A NIVA Program
March 22 – 24, 2010
Organized by: Nordic Institute for Advanced Training in Occupational Health (NIVA)
Co-sponsored by: ICOH: Scientific Committee on Cardiology in Occupational Health and ICOH Scientific Committee on Occupational Medicine
28th ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL LABOUR PROCESS CONFERENCE
March 15 – 17, 2010
Chantal Guimont, MD, PhD, Chantal Brisson, PhD, Gilles R. Dagenais, MD, FRCP, Alain Milot, MD, MSc, FRCP, Michel Vézina, MD, MPH, FRCP, Benoît Mâsse, PhD, Jocelyne Moisan, PhD, Nathalie Laflamme, PhD, and Caty Blanchette, MS
American Journal of Public Health | August 2006, Vol 96, No. 8
Objectives. We evaluated whether cumulative exposure to job strain increases blood pressure.
Methods. A prospective study of 8395 white-collar workers was initiated during 1991 to 1993. At follow-up, 7.5 years later, 84% of the participants were reassessed to estimate cumulative exposure to job strain.
Results. Compared with men who had never been exposed, men with cumulative exposure and those who became exposed during follow-up showed significant systolic blood pressure increments of 1.8 mm Hg (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.1, 3.5) and 1.5 mm Hg (95% CI= 0.2, 2.8), respectively, and relative risks of blood pressure increases in the highest quintile group of 1.33 (95% CI= 1.01, 1.76) and 1.40 (95% CI= 1.14, 1.73). Effect magnitudes were smaller among women. Effects tended to be more pronounced among men and women with low levels of social support at work.
Conclusions. Among these white-collar workers, exposure to cumulative job strain had a modest but significant effect on systolic blood pressure among men. The risk was of comparable magnitude to that observed for age and sedentary behavior. Men and women with low levels of social support at work appeared to be at higher risk for increases in blood pressure. (Am J Public Health. 2006;96: 1436–1443. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2004.057679
Lawrence R. Murphy, Steven L. Sauter
Dr. Murphy is research psychologist and Dr. Sauter is supervisory research psychologist at the National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health in Cincinnati
Summary:
Changes taking place in the modern workplace, such as more flexible and lean production technologies, flatter management structures, and nontraditional employment practices fundamentally alter work organization factors and raise concerns about potentially negative influences on worker health and safety. These changes raise concerns about adverse effects on worker safety and health and call attention to the need for interventions to counter these effects. This forum article provides an overview of work organization intervention research, highlights gaps in the research literature, and sets forth an agenda for future intervention research. Research to date has focused primarily on individual-level interventions, with far less attention to interventions at the legislative/policy level, employer/organization level, and job/task level. Future research is recommended to establish the effectiveness of work organization interventions using improved methodological designs and giving increased attention to the circumstances within organizations that promote the adoption of such interventions.
“New Paradigms for New Systems of Work: A Challenge for the Quality of Work Life”
September 27-30, 2009
Cracow, Poland
What is our purpose for doing research?
How is this research to be conducted?
What are our responsibilities?
D i r k v a n D i e r e n d o n c k
Helen Dowling Institute
W i l m a r B . S c h a u f e l i
Utrecht University
B r a m E B u u n k
University o f Groningen
This study evaluated a 5-week, group-based burnout intervention program among direct-care professionals working with mentally disabled individuals. Equity theory was used as the theoretical framework. The main objective o f the program was to reduce perceptions of inequity in the relationship with the organization and with the recipients o f care by increasing the fit between the professional’s goals and expectations and the actual work situation. One experimental group and 2 control groups participated. All 3 groups filled out 3 questionnaires: be for e the program started, 6 months later, and 1 year later. Individual absenteeism rates were assessed for 1 year before and after the program. Results showed that in the experimental group burnout, absence, and deprived feelings diminished compared with the control groups. The most profound effects were among participants who could draw on social resources to benefit f rom the intervention.
An interesting article entitled “What does Obama’s Win Mean for Workplace Health and Safety?” has been posted on the Environmental Health & Safety Today website. Some interesting points from the article:
Esteemed colleague Ellen Rosskam has co-edited a volume in the Rotuledge Studies in Education and Neoliberalism Series entitled “The Developing World and State Education: Neoliberal Depredation and Egalitarian Alternatives“.
A new article by Laine et al, “Job Strain as a Predictor of Disability Pension: The Finnish Public Sector Study”