Working conditions, social support, and the well-being of female and male factory workers

Previous research on the effects of working conditions on well-being typically has focused on men; the few studies including women have compared men and women in different work settings. We analyze the effects of four kinds of working conditions--job demands, job deprivations and rewards, physical environment, and work-related social support--on the well-being of female and male factory workers in similar jobs. We also test for buffering (interaction) effects of social support (from co-workers, supervisors, and company programs) on relations between working conditions and well-being. All types of working conditions affect well-being, but there are almost no gender differences in the effects of working conditions on well-being. Although work-related social support promotes well-being among both women and men, it does not (at least as measured here) buffer effects of other stressful working conditions. In general, the results indicate considerable gender similarity in the processes through which the job affects well-being.     

Enjoying work or burdened by it? How personal assistants experience and handle stress at work

A personal assistant has to promote equality in living conditions for persons with severe disabilities. The aim of this study was to explore how personal assistants experience their work and what strategies they employ to alleviate work-related stress. Thirty personal assistants were interviewed and latent content analysis was performed. The findings regarding the experiences of work-related stress could be brought together under the theme of "difficulties of being in a subordinate position," and those regarding management strategies could be brought together under the theme of "coming to terms with the work situation." There is a need to empower personal assistants through training programs including tailored education, working communities, and coaching.     

Occupational safety and profit maximization: Friends or foes?

The rise of the Industrial Revolution is often depicted as a cause of hazardous working conditions and is skillfully epitomized in William Blake's tale of a child chimney sweeper. Conventional wisdom puts firm profit in conflict with occupational safety. We reexamine this argument noting that injuries are very costly to firms because they lead to higher wage premiums, worker compensation, and costly work stoppages. We hypothesize that it is precisely for these reasons that firms in the industries with dangerous working conditions have the strongest incentives to innovate and substitute more capital for labor. Using a longitudinal panel of U.S. industries, we test and confirm our hypothesis that higher injury rates lead to higher capital stock per worker, over time. Moreover, our estimates suggest that firms provide more capital and equipment per worker than what would have been there based solely on the compensating wage differential.     

Gender,Working Conditions and the Job Satisfaction of Women in a Non-Traditional Occupation: Female Correctional Officers in Men's Prisons*

Despite the recent interest in women working in nontraditional occupations, few analyses have systematically compared the work-related attitudes of such women with those of men holding the same positions. This article presents an exploratory analysis, drawing hypotheses from the “gender” and “job” models described by Feldberg and Glenn (1979), to compare work-related attitudes among male and female correctional officers. Data drawn from a survey of male and female correctional officers working at the same prison facility (three male and one female units) are utilized to contrast the importance of gender, with experiences on the job as determinants of job satisfaction. The results support the job model, which suggests that the attitudes of working women are a function of their position in the organizational structure and immediate working conditions.     

Adversity and children experiencing family homelessness: implications for health

This study tests links between adversity and health problems among children in family emergency housing. Children who experience family homelessness are at risk to also experience high levels of stress, health problems, and need for pediatric care. Understanding the connection between stress and health holds the potential to reduce persistent health disparities. Analyses tested whether experiencing a greater number of stressful life events during the early years of life was related to worse health conditions, emergency health-care utilization, and hospitalizations. Parents noted children’s experience of negative stressful life events, health problems, emergency room (ER) use, and hospitalization. Two cohorts of kindergarten-aged children staying in emergency family housing participated in the study in 2006–2007 (n?=?104) and in 2008–2009 (n?=?138), with the results examined separately. In both cohorts, more health problems were acknowledged for children exposed to more negative stressful life events. Stressful life events were not related to ER use but did relate to hospitalization for the 2006–2007 cohort. Results affirm links between stress in early childhood and health problems among children living in emergency housing. Findings are consistent with the hypothesis that adversity in early childhood contributes to income and racial disparities in health.     

Working in the hidden economy: The experience of unemployed men in the UK

Hidden economy working amongst unemployed people can be defined in terms of working for financial gain without declaration for tax purposes while also claiming social welfare benefits. The extent, nature, and experience of hidden economy working among the unemployed in Britain is, as yet, little understood. As part of an in-depth interview study of 44 long-term unemployed men, 17 of the men talked about their experiences of working in the hidden economy. This paper reports on the extent, nature and experience of hidden economy working amongst these long-term unemployed men, and the meaning of such work to them, their families and local community. The complex matrix of feelings (including guilt, anxiety and pleasure), combined with the financial gains, fear of losing welfare benefit and the ability to practise work-related skills contributed to creating a lifeworld for these men which had implications for their experience of family and community life.     

