Tackling the work-life balance challenge in Professional Service Firms: the impact of projects, organizing and service characteristics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Noury, L.C.; Gand, Sébastien; Sardas, Jean-Claude

2017-01-01

Professional Service Firms (PSFs) are currently under considerable pressure for economic reasons (low growth, pressure on cost), but also from the emergence of individual demands for work-life balance (WLB) from professionals, which challenge traditional ways of organizing both projects and careers.

Variations of Quality of Work Life of Academic Professionals in Bangladesh: A Discriminant Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Taher, Md. Abu

2013-01-01

Purpose: The main purpose of this research was to analyze the key issues related to quality of work life (QWL), which have become increasingly important to HRD scholars and practitioners. In addition, the significant differences between the academic professionals of public and private universities in Bangladesh in terms of QWL were also addressed.…

Leadership and Work-Life Balance.

Science.gov (United States)

Mattock, Sarah L

2015-01-01

Simply stated, work-life balance is something that is both difficult to define and difficult to achieve. Leaders, throughout the continuum of trauma care, need to have a sound understanding of what work-life balance means and set an example of a healthy work-life balance for those they lead. This article offers strategies for enhancing work-life balance and challenges individuals to use self-reflection as a means to furthering their personal and professional growth.

Work – Life Balance Practices in Romanian Organisations – A Pilot Study Conducted on HR Professionals

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Ramona IGREȚ

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Work – life balance is becoming a very debated subject in the Romanian business context, especially in multinationals and large Romanian companies. This paper’s main objective is to conduct a pilot study regarding work – life balance practices on human resource professionals from Romania. The study’s main purpose is to validate a research questionnaire in order to conduct a more significant research in the future. The questionnaire was applied on 52 HR specialists from different organisations and is structured on five sections: working hours, WLB practices, holiday and time off, flexible working and information about the employer and the job.

Shared War reality effects on the professional quality of life of mental health professionals.

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Pruginin, Itay; Segal-Engelchin, Dorit; Isralowitz, Richard; Reznik, Alexander

2016-01-01

To date, studies on the outcomes of a shared war reality among mental health professionals (MHPs) in southern Israel have focused only on those residing and working in Otef Gaza. The aim of this study is to determine the impact of different exposure levels to shared trauma on the professional quality of life of MHPs in southern Israel. This study compares the level of secondary traumatic stress, burnout, and compassion satisfaction of social workers from Otef Gaza to social workers living and working in the Beer-Sheva area who experience occasional missile attacks. The Professional Quality of Life Scale was used to examine the level of secondary traumatic stress, burnout, and compassion satisfaction of 125 social workers living and working in the Negev: 72 from Beer-Sheva and 53 from the regional councils of Otef Gaza. No statistically significant differences were found in the three professional quality of life variables between the Otef-Gaza and Beer-Sheva groups. The lack of secondary traumatic stress and burnout differences between the study groups, despite the chronic exposure to terror attacks among the Otef Gaza social workers, may be explained by the strong sense of belonging and support evidenced by many Otef Gaza residents as well as by the comprehensive trauma training MHPs receive for work in the region. The results of this study are important for health policy geared to trauma prevention efforts, moderating the effects of work under shared war reality, and promoting the professional quality of life of MHPs in conflict areas.

The Impact of work-life connectivity on professional women: A case study of telecom industry

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Zahida Latif

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this research was to test work life border theory against job/life satisfaction. The impact of work-life connectivity on professional women working in telecom industry was checked. This quantitative research was conducted by collecting secondary data gathered through world recognized questionnaires. A sample size of 285 respondents was collected through Qualtrics and self-administered questionnaires. This sample was adequate as using Power and Precision software a minimum sample of 175 was computed. Cluster sampling technique in combination with stratified sampling was used to collect data from women in Telecom Industry from major cities of Pakistan. Data collected was analyzed in SPSS and SEM was run on AMOS. Pearson r correlation and regression tests were run to study the effect of the understudy variables. The study found that both types of connectivity, work- to- family and family- to-work directly influence job and family satisfaction of women. The results suggest that family-friendly policies and organizational support can bring substantial benefits to women workers and the organization as a whole.

QUALITY OF WORK LIFE: PROPOSED ASSESSMENT FOR PROFESSIONAL MICRO AND SMALL ENTERPRISES LOGISTICS SECTOR

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Orlando Roque da Silva

2015-03-01

Full Text Available The concept of Management of Quality of Work Life (MQWL search to develop mechanisms for the individual has balance between their professional and human life. The great challenge for organizations is to match the organizational need, dictated by the market with its rapid businesses changes and individual needs. Understanding the individual as an entire person with numerous and diverse interests and knowledge that can be directed to the activities performed in the organization is one of the conditions for having this compliance. This work, following the proposals made by Richard Walton, is an indication for evaluation especially for micro and small enterprises. The purpose of this article is observe the concepts and establish variants understood as fundamental in the production environment of micro and small enterprises sector logistics.

The five-factor model of personality, work stress and professional quality of life in neonatal intensive care unit nurses.

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Barr, Peter

2018-06-01

The study aim was to determine the direct and indirect relations of the five-factor model of personality traits and work stress with professional quality of life in neonatal nurses. Neonatal intensive care nursing has positive and negative effects on neonatal nurses' psychological well-being. Although individual and situational factors interact to influence professional quality of life, there have been few studies of these relationships in neonatal nurses. A cross-sectional study conducted in 2016. Self-report questionnaires were used to measure professional quality of life (burnout, secondary traumatic stress and compassion satisfaction), five-factor model of personality traits (neuroticism, agreeableness, extraversion, conscientiousness and openness) and work stress (role ambiguity, role conflict and role overload). One hundred and forty (34%) of 405 eligible neonatal nurses provided the data. After controlling for work stress, neuroticism and agreeableness were related to burnout, neuroticism was related to secondary traumatic stress, and extraversion was related to compassion satisfaction. Work stress controlled for personality traits was related to burnout and secondary traumatic stress, but not to compassion satisfaction. Neuroticism moderated the effect of work stress on secondary traumatic stress and agreeableness and openness moderated the effect of work stress on compassion satisfaction. Work stress mediated the effect of neuroticism and extraversion on burnout and the effects of extraversion and conscientiousness on compassion satisfaction. Strategies to reduce work stress may not lessen burnout and secondary traumatic stress or increase compassion satisfaction in neonatal nurses who are prone to high neuroticism, low agreeableness and low extraversion. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

[About the turning point in a nurse's life when giving up the profession. A qualitative-empirical study on the willingness to continue to work and on the conditions for continuing to work in the post-professional phase of life].

