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1 – 10 of over 4000Olga Gjerald, Trude Furunes and Gro Ellen Mathisen
The purpose of this study is to identify new psychosocial risk factors in the assessment of job demands and job resources in hospitality employment and to initiate the development…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to identify new psychosocial risk factors in the assessment of job demands and job resources in hospitality employment and to initiate the development of a psychosocial hospitality risk indicator (PHRI). The argument is underpinned by the findings from an exploratory study of health and safety representatives (HSE) in the hospitality sector.
Design/methodology/approach
Using focus-group interviews with 15 HSE representatives from 13 hospitality companies in lodging, housekeeping, and food and beverage segments, this research explored perceived psychosocial risks in different hospitality jobs through the lens of the JD-R (job demands-job resources) model.
Findings
This study suggests that factors such as conditioned flexibility, technological requirements, multicultural workforce interactions, lack of support from customers and lack of emotion ventilation represent new risk factors in the psychosocial work environment if not properly managed. A list of items to assess these new psychosocial risks is provided, and a model of different knowledge sources for the further development of the PHRI is suggested.
Originality/value
This is the first paper to identify new psychosocial risks in hospitality employment through the lens of a health and safety work perspective. A key theoretical contribution of this research is the extension of the JD-R model with new variables representing service-specific job demands and resources and the development of items for future risk assessment in hospitality jobs.
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Jonathan Houdmont, Robert Kerr and Raymond Randall
There is a paucity of contemporary evidence on the organisational (as opposed to operational) psychosocial hazard (OPH) exposures of UK police officers. The purpose of this study…
Abstract
Purpose
There is a paucity of contemporary evidence on the organisational (as opposed to operational) psychosocial hazard (OPH) exposures of UK police officers. The purpose of this study is to report on OPH exposures measured via an instrument developed by the UK government – the management standards indicator tool – among police officers sampled from an entire UK force. The study seeks to provide reference values for UK police officers' OPH exposures, to consider these in relation to government exposure targets, and to examine the association between officers' OPH exposures and perceived work‐related stress.
Design/methodology/approach
Police officers (n=1,729) completed the management standards indicator tool which measures perceived exposure to seven psychosocial work environment dimensions: demands, control, managerial support, peer support, relationships, role, and change. In addition, a single‐item measure of perceived work‐related stress was applied.
Findings
Sector‐specific reference values were generated by job role and rank on each of the seven dimensions assessed by the indicator tool. Scores on all seven dimensions were below government target levels (indicating that scores fell below the 80th percentile in relation to benchmark data). In total, 46 per cent of police officers reported their work to be very or extremely stressful. A significant positive correlation (p <0.01) was found between scores on each of the seven psychosocial work characteristics and perceived work‐related stress.
Originality/value
This study is the first to report on the assessment of UK police officers' OPH exposure using the management standards indicator tool. It provides reference values that UK forces will find useful for benchmarking and intervention‐targeting purposes, and against which progress in reducing OPH exposures can be assessed.
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Jack Steven Goulding, Volkan Ezcan and Monty Sutrisna
The paper aims to investigate the employee–stakeholder engagement on business performance. A psychosocial approach was used to evaluate employees’ perception and role engagement…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to investigate the employee–stakeholder engagement on business performance. A psychosocial approach was used to evaluate employees’ perception and role engagement on organisational performance, cognisant of: strategy development; leadership; fiscal acuity; employees’ skills, empowerment; supply chain relationships; external stakeholders and wider societal beneficiaries.
Design/methodology/approach
This research is context-bound to the Turkish construction industry. Findings generated from literature established a set of evidenced-based priorities for further investigation. A case study approach was conducted with three large architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) organisations to define psychosocial diffusion indicators and priorities for future uptake.
Findings
Initial findings on psychosocial diffusion indicators and their impact on business performance are presented through a psychosocial diffusion model. Three interconnected facets are proffered for future uptake: capability (responsiveness), capability (flexibility) and capability (competence).
Research limitations/implications
Findings are exclusively bound to the sample frame in question. No attempt has been made to undertake detailed cross-analysis/correlation to support internal/external consistency, validity or reliability.
Practical implications
Organisations are able to reflect on their core business strategy to appreciate how psychosocial diffusion can be operationalised.
