Perceived physical work capacity, stress, sleep disturbance and occupational accidents among firefighters working during a strike

Fire-fighting and rescue work are arranged in such a way that various kinds of accidents and catastrophes can be handled. In an understaffed situation, such as a strike, this goal may not be met. The objective of this study was to investigate factors associated with perceived physical work capacity, stress, sleep disturbance, and occupational accidents among firefighters who remained at work during an extended strike. A cross-sectional questionnaire study was carried out among 543 firefighters (83% of the target group) in 71 fire brigades in Finland. After the strike had lasted for 9 to 11 weeks, most of the firefighters perceived their physical work capacity to be rather good or very good. Stress increased along with a decreasing number of personnel in a crew (OR= 2.3, CI= 1.0-5.3, for less than 75% of a normal crew vs. normal crew) and with decreasing number of personnel in a shift (OR= 2.4, CI= 1.1-5.4, for less than 25% of normal shift vs. normal shift). Sleep disturbance was reported to occur as soon as the total working time exceeded 50 h/week. Working more than 70 h/week increased the risk of occupational accidents almost 4-fold compared with working no more than 50 h/week. These results suggest that exceptional situations, such as a strike, are a challenge to human capacity. With time, increased stress and sleep disturbance may lead to serious consequences.     

Work, employment and mental health in Europe

In May 2004 the World Health Organization (WHO European Region) called a consultation meeting of its Collaborating Centres in Occupational Health to discuss mental health in the workplace. The meeting took place in Copenhagen. This paper presents an interpretation of the discussion that took place and the thinking that developed as a result. It was argued that increased interest and research and improved practice in the area of occupational mental health are required to promote good mental health in the European population. A framework of risk management and prevention based on sound evidence and good understanding could provide the basis for the translation of existing research knowledge into effective practice.     

Sources of stress in the national health services: A comparison of seven occupational groups

This paper reports a comparative study of sources of occupational stress affecting the seven major occupational groups within the National Health Service. The groups are compared on seven dependent variables. These are the six sub-categories of stressors identified by Cooper and Marshall (1978) and measured by the Occupational Stress Indicator (OSI) (Cooper et al. 1988), and a total stress score that is derived by summing scores for each of the six sub-categories. Occupational groups differed significantly (p.05) in only two of the six sub-categories. In these cases occupational groups not normally associated with front-line care reported higher levels of stress than either doctors or nurses. The results show that high levels of occupational stress are experienced by all occupational groups within the NHS and the subsequent discussion argues for a more progressive research policy that gives adequate attention to 'lower status' groups, such as ancillary, works and maintenance, and administrative and clerical.     

The validity of the occupational stress indicator

This paper investigates the validity of four subscales of the Occupational Stress Inventory (OSI). Data derived from a sample of British managers are used to generate a multitrait-multimethod matrix. The results obtained suggest that three of the four OSI sales (job satisfaction, mental health, type A behaviour) show acceptable validity. The fourth scale (locus of control) needs further development. Further analysis, using multiple regression procedures, was conducted to explore the validity of the theoretical ideas underlying the OSI. The results reveal that both sources of pressure at work and type A behaviour are linked to mental health and job satisfaction.     

社会资本对受雇就业农民工职业地位获得的作用

本文以空位竞争模型中对劳动力市场中工作结构与奖励结构的假定为基础,进一步地在理论上推演出了社会资本对农民工职业地位获得作用的假设。对实地调查数据的分析发现:尽管职业流动的频率越高越不利于农民工获得专业技术或管理等较高职业地位,但对于社会关系的广度高的个体,职业流动频率对职业地位的晋升具有正向作用。该结果意味着职业流动频率高并不一定不利于农民工职业地位的获得,在缺乏社会关系广度下的频繁职业流动才是导致农民工水平职业流动的原因。     

Job Concessions,Role Conflict and Work Satisfaction in Gender-Typical and -Atypical Occupation: The Case of Israel

Studies in the last decades show that perception of role conflict has changed in advanced societies so that (1) multiple roles may be beneficial rather than conflictual and (2) men, too, are subject to incompatible role demands. This study examines whether the same shift may be observed in a less developed society (Israel), and how perceptions of role combination and work satisfaction influence the work concessions made by women and men who work in occupations that are typical or atypical for their gender. The main assumption is that multiple roles lead to role conflict only if individuals fail to make concessions that allow them to regulate time and energy in both spheres. The findings show that women still make more concessions than men; work satisfactions strengthens the perception that combining family and work is possible; and only for women, the perception that combining family and work is possible reduces the number of concessions they make.

Comparing Formal Unemployment Compensation Systems in 15 OECD Countries

This study contributes to the welfare regime literature by analyzing unemployment compensation programmes – unemployment insurance (UI)/assistance (UA) programmes and redundancy pay schemes – of welfare state/occupational welfare regimes. It covers 15 countries of the Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development (OECD) selected from Southern European, Liberal, Continental‐corporatist and Social Democratic country clusters. In contrast to the common argument that Southern European countries have underdeveloped formal unemployment compensation systems, this study argues that they (especially in Spain, Portugal, and to some extent Italy) are comparable in strength to those in Continental‐corporatist countries if occupational welfare programmes – notably redundancy pay – are considered alongside welfare state programmes for unemployment protection. The study also outlines the characteristics of redundancy pay schemes in the four country clusters and shows how different redundancy pay schemes are linked to UI/UA schemes in these clusters.     

农民工职业病:预防是最好的"治疗"

利用《2007中国卫生统计年鉴》、《中国劳动统计年鉴—2005》等全国性数据,分析了目前我国农民工职业病及防护的现状,得出大多数农民工所从事的行业职业病发病率较高及农民工职业病防护程度低的结论。指出预防农民工职业病对于农民工自身、企业和国家均具有重要意义,是最好的"治疗",并在此基础上进一步探讨了农民工职业病的预防措施。     

Welfare through Work: An Audit of Occupational Social Provision at the Turn of the New Century

Occupational welfare has been a relatively neglected area in both theoretical and empirical studies of the welfare state despite its importance to overall levels of social provision. Surprisingly, there has not yet been a comprehensive examination of British occupational social provision, as opposed to non‐wage benefits more generally or specific provision such as pensions, housing or childcare. This neglect can be explained both by the perception that occupational welfare plays a relatively insignificant role in contemporary welfare states and by a general lack of clarity regarding its definition and scope, factors which have added to the difficulties surrounding its conceptualization and measurement. Despite the lack of attention it has received, however, recent pressures have propelled the issue higher up the social policy agenda, increasing the need for a clearer conception of what constitutes occupational social provision and a more comprehensive assessment of its contemporary significance. This paper seeks to shed some light on to these areas by drawing on comparative and UK data in order to carry out an audit of occupational social provision.     

工业伤亡事故行为时空规律的初探

该研究表明宏观社会的政治动乱和严重的经济困难因素 ,是引发工业事故行为的重要诱因。其中三年经济困难对工业伤亡事故行为的危害性更大。 2 4时昼夜节律中在白班开工后 1- 2小时是事故高发时段。一年四季中春季事故频次显著高于夏、秋两季 ,为事故高发季节。当人的时空感知规律遭到人为改变时 ,会导致事故频次的增加。市场经济条件下伤亡事故行为发展 ,趋向于县、乡以下农村和乡镇、集体矿山企业 ,其中“三低”员工是死亡事故的高暴露群体 ,违章指挥是导致“群死群伤”恶性事故的核心致因。