Equity market response to union decertification petitions and elections

The effect of union decertification elections on the valuation of corporations is examined using a standard event study methodology. Cumulative abnormal daily common stock returns for 203 NYSE and AMEX listed firms are estimated for the day on which a petition for a decertification election is filed and for the day on which the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) certifies the decertification election outcome. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that successful union decertifications increase firm valuation and unsuccessful ones reduce firm valuation. The primary carrier of valuation information is the date the NLRB confirms the decertification election results. The petition file date yields little, if any, information about the firm’s capitalization. The authors thank the directors of the regional NLRB offices and the editor of this journal for their assistance. The usual caveats concerning errors and omissions apply. Correspondence should be directed to William L. Huth.     

Concern, Caution, and Care: HIV Risk Perception among Hospital Nurses

Nurses routinely confront uncertainties surrounding the risk of occupationally transmitted HIV, particularly in the context of hospital AIDS care. Nurses respond to their perception of this HIV risk with a mixture of concern, caution, and care. This study empirically examines HIV risk perception based on a survey of hospital nurses in U.S. cities with high HIV seroprevalence rates. There is variation in the degree to which hospital nurses worry about HIV at work, despite widespread use of universal precautions. Occupational HIV risk perception is associated with knowledge of workplace transmission vectors, comfort with AIDS patients, AIDS care experience, and working conditions. Results show that nurses on AIDS care units are more habituated to HIV risk, whereas those with less AIDS care knowledge, tolerance, and experience are more concerned about HIV Consequently, nurses who worry less about being infected with HIV are more willing to perform AIDS care, predict plans to continue AIDS care in the future, and report more equal treatment of people with AIDS. Supportive workplaces which reduce stress and emotional exhaustion, together with enhanced and improved training for hospital nurses, may temper provider concerns and improve the continuity and quality of care.     

Self-reported musculoskeletal pain and working conditions among employees in the Swedish public sector

Musculoskeletal disorders constitute a considerable public health problem, often resulting in sickness absence, particularly in public sector employees. Increased knowledge on how this is related to individual and work-related factors is required. The objective of this study was to investigate the associations between self-reported musculoskeletal pain and the following factors: physical and psychosocial work conditions, lifestyle, psychosomatic symptoms and sick leave. A comprehensive questionnaire was completed by a total of 2523 people, of which 87% were women and 13% men. The participants were employed in public hospitals, educational institutions, home care services for the elderly and domestic/catering services in a Swedish county. The response rate was 92%. Multiple logistic regression analyses showed that the high level of self-reported musculoskeletal pain was highly associated with strenuous physical and psychosocial work conditions. The physical factor with the highest odds ratio (OR) was working in a forward-bent position. High work demands was the most prominent psychosocial factor and distinctly associated with musculoskeletal pain among men. Physical work strain and other demanding working conditions, which were associated with musculoskeletal pain, were frequent among employees in home care services for the elderly and domestic/catering services. There was a strong association between long-term sick leave and high musculoskeletal pain. Furthermore, there was a strong association between a high level of musculoskeletal pain and the exhibition of psychosomatic symptoms in both women and men; this is an interaction that may intensify the total experience of illness and thus needs to be further investigated.     

Unemployment and Identity in Adolescence: A Social Comparison Perspective

This study (a) assesses whether employed young people, unemployed school-leavers, and unemployed young people who have working experience differ in their psychological well-being, that is stress, depression, and general feelings of happiness; (b) examines the effects of these three work conditions on development and structure of identity; and (c) investigates the effects of identity structure on psychological well-being. The favorability hypothesis of social comparison theory seems fit to explain the relation between identity structure and psychological well-being.     

A CHOICE THEORETIC MODEL OF THE OPTIMAL USE AND ISSUANCE OF TRADE CREDIT

This paper develops an extended inventory theoretic model for the purpose of analyzing the optimal use and issuance of trade credit. One significant result is that the incentives payments costs associated with commodity transactions and from the existence of positive per unit cost associated with storing commodities. A further important result is that the cost charged by the firm in return for its issuance of credit consists in firm earning asset holdings, and a risk premium reflecting the possibility of default on the part of the household.     

Successful collaboration between the nonprofit and public sectors

Public and private funding sources often require nonprofit organizations to provide evidence of partnership with a governmental entity before financing a project. However, the circumstances under which working partnerships between the nonprofit and public sectors are forged and sustained have not been fully studied. This article presents the findings of a case study of land trusts and local governments and identifies conditions that foster successful collaboration. Social factors such as experience on the part of key personnel in working with the opposite entity and genuine affection for each other are more important than economic benefits. This suggests that a nonprofit agency interested in creating a viable partnership to improve a project should give careful consideration to assigning staff.     

Firm Size and Work-Related Training: New Evidence on Incidence,Intensity, and Training Type from Australia

This study examines the relationship between firm size and structured work-related training by analyzing data from the 2001 installment of the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ Survey of Education and Training. The results show a positive correlation between the probability of training and firm size for both male and female workers. A similar positive correlation between the intensity of training and firm size is also evident. Although the incidence of training is roughly comparable for male and female workers, males tend to train significantly more hours than their female counterparts. The findings also indicate that much less training occurs in firms with fewer than 10 workers, especially in health and safety, management and professional, and technical and paraprofessional training. Such results suggest that research on the size-training effect using firm- or establishment-level data, which generally focus only on firms with 20 or more employees, cannot detect an important source of the potential training deficit.     

