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Open Access
Article
Publication date: 16 November 2022

Fatima Mahomed, Pius Oba and Michael Sony

The COVID-19 pandemic has rapidly accelerated a shift to remote working for previously office-based employees in South Africa, impacting employee outcomes such as well-being. The…

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Abstract

Purpose

The COVID-19 pandemic has rapidly accelerated a shift to remote working for previously office-based employees in South Africa, impacting employee outcomes such as well-being. The remote work trend is expected to continue even post the pandemic, necessitating for organizational understanding of the factors impacting employee well-being. Using the Job Demands–Resources model as the theoretical framework, this study aims to understand the role of job demands and resources as predictors of employee well-being in the pandemic context.

Design/methodology/approach

A self-administered online survey questionnaire was used to gather quantitative data about remote workers’ (n = 204) perceptions of specifically identified demands, resources and employee well-being. Descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation and moderated hierarchical regression were used to analyse the data.

Findings

This study found that job demands in the form of work–home conflict were associated with reduced employee well-being. Resources, namely, job autonomy, effective communication and social support were associated with increased employee well-being. Job autonomy was positively correlated to remote work frequency, and gender had a significant positive association to work–home conflict. Social support was found to moderate the relationship between work–home conflict and employee well-being. Findings suggest that organizations looking to enhance the well-being of their remote workforce should implement policies and practices that reduce the demands and increase the resources of their employees. The significant association of gender to work–home conflict suggests that greater interventions are required particularly for women. This study advances knowledge on the role of demands and resources as predictors of employee well-being of remote workforces during COVID-19 and beyond.

Originality/value

This paper provides insight on employee well-being during COVID-19 remote work. Further, the findings suggest that organizations looking to enhance the well-being of their remote workforce should implement policies and practices that reduce the demands and increase the resources of their employees. The significant association of gender to work–home conflict suggests that greater interventions are required particularly for women. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study carried out to explore the employee well-being during COVID-19 pandemic and will be beneficial to stakeholders for understanding the factors impacting employee well-being.

Details

European Journal of Training and Development, vol. 47 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-9012

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 June 2018

Luciana Teixeira Lot, Alice Sarantopoulos, Li Li Min, Simone Reges Perales, Ilka de Fatima Santana Ferreira Boin and Elaine Cristina de Ataide

This paper aims to address problems in patient flow and identify the reasons behind extensive wait time at a public liver transplant outpatient clinic in an education and research…

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to address problems in patient flow and identify the reasons behind extensive wait time at a public liver transplant outpatient clinic in an education and research hospital through the use of Lean health-care theories.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper opted for the application of Lean thinking and action research strategy. Data were collected through personal observations, interviews with users and team brainstorming. A value stream map was developed, improvement possibilities were identified and non-value-added activities were attempted to be eliminated.

Findings

Significant problems were identified and improvements were implemented and measured. The major remedial measures were: change the scheduling pattern, create a flow chart and a Kanban visual guide for medical students. In addition, an institutional change in the medical appointment scheduling software collaborated in the reduction of time and in the patient’s displacement. The waiting time was reduced by 4.5 h, and the per cent complete and accurate increased by 50 per cent.

Practical implications

The flow was redesigned, and a culture of continuous improvement was introduced. Visiting the place where work was being done, leaders identified and created more value to the process without significant costs. The Gemba Walk was a powerful tool, interacting with people and processes in a Kaizen spirit.

Originality/value

Public health services in developing countries are one of the most deprived social needs of good practice. It will be useful for those who need examples about how to apply Lean tools in health care.

Details

Leadership in Health Services, vol. 31 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1751-1879

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 February 2023

Tasneem Fatima and Mehwish Majeed

This study aims to investigate the indirect relationship between exploitative leadership (EL) and psychological distress through emotional complexity. This study also predicted…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the indirect relationship between exploitative leadership (EL) and psychological distress through emotional complexity. This study also predicted that belief in organizational conspiracy theories moderates the association between EL and emotional complexity. Furthermore, forgiveness climate acts as a boundary condition between emotional complexity and psychological distress.