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Schöbel, Jacqueline; Rester, David; Them, Christa; Seeberger, Bernd

2010-10-01

Due to the increasing life expectancy and population ageing, the post-professional phase of life is becoming more and more important to the individual and to society as a whole. The perception of the potentials of elderly people and, hence, the call for self-directed and independent activities in the post-professional phase are becoming more intense. The relation between retirement and work in nurses has not been of scientific importance so far. This is primarily due to the assumption that nurses cannot or do not stay in their profession until retirement. However, nurses do manage to pursue their profession continuously and permanently until they reach the age of retirement. The aim of this qualitative research study is to investigate the post-professional phase of life of former nurses within the context of the profession pursued. The guiding research questions in this regard were: How do former nurses spend their retirement period? How do nurses use their nursing-related abilities and experiences in their postprofessional phase of life? What do nurses associate with their former profession in the post-professional phase of life? In one-to-one interviews, these questions were posed to eight retired nurses who had pursued their profession for many years. The assessment instruments used were a socio-demographic questionnaire, a guideline and a record from memory. All data were summarized and evaluated analytically with regard to their content according to Mayring (2008). The present article shows the partial results of the study on retirement and work in the post-professional life of nurses. The results indicate that the transition to retirement is often accompanied by problems, that retired nurses do not fundamentally refuse to continue to work and that the willingness to continue to work is subject to certain conditions. Reasons and conditions for and against profession-based post-professional activities were revealed. Consequentially, concepts for the systematic

Work Life Balance in Indian IT & BPO Industry

OpenAIRE

Pallvi Vedehra; Dr. S. C. Chitkara

2012-01-01

Work–Life Balance (WLB) is a broad concept including proper prioritizing between “works†on the one hand and “life†on the other. Related, though broader terms, include a “lifestyle balance†and “life balance†. The purpose of this paper is to study the styles that have been used for balancing work and family by the professionals working in Indian IT and BPO sectors and the kind of support they are getting from their organizations. Professionals may face many problems in balanci...

Professional burnout and work satisfaction in Spanish allergists: analysis of working conditions in the specialty.

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Chivato Pérez, T; Campos Andreu, A; Negro Alvarez, J M; Caballero Martínez, F

2011-01-01

Burnout is a worrying problem in the medical profession and has proven to be highly prevalent in all the care settings and specialty areas in which it has been studied.We applied 2 widely used questionnaires to analyze the working conditions of Spanish allergists in terms of quality of professional life and degree of burnout perceived. Participants completed 2 questionnaires: the 22-item Maslach scale, a structured questionnaire covering different aspects of the feelings and attitudes of professionals toward their work and patients; and the Spanish Quality of Professional Life Questionnaire (CPV-35), a 35-item questionnaire evaluating job satisfaction and perceived quality of life at work. We received 404 questionnaires from throughout Spain. The main sources of motivation were better pay (94.4%), more available resources/technology (85.1%), access to research activities (81%), and promotion in one's professional career (80.1%). Analysis of the scores from the Maslach scale revealed that two-thirds of the allergists interviewed experienced medium and high levels of negative burnout (67.9% and 66.2%, respectively, for emotional exhaustion and depersonalization). This situation was in part compensated for by the fact that a slightly lower proportion of the group (59.2%) obtained very high scores on personal accomplishment in their work. Analysis of the scores from the CPV-35 questionnaire revealed 3 complementary aspects of job satisfaction: perceptions of the workload borne (5.8), management support available to cope with daily patient workload (5.6), and levels of intrinsic motivation for work (7.7), which was the highest value. The score for the item summarizing self-perceived overall quality of working life was acceptable (6.4). Promoting intrinsic motivation of Spanish allergists using the motivating factors identified in this study could protect against professional burnout.

Professional activity. How is family physicians' work time changing?

Science.gov (United States)

Woodward, C A; Ferrier, B; Cohen, M; Brown, J

2001-07-01

To examine hours worked professionally, work preferences, and changes in both of these and their correlates. Repeated surveys done in 1993 and 1999. Ontario family practices. Cohort of physicians certified in family medicine between 1989 and 1991 after family medicine residency who were surveyed in 1993 when they resided in Ontario. Self-reported hours spent weekly on professional activities, desired hours of professional work, and balance between work and other activities. Fifty-three percent (293) of 553 physicians responded to the 1999 survey; 91% had remained family physicians; 85% of these had participated in the 1993 survey. The difference between the hours that family physicians preferred to work professionally and their actual hours of work had increased since 1993. Childless physicians, women physicians with preschool children, and women physicians married to other physicians worked fewer hours professionally than other physicians in 1999. Female physicians and physicians without children worked closer to their preferred hours than other physicians. Reporting a preference to work fewer hours professionally in 1993 was linked with a reduction in professional activities by 1999. Greater attention should be paid in physician resource planning to the family life cycle of female physicians. Lifestyle changes could lead to a reduction in professional activity among these physicians.

Professionalization of Family Life Education: Defining the Field

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Darling, Carol A.; Fleming, Wm. Michael; Cassidy, Dawn

2009-01-01

An online professional practice analysis of family life educators was conducted resulting in responses from 522 Certified Family Life Educators (CFLEs) and a comparison group of 369 noncertified family practitioners. This survey included questions about the characteristics of CFLEs, their work environments, and practice-related tasks within 10…

Using life story work to enhance care.

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, Rachel

2011-10-01

Life story work has been promoted as a tool to enhance the care provided to older people, particularly those with dementia. The benefits for individuals, families and/or friends and for staff include improving understanding of the individual, promoting relationships and assisting in the delivery of person-centred care. However, professionals often experience difficulties using life story work. This article considers a range of life story tools and advice on gathering information about a person. It highlights the importance of leadership and developing positive cultures to ensure that life story work can be effectively sustained.

Factors influencing professional life satisfaction among neurologists.

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Teixeira-Poit, Stephanie M; Halpern, Michael T; Kane, Heather L; Keating, Michael; Olmsted, Murrey

2017-06-19

Predicted shortages in the supply of neurologists may limit patients' access to and quality of care for neurological disorders. Retaining neurologists already in practice provides one opportunity to support the overall supply of practicing neurologists. Understanding factors associated with professional life satisfaction (and dissatisfaction) and implementing policies to enhance satisfaction may encourage neurologists to remain in clinical practice. In this paper, we present results from the first study examining factors associated with professional life satisfaction among a large sample of U.S, neurologists. We collaborated with the AAN to survey a sample of U.S. neurologists about their professional life satisfaction. Analyses examined the association of physician and practice characteristics with aspects of professional life satisfaction, including satisfaction with their career in medicine, medical specialty, current position, relationship with colleagues, relationship with patients, work/life balance, and pay. The study population consisted of 625 neurologists. In multivariate regression analyses, no single group or population stratum indicated high (or low) responses to all aspects of satisfaction. Older neurologists reported higher satisfaction with career, specialty, and relationship with patients than younger neurologists. Female neurologists had significantly lower satisfaction with pay than male neurologists. Neurologists who spent more time in research and teaching had greater satisfaction with specialty, relationship with colleagues, and relationship with patients than those spending no time in research. Neurologists who practiced in small cities/rural areas reported lower satisfaction across multiple dimensions than those practicing in large urban areas. Neurologists in solo practice had greater satisfaction with the relationship with their patients, but lower satisfaction with pay. Satisfaction is a multidimensional construct that is associated with

CONFLICT BETWEEN WORK AND LIFE AND ITS EFFECT ON WORK CULTURE

OpenAIRE

P. SHYAMALA

2012-01-01

ABSTRACT: In the present scenario, women have more responsibility since they are maintaining a balance between work and life. With particular reference to women lecturers they have a feeling that sometime their life is balanced and in other instances it is unbalanced. Since women lecturers are playing dual roles especially the personal and professional roles it is very difficult to maintain a balanced life. In the working environment women lecturers have to effectively manage the problems and...

Making Sense Bringing Everyday Life at Work

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Egmose, Jonas; Gleerup, Janne; Nielsen, Birger Steen

Inspired by contemporary work life studies on making sense at work this paper elaborates on using Critical Utopian Action Research as methodology for enabling shared learning spaces in which citizens and professionals can conjoin around discussions of deeper human aspirations enabled through...... synergies between civil engagement and organisational capabilities. The paper reports on experiences with enabling free spaces in the contexts of everyday life, where broader human concerns and aspirations can be addressed, as in the context of work life, where organisational responses on these orientations...