Social implications
This work impinges on social factors embedded within (and across) organisational boundaries, including the AEC supply chain. It also relates to employer/employee relationships, psychological functioning and employee well-being.
Originality/value
Originality rests with the identification of construction-related psychosocial indicators. It contributes to the wider body of knowledge on embedding psychosocial indicators into organisational systems and processes, adding further insight into systems thinking and business transformation.
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Thomas George Campbell, Tony Westbury, Richard Davison and Geraint Florida-James
As exposure to psychosocial hazard at work represents a substantial risk factor for employee health in many modern occupations, being able to accurately assess how employees cope…
Abstract
Purpose
As exposure to psychosocial hazard at work represents a substantial risk factor for employee health in many modern occupations, being able to accurately assess how employees cope with their working environment is crucial. The workplace is generally accepted as being a dynamic environment, therefore, consideration should be given to the interaction between employees and the acute environmental characteristics of their workplace. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of both acute demand and chronic work-related psychosocial hazard upon employees through ambulatory assessment of heart rate variability and blood pressure.
Design/methodology/approach
A within-subjects repeated measures design was used to investigate the relationship between exposure to work-related psychosocial hazard and ambulatory heart rate variability and blood pressure in a cohort of higher education employees. Additionally the effect of acute variation in perceived work-related demand was investigated.
Findings
Two dimensions of the Management Standards were found to demonstrate an association with heart rate variability; more hazardous levels of “demand” and “relationships” were associated with decreased standard deviation of the normal-to-normal interval. Significant changes in blood pressure and indices of heart rate variability were observed with increased acute demand.
Originality/value
This is the first attempt to combine the Health and Safety Management Standards Indicator Tool with physiological assessment of employees. The results provide evidence of associations between scores on the indicator tool and ambulatory heart rate variability as well as demonstrating that variation in acute perceived work-related demand is associated with alterations to autonomic and cardiovascular function. This has implications not only for employee health and workplace design but also for future studies employing ambulatory physiological monitoring.
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Shelly Schaefer and Gina Erickson
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how adolescent arrest and correctional confinement impact psychosocial development during the transition to adulthood.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how adolescent arrest and correctional confinement impact psychosocial development during the transition to adulthood.
Design/methodology/approach
The research uses a US-based sample of 12,100 youth in junior and high school and again in early adulthood. Factor analyses determine measurement of psychosocial maturity (PSM) and subsequently compare baseline and subsequent psychosocial development in a multivariate framework for males and females.
Findings
Findings show that net of socio-demographic and delinquency-related controls, all three groups have similar baseline psychosocial measures pre-confinement but by early adulthood (ages 18–25) there are significant differences between the two justice-involved groups for multiple measure of psychosocial well-being, net of any differences at baseline. Differences are exacerbated for females.
Research limitations/implications
Results suggest the need for juvenile correctional facilities to incorporate programming that allows juveniles to build psychosocial skills through activities that mirror typical adolescent responsibilities, behaviors and tasks.
Originality/value
The authors compare PSM development for three groups of adolescents: non-justice-involved youth, youth who were arrested but not confined before age 18 (arrested non-confined), and delinquent youth who served time in out-of-home correctional placement before age 18 (confined) to compare development and changes in psychosocial development over time. Further, the authors examine the interaction of gender and confinement to explore if the context of confinement disrupts PSM development differently for females.
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Isabelle Y.S. Chan and Hao Chen
Due to land resource scarcity, sustainable urban development in high-density cities has long been challenging. As such, many cities are formulating plans to “dig deep”, resulting…
Abstract
Purpose
Due to land resource scarcity, sustainable urban development in high-density cities has long been challenging. As such, many cities are formulating plans to “dig deep”, resulting in more citizens working and/or staying underground for longer periods of time. However, owing to the particularities of underground space, the factors involved in the creation of a healthy environment are different from those involved in aboveground developments. This study thus aims to investigate the influences of various underground environment factors on users' health through a holistic approach.
Design/methodology/approach
To achieve this aim, 12 underground sites and 12 corresponding aboveground sites are selected for a large-scale questionnaire survey, resulting in 651 survey samples. The survey covers post-occupancy evaluation of health (physical and psychosocial), underground environmental quality (visual, thermal, acoustic comfort, indoor air quality and ventilation), space design and greenery. Independent-sample T-test, Pearson correlation, multiple regression modelling and structural equation modelling are used to investigate whether significant differences exist between health of underground and aboveground users, and to develop an underground environment-health model for unveiling the significant associations between underground environment factors and users' health. To cross validate the results, an objective field measurement study is further conducted on six underground sites. The objective measurement results are used to cross validate the survey results.
