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Due to the “European Union Framework Directive on Safety and Health at work” (Directive 89/391/EEC, 1989), every employer is obliged to avoid psychosocial hazards when designing work. Little is known empirically about the barriers that workplace actors experience while developing and implementing OSH measures that prevent psychosocial hazards. The purpose of this paper is to explore barriers, causes and attempts to overcome them and discusses them with reference to relevant theoretical concepts and models that help to explain how these barriers hinder the development and implementation of OSH measures.

Semi-structured interviews with workplace actors in charge of psychosocial risk assessment (PRA) were conducted in 41 business cases, and transcripts were analysed using a thematic analysis approach. Barriers, causes and attempts to overcome them were extracted inductively and discussed with reference to relevant theories and explanatory models.

The complex nature of psychosocial risks, hindering general beliefs, lack of a perceived scope for risk avoidance, lack of assumptions of responsibility among players on all hierarchical levels, discrepancies between formal responsibility and decision authority, and low reflexivity on processes of development and implementation of interventions were described as barriers. Causes and attempts to overcome these barriers were reflected upon by workplace actors.

Recommendations on the organisation of PRA will be given with respect to the reported results and relevant research in this field.

This qualitative study explores the barriers to developing and implementing OSH measures to eliminate psychosocial hazards, from the perspective of actors in charge of PRA, and why they might fail.

This study aims to develop a reliable and valid German/Deutsch version of the management standards indicator tool (MSIT-D) to broaden the pool of instruments available to practitioners and to support international collaborations regarding this workplace management issue.

The MSIT-D was translated from English to German, then its psychometric properties examined using data from British employees (n = 321) and German employees (n = 358). Confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) were used to evaluate the internal structure and measurement invariance, and Cronbach’s alpha was used to assess internal consistency. Comparisons were made with the German language risk assessment tool Fragebogen zur Gefährdungsbeurteilung psychischer Belastungen (FGBU) to examine concurrent and incremental validity. Criterion validity was checked using established measures of work-related health.

The MSIT-D has an equivalent seven-factor structure (demands, control, managerial support, peer support, relationships, role and change) as the original; the analyses confirmed configural and metric measurement invariance with the original scale. The internal consistency of the scales ranged from 0.82 to 0.91. Regarding criterion validity, the MSIT-D was positively correlated with emotional exhaustion and psychosomatic complaints and negatively correlated with work engagement and workability. The analyses yielded meaningful correlations between the MSIT-D dimensions and the FGBU.

This is the first study to develop a German version of the MSIT and confirm metric measurement invariance. This will allow a comparison of MSIT scores with related constructs between German- and English-speaking samples. As a reliable and valid instrument for assessing work-related stressors, the outcome of this study presents opportunities for developing a unified surveillance system for work-related stress at the European level.

Using two main research questions, the purpose of this paper is to examine well-being and preparedness among Cambodian and Laotian immigrants living near the Gulf Coast of the USA, and the ways in which indicators such as sense of community and risk perception are related to these constructs.

This study employed a cross-sectional prospective design to examine disaster preparedness and well-being among Laotian and Cambodian immigrant communities. Quantitative survey data using purposive snowball sampling were collected throughout several months in Alabama, Mississippi, Florida and Louisiana.

Results from two multiple regressions revealed that sense of community and age contributed to well-being and were significant in the model, but with a negative relationship between age and well-being. Risk perception, confidence in government, confidence in engaging household preparedness and ability to cope with a financial crisis were significant predictors and positively related to disaster preparedness.

Well-being and disaster preparedness can be bolstered through community-based planning that seeks to address urgent needs of the people residing in vulnerable coastal locations. Specifically, immigrants who speak English as a second language, elder individuals and households in the lowest income brackets should be supported in disaster planning and outreach.

Cambodian and Laotian American immigrants rely upon the Gulf Coast’s waters for fishing, crab and shrimp income. Despite on-going hazard and disasters, few studies address preparedness among immigrant populations in the USA. This study fills a gap in preparedness research as well as factors associated with well-being, an important aspect of long-term resilience.