An Analysis of Student Affairs Professionals' Management of Role Conflict and Multiple Roles in Relation to Work/Life Balance

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Mayo, Nicole Lepone

2013-01-01

The purpose of this inquiry is to study how student affairs professionals manage role conflict in relation to work/life balance based on the challenging culture of the field. The underlying goals are to identify the barriers or challenges of managing multiple roles as a student affairs administrator and identify strategies to assist employees in…

[Caught between economic pressure and work-life balance--perspectives on emigration of German health professionals to Austria].

Science.gov (United States)

Schmidt, A E; Klambauer, E

2014-05-01

Given the increasing lack of medical doctors in Germany, this study aimed to investigate the professional situation and the push and pull factors of German medical specialists working in Austrian hospitals. This explorative study is based on semi-structured interviews with 14 specialists working in Austria, who completed their education partly or fully in Germany. The material has been interpreted using qualitative content analysis. Better work-life balance, higher quality of life and more favourable working conditions represent major reasons for German specialists to stay in Austria. Moreover, the higher density of medical doctors in Austrian hospitals can have an impact on the distribution of responsibilities among health-care personnel, and on hospital performance. In the light of recent reforms in the German health-care system, the study underlines the importance of qualitative factors for the satisfaction of German medical doctors. These factors should be further analysed in order to avoid a brain drain of high-qualified health care staff in the future. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

A STUDY ON WORK-LIFE BALANCE OF NURSING STAFF WORKING IN PRIVATE HOSPITALS IN PALAYAMKOTTAI

OpenAIRE

G.Suguna; C.Eugine Franco

2017-01-01

At present every successful employee has to pass through the dilemma of work life balance in personal and professional life. For the sake of leading a successful life, people do not hesitate to give extra time for achieving the objectives of life. In the process of getting extra mileage in their professional life they have to make a lot of compromise and sometimes mental piece also gets distorted. We have 24 hours at our disposal to deal with and it is up to us how to schedule and plan the sa...

A QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE BALANCE BETWEEN WORK AND LIFE

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Eleftheria Charitou

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this research is to investigate the balancing of professional and personal life and its importance for a company’s profitability. Α qualitative research was taken up. The research findings revealed another that the hierarchical level to which an employee belongs differentiates the degree of balancing between professional and personal life. Furthermore it was found that an imbalance between work and life leads mainly to stress, anger and reduced job satisfaction and other negative results. Last but not least, the research results indicate that the balance between work and life can be affected by job insecurity and lifestyle. Businesses must pay more attention to their employees in order to reduce a possible imbalance between their works and lives.

Work-Life Balance in the BPO Sector

OpenAIRE

P, Vanishree

2012-01-01

The success of any organization is highly dependent on its workforce. Especially the ITeS BPO industry needs to be flexible enough to develop commitment and talent in their workforce. They need to adopt a strategy to improve the employees 'Work-life balance' to satisfy both the organizational objectives and employee needs. The data pertaining to the study has been collected from professionals working in BPO companies in Hyderabad to analyze the Work-life balance. This paper aims to investigat...

A Winding Road--Professional Trajectories from Higher Education to Working Life: A Case Study of Political Science and Psychology Graduates

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Nystrom, Sofia; Dahlgren, Madeleine Abrandt; Dahlgren, Lars Owe

2008-01-01

This qualitative and longitudinal study focuses on graduate employment and the development of graduate employment paths. The aim of this article is to explore the present professional trajectory from higher education to working life, with particular reference to graduates from two different study programmes at Linkoping University in Sweden:…

Condom as a professional symbol among the persons engaged in sex work in Belgrade

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Baroš Slađana

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Based on qualitative research data, this article exams the meaning of condom among persons engaged in sex work. Sex-work is a specific activity, with a sex service being an object of economic transaction. In order to delineate private sexual relationship and business sexual relationship sex workers rely on a professional code. Abiding to this code is valued positively by the professional group whereas disrespecting it leads to stigmatization of the offender within the group. The basic markers separating professional and private life in a continuum of sexuality are money as a sign and condom as a symbol. Use of condom during the sex-work relation is a symbol of correct approach to work and as such marks the border between professional and unprofessional way for doing the job in addition to marking the border between work and private life. The data show that within this borderline area in real-life situations, complex interactive relationship between sex-workers and their immediate environment leads to discrepancies in the consistency of condom use. The lack of consistent condom is present when a client or type of service is perceived as safe, i.e. carries the meaning of the category "with condom", or when some ambiguous environmental circumstances are present such as influence of the police or pimps, protectors and people related to private life of sex-worker. In the field of sex-work, condom grows from an object of infection prevention into an object that symbolizes professional ethics within sex-work and, in that way, it keeps an atmosphere of a healthy and clean private life for sex-workers.

Quality of work life: experiences of Iranian nurses.

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Vagharseyyedin, Seyyed Abolfazl; Vanaki, Zohreh; Mohammadi, Eesa

2011-03-01

The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe the experiences of Iranian nurses concerning their quality of work life. A purposive sample of nurses (n = 14) was recruited from two university hospitals. The data were collected through unstructured interviews and were analyzed by using qualitative content analysis. The results indicated that the participants discerned their quality of work life by assessing how favorable were their working conditions, the level of fulfilment of their personal needs, and the impact of their working conditions on their private life and their social life. Three main themes were identified: quality of work life, as experienced from a personal perspective; quality of work life, as experienced from a sociocultural perspective; and quality of work life, as experienced from an organizational-professional perspective. The results of the present study will help Iranian nurse administrators to adopt effective strategies in order to improve nurses' quality of work life. Future research can broaden the scope of the current results and offer a more comprehensive understanding of nurses' quality of work life. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

Stressors and Enhancers in the Marital/Family Life of Family Professionals and Their Spouses.

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Duncan, Stephen F.; Goddard, H. Wallace

1993-01-01

Assessed how work as family professional is uniquely enhancing and stressful and whether enhancers and stressors are correlated with marital and family quality. Findings from 59 family professionals and their spouses strengthen idea that there are marital and family life enhancers and stressors uniquely associated with work as family professional.…

The Individual Economic Returns to Volunteering in Work Life

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Qvist, Hans-Peter; Munk, Martin David

2018-01-01

This article examines the individual economic returns to volunteering during different stages of working life. The article uses a unique panel dataset created by combining rich survey data from Denmark with information on wages from administrative registers covering the period from 2004 to 2012....... Applying a two-way fixed effects regression model that controls for both period-specific and individual-specific effects, the article finds that for labour market entrants and for people in the early stages of their working life, an additional year of volunteer work experience yields a significant positive...... return. However, the economic returns to volunteer work experience decrease as a function of professional labour market experience. For people with more than six years of professional labour market experience, the economic returns to volunteer work experience are insignificant. On these grounds...

Organizational and individual determinants of using initiatives conducive to successful work-life balance

OpenAIRE

Aleksandra Andysz; Anna Najder; Dorota Merecz-Kot

2014-01-01

Appropriate distribution of time and energy between work and personal life poses a challenge to many working people. Unfortunately, many professionally active people experience work-family conflict. In order to minimize it, employees are offered various solutions aimed at reconciling professional and private spheres (work-life balance (WLB) initiatives). The authors attempt to answer what makes employees use WLB initiatives and what influences the decision to reject the available options. The...