Findings
The questionnaire results provide the following evidence: (1) health of underground users is significantly poorer than that of their aboveground counterparts; (2) underground development users' health is significantly affected by space design, greenery and environmental quality in terms of thermal comfort, indoor air quality, ventilation and acoustic comfort but not visual comfort; and (3) amongst the various identified factors, space design has the strongest predicting effects on human health. The field study echoes the survey findings and further unveils the relationships between different environmental factors and human health.
Originality/value
The results shed light on the importance of distinguishing between underground developments and aboveground ones in various guidelines and standards, especially those related to space management.
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Rachel Fleishman, Adrian Tomer and Robert Schwartz
Attention has been increasingly devoted to the development of methods for assessing the quality of care in long‐term care (LTC) facilities, especially for government surveillance…
Abstract
Attention has been increasingly devoted to the development of methods for assessing the quality of care in long‐term care (LTC) facilities, especially for government surveillance. A study is described which used the tracer method to provide data on the quality of care in Israeli LTC institutions. Advantages of the tracer method include its incorporation of structural, process and outcome measures and its focus on a number of representative tracer conditions. The study tested the ability of the tracer method to provide data on the quality of care, and facilitated adoption of this methodology by the government for their annual inspections.
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Robert Kinlocke, Aleem Mahabir, Rose-Ann Smith and Jarda Nelson
Amid the multitude of economic effects emanating from impositions of COVID-19, workers in the tourism sector are potentially experiencing significant psychosocial impacts. These…
Abstract
Amid the multitude of economic effects emanating from impositions of COVID-19, workers in the tourism sector are potentially experiencing significant psychosocial impacts. These effects are compounded by the uncertainty of pathways for positive change and the precariousness of adjustments to life and livelihoods. Their attitudes to the newly imposed circumstances are possibly conditioned by a sense of hope which may have implications for their adaptations in the face of sudden or slow change. In this chapter, we argue that one’s sense of hope represents an important component of psychosocial well-being and may even be visualized as a necessary component of adaptation. Hope is conceptualized as a cognitive process that entails thinking and planning in order to achieve proposed goals (Snyder, Irving, & Anderson, 1991; Snyder, Lopez, Shorey, Rand, & Feldman, 2003) and can be operationalized into three core components: goals, pathways, and agency. Based on in-depth interviews and a questionnaire survey administered to former accommodation workers in the Negril tourism industry, this chapter examines expressions of hope(lessness) existing among workers displaced by COVID-19. It potentially provides nuanced understandings of hope as a necessary raw material for adaptation initiatives and explores ways in which a sense of hope could be harnessed in the face of disasters and despair.
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Bashir Tijani, Xiao-Hua Jin and Robert Osei-Kyei
Architectural, engineering and construction (AEC) project organizations are under constant pressure to improve the mental health of project management practitioners (PMPs) due to…
Abstract
Purpose
Architectural, engineering and construction (AEC) project organizations are under constant pressure to improve the mental health of project management practitioners (PMPs) due to complexity and dynamism involved in project management practices. Drawing on institutional theory, this research explores how external environmental factors, political factors, economic factors, social factors, technological factors, environmental factors and legal factors (PESTEL), influence mental health management indicators that contribute to positive mental health.
Design/methodology/approach
Purposive sampling method was used to collect survey data from 82 PMPs in 60 AEC firms in Australia. Structural equation modelling was used to test the hypotheses based on 82 items of data collected from PMPs.
Findings
Overall, this study revealed interesting findings on the impact of external environmental factors on mental health. The hypothesized positive association between political factors and mental health management indicators was rejected. The data supported the proposed hypothetical correlation between economic factors and mental health management indicators and the influence of social factors on mental health management indicators. Moreover, a hypothetical relationship between technological factors and mental health management indicators was supported. The significant positive impact of environmental factors on mental health management indicators proposed was supported, and legal factors’ positive correlation on mental health management indicators was also supported.
Originality/value
Despite the limitations, the present findings suggest that all the external environment factors except political factors shape mental health management outcomes.
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