strengthen the knowledge about the "life" in the concept of work-life balance and employers better understand the conceptualization of "life" in work-life balance so that they can strategize and enhance employee well-being and eventually gain competitive advantage. Currently, the terms work-life balance and work-family balance are used interchangeably to represent a balance between the family and work domain. This is especially evident in collectivist countries such as Malaysia. However, the emphasis on family without due consideration to the needs of employees with different demographic configurations may result in work-life backlash. Hence, this study argues that the non-work domain is not limited to family obligations and should encompass both family obligations and personal activities. The emphasis on striking a balance between work and family domain should not be done at the expense of the well-being of employees with lesser or no family obligations.

Modeling the Impact of Mentoring on Women’s Work-Life Balance: A Grounded Theory Approach

The purpose of this study was to model the impact of mentoring on women’s work-life balance. Indeed, this study considered mentoring as a solution to create a work-life balance of women. For this purpose, semi-structured interviews with both mentors and mentees of Tehran Municipality were conducted and the collected data were analyzed using constructivist grounded theory. Findings provided a model of how mentoring affects women’s work-life balance. According to this model, role management is the key criterion for work-life balancing among women. In this model, antecedents of role management and the contextual factors affecting role management, the constraints of mentoring in the organization, as well as the consequences of effective mentoring in the organization are described. The findings of this research contribute to the mentoring literature as well as to the role management literature and provide recommendations for organizations and for future research.

The Relationship between Work, Health and Job Performance for a Sustainable Working Life: A Case Study on Older Manual Employees in an Italian Steel Factory

BACKGROUND

Supporting and retaining older workers has become a strategic management goal for companies, considering the ageing of the workforce and the prolongation of working lives. The relationship between health and work is especially crucial for older workers with manual tasks, considering the impact of long-standing health impairments in older age. Although different studies investigated the relationship between work ability and job performance, few studies have analysed the impact of workers' capability to balance between health and work demands, including managerial and organisational support (work-health balance). Considering health as a dynamic balance between work and health demands influenced by both individual and environmental factors, we assess the mediator role of work-health balance in the relation between work ability and job performance, both self-reported and assessed by the supervisor.

METHODS

The study utilises data from a case study of 156 manual workers, who were 50 years old or older and employed in a steel company in Italy. Data were collected inside the company as an organiational initiative to support age diversity.

RESULTS

The findings show that work-health balance partially mediates the relationship between work ability and self-rated job performance, while it does not mediate the relationship with job performance as rated by the supervisor. Supervisor-rated job performance is positively associated with work ability, while it decreases with the increasing perceived incompatibility between work and health.

CONCLUSION

A perceived balance between health and work is a strategic factor in increasing manual older workers' job performance. For older workers, not only the perceived capability to work is important but also the organisational health climate and supervisor's support. More studies are needed to verify if managers overlook the importance of health climate and support, as strategic elements that can foster performance for older employees.

An exploration of burnout and resilience among emergency physicians at three teaching hospitals in the English-speaking Caribbean: A cross-sectional survey

Background

Burnout is common among doctors working in emergency departments. It has significant consequences and is multifactorial. Self-care and resilience tendencies may contribute to being burnt out, or not. This study explores burnout and resilience amongst physicians working in Caribbean emergency departments.

Methods

Data were collected from 111 participants using the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and the Resilience Scale-14 (RS14) as measures of burnout and resilience, respectively. Questions collected data on participant demographics and characteristics related to self-care. The associations between demographic characteristics and total burnout and resilience scales were explored.

Findings

Among participants, 88.6% had medium to high range emotional exhaustion, 82.8% exhibited medium to high range depersonalization, and 19.6% had low to medium range personal accomplishment. Participants in Barbados had higher emotional exhaustion and depersonalization scores (p=0.009), and those in a postgraduate programme had higher depersonalization scores (p=0.047). The mean RS-14 score was 81.1 out of a maximum of 98.0 with a standard deviation of 13.1 and a range of 26 to 98. Depression correlated with high emotional exhaustion scores (p=0.004) and low resilience scores (p<0.0001). Emotional exhaustion scores increased among participants using alcohol daily (p=0.01), using recreational drugs (p=0.021) and sleeping aids (p=0.028).