The occupational stress is a disadvantage resulting in mental health illnesses that have been found when looking at those migrants who were young adults and migrated to work in the urban areas, leaving behind their aging parents to live alone at home. The purpose of this paper is to compare the causal relationships of job stress between Thai immigrant employees with and without rearing aging parents.

The research was a cross-sectional survey. The sample for this study included 600 Thai immigrant employees (300 cases per group) in 2016. Measures included individual characteristics, working conditions, and a Thai Job Content Questionnaire (Thai-JCQ) on related job stress. The model was verified using a path model by Mplus software.

The distance traveled between the house and the workplace, wages, working conditions had a direct effect on job stress. Working conditions among Thai immigrants employees with rearing aging parents had the most direct effect on job stress with a standardized regression weight of 0.552 (p-value <0.05) as well as working conditions among their without rearing aging parents had the most direct effect on job stress with a standardized regression weight of −0.292.

This research demonstrated that working conditions were an important factor.

The paper aims to provide insights into the influence of COVID-19 on employee engagement and ergonomics in the banking sector. The purpose of this study is understood from the perspective of impact of the pandemic on banking employees.

Data for the study are collected from the employees working in the banking sector of India. The study applied the partial least squares (PLS) method of analysis to understand the relationship between employee engagement and ergonomics in the banking sector.

The findings of the study suggest results with regards to change in the perception of the employees in the bank and its influence on the work ergonomics due to pandemic. The findings indicate that banks need to develop measures and strategies for improving employee engagement programs and work ergonomics at banks.

The study is confined to the banking employees working in a specific region. Therefore, future research could focus more on the influence of Covid-19 on the organizational culture of the banking system and provide insight into this direction of research.

This study provides directions for human resource management for developing effective practices for improving the performance of the employees in the banking sector.

This study offers support to the banking sector by providing insights into how it can improve the working environment and, thereby, enhance working in the banking sector.

This is the study that attempts to provide insights into how ergonomics is important for working in the banking sector, especially during a pandemic. The findings provide important implications for the banking sector and improve work ergonomics.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a brief screening instrument to identify risk factors of factory workers experiencing mass fainting illness (MFI) due to work-environmental determinants.

A factory-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 740 workers in October 2017 and was completed with face-to-face interviews. Data analyses included univariate logistic regression, backward stepwise linear regression and multiple logistic regression. Sum scores on significant items and receiver operator characteristic curves were used to compute potential cut-off points and the sensitivity and specificity rates.

Significant work-environmental factors were identified as working at very high speeds, having less influence on the choice of working partners, perceived high temperature at work, having less opportunity to do their best at work, and concern about losing a job in the next six months. In developing a screening instrument, a 6.5 cut-off point that corresponded to 99.6 percent sensitivity and 92.2 percent specificity was identified.

The study concludes that this MFI-instrument could potentially be used to prevent MFI. By understanding the policy implications, the government body, employers, workers, development partners and stakeholders should work toward preventing MFI. Implementing a preventive measure is therefore warranted due to the health education impact.

Although brand risk management (BRM) is widely acknowledged as critical concern of business leaders, there exists little empirical evidence regarding what activities firms could do to make their brand secured in the increasingly competitive market. Moreover, previous studies find out the important role of innovation stimulus in firm performance, but little attention is paid on how firm's innovation stimulates the firm's brand security. This study aims at exploring the impacts of BRM activities on brand security with the innovation stimulus as a moderator.

Mixed method is applied in conducting this research. In the qualitative research, an interview with managers of 20 large-size foodstuff companies in Vietnam is conducted to obtain insights into their understanding BRM activities and brand security as well as the role of innovation stimulus in managing brand risk and developing measurements for new constructs. In the quantitative research, a sample of 258 respondents is collected for the tests of reliability and validity as well as all hypotheses using SPSS software.

The authors’ findings show that the level of implementation of BRM activities influences the brand security with the moderating effect of innovation stimulus. Specifically, four dimensions of BRM activities including: strategy, personnel, processes and investment have direct, positive and significant impact on brand security. Innovation stimulus including innovation in leadership and innovation in knowledge management could serve as a moderating variable.