Professional identity formation in the transition from medical school to working life: a qualitative study of group-coaching courses for junior doctors.

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de Lasson, Lydia; Just, Eva; Stegeager, Nikolaj; Malling, Bente

2016-06-24

The transition from student to medical doctor is challenging and stressful to many junior doctors. To practice with confidence and professionalism the junior doctors have to develop a strong professional identity. Various suggestions on how to facilitate formation of professional identity have been offered including the possible positive effect of group-coaching courses. The purpose of this study was to explore how group-coaching might facilitate professional identity formation among junior doctors in the transition period. Group-coaching courses comprising three whole-day sessions and five 2 h sessions during a period of 4 months were offered to junior doctors in the first years after graduation. The purpose was to support the participants' professional development, ability to relate to patients, relatives and staff and career development. The coaches in this study had a background as health professionals combined with coaching educations. Data was obtained through observations, open-ended questionnaires and interviews. A generic thematic analysis was applied. Forty-five doctors participated in six coaching groups. The three main themes emerging in the sessions were: Adoption to medical culture, career planning, and work/life-balance. The junior doctors found the coaching intervention highly useful in order to cope with these challenges. Furthermore, the group was a forum where the junior doctors could share thoughts and feelings with colleagues without being afraid that this would endanger their professional career. Many found new ways to respond to everyday challenges mainly through a new awareness of patterns of thinking and feeling. The participants found that the group-coaching course supported their professional identity formation (thinking, feeling and acting as a doctor), adoption to medical culture, career planning and managing a healthy work/life-balance. Further studies in different contexts are recommended as well as studies using other methods to

Work-life balancing: challenges and strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

Chittenden, Eva H; Ritchie, Christine S

2011-07-01

Balancing the personal and the professional is an ongoing struggle for most professionals, and palliative care clinicians are no exception. A sustained lack of balance can lead to feelings of frustration, inadequacy, and guilt. Palliative care physicians may find this balance particularly difficult due to the nature of their work: caring for patients and families who are often suffering and in crisis. In this article, we describe challenges to work-life balancing and strategies that may promote balance, including "timeshifting," goal setting, cognitive reframing, and self-care. We argue that the search for balance is a lifelong endeavor that entails self-reflection and continuing examination of one's values and goals.

The Relation between Work-Family Balance and Quality of Life.

Science.gov (United States)

Greenhaus, Jeffrey H.; Collins, Karen M.; Shaw, Jason D.

2003-01-01

The relationship between work-family balance and quality of life was assessed for 353 accounting professionals. Those who spent more time on family than work experienced higher quality of life than balanced individuals, who experienced higher quality than those who spent more time on work. Findings were similar for level of involvement balance and…

Shift Work and Quality of Personal, Professional, and Family Life among Health Care Workers in a Rehabilitation Center in Greece.

Science.gov (United States)

Skoufi, Georgia I; Lialios, Georgios A; Papakosta, Styliani; Constantinidis, Theodoros C; Galanis, Petros; Nena, Evangelia

2017-01-01

Adverse work schedules and conditions may affect the physical, mental, and social wellbeing of workers, impairing quality of life and causing conflict between family and work roles. To compare quality of life, professional quality of life (ProQOL), and work/family conflict (WFC) between shift workers and nonshift workers and explore possible associations with demographic characteristics. : A cross-sectional study was conducted in a rehabilitation center in Central Greece, recording demographic, occupational, and family characteristics. Participants answered the World Health Organization-5 Well-Being Index, the ProQOL questionnaire [compassion satisfaction (CS), and the burnout (BO) and secondary traumatic stress scales], and the WFC scale. IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 19.0 for Windows. Ninety-one employees (68.7% shift workers) participated, with mean age 33.5. Females reported higher compassion/satisfaction level ( P = 0.031). Nursing profession was associated with higher levels of BO ( P = 0.021), impact of work to family life ( P = 0.008), and impact of family to work (FtW), and WFC ( P = 0.008). Parenthood increased the impact of FtW ( P = 0.008) and predispose to WFC ( P = 0.023). In general, wellbeing was significantly correlated with CS ( r = 0.368, P health.

A QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE BALANCE BETWEEN WORK AND LIFE

OpenAIRE

Eleftheria Charitou; Evgeniia Kolobova; Tryfon Ziatas; Miltiadis Chalikias; Michalis Skordoulis

2017-01-01

The purpose of this research is to investigate the balancing of professional and personal life and its importance for a company’s profitability. Α qualitative research was taken up. The research findings revealed another that the hierarchical level to which an employee belongs differentiates the degree of balancing between professional and personal life. Furthermore it was found that an imbalance between work and life leads mainly to stress, anger and reduced job satisfaction and other negati...

Counterbalancing work-related stress? Work engagement among intensive care professionals.

Science.gov (United States)

van Mol, Margo M C; Nijkamp, Marjan D; Bakker, Jan; Schaufeli, Wilmar B; Kompanje, Erwin J O

2018-07-01

Working in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is increasingly complex and is also physically, cognitively and emotionally demanding. Although the negative emotions of work-related stress have been well studied, the opposite perspective of work engagement might also provide valuable insight into how these emotional demands may be countered. This study focused on the work engagement of ICU professionals and explored the complex relationship between work engagement, job demands and advantageous personal resources. This was a cross-sectional survey study among ICU professionals in a single-centre university hospital. Work engagement was measured by the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, which included items about opinions related to the respondent's work environment. Additionally, 14 items based on the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy were included to measure empathic ability. A digital link to the questionnaire was sent in October 2015 to a population of 262 ICU nurses and 53 intensivists. The overall response rate was 61% (n=193). Work engagement was negatively related both to cognitive demands among intensivists and to emotional demands among ICU nurses. No significant relationship was found between work engagement and empathic ability; however, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and emotional stability were highly correlated with work engagement. Only the number of hours worked per week remained as a confounding factor, with a negative effect of workload on work engagement after controlling for the effect of weekly working hours. Work engagement counterbalances work-related stress reactions. The relatively high workload in ICUs, coupled with an especially heavy emotional burden, may be acknowledged as an integral part of ICU work. This workload does not affect the level of work engagement, which was high for both intensivists and nurses despite the known high job demands. Specific factors that contribute to a healthy and successful work life among ICU professionals need

Organizational influences and quality-of-life issues during the professional socialization of certified athletic trainers working in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I setting.

Science.gov (United States)

Pitney, William A

2006-01-01

Health professionals are exposed to critical influences and pressures when socialized into their work environments. Little is known about the organizational socialization of certified athletic trainers (ATs) in the collegiate context. To discuss the organizational influences and quality-of-life issues as each relates to the professional socialization of ATs working in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I setting. A qualitative design of in-depth interviews and follow-up electronic interviews was used to examine the organizational socialization of ATs. Participants associated with Division I athletic programs from 4 National Athletic Trainers' Association districts volunteered for the study. A total of 11 men and 5 women participated in the study, consisting of 14 ATs and 2 athletic directors. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed inductively. A peer review, member checks, and data source triangulation were performed to establish trustworthiness. Two categories emerged that provide insight into the experiences that affected the professional socialization of the ATs: organizational influences and quality-of-life issues. The data indicate that the participants in this study were heavily influenced by the bureaucratic tendencies of the Division I athletic organizations in which they worked. The participants were extremely concerned about the diminished quality of life that may result from being an AT in this context. They were, however, able to maintain a commitment to delivering quality care to the student-athletes despite these influences. High work volume and low administrative support were commonly cited as problems, thus creating concern about diminished quality of life and the fear of burnout. The AT's role appears not only rewarding but also challenging. The reward is working closely with patients and developing an interpersonal bond; the challenge is dealing with a bureaucratic structure and balancing one's professional and

Work and Life in the Balance: Ways of Working and Living Among Elite French, Norwegian, and American Professionals

OpenAIRE

Schulz, Jeremy Markham

2010-01-01

The idea that work-shy Western Europeans and work-crazed Americans differ fundamentally in their orientations to working life and private life has gained wide currency on both sides of the Atlantic within the social science community, spawning rafts of studies charting differences in aggregate time use patterns and work value orientations. Taking an experiential perspective on the behaviors and orientations constitutive of working life and private life, my dissertation approaches the question...

