Women working in Poland: An overview

Abstract

This paper presents a brief overview of the position of working women within the State-controlled economy of Poland. It examines the different factors which have influenced the increase in the numbers of women entering work, and considers what is known of their health and safety at work. It points up the progress that has been made in society's acceptance of women's work, and in establishing the rights of working women which help them to combine more easily the roles of mother and worker. It sets these developments in the context of the Polish approach to equality at work.     

Women, men, VDU work and health: A questionnaire survey of British VDU operators

This paper presents the results of a questionnaire survey of male and female VDU operators distributed through Health & Safety at Work magazine. 3819 questionnaires were analysed using the SPSS computer program. 57% of the sample were female, 68% were under 35 years old and 73% were members of a trade union or staff association. The large number of male respondents meant that it was possible to compare work patterns, types of work and health effects for men and women. It appears that women are engaged in more repetitive and less varied tasks at the VDU and that they work longer hours and for longer periods without a break than men. The most frequently reported health problems were eyestrain, painful or stiff neck and shoulders, fatigue and irritated eyes. The incidence of symptoms was related to hours of work at the VDU. Women were more likely to report health effects than men. This difference remains when hours of work, type of work and hours worked without a break are taken into account. Ergonomically designed equipment such as adjustable chairs, lighting or keyboard did not have an obvious effect on the reporting of symptoms. It appeared that there is a complex interaction between the physical, ergonomic and psychosocial factors associated with new technology. All these factors need to be taken into account in further research into the health problems of VDU operators.     

Women,men, VDU work and health: A questionnaire survey of British VDU operators

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a questionnaire survey of male and female VDU operators distributed through Health & Safety at Work magazine. 3819 questionnaires were analysed using the SPSS computer program. 57% of the sample were female, 68% were under 35 years old and 73% were members of a trade union or staff association. The large number of male respondents meant that it was possible to compare work patterns, types of work and health effects for men and women. It appears that women are engaged in more repetitive and less varied tasks at the VDU and that they work longer hours and for longer periods without a break than men. The most frequently reported health problems were eyestrain, painful or stiff neck and shoulders, fatigue and irritated eyes. The incidence of symptoms was related to hours of work at the VDU. Women were more likely to report health effects than men. This difference remains when hours of work, type of work and hours worked without a break are taken into account. Ergonomically designed equipment such as adjustable chairs, lighting or keyboard did not have an obvious effect on the reporting of symptoms. It appeared that there is a complex interaction between the physical, ergonomic and psychosocial factors associated with new technology. All these factors need to be taken into account in further research into the health problems of VDU operators.     

Safety training: An overview of current needs

Abstract

This article considers the changing nature of the demands and pressures faced by today's training practitioner. It emphasizes that safety is no longer a matter of ‘tin hats, safety guards and first aid boxes’, and explores the problems created by new legislation and rapidly changing technology. It also points up the skills required by the safety practitioner in effectively dealing with his/her organization, and the constraints placed on them by social and economic factors. The article reviews the training implications of this developing scenario.     

Safety training: An overview of current needs

This article considers the changing nature of the demands and pressures faced by today's training practitioner. It emphasizes that safety is no longer a matter of 'tin hats, safety guards and first aid boxes', and explores the problems created by new legislation and rapidly changing technology. It also points up the skills required by the safety practitioner in effectively dealing with his/her organization, and the constraints placed on them by social and economic factors. The article reviews the training implications of this developing scenario.     

National cultures and safety orientation: A study of seafarers working for Norwegian shipping companies

Up to now, little work has been conducted on safety in relation to national culture. This paper examines the association between national culture and the safety orientation of seafarers on Norwegian-owned vessels. Safety orientation is the result of cultural, organizational, and contextual factors that create attitudes and behaviours that in turn influence safety. In this study a safety culture/orientation questionnaire was designed and used to determine risk and safety characteristics. Survey data was collected from 2,558 seafarers from 27 countries. The sample used consisted of seafarers from the 10 countries for which there were more than 10 respondents. Five national (cultural) characteristics were calculated using Hofstede's Value Survey Model 94. Multivariate analysis of variance revealed that (a) the number of nationalities represented on a vessel was related to their attitude towards safety issues, such that two-nation vessels obtain relatively negative scores regarding these issues, and (b) national culture was related to safety culture, such that high power distance, high uncertainty avoidance, and high individualism were positive for safety. The implications of these findings for practice and future research are discussed.     