The findings of the current study have contributed to BRM literature by highlighting the importance of the implementation of BRM activities and the key role of innovation stimulus in ensuring the brand security, on which previous studies have paid little attention. The study suggests some guidance for firms about how to improve the innovation stimulus in enhancing the effectiveness of BRM activities and, as a result, increasing the brand security of the firm.

The current pandemic and ongoing climate risks highlight the limited capacity of various systems, including health and social ones, to respond to population-scale and long-term threats. Practices to reduce the impacts on the health and well-being of populations must evolve from a reactive mode to preventive, proactive and concerted actions beginning at individual and community levels. Experiences and lessons learned from the pandemic will help to better prevent and reduce the psychosocial impacts of floods, or other hydroclimatic risks, in a climate change context.

The present paper first describes the complexity and the challenges associated with climate change and systemic risks. It also presents some systemic frameworks of mental health determinants, and provides an overview of the different types of psychosocial impacts of disasters. Through various Quebec case studies and using lessons learned from past and recent flood-related events, recommendations are made on how to better integrate individual and community factors in disaster response.

Results highlight the fact that people who have been affected by the events are significantly more likely to have mental health problems than those not exposed to flooding. They further demonstrate the adverse and long-term effects of floods on psychological health, notably stemming from indirect stressors at the community and institutional levels. Different strategies are proposed from individual-centered to systemic approaches, in putting forward the advantages from intersectoral and multirisk researches and interventions.

The establishment of an intersectoral flood network, namely the InterSectoral Flood Network of Québec (RIISQ), is presented as an interesting avenue to foster interdisciplinary collaboration and a systemic view of flood risks. Intersectoral work is proving to be a major issue in the management of systemic risks, and should concern communities, health and mental health professionals, and the various levels of governance. As climate change is called upon to lead to more and more systemic risks, close collaboration between all the areas concerned with the management of the factors of vulnerability and exposure of populations will be necessary to respond effectively to damages and impacts (direct and indirect) linked to new meteorological and compound hazards. This means as well to better integrate the communication managers into the risk management team.

Job stressor exposure is associated with mental health in police officers. Police stress research rarely draws a distinction between urban and rural policing, raising the possibility that stressors specific to the rural context remain unidentified and their implications unknown. This may hinder actions to protect the mental health of those involved in policing rural communities.

Among rural policing teams in an English county police force this study used an exploratory sequential mixed method design to (1) identify and quantify exposure to rural policing stressors and (2) examine links between job stressor exposure and psychological distress.

Interviews (N = 34) identified three rural policing job stressor themes: (1) job demands, (2) isolation and (3) critical decisions. Survey data (N = 229) indicated significant differences in exposure by rank to demand and critical decision stressors, with police community support officers (PCSOs) reporting lower exposure than officers of constable and sergeant rank. Overall, 44% of respondents reported symptoms of psychological distress indicative of likely minor psychiatric disorder; higher levels of psychological distress were associated with higher stressor exposure across all three job stressor themes for PCSOs and constables and within the job demand theme for sergeants.

Findings point towards practical actions focussed on resource provision for officers and a research strategy to ameliorate the impact of stressors in English rural policing.

The purpose of this paper is to conduct a comprehensive review on the implementation and the effect of Japan's Stress Check Program, a national program to monitor and control workplace psychosocial factors that was initiated in December 2015.

We comprehensively reviewed articles published in Japanese and English, assessed the performance of the Stress Check Program and summarized future challenges. We also discussed the implications for practice.

The available literature presented a scientific basis for the efficiency and validity of predictions using the Brief Job Stress Questionnaire, which is the instrument recommended to screen workers with high stress in the program. No study has verified the effect of the program on workers' mental health by using group analysis of stress check results. There is room for improvement in tools that contribute to identifying workers with high stress and in measures for improving the work environment. The Stress Check Program contrasts with risk management of psychosocial factors at work, widely adopted in European countries as a strategy for improving workers' mental health by focussing on the psychosocial work environment.

Although the effectiveness of the Japanese program needs further evaluation, future developments of the program would provide insight for national policies on psychosocial risks/psychosocial stress at work.

This paper is the first systematic review on the implementation and effects of Japan's Stress Check Program.