Work-Life Balance among academic staff of the University of Lagos ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Work-Life Balance among academic staff of the University of Lagos. ... Abstract. Work-life balance is associated with the maintenance of stability in both one's professional and personal life. It is key to the welfare and, subsequently, job satisfaction and productivity of employees. It is against this understanding that this study ...

(Destabilizing Self-Identities in Professional Work

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anders Buch

2013-09-01

Full Text Available It is characteristic of much professional work that it is performed in ambiguous contexts. Thus, uncertainty, unpredictability, indeterminacy, and recurrent organizational transformations are an integral part of modern work for, e.g., engineers, lawyers, business consultants, and other professionals. Although key performance indicators and other knowledge management systems are used to set standards of excellence for professionals, the character of professional work is still flexible, open to interpretation and heterarchical. The very successfulness (or unsuccessfulness of the work is established in a complex work context where various goals, interests, and perspectives are mediated, altered, contested, mangled, and negotiated in a process of sense-making. The work context is heterogeneously populated by various actors (e.g., the customer, the manager, the colleagues and actants (e.g., quality systems and technical equipment that give “voice” to (conflicting interpretations of what constitutes successful work. Thus, the professionals must navigate in a very complex environment where the locus of governance is far from stable. These characteristics of professional work seem to have implications for the way professionals make sense of their work and their own identities. The identity work of professionals is interwoven with their professional training and career background. With an academic training and a professional career, the individual typically identifies with the profession’s values and adopts a certain way of seeing and approaching the world. This professional outlook typically will constitute the basis of the individual’s appraisal of the work and lay out a horizon of expectations in relation to fulfillment, self-realization, and job satisfaction. In this way, the construction of self-identity becomes the yardstick for the individual’s sense-making and, a fortiori, for the individual’s sense of meaningful work. In this paper

The influence of psychosocial factors at work and life style on health and work ability among professional workers.

Science.gov (United States)

van den Berg, T I J; Alavinia, S M; Bredt, F J; Lindeboom, D; Elders, L A M; Burdorf, A

2008-08-01

The purpose of this article is to explore the associations of psychosocial factors at work, life style, and stressful life events on health and work ability among white-collar workers. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among workers in commercial services (n = 1141). The main outcome variables were work ability, measured by the work ability index (WAI), and mental and physical health, measured by the Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12). Individual characteristics, psychosocial factors at work, stressful life events, and lifestyle factors were determined by a questionnaire. Maximum oxygen uptake, weight, height, and biceps strength were measured during a physical examination. Work ability of white-collar workers in commercial services industry was strongly associated with psychosocial factors at work such as teamwork, stress handling, and self-development and, to a lesser extent, with stressful life events, lack of physical activity, and obesity. Determinants of mental health were very similar to those of work ability, whereas physical health was influenced primarily by life style factors. With respect to work ability, the influence of unhealthy life style seems more important for older workers, than for their younger colleagues. Among white-collar workers mental and physical health were of equal importance to work ability, but only mental health and work ability shared the same determinants. The strong associations between psychosocial factors at work and mental health and work ability suggest that in this study population health promotion should address working conditions rather than individual life style factors.

Work-Life Balance v mezinárodním kontextu

OpenAIRE

Josefová, Veronika

2009-01-01

Work-life balance is often a discussed topic in most industrialized countries. Many employees are dissatisfied with working hours, high labor intensity and stress at work. A large number of employees would prefer flexible working hours, part-time, which would lead to better opportunities for reconciling work and family life. Individuals are trying to find a balance between professional and personal interests, some are even forced to decide whether to give priority to family and private life. ...

Does the working environment influence health care professionals' values, meaning in life and religiousness? Palliative care units compared with maternity wards.

Science.gov (United States)

Fegg, Martin; L'hoste, Sibylle; Brandstätter, Monika; Borasio, Gian Domenico

2014-11-01

Increased altruism, self-transcendence, and quests for meaning in life (MiL) have been found in palliative care (PC) patients and their families who experience the finiteness of life. Similar changes were observed in healthy subjects who were experimentally confronted with their mortality. The study investigated how daily experiences of the transitoriness of life influence PC health care professionals' (HCPs) values, MiL, and religiousness. In a cross-sectional study, the Schwartz Value Survey, the Schedule for Meaning in Life Evaluation, and the Idler Index of Religiosity were used to investigate personal values, MiL, and private religiousness. HCPs working in PC (confronted with death) were compared with a control group of HCPs working at maternity wards (MWs) using multivariate models. Differences were considered to be statistically significant at P religious than MW-HCPs; they listed spirituality and nature experience more often as areas in which they experience MiL. Furthermore, hedonism was more important for PC-HCPs, and they had higher scores in openness-to-change values (stimulation and self-direction). MW-HCPs were more likely to list family as a MiL area. They assigned more importance to health and scored higher in conservation values (conformity and security). Duration of professional experience did not influence these results. Basic differences in values, MiL, and religiousness between PC-HCPs and MW-HCPs might have influenced the choice of working environment because no effect of job duration was observed. Longitudinal research is needed to confirm this hypothesis. Copyright © 2014 American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Work Life Balance Amongst the Working Women in Public Sector Banks - A Case Study of State Bank of India

OpenAIRE

Dabhade, Nishant; Yadav, Rajesh K.

2013-01-01

In terms of Indian context, the concern over work-life balance is gradually becoming a common talk especially for women employees. Work life balance is a state of equilibrium in which the demand of both professional and personal life is equal. Each role having different set of demands and when such role demands overlap, multiple problems are faced. In reality life and work over-lap and interact. In designing the work life policies employer should think that the commitment of employees can mak...

Principles to promote physician satisfaction and work-life balance.

Science.gov (United States)

Shanafelt, Tait D; West, Colin P; Poland, Gregory A; LaRusso, Nicolas F; Menaker, Ronald; Bahn, Rebecca S

2008-12-01

Substantial evidence suggests that difficulty balancing their personal and professional life is a major contributor to physician distress. Limited evidence suggests that the mission and policies of health care organizations may relate to physician satisfaction. In this article, we describe principles to promote professional satisfaction and work-life integration developed by the Mayo Clinic department of medicine. These principles can be used to measure and align policies. It is hoped they will serve as a model that can be used by other health care organizations.

Shared decision-making at the end of life: A focus group study exploring the perceptions and experiences of multi-disciplinary healthcare professionals working in the home setting.