Subjektive arbeitsbezogene Gesundheit in un- und angelernten, kulturell diversen Belegschaften

To date, research on subjective work-related health within low-qualified, culturally diverse workforces is sparse. Accordingly, psychological measures have hardly been validated for culture-sensitive application within this specific target group. Thirty-four interviews of low-qualified workers in four companies (65?% immigrants) were qualitatively analyzed. The interviewees showed complex health beliefs and the attributions of typical working conditions to poor health. Agitation and exhaustion and positive mood and energy were predominant states of impaired and positive well-being at work, respectively. Assigning low-qualified workers to six cultural clusters revealed cultural peculiarities in subjective health beliefs and attributions of causes to impaired well-being. The results form the basis for future studies to assess impaired and positive, work-related well-being among low-qualified workers and across diverse cultures within these workforces.     

Multiple Social Roles — a Resource or a Burden: Is it Possible for Men and Women to Combine Paid Work with Family Life in a Satisfactory Way?

The aim of this article is to study whether multiple social roles can be seen as a resource or a burden, or in other words, if a strong engagement in both paid work and family life is a positive or negative experience for men and women respectively. The main data used are a data set from Statistics Sweden, the so‐called ULF (the study of living conditions), in which nearly 30,000 randomly selected individuals were interviewed. When analysing how the combined family and labour market situation is related to the number of preferred working hours and psychological distress of individuals, the results show that it is primarily cohabiting women with children who work more than 40 hours per week, who want to reduce their working hours. However, the distress level is not relatively high for this category. Results indicate that many women, and some men, who have multiple social roles express a wish to reduce their working hours, but this does not necessarily mean that the levels of distress are higher for these groups. This may be a result of the fact that the alternative resources provided by multiple social roles in some sense outweigh the stressful effects that double demands have on psychological distress.     

Economic Hardship and Family-to-Work Conflict: The Importance of Gender and Work Conditions

Using data from a 2007 national survey of working Americans, we examine the association between economic hardship and family-to-work conflict (FWC). We also assess contingencies of this association, focusing particularly on gender and several work conditions. Findings indicate that economic hardship is associated with higher FWC; this pattern is stronger among men. Three work conditions also function as effect modifiers: The positive association between hardship and FWC is stronger for workers with less job authority and more creative work activities. Job pressures also modify this association, but overall, respondents with higher pressures report greater FWC. We discuss how our observations contribute to knowledge about the links between economic conditions and the family–work interface and the importance of status and work-related contingencies.     

Low back pain in physical therapists: a cultural approach to analysis and intervention

Low back pain is one of the most prevalent work related injuries in the physical therapy profession. New graduates and therapists working in rehabilitation and acute care hospitals are at the highest risk for developing low back pain [9]. Although physical therapists are trained in maintaining proper body mechanics and preventing work related injuries, between 30% and 63% of therapists will experience low back pain at some point in their careers [2,4,9]. The culture of physical therapy is one of the primary factors contributing to this problem, with many therapists reporting that their decision to use back pain preventive strategies depends on their colleagues' use of these strategies. The authors will use Green and Kreuter's PRECEDE-PROCEED model to identify behavioral, environmental, educational and ecological factors contributing to the problem; then will propose a health promotion intervention using the social action theory at the community level to decrease work-related low back pain in physical therapists while simultaneously addressing the culture of physical therapy.     

Class Differences in Establishment Pathways to Fatherhood Wage Premiums

Organizations have been argued to favor fathers over childless men and skilled fathers over less‐skilled fathers, but group wage inequalities vary across as well as within establishments. This article theorizes class differences in the contribution of being employed in a high‐wage firm to the fatherhood wage premium. Analyses of linked employer–employee data from the Canadian Workplace and Employee Survey reveal that sorting into high‐wage establishments accounts for 60% of the economy‐wide premium for less‐educated and nonprofessional fathers, whereas high‐skilled fathers tend to work in lower wage establishments but receive the largest net fatherhood premium within firms. Among the subsample of fathers who changed employers in the past 5 years, less‐skilled fathers fared worse, whereas high‐skilled fathers sorted into high‐wage firms. Results thus suggest that employment in a higher wage firm likely enables less‐skilled men to transition to fatherhood, whereas high‐wage employers may discriminate in favor of only high‐skilled fathers in hiring.     

Firm Size, Earnings, and Displacement Risk

Analogous to the well-documented firm size-wage differential, there also exists a differential in layoff risk according to firm size. Using Austrian data I discuss several reasons for this puzzle, including on-the-job training and workers' heterogeneity. If less stable (and also less able) workers select themselves into small, unstable, and low-paying firms, predicted layoff risk of workers can be used as a proxy for heterogeneity of workers and therefore be included in wage regressions. Doing this, one half of the size earnings premium can be explained.