Design/methodology/approach

The respondents of this time-lagged study (N = 325) were working in five-star and four-star hotels in three cities located in Pakistan, namely, Rawalpindi, Islamabad and Lahore. Data were collected through the questionnaire.

Findings

Results revealed that exploitative leaders cause emotional complexity among hotel employees, enhancing their psychological distress. The study further showed that hotel employees who believe in organizational conspiracy theories are more likely to experience emotional complexity under an exploitative leader. Additionally, the perceived forgiveness climate moderates the relationship between emotional complexity and psychological distress.

Practical implications

Hotel managers should avoid hiring those candidates for leadership positions who have a tendency to engage in exploitative behavior. Managers should maintain regular communication with hotel workers to minimize beliefs in organizational conspiracy theories. Managers should also develop a forgiveness climate to minimize psychological distress among hotel employees.

Originality/value

It is one of the few studies investigating the negative consequences of EL, particularly in the hospitality industry. This study has also identified the underlying causes of psychological distress among hotel workers.

Details

International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol. 35 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-6119

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 6 March 2017

Theresa Alfaro-Velcamp

Asylum seekers, refugees and immigrants’ access to healthcare vary in South Africa and Cape Town due to unclear legal status. The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the…

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Abstract

Purpose

Asylum seekers, refugees and immigrants’ access to healthcare vary in South Africa and Cape Town due to unclear legal status. The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the source of this variation, the divergence between the 1996 South African Constitution, the immigration laws, and regulations and to describe its harmful consequences.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on legal and ethnographic research, this paper documents the disjuncture between South African statutes and regulations and the South African Constitution regarding refugees and migrants’ access to healthcare. Research involved examining South African jurisprudence, the African Charter, and United Nations’ materials regarding rights to health and health care access, and speaking with civil society organizations and healthcare providers. These sources inform the description of the immigrant access to healthcare in Cape Town, South Africa.

Findings

Asylum-seekers and refugees are entitled to health and emergency care; however, hospital administrators require documentation (up-to-date permits) before care can be administered. Many immigrants – especially the undocumented – are often unable to obtain care because of a lack of papers or because of “progressive realization,” the notion that the state cannot presently afford to provide treatment in accordance with constitutional rights. These explanations have put healthcare providers in an untenable position of not being able to treat patients, including some who face fatal conditions.

Research limitations/implications

The research is limited by the fact that South African courts have not adjudicated a direct challenge to being refused care at healthcare facility on the basis of legal status. This limits the ability to know how rights afforded to “everyone” within the South African Constitution will be interpreted with respect to immigrants seeking healthcare. The research is also limited by the non-circulation of healthcare admissions policies among leading facilities in the Cape Town region where the case study is based.

Practical implications

Articulation of the disjuncture between the South African Constitution and the immigration laws and regulations allows stakeholders and decision-makers to reframe provincial and municipal policies about healthcare access in terms of constitutional rights and the practical limitations accommodated through progressive realization.

Social implications

In South Africa, immigration statutes and regulations are inconsistent and deemed unconstitutional with respect to the treatment of undocumented migrants. Hospital administrators are narrowly interpreting the laws to instruct healthcare providers on how to treat patients and whom they can treat. These practices need to stop. Access to healthcare must be structured to comport with the constitutional right afforded to everyone, and with progressive realization pursued through a non – discriminatory policy regarding vulnerable immigrants.

Originality/value

This paper presents a unique case study that combines legal and social science methods to explore a common and acute question of health care access. The case is novel and instructive insofar as South Africa has not established refugee camps in response to rising numbers of refugees, asylum seekers and immigrants. South Africans thus confront a “first world” question of equitable access to healthcare within their African context and with limited resources in a climate of increasing xenophobia.

Details

International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care, vol. 13 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1747-9894

Keywords

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