Science.gov (United States)

Brogan, Paula; Hasson, Felicity; McIlfatrick, Sonja

2018-01-01

Globally recommended in healthcare policy, Shared Decision-Making is also central to international policy promoting community palliative care. Yet realities of implementation by multi-disciplinary healthcare professionals who provide end-of-life care in the home are unclear. To explore multi-disciplinary healthcare professionals' perceptions and experiences of Shared Decision-Making at end of life in the home. Qualitative design using focus groups, transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically. A total of 43 participants, from multi-disciplinary community-based services in one region of the United Kingdom, were recruited. While the rhetoric of Shared Decision-Making was recognised, its implementation was impacted by several interconnecting factors, including (1) conceptual confusion regarding Shared Decision-Making, (2) uncertainty in the process and (3) organisational factors which impeded Shared Decision-Making. Multiple interacting factors influence implementation of Shared Decision-Making by professionals working in complex community settings at the end of life. Moving from rhetoric to reality requires future work exploring the realities of Shared Decision-Making practice at individual, process and systems levels.

Improving Group Work Practices in Teaching Life Sciences: Trialogical Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Tammeorg, Priit; Mykkänen, Anna; Rantamäki, Tomi; Lakkala, Minna; Muukkonen, Hanni

2017-08-01

Trialogical learning, a collaborative and iterative knowledge creation process using real-life artefacts or problems, familiarizes students with working life environments and aims to teach skills required in the professional world. We target one of the major limitation factors for optimal trialogical learning in university settings, inefficient group work. We propose a course design combining effective group working practices with trialogical learning principles in life sciences. We assess the usability of our design in (a) a case study on crop science education and (b) a questionnaire for university teachers in life science fields. Our approach was considered useful and supportive of the learning process by all the participants in the case study: the students, the stakeholders and the facilitator. Correspondingly, a group of university teachers expressed that the trialogical approach and the involvement of stakeholders could promote efficient learning. In our case in life sciences, we identified the key issues in facilitating effective group work to be the design of meaningful tasks and the allowance of sufficient time to take action based on formative feedback. Even though trialogical courses can be time consuming, the experience of applying knowledge in real-life cases justifies using the approach, particularly for students just about to enter their professional careers.

Sleep, quality of life and mood of nursing professionals of pediatric intensive care units

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Priscilla Caetano Guerra

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract OBJECTIVE To assess sleep, quality of life and mood of nursing professionals of pediatric intensive care units. METHOD Quantitative, cross-sectional and descriptive study. Professionals grouped by morning, afternoon and evening shifts were assessed by means of the instruments: Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire; Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index; Epworth Sleepiness Scale; Generic questionnaire for the assessment of quality of life (SF-36; Beck Depression Inventory; Beck Anxiety Inventory; State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. RESULTS Sample consisted of 168 professionals, with prevalence of neutral typology (57.49%. There was no statistical significance regarding sleep, despite scores showing a poor quality of sleep and excessive daytime sleepiness for the three shifts. Quality of life did not reveal any statistical significance, but in the field "social role functioning" of the evening shift, a lower score was observed (p<0.007. There was no statistical significance regarding levels of anxiety and depression. CONCLUSION The results suggest that these professionals may present sleeping problems, but they do not have lower scores of quality of life or mood disorders. Likely explanations for these findings may include an adaptation to their work type over time and the fact that working with children is rewarding.

Constructs of the Work/Life Interface and Their Importance to HRD

Science.gov (United States)

McMillan, Heather S.; Morris, Michael Lane; Atchley, E. Kate

2008-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to identify construct definitions and measurement tools for the work/life interface concepts: balance, conflict and facilitation. An understanding of these concepts is critical to HRD (human resource development) professionals because interventions designed to counter work/life interface issues can not be created, and…

Work motivation among healthcare professionals.

Science.gov (United States)

Kjellström, Sofia; Avby, Gunilla; Areskoug-Josefsson, Kristina; Andersson Gäre, Boel; Andersson Bäck, Monica

2017-06-19

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore work motivation among professionals at well-functioning primary healthcare centers subject to a national healthcare reform which include financial incentives. Design/methodology/approach Five primary healthcare centers in Sweden were purposively selected for being well-operated and representing public/private and small/large units. In total, 43 interviews were completed with different medical professions and qualitative deductive content analysis was conducted. Findings Work motivation exists for professionals when their individual goals are aligned with the organizational goals and the design of the reform. The centers' positive management was due to a unique combination of factors, such as clear direction of goals, a culture of non-hierarchical collaboration, and systematic quality improvement work. The financial incentives need to be translated in terms of quality patient care to provide clear direction for the professionals. Social processes where professionals work together as cohesive groups, and provided space for quality improvement work is pivotal in addressing how alignment is created. Practical implications Leaders need to consistently translate and integrate reforms with the professionals' drives and values. This is done by encouraging participation through teamwork, time for structured reflection, and quality improvement work. Social implications The design of the reforms and leadership are essential preconditions for work motivation. Originality/value The study offers a more complete picture of how reforms are managed at primary healthcare centers, as different medical professionals are included. The value also consists of showing how a range of aspects combine for primary healthcare professionals to successfully manage external reforms.

Boundary Management Preferences, Boundary Control, and Work-Life Balance among Full-Time Employed Professionals in Knowledge-Intensive, Flexible Work

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christin Mellner

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Profound changes are taking place within working life, where established boundaries between work and personal life are challenged by increased global competition, ever-faster changing markets, and rapid development of boundary transcending information and communication technologies (ICT. The aim of this study was to investigate boundary management preferences in terms of keeping work and personal life domains separated or integrated, that is, segmenting or blending of domains, the perception of being in control of one´s preferred boundaries, and work-life balance among employees at a Swedish telecom company (N = 1,238, response rate 65%, men 73%, mean age 42 years. Psychosocial work factors, individual characteristics, sociodemographic factors, and work-life balance were investigated in relation to boundary management preferences and perceived boundary control. For high boundary control among segmenters, nearly all the studied psychosocial work factors were significant. Among integrators, this was the case only for clear expectations in work. For both groups, the individual capacity for self-regulation was associated with high boundary control. Regarding sociodemographic factors, cohabiting women with children who preferred segmentation had low boundary control. Finally, there was a main effect of boundary control on work-life balance. In particular, male segmenters perceiving high boundary control had better work-life balance than all others. Conclusions of the study are that segmenters need external boundaries in work for succesful boundary management. Moreover, self-regulation seems a crucial boundary competence in knowledge- intensive, flexible work. Results are of value for health promotion in modern work organizations in supporting employees achieving successful boundary control and subsequent work-life balance.

Resilience and professional quality of life in staff working with people with intellectual disabilities and offending behavior in community based and institutional settings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Erik Søndenaa

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Staff in forensic services for people with intellectual disabilities (ID are expected to deal with a wide range of emotional challenges when providing care. The potential impact of this demanding work has not been systematically explored previously. This article explores the professional quality of life (QoL and the resilience (hardiness of the staff in this setting. The Professional QoL questionnaire and the Disposional Resilience Scale were completed by staff (n=85, 80% response rate in the Norwegian forensic service for ID offenders. Responses from staff working in institutional settings were compared to those from staff in local community services. Staff in the local community services had higher resilience scores compared to the staff in the institutional setting, (t=2.19; P<0.05. However in the other QoL and resilience domains there were no differences between the staff in the two settings. The greater sense of resilient control among community staff may be a function of both the number of service users they work with and the institutional demands they face. Even though these participants worked with relatively high risk clients, they did not report significantly impaired quality of life compared to other occupations.