Interpretation

High burnout, despite high resilience, is present in this sample of physicians working in emergency departments of teaching hospitals in the Caribbean. Although resilience scores were high, those with lower resilience tendencies had poorer self-care habits.

Funding

No external funding.

Predictors of Satisfaction With Work Environment in the Context of a Mismatch in Working Hours: A Nationwide, Large-Scale, Cross-Sectional Study

This nationwide, large-scale, cross-sectional study has hypothesized that there might be differences in workers' satisfaction with work environment depending on demographic, socio-economic, and work characteristics in the context of a mismatch between actual and preferred working hours. The current study is a secondary data analysis of the Fifth Korean Working Conditions Survey. A total of 29 694 subjects (n = 29 694) were finally included in the current study. Female gender (β = -.372, OR 0.689 [95% CI 0.646-0.736]), age of ≥60 years old (β = .226, OR 1.253 [95% CI 1.089-1.441]), graduation from middle school (β = -.320, OR 0.726 [95% CI 0.616-0.856]), college (β = .492, OR 1.636 [95% CI 1.371-1.952]), or university (β = .826, OR 2.283 [95% CI 1.918-2.718]), fixed period of work (β = -.105, OR 0.901 [95% CI 0.823-0.986]), full-time employment (β = -.105, OR 0.900 [95% CI 0.813-0.996]), the engagement in public sector (β = .544, OR 1.722 [95% CI 1.532-1.935]), private-public partnership organization (β = .605, OR 1.832 [95% CI 1.342-2.500]) or NPO or NGO (β = .780, OR 2.182 [95% CI 1.522-3.127]), regular side job (β = -.929, OR 0.395 [95% CI 0.289-0.539]), or temporary side job (β = -.330, OR 0.719 [95% CI 0.533-0.970]), membership of multiple teams (β = -.501, OR 0.606 [95% CI 0.552-0.666]), labor union (β = .143, OR 1.154 [95% CI 1.047-1.273]), and better health status (β = .977, OR 2.657 [95% CI 1.175-6.007]) were predictors of satisfaction with work environment in the context of a mismatch between actual and desired working hours. Based on the current results, it can be concluded that female gender, age of ≥60 years old, graduation from middle school, college, or university, fixed period of work, full-time employment, the engagement in public sector, private-public partnership organization or NPO or NGO, regular side job or temporary side job, membership of multiple teams, labor union, and better health status were predictors of satisfaction with work environment.

Sustainable internal corporate social responsibility and solving the puzzles of performance sustainability among medium size manufacturing companies: An empirical approach

Studies have been conducted within the domain of internal corporate social responsibility, yet less attention has been given to how sustainable internal corporate social responsibility can be employed to accelerate performance sustainability in medium-sized manufacturing companies. Additionally, the culture of internal corporate social responsibility practice in SMEs has been largely ignored by most of the existing studies. This research, therefore, identified the potential influence of work-life balance, wellbeing at workplace, resilience, and job stress on the performance and sustainability of the SME sector. This is achieved through the conceptualization of a research model that empirically tested the influence of four exogenous variables on performance sustainability using data from 270 respondents from Malaysia, having employed Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) as a technique of analysis. The results of the study reveal that wellbeing at workplace and job stress as dimensions of sustainable internal corporate social responsibility have a strong influence on performance sustainability. Practitioners can gain valuable insights into how to effectively use workplace wellbeing and job stress to achieve performance sustainability, which is especially important now that SMEs rely heavily on sustainable competitive advantage to stay in business and create value for organizations.

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The importance of sustainable internal corporate social responsibility to the performance sustainability.

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The study considers mainly sustainable internal corporate social responsibility as the pillar of performance sustainability.

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Work life balance, wellbeing at workplace, resilience and job stress were considered as components of sustainable ICSR.

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Sustainable internal corporate social responsibility was found to influence sustainable performance.

Impacts of Work–Family Culture on Employee Job Performance in Achieving Sustainable Development Goals

The harmonized balance between work and family is tough to reach in modern industrial societies because of increasing demands at work and in family settings. Previous studies analyzed work–family culture and its relationship with employees’ job performance without focusing on specific industries. Paralleled with the Sustainable Developments Goals (SDGs), this study aims to analyze the relationship between work–family culture and employees’ job performance in selected industries in Malaysia. This study surveyed 336 employees working in four industries in Peninsular Malaysia, and data were collected using a self-reported questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed using two statistical analyses, i.e., descriptive and inferential statistic multiple linear regression by assisting statistical software, namely SPSS version 26. This study found that organizational time demands, and managerial support have a significant positive relationship with employees’ job performance. Moreover, the career consequences variable does not have a significant effect on employees’ job performance. Therefore, the results provided valuable insights into the work–family culture among employees with family responsibilities. Applied implications for managers are suggested to give full support to the employees while juggling their family matters. This study also contributes to the existing work–family culture literature. After a thorough analysis of this field, the researcher believed that other factors might significantly affect employees’ job performance, such as religiosity, working environment, and integrity in the organizations.

Developing Indicators to Evaluate Instructor Management of Sports Centers for the People With Disabilities Based on Universal Design Principles in South Korea

This study was conducted to develop evaluation indicators for instructor-led management of sports centers for the disabled using universal design (UD) principles in South Korea. These indicators have been developed through Delphi technique to identify the effectiveness of an instructor's management skills. There were 11 documents related to UD used in the literature review, and seven were related to the evaluation index. Through reading and analyzing the relevant contents of the collected literature and many rounds of the Delphi technique, we selected the method and criteria for deriving the evaluation index. In this study, we developed a method that constitutes an evaluation index. The index comprises one evaluation criterion and four evaluation indices. First, for the sub-items of the “recruitment” category, four principles of UD and one supplementary principle of product performance program (PPP) were applied to create items for the evaluation index. Second, the sub-items of the “education” category comprise three evaluation criteria and 10 evaluation indicators. These were applied to the fourth principle of UD and the first and second by-supplementary principles of PPP. The third category, “welfare,” comprised two evaluation criteria and six evaluation indices, and the first by-supplementary principle of PPP was applied to the evaluation indices. The index created for evaluating instructors in sports centers using the method elucidated in this study was adequately reliable. Following a similar method, more evaluation indicators should be developed for evaluations of other functions (such as programs, public relations, safety, and finance) based on the principles of UD.

The MAastricht Instrument for Sustainable Employability - Italian version (MAISE-IT): a validation study

BACKGROUND

Governments and employers aim to promote sustainable employability (SE) in aging societies. In the Netherlands, an instrument for capturing the employee perspective on SE, the MAastricht Instrument for Sustainable Employability (MAISE-NL), has recently been developed. This study seeks to validate the Italian version of the MAISE (MAISE-IT).

METHODS

The MAISE-IT (a translated and culturally adapted version of the MAISE for the Italian population), the Work-Health Balance questionnaire and a demographic survey (age, gender, education, and occupational activity) were completed online by 455 respondents (328 public administration workers and 127 respondents recruited from social networks). Construct and criterion validity were tested by CFA; reliability, correlational analyses and subgroup differences with ANOVAs.

RESULTS

The CFA analysis revealed that the MAISE-IT consists of 12 scales distributed in four areas: (1) Meaning of SE; (2) Level and Factors affecting SE; (3) Overall responsibility for SE; and (4) Responsibility for factors affecting SE. Construct and criterion validity and reliability were good. Italian workers reported a moderately high level of SE. They regarded employers to be somewhat more responsible for SE than employees.

CONCLUSIONS

This study showed the validity of the MAISE-IT in the Italian context. The MAISE-IT is valuable for tapping employees' needs in order to develop SE interventions tailored to the employee perspective.

The COVID-19 lockdowns brought to light the challenges that women face in Mediterranean universities

COVID-19 has caused considerable upheaval, necessitating a rethinking of higher education. Distance education has emerged as a major parallel issue that is changing the educational landscape. The lockdowns brought to light the challenges that women confront in academia. This study examines the impact of distance education on women's research activity at Mediterranean institutions, focusing on the additional constraints women faced as a result of e-learning. During the first lockdown (March to May 2020) there was a growing volume of media coverage, but fewer articles investigated how the pandemic's lockdown had affected women and men which increased fast in 2021. According to the findings, while the Mediterranean countries utilized different approaches to combat the epidemic, the impacts are surprisingly similar and must be recognized to avoid long-term consequences for women in higher education, science, and research. Lockdowns put added family responsibilities on female researchers, who were faced with more childcare and homework, resulting in less time to be part of a cohort creating new knowledge. Traditional cultural gender preconceptions were also uncovered, indicating the need for structural changes and repositioning. To meet UN SDG 4: "Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education," we must emerge from this pandemic more equal and robust to establish viable and inclusive universities that should implement policies and interventions to capitalize on female contributions to science, research, and innovation.

Exploring the mediation role of employees' well-being in the relationship between psychosocial factors and musculoskeletal pain during the COVID-19 pandemic

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased some psychosocial risks which may aggravate the development of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and reduced psychological well-being, two leading global occupational health problems.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to investigate whether an employee's psychological well-being mediates the relationship between the psychosocial factors (job strain, work-life balance, and job security) and the prevalence of musculoskeletal pain in the Indonesian general working population during the pandemic.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study design was employed using an online questionnaire. A total of 406 from 465 respondents were included in the final analysis.

RESULTS

It was found that 73.9% of respondents suffered from upper body part pain, 25.15% from low back pain, and 39.7% reported pain in the lower limb. Process Macro Model 4 analysis showed the significant role of well-being as a mediator in the association between work-life balance and the odds of experiencing the upper body and low back pains. However, neither the direct nor mediating effect on the relationship between job strain or job security and any musculoskeletal pains were observed. These findings suggest that specific psychosocial factors may be more relevant to be investigated in the particular context.

CONCLUSION

The use of a mediation model was able to link work-life balance to musculoskeletal complaints through well-being states in the context of the pandemic. Organizations need to mitigate poor well-being triggered by psychosocial stressors which could affect physical complaints to maintain employee's health and productivity.

Physical Activity and Mental Health Among Physicians in Tertiary Psychiatric Hospitals: A National Crosssectional Survey in China

This study aimed to examine the level of mental health and its correlates, particularly physical activity (PA) frequency, among physicians in tertiary psychiatric hospitals. In a national crosssectional survey, 4,520 physicians nested in 41 tertiary psychiatric hospitals from 29 provinces completed the online questionnaire. Their mean age was 38.5 ± 8.6 years, and 41.86% of physicians were men. More than one-third (35.24%) of physicians reported no PA in the past month, and only 21.88% reported happiness. Only 55.15 and 58.10% of the physicians reported normal status of depression and anxiety, respectively. In the adjusted multivariable ordinal logistic regression, higher PA frequency was associated with depression, anxiety, and happiness, except those who reported PA almost every day. Programs that aim to increase PA may promote the mental health of physicians in tertiary psychiatric hospitals.

The Association of Job and Family Resources and Demands with Life Satisfaction through Work-Family Balance: A Longitudinal Study among Italian Schoolteachers during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Successfully balancing between work and family domains represents a major issue to both employees and employers, especially during COVID-19 pandemic times during which employees are often forced to work from a distance and turn to home-schooling. An occupational group particularly affected by work changes due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions is represented by schoolteachers. We aimed at examining the associations between some job-related and family-related antecedents on the one hand and, on the other, life satisfaction as an outcome, including work–family balance as a mediator. A total of 357 Italian teachers completed a questionnaire at two different times: job control, coworkers support, supervisor support, workload, family support, and family workload were assessed at Time 1; and work–family balance and life satisfaction were assessed at Time 2. Both data collections were performed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The hypothesized direct and indirect relationships were tested by utilizing structural equation modeling. Significant and positive indirect effects of focal predictors towards life satisfaction through work–family balance were found for job control, supervisor support, and family support. The paper contributed to the literature by testing Grzywacz and Carlson’s theoretical conceptualization of work–family balance and by attempting to delineate its repertoire of potential antecedents among schoolteachers. From a practical point of view, the present study emphasizes the crucial role that certain job antecedents and family antecedents play in promoting teachers’ work–family balance and life satisfaction.

The relationship between work–life balance and job satisfaction: moderating role of training and development and work environment

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between work–life balance (WLB) and job stress, job commitment and job satisfaction. Further, the role of work environment and training and development as moderators in the relationship between WLB and its consequences is investigated.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a structured survey instrument, this paper gathered data from 331 respondents working in a transportation company in southern part of India. After checking the psychometric properties of the structured survey instrument, the authors analyzed data using hierarchical regression and structural equation modeling.

Findings

The hierarchical regression results indicated that WLB is (1) negatively related to job stress, (2) positively related to job satisfaction and (3) positively related to job commitment. The results also indicated that (1) job stress is negatively related to job satisfaction, and (2) job commitment is positively related to job satisfaction. The results also support that work environment is a moderator in the relationship between (1) WLB and job stress, and (2) WLB and job satisfaction. Results also documented that training and development is a moderator in the relationship between (1) job stress and job satisfaction, and (2) job commitment and job satisfaction.

Research limitations/implications

Since the present research is based on self-report measures, the limitations of common method bias and social desirability are inherent. However, the authors have taken sufficient care to minimize these limitations. The research has implications for managers in work organizations.

Practical implications

This study contributes to both literature on human resource management and practicing managers. The study suggests that employers need to be aware of the importance of WLB and invest moneys into training and development programs. Results also suggest maintaining congenial work environment to help employees maintain balance between work and life.

Social implications

The study is expected to contribute to the welfare of the society in terms of identifying the consequences of WLB.

Originality/value

This study provides new insights about the consequences of WLB through moderating role of training and development and work environment. To the authors’ knowledge, this is a conceptual model developed and tested and first of its kind in India.

Work with cancer or stop working after diagnosis? Variables affecting the decision

BACKGROUND

Studies about work and cancer predominantly considered the return to work of cancer survivors. However, some studies highlighted that many patients work with cancer even immediately after the diagnosis. Little is known about the frequency, causes, and consequences of this behavior.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to estimate how many cancer patients continue working in the month after the diagnosis in an Italian context and to determine which factors affect the decision to stop working in the same period.

METHODS

One hundred seventy-six patients with breast, gastrointestinal, prostate, or female reproductive system cancer completed a survey with demographic, occupational, and psychosocial information. Clinical information was collected from medical records. We measured how many workers continued working in the month after cancer diagnosis without substantial interruptions and selected the best logistic regression model of this behavior's predictors.

RESULTS

Sixty-eight percent of the patients continued working in the month after the diagnosis. Patients were more likely to stop working with a higher level of perceived work-health incompatibility (OR = 2.64; 95%CI: 1.48-4.69), an open-ended contract (OR = 3.20; CI: 1.13-9.09), and a complex treatment (surgery+chemo-/radio-therapy, OR = 4.25; CI: 1.55-11.65) and less likely with breast cancer (OR = 0.20; CI: 0.07-0.56), and more children (OR = 0.59; CI: 0.37-0.96).

CONCLUSIONS

To continue working with cancer is a common practice among the newly diagnosed. The decision to suspend work activity relates to evaluating how much work activities hamper one's health care needs and the practical difficulties expected in handling cancer care and work.

The BELE program: The development of a holistic interdisciplinary health-promoting program enhancing work-life balance among female employees working in human service organizations in Sweden

BACKGROUND

Despite an increase in work-life balance literature, the development of successful support to help employees manage their work -life balance is slow. Moreover, there are few interventions with a comprehensive approach to workplace health promotion focusing on work-life balance.

OBJECTIVE

This paper aims to present the development and building blocks of a holistic interdisciplinary health-promoting program, the BELE program, to enhance female employees working in human service organizations health and well-being with a focus on work-life balance.

METHODS

The planning and development of the program was done through an intervention mapping and research circles methodology.

RESULTS

The planning- and development process of the program resulted in a theoretical framework, and a program structure with a program content. The intervention program was named "The Balance in Everyday Life Empowerment program" (BELE program).

CONCLUSIONS

The BELE program adds to the existing body of work-life balance knowledge, so far often based on a conflict approach. Interventions focusing on a comprehensive approach to health and work-life balance with a salutogenic approach are rare. Furthermore, the integration with occupational therapy and health promotion in a workplace health promotion framework is innovative. In a previous study, the BELE program has shown that it enhances women's well-being and balance in their everyday life.

Barriers and drivers of psychosocial risk assessments in German micro and small-sized enterprises: a qualitative study with owners and managers

BACKGROUND

The negative effect of unfavorable working conditions and long-term work stress on health has been demonstrated in previous research. To address these challenges, systematic approaches such as psychosocial risk assessments (PRA) have been developed in many countries worldwide. Despite legal obligations, psychosocial risk assessments are rarely carried out in micro and small-sized enterprises (MSE). Even though those enterprises constitute a large proportion of the general workforce, this area remains largely untouched by research. In order to enable starting points for a greater dissemination in organizational practice, the present study explores barriers and drivers of psychosocial risk assessments in micro and small-sized enterprises.

METHODS

A total of 18 owners and managers from 15 micro and small-sized enterprises in North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany, were interviewed. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed. A qualitative approach was applied: Content analysis was used to analyze the data, using deductive as well as inductive coding techniques.

RESULTS

The following barriers emerged from the interviews: Negative PRA image, stigmatization of mental health, lacking acceptance of employees, fear of excessive authority interference, ignorance of PRA, not understanding the necessity, inappropriate approach, and limited resources. The identified drivers were: Easy access to PRA material, external support from experts, renaming the term "workplace risk assessment", understanding content and benefit of PRA, simplify and revise PRA process, and noticeable consequences of PRA execution and non-execution. The results are comparable with those in larger companies. They emphasize the importance of mental health education, improving the process of psychosocial risk assessments, and the ongoing support in overcoming limited financial as well as human resources.

CONCLUSIONS

To improve implementation of PRA in organizational practice, a simplification of the process is proposed, accompanied by information campaigns and an improvement in the health literacy of owners and managers of MSE. In view of the results, the full revision of the PRA approach should also be considered.

Like soldiers on the front - a qualitative study understanding the frontline healthcare professionals' experience of treating and caring for patients with COVID-19

BACKGROUND

While people in the societies must stay home to reduce spread of the newly discovered coronavirus, healthcare professionals do the exact opposite. For them the coronavirus is an enemy that should be defeated as a part of one's job. They do, however, also have a daily life with family while doing their work obligations. The purpose of this study was to gain an in-depth understanding of the frontline healthcare professionals' experience of balancing work life and family life during the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHODS

A sample of 22 frontline healthcare professionals caring for patients with COVID-19 was included and interviewed individually from May to August 2020. Ricoeur's phenomenological hermeneutical philosophy inspired the methodology in this study.

RESULT

Frontline healthcare professionals treating and caring for patients with COVID-19 are, voluntarily or involuntarily, forced to be ready to change departments as well as being ready to face the unknown coronavirus. The frontline work leads to feelings of being abandoned among their families and friends due to the threat of bringing the infection home and spreading the virus. Although healthcare professionals are facing a working life filled with uncertainty and unpredictability impacting their family life, they express opposing feelings of being a part of something bigger.

CONCLUSIONS

The work life balance for these healthcare professionals is threatened by changes in professional responsibilities, working hours and shifts. Fear of bringing the infection home challenges them ethically and creates a distance between healthcare professionals and their families, leading to a conflict within the individual if their work on the frontline is worth it - or if it is a too high price to pay. Despite facing a working life filled with uncertainty and unpredictability the healthcare professionals are being a part of something bigger that contributes to a fighting spirit and professional pride outweighing the negative consequences; like being soldiers on the front.

Gender Differences in Job Satisfaction and Work-Life Balance Among Chinese Physicians in Tertiary Public Hospitals

Background: Gender has been associated with job-related experience, including job satisfaction and work-life balance. This study aimed to identify gender differences in job satisfaction and work-life balance among Chinese physicians in a large, nationally representative sample. Methods: A national cross-sectional survey was conducted between March 18 and 31, 2019, using an anonymous online questionnaire. The questionnaire included the short-form MSQ (Chinese version) and a work-life balance item. The demographic and job-related factors were also collected. Findings: In total, 22,128 physicians (9,378 males and 12,750 females) from 144 tertiary public hospitals completed the survey. The overall MSQ score (job satisfaction) was 70.31 ± 12.67, and it was 69.89 ± 13.24 in males, and 70.63 ± 12.22 in females, respectively (p < 0.001). Only 931 (4.21%) physicians were very satisfied with WLB (421 males, 510 females), and 2,534 (11.45%) were rated as satisfied. Age, education, monthly income, working hours, specialty, and professional titles were significantly associated with job satisfaction; while number of children, specialty, professional titles, monthly income, age, working hours were significantly associated with WLB. No significant gender differences were observed in job satisfaction or WLB after controlling confounding factors (both p > 0.05). Interpretation: While many demographic and work-related factors are significantly associated with job satisfaction and WLB, we found no significant gender differences, which is different from many other studies. To improve Chinese physicians' job satisfaction and work-life balance, interventions should be focused on certain specialties and on other modifiable factors, such as income, working hours.

Use of flexible work practices and employee outcomes: the role of work–life balance and employee age

Flexible work practices (FWPs) give employees some control over when and where they work. Using boundary theory and role balance theory, this study proposes and tests a mediation model focusing on how the relationships between FWPs usage and employee outcomes (i.e., wellbeing and turnover intention) are mediated by work−life balance (WLB). It also tests the moderating role of employee age on the relationship between WLB and employee outcomes using socioemotional selectivity theory. The model was tested using survey data from 293 employees of an Australian for-profit organization. The findings indicate that FWPs usage is positively associated with WLB, WLB is positively associated with wellbeing and negatively with turnover intentions, and WLB partially mediates the relationships between FWPs usage and employee outcomes. The results provide partial support that employee age moderates the relationship between WLB and turnover intentions. Theoretical, research and practical contributions are discussed.

Mediational Occupational Risk Factors Pertaining to Work Ability According to Age, Gender and Professional Job Type

The predictive value of work ability for several health and occupational outcomes is well known. Maintaining the ability to work of all employees has become an important topic in research although some evidence suggests that some groups of workers need greater attention than others. Healthcare workers (x¯ = 54.46 ± 5.64 years) attending routine occupational health checkups completed their work ability, occupational risk and sociodemographic measures. An analysis examined whether work ability differed according to gender, age and professional category. Mediation of these relationships by occupational risk variables, such as work–family conflict, was examined. Females and older adults had worse work ability than their counterparts. Professional group was not independently associated. Gender-related differences were mediated by current and historic ergonomic risk, psychosocial risk and work–family conflict. Age-related differences were mediated by violence/discrimination at work. All job risk variables, apart from current ergonomic risk, mediated associations between professional category and work ability. The present study identified the importance of risk variables for the work ability of health workers according to gender, age and professional job type. Perceptions of work–family conflict and violence–discrimination seem particularly important and should be considered when targeting improvements in work ability.

A Time-Lagged Examination of the Greenhaus and Allen Work-Family Balance Model

The work-family interface is a compelling topic that calls into question labor market dynamics and work processes, together with important social and family composition changes. The present study aimed at examining the antecedents of Work-Family Balance (WFB) in Italy consistent with Greenhaus and Allen's (2011) conceptual model in which the characteristics of work and family roles have an indirect impact on work-family balance through Work-Family Conflict (WFC) and Work-Family Enrichment (WFE), and where job and family satisfaction are considered as predictors of WFB. A total of 568 workers participated in a time-lagged correlational study, filling a questionnaire. The theoretical model was tested by assessing the mediating role of job and family satisfaction as well as related antecedents, conflict, and enrichment between the family and work contexts, through Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The results partially confirmed the theoretical model: work-to-family enrichment and work-to-family conflict predicted family satisfaction, which also mediated their association with WFB. The results in the family-to-work direction did not support the initial research hypotheses. The hypotheses about associations between demands and resources, conflict and enrichment in both directions, and of the moderating role of core self-evaluations were partially confirmed. The results highlighted that organizations need to carry out periodic assessments of WFC and WFE, in order to provide benefits and resources, to reduce conflict, and increase enrichment, through proper interventions (training activities, professional development, mentoring, and forms of flexibility).

Practical Judgment of Workload Based on Physical Activity, Work Conditions, and Worker's Age in Construction Site

It is important for construction companies to sustain a productive workforce without sacrificing its health and safety. This study aims to develop a practical judgement method to estimate the workload risk of individual construction workers. Based on studies, we developed a workload model comprising a hygrothermal environment, behavioral information, and the physical characteristics of workers). The construction workers’ heart rate and physical activity were measured using the data collected from a wearable device equipped with a biosensor and an acceleration sensor. This study is the first report to use worker physical activity, age, and the wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT) to determine a worker’s physical workload. The accuracy of this health risk judgment result was 89.2%, indicating that it is possible to easily judge the health risk of workers even in an environment where it is difficult to measure the subject in advance. The proposed model and its findings can aid in monitoring the health impacts of working conditions during construction activities, and thereby contribute toward determining workers’ health damage. However, the sampled construction workers are 12 workers, further studies in other working conditions are required to accumulate more evidence and assure the accuracy of the models.

The Importance of Work-Related Events and Changes in Psychological Distress and Life Satisfaction amongst Young Workers in Spain: A Gender Analysis

A relentless stream of social, technological, and economic changes have impacted the workplace, affecting young people in particular. Such changes can be a major source of stress and can cause a threat to health and well-being. The aim of this paper is to understand the importance of work-related events and changes in the psychological distress and life satisfaction of young workers in Spain. A transversal study was carried out on a sample comprising 509 men and 396 women aged between 26 and 35 years old. The results showed that there were no differences between the men and women in the number of work-related events and changes experienced in the last 12 months, nor in terms of job satisfaction. The results from the multiple regression analysis showed that a greater number of work-related events and changes experienced during the last 12 months were associated with increased psychological distress and reduced life satisfaction amongst men, but this was not the case for women. Although job satisfaction was independent from the men and women’s psychological distress when self-esteem and social support was included in the regression equation, greater job satisfaction was associated with greater life satisfaction for both men and women. It concludes that work-related events and job satisfaction are important for the health and well-being of young people, even though a larger number of work-related events and changes is associated with increased psychological distress and reduced life satisfaction for men only.