A community study of dual-role stress and coping in working mothers

This paper describes a pilot study in a community in North London of dual-role stress and coping in three groups of working mothers with dependent children at home. One group was married and enjoying comparatively high income; another was 'single' and also with comparatively high income; the third group was 'single' with comparatively low income. There were 15 women in each group. The study was by interview and questionnaire. Evidence of dual-role stress was found in the study, and the results are consistent with conclusions drawn from the literature. However, many women appeared to obtain important benefits from going to work, and there was considerable evidence of good coping, especially in terms of drawing on the informal support of other women. Both the quality of the job and quality of domestic support were important for the working mother's stress management. The relative poverty of organized child-care in Britain was reflected in the child-care problem reported by most of these women and the 'single' women in particular. Low income 'single' women reported greatest levels of stress and strain, financial and child-care stress, and work stress.     

Participation of Women in the Journal of Organizational Behavior Management: An Update and Extension

ABSTRACT

A number of articles have examined the participation of women in behavior analysis research. However, most have excluded JOBM from the analysis. For this review, we coded participation of women yearly, since the inception of the journal. We examined participation of women overall, as first authors, as sole authors, and in empirical articles. We also assessed collaborations between genders and identified the ten most published women in JOBM. Next, we examined the current editorial board and associate editors to provide updated information on the participation of women in those roles. Overall, we found an increasing trend of participation of women over the years with participation approaching parity in most categories in the most recent years. Finally, we discussed these results and suggested greater attention be paid to increasing participation of other underrepresented groups.     

Stress at sea: A review of working conditions in the offshore oil and fishing industries

Abstract

This paper reviews the literature available on the psychosocial aspects of the offshore oil and fishing industries. Both work sectors present unique problems for their employees and these are discussed with reference to risk and safety, accidents and injuries, occupational stressors, marriage and family life, noise, alcohol and drug abuse and personality. The paper concludes that although both occupations are intrinsically different, some psychosocial similarities can be observed.     

Adverse psychosocial working conditions and subjective health in freelance media workers

In recent years there has been a steady growth of non-standard work contracts in advanced societies. These contracts are characterized by increased flexibility of work arrangements and increased job instability, which holds particularly true for the media industry. This pilot study analyses associations of work stress with subjective health in a group of German freelancers (N = 290) working in the media industry. The measurement of work stress is based on the effort-reward imbalance model. Results of logistic regression analyses indicate significant effects of high effort in combination with low reward (money, esteem, promotion prospects, job security) on subjective health in men and women, with the effects being higher in men. Moreover, among men a critical pattern of coping with work stress enhanced the reported effect. In conclusion, the preliminary evidence from this study indicates an elevated risk of poor subjective health among freelance workers who are exposed to adverse psychosocial work conditions.     

Lognormal Distributions for Total Water Intake and Tap Water Intake by Pregnant and Lactating Women in the United States

Using probability plots and Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE), we fit lognormal distributions to data compiled by Ershow et al. for daily intake of total water and tap water by three groups of women (controls, pregnant, and lactating; all between 15–49 years of age) in the United States. We also develop bivariate lognormal distributions for the joint distribution of water ingestion and body weight for these three groups. Overall, we recommend the marginal distributions for water intake as fit by MLE for use in human health risk assessments.     

Women at work in workplaces designed for men: Anthropometry and ergonomics

This article considers one of the sources of stress faced by modern working women: that of having to work in environments largely designed for men. It outlines how this problem has arisen, and examines the different ways in which it can be overcome, pointing up some of the main ergonomic issues that should be addressed in the design of work environments and facilities.     

Women and training: an empirical investigation in the Arab Middle East

Few studies have explored the professional training experiences of Arab women within the contexts of learning organisational cultures and relevant human resource development (HRD) practices. Capitalising on in-depth, face-to-face interviews, this study explores the experiences of women managers in Lebanon with professional training and organisational learning. The findings demonstrate the paucity of professional training and learning opportunities for women and illustrate how organisational discrimination and gender-biased cultures and tension influence women’s learning. To overcome these barriers and alleviate organisational tension, the Lebanese women managers capitalise on their agency and individual capacities to improve their training experiences and increase their access to learning opportunities. By virtue of individual agency and through their agentic process, the careerists shape their training and overall learning by being adaptive and developing structures of action that enable them to advance their learning. The results have important implications for HR managers and HRD scholars. They also extend our understanding of the importance, or lack thereof, of the learning culture within an organisation.     

Women at work in workplaces designed for men: Anthropometry and ergonomics

Abstract

This article considers one of the sources of stress faced by modern working women: that of having to work in environments largely designed for men. It outlines how this problem has arisen, and examines the different ways in which it can be overcome, pointing up some of the main ergonomic issues that should be addressed in the design of work environments and facilities.     

Women entrepreneurs in and from developing countries: Evidences from the literature

Entrepreneurship has a leading role in economic development worldwide and, although it has usually been considered as a male dominated activity, recent studies emphasize how significant the contribution of women today is: in 2010, almost 42% of entrepreneurs in the world were, indeed, women (GEM, 2010).     

中国企业环境、健康和安全管理者胜任力模型研究

环境、健康和安全管理者的综合素质和能力集中表现为他们的胜任力,他们的胜任力是影响组织环境、健康和安全管理绩效的主要因素。采用实证研究设计,以胜任力理论为基础,探讨中国企业环境、健康和安全管理者的胜任力模型。利用行为事件访谈法,对外资企业、国有企业和民营企业中一些业绩优秀的资深环境、健康和安全管理者进行采访,从中得出环境、健康和安全管理者的基本胜任力特征指标;通过对多省市和多类型企业的环境、健康和安全管理者的大样本问卷调查和数据处理,探索和验证中国企业环境、健康和安全管理者的胜任力模型。研究结果表明,环境、健康和安全管理者胜任力模型包括团队协作、个人特质、沟通决策、问题解决以及环境、健康和安全专业知识与技能5个维度,这5个维度由19个指标构成,并对模型的应用进行讨论。     

It's all about me: The role of narcissism in exacerbating the relationship between stressors and counterproductive work behaviour

Although studies have found that personality variables moderate the relationship between stressors and counterproductive work behaviour, few have examined the role of narcissism and those that did have found inconsistent results. Using a sample of 515 United States employees, we found that narcissism moderated the relationships between interpersonal conflict at work and counterproductive work behaviours directed at others, and between organizational constraints and counterproductive work behaviours directed at the organization, making both relationships stronger for those high on narcissism. We also found that narcissism moderated the relationship between organizational constraints and counterproductive work behaviours directed at others. Further, we demonstrated that the grandiose exhibitionism facet of narcissism moderated these same stressor–counterproductive work behaviours relationships, whereas the facets of leadership/authority and entitlement/exploitiveness did not. Our study indicates that organizational scholars should examine narcissism as an important antecedent of work behaviour, and that research needs to consider potential differential prediction by each of its facets.     

Decision Analysis and Risk Management Decision Making: Issues and Methods

This paper provides an overview of decision analysis and its use in risk management decision making. The paper discusses the distinctive characteristics of decision analysis and compares these characteristics with those of its principal alternative—cost–benefit analysis. The paper also discusses each of the steps in a decision analysis and the strengths and limitations of the method.     

MORM—A Petri Net Based Model for Assessing OH&S Risks in Industrial Processes: Modeling Qualitative Aspects

Because of the increase in workplace automation and the diversification of industrial processes, workplaces have become more and more complex. The classical approaches used to address workplace hazard concerns, such as checklists or sequence models, are, therefore, of limited use in such complex systems. Moreover, because of the multifaceted nature of workplaces, the use of single-oriented methods, such as AEA (man oriented), FMEA (system oriented), or HAZOP (process oriented), is not satisfactory. The use of a dynamic modeling approach in order to allow multiple-oriented analyses may constitute an alternative to overcome this limitation. The qualitative modeling aspects of the MORM (man-machine occupational risk modeling) model are discussed in this article. The model, realized on an object-oriented Petri net tool (CO-OPN), has been developed to simulate and analyze industrial processes in an OH&S perspective. The industrial process is modeled as a set of interconnected subnets (state spaces), which describe its constitutive machines. Process-related factors are introduced, in an explicit way, through machine interconnections and flow properties. While man-machine interactions are modeled as triggering events for the state spaces of the machines, the CREAM cognitive behavior model is used in order to establish the relevant triggering events. In the CO-OPN formalism, the model is expressed as a set of interconnected CO-OPN objects defined over data types expressing the measure attached to the flow of entities transiting through the machines. Constraints on the measures assigned to these entities are used to determine the state changes in each machine. Interconnecting machines implies the composition of such flow and consequently the interconnection of the measure constraints. This is reflected by the construction of constraint enrichment hierarchies, which can be used for simulation and analysis optimization in a clear mathematical framework. The use of Petri nets to perform multiple-oriented analysis opens perspectives in the field of industrial risk management. It may significantly reduce the duration of the assessment process. But, most of all, it opens perspectives in the field of risk comparisons and integrated risk management. Moreover, because of the generic nature of the model and tool used, the same concepts and patterns may be used to model a wide range of systems and application fields.     

Current Topics in Organizational Behavior Management

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