How user involvement is transforming professional work, knowledge and identities –

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dybbroe, Betina; Kamp, Annette

(Barnes and Cotterell 2013). This, affects professional work, knowledge and identities of professionals, and may become one of the main drivers of change in knowledge bases, in clinical decision making, and in the positions of the professionals. In this paper we will present research on user involvement...... in the health sector in Denmark in 2017, based on ethnographic field studies within psychiatry. In psychiatry users are supposed to take on a major responsibility for mastering and monitoring their own health, and so cooperation with the patient is a centerpiece for professional work in psychiatry......, but particularly so in the outpatient part of the sector where our study takes place. To include patients’ choices and life situations is considered essential for successful care and treatment. Engaging in long term relations and managing affections is a core competency and yet an absolutely tacit...

[Quality of professional life and musculoskeletal disorders in nurses].

Science.gov (United States)

Rodarte-Cuevas, Lilia; Araujo-Espino, Roxana; Trejo-Ortiz, Perla María; González-Tovar, José

To characterize the conditions of quality of working life, the presence of muscle- skeletal disorders and the association between these variables in nursing staff of a public hospital in Zacatecas, Mexico. A cross-sectional study with descriptive-correlational scope was designed. A stratified random sampling per shift was used in 107 cases. The Questionnaire Professional Quality of Life (CVP-35) was applied as well as the Nordic Questionnaire Standardized for musculoskeletal pain and work-related risk factors questionnaire. The quality of working life gained an average of 55.62 (SD=13.57), the intrinsic motivation was the best rated component with (M=75.06, SD=18.44), contrary to managerial support that got the lowest scores with (M=43.74, SD=21.71). The presence of risk factors in the development work of musculoskeletal problems obtained a mean of 50.10 (SD=26.69). The main musculoskeletal disorders occurred in the neck region, lumbar spine and knees with 42.1% for each one. The quality of working life decreased in the presence of muscle-skeletal problems in the lumbar region with (-0.188, p≤.050), dorsal (-0.206, p≤.050), neck (-0.175, p≤.050) and knees (-0.220, p≤.010). It is necessary to improve the working conditions of nurses to reduce the presence of musculoskeletal problems and improve their quality of working life. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

[Quality of work life in nursing staff].

Science.gov (United States)

Zavala, María Olga Quintana; Klijn, Tatiana Maria Paravic

2014-01-01

This article deals with aspects that are related to work, quality of life, and its relationship with the nursing staff within the Mexican context. Professionals in health areas present alterations that are commonly overlooked and barely dealt with, especially when the person is a woman and, the care they give to patients, families, and/or friends, or community members, precede their own self care. In the case of institutions or work areas, even when the job provides human beings with several benefits, it usually lacks the proper conditions to perform the job, carries negatives aspects or pathological conditions, all which can relate to poor levels of Quality of Life at Work. Members of the nursing team need to perform their work in the best possible conditions in order to maintain their physical and mental health.

Work-Life Resources for Faculty

OpenAIRE

Layne, Peggy

2013-01-01

Work-life balance means something different for each faculty member, but the overarching goal is to create a welcoming and supportive environment for all faculty members so they can succeed and are not required to make unacceptable choices between family and career. Retention of a talented faculty workforce is not just a matter of good start-up packages and opportunities for professional development, but also programs and policies that allow faculty members the flexibility to manage family an...

Work/Life Balance Issues for Female Physicians and Implications for Medical Education

Science.gov (United States)

Corder, Paige Frances

2016-01-01

Work/life balance issues exist for all people who navigate both professional and personal responsibilities, regardless of profession, gender, marital status, or number of children. This research sought to better understand the specific work/life balance challenges faced by female physicians and how medical education can better prepare future…

AdvanceVT Work/Life Policies : Summary Report

OpenAIRE

AdvanceVT

2010-01-01

AdvanceVT’s 2008 Faculty Work/Life Survey showed that 59% of tenured and tenure-track faculty members at Virginia Tech believe it is difficult to have a personal life and earn tenure and 48% feel that their family responsibilities have slowed their career advancement. Female faculty members indicated that they have considered leaving the university in order to obtain better career opportunities for their spouse or partner (43%), as well as to achieve a better personal/professional balance (50...

Work-life balance: history, costs, and budgeting for balance.

Science.gov (United States)

Raja, Siva; Stein, Sharon L

2014-06-01

The concept and difficulties of work-life balance are not unique to surgeons, but professional responsibilities make maintaining a work-life balance difficult. Consequences of being exclusively career focused include burn out, physical, and mental ailments. In addition, physician burn out may hinder optimal patient care and incur significant costs on health care in general. Assessing current uses of time, allocating goals catered to an individual surgeon, and continual self-assessment may help balance time, and ideally will help prevent burn out.

Cultures of Work-Life Balance in Higher Education: A Case of Fragmentation

Science.gov (United States)

Lester, Jaime

2015-01-01

In response to demographic shifts, colleges and universities implemented new policies, adopted new practices, and created professional development opportunities to gain support for work-life balance. Research on work-life balance reveals gender disparities, lack of policy usage, and a lack of cultural change with little understanding of the ways…

Professional Quality of Life of Veterans Affairs Staff and Providers in a Patient-Centered Care Environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Locatelli, Sara M; LaVela, Sherri L

2015-01-01

Changes to the work environment prompted by the movement toward patient-centered care have the potential to improve occupational stress among health care workers by improving team-based work activities, collaboration, and employee-driven quality improvement. This study was conducted to examine professional quality of life among providers at patient-centered care pilot facilities. Surveys were conducted with 76 Veterans Affairs employees/providers at facilities piloting patient-centered care interventions, to assess demographics, workplace practices and views (team-based environment, employee voice, quality of communication, and turnover intention), and professional quality of life (compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress).Professional quality-of-life subscales were not related to employee position type, age, or gender. Employee voice measures were related to lower burnout and higher compassion satisfaction. In addition, employees who were considering leaving their position showed higher burnout and lower compassion satisfaction scores. None of the work practices showed relationships with secondary traumatic stress.

(De)stabilizing Self-Identities in Professional Work

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Buch, Anders; Andersen, Vibeke

2013-01-01

It is characteristic of much professional work that it is performed in ambiguous contexts. Thus, uncertainty, unpredictability, indeterminacy, and recurrent organizational transformations are an integral part of modern work for, e.g., engineers, lawyers, business consultants, and other profession......It is characteristic of much professional work that it is performed in ambiguous contexts. Thus, uncertainty, unpredictability, indeterminacy, and recurrent organizational transformations are an integral part of modern work for, e.g., engineers, lawyers, business consultants, and other...... implications for the way professionals make sense of their work and their own identities. The identity work of professionals is interwoven with their professional training and career background. With an academic training and a professional career, the individual typically identifies with the profession...

[Professional quality of life in workers of the Toledo primary care health area].

Science.gov (United States)

Villarín Castro, A; Méndez García, T; Zuzuárregui Gironés, M S; Sánchez Serrano, S; Conejo Ocaña, R

2015-01-01

To determine the professional quality of life in the workers of the Toledo Primary Care Health Area and to analyse its components. Descriptive, cross-sectional study, performed on workers of the Toledo Primary Care Health Area with an online self-administered questionnaire. age, sex, health centre, professional group, seniority, management experience, collaboration in working groups, employment situation, and the PQL-35 professional quality of life questionnaire. A total of 430 completed questionnaires were received (45.3%), of which 68.4% were women. The mean age was 47.7±8.6 years old. Mean seniority was 21.5±9.7 years. PQL-35 results were: perception of management support 4.8±1.5; perception of workload 6.2±1.3; intrinsic motivation 7.9±1.1; job disconnection capacity 6.3±2.6; and professional quality of life 5.2±2.1. Gender differences were found in perception of management support (4.5±1.5 in males vs 4.9±1.5 in females; P=.031) and professional quality of life (4.9±2.0 vs 5.3±2.1; p=.044). Depending on the professional group, differences were found in the perception of workload (6.4±1.1 in physicians, 6.3±1.3 in nurses, 5.9±1.6 in non-sanitary professionals, and 5.3±1.2 in support units professionals; Pquality of life in the workers of the Toledo Primary Care Health Area is similar to that of other Spanish Health Areas, even in a time of economic crisis. The intrinsic motivation of the professionals is very high, in contrast with their high perception of workload and their low perception of management support. Copyright © 2014 SECA. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Writing a Professional Life on Facebook

Science.gov (United States)

Briggs, Timothy J.

2013-01-01

This video presents one academic's experiences using Facebook in service of his professional life in order to contend that Facebook can be valuable to faculty as both a site for professional conversations and a social network that enables users to create and maintain social capital.

Self-care and Professional Quality of Life: Predictive Factors among MSW Practitioners

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kori R Bloomquist

2016-02-01

Full Text Available This study explored the effects of self-care practices and perceptions on positive and negative indicators of professional quality of life, including burnout, secondary traumatic stress, and compassion satisfaction among MSW practitioners. Results reveal that while social workers value and believe self-care is effective in alleviating job-related stress, they engage in self-care on a limited basis. Findings indicate that MSW programs and employers do not teach social workers how to effectively engage in self-care practice. Various domains of self-care practice contribute differently to indicators of professional quality of life. This study sheds light on the under-studied relationship between social worker self-care and professional quality of life, provides insights into the types of activities practiced and not practiced by MSW practitioners, and identifies gaps between perceived value and effective teaching of self-care. Implications exist for social work educators and employers and the potential to support a healthier, sustainable workforce.

Work accidents and self-esteem of nursing professional in hospital settings.

Science.gov (United States)

Santos, Sérgio Valverde Marques Dos; Macedo, Flávia Ribeiro Martins; Silva, Luiz Almeida da; Resck, Zelia Marilda Rodrigues; Nogueira, Denismar Alves; Terra, Fábio de Souza

2017-04-20

to analyze the occurrence of work accidents and the self-esteem of nurses in hospitals of a municipality of Minas Gerais. descriptive-analytical and cross-sectional study developed with 393 nursing professionals from three hospitals of a municipality in southern Minas Gerais. The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and a questionnaire to characterize the population and work accidents were used for data collection. Data analysis was performed using Person's chi-squared test, Fisher's exact test, Cronbach's alpha, odds ratio and logistic regression. of the professionals studied, 15% had suffered an accident at work and 70.2% presented high self-esteem. Through the analysis, it was observed that smoking, religious belief and an outstanding event in the career were significantly associated with work accidents. In relation to self-esteem, family income, length of time working in the profession and an outstanding event in the career presented significant associations. factors such as smoking, religious belief, family income, length of time working in the profession and an outstanding event in the career can cause professionals to have accidents and/or cause changes in self-esteem, which can compromise their physical and mental health and their quality of life and work.

Work life balance stakes, comparaison France and north america

OpenAIRE

Hollard, Emmanuelle

2015-01-01

Work-life balance is a very actual subject for every companies and every employees. France and Canada might seems to be similar in some point but the culture of each country influence employee’s vision. Whereas new technologies are more and more present, employees have to manage their personal use and their professional use. The different theories about values such as Maslow’s one and Inglehart’s one can partly explain some differences of perception. In order to improve employee’s work-life b...

Work-life balance in academic medicine: narratives of physician-researchers and their mentors.

Science.gov (United States)

Strong, Erin A; De Castro, Rochelle; Sambuco, Dana; Stewart, Abigail; Ubel, Peter A; Griffith, Kent A; Jagsi, Reshma

2013-12-01

Leaders in academic medicine are often selected from the ranks of physician-researchers, whose demanding careers involve multiple professional commitments that must also be balanced with demands at home. To gain a more nuanced understanding of work-life balance issues from the perspective of a large and diverse group of faculty clinician-researchers and their mentors. A qualitative study with semi-structured, in-depth interviews conducted from 2010 to 2011, using inductive analysis and purposive sampling. One hundred former recipients of U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) K08 or K23 career development awards and 28 of their mentors. Three researchers with graduate training in qualitative methods conducted the interviews and thematically coded verbatim transcripts. Five themes emerged related to work-life balance: (1) the challenge and importance of work-life balance for contemporary physician-researchers, (2) how gender roles and spousal dynamics make these issues more challenging for women, (3) the role of mentoring in this area, (4) the impact of institutional policies and practices intended to improve work-life balance, and (5) perceptions of stereotype and stigma associated with utilization of these programs. In academic medicine, in contrast to other fields in which a lack of affordable childcare may be the principal challenge, barriers to work-life balance appear to be deeply rooted within professional culture. A combination of mentorship, interventions that target institutional and professional culture, and efforts to destigmatize reliance on flexibility (with regard to timing and location of work) are most likely to promote the satisfaction and success of the new generation of clinician-researchers who desire work-life balance.

Psychosocial aspect of quality of life among working and unemployed nurses and midwives.

Science.gov (United States)

Czekirda, Marta; Chruściel, Paweł; Czekirda, Neomi; Jarosz, Mirosław J

2017-09-21

The objective of the study was to explain differences in the subjective evaluation of the psychological and social aspects of quality of life in a group of working and unemployed nurses and midwives. The survey was conducted in a group of 620 professionally-active and inactive people (315 nurses and 305 midwives), selected by random stratified-systematic sampling. The tool used to gather empirical material was the standardized questionnaire WHOQoL-100. Professionally-active nurses evaluated the mental domain less favourably (M=12.33), compared with unemployed nurses (M=12.73), and the difference between average values was statistically significant (p=.043). It is also worth noting that in the group of midwives there were significant differences in each discussed domain. The unemployed respondents evaluated more positively the overall quality of life (M=14.29; p=.005) and the mental domain (M=12.85; p=.009), while the social domain was evaluated less favourably by the professionally-active midwives (M=12.73; p=.022). Paradoxically, those who were unemployed made slightly more positive evaluations in comparison with the professionally active. Professional work is not a factor preferably affecting the quality of life and its psychosocial dimension. The higher quality of life of the unemployed respondents may result from the buffering impact of social support.

Role of compassion competence among clinical nurses in professional quality of life.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Y; Seomun, G

2016-09-01

The study aimed to explore measurable compassion competence among nurses and to examine the relationships between nurses' compassion competence and levels of compassion satisfaction, compassion fatigue and secondary traumatic stress. Compassion is a vital asset in the nursing profession. It is necessary to explore whether compassion competence is a factor influencing professional quality of life. This study utilized a multicenter descriptive cross-sectional survey. Data were collected from 680 nurses. Professional quality of life based on nurses' general characteristics showed a significant difference in the subjects' age, marital status, education, and total clinical experience. In addition, compassion competence had a significant positive correlation with compassion satisfaction and STS, whereas it had a significant negative correlation with burnout. Compassion competence was a factor influencing compassion satisfaction and burnout in professional quality of life. Our study included nurses with at least 1 year of clinical experience in a single cultural area, which limits its widespread applicability. To improve generalizability, future studies should include clinical nurses of various races, working in diverse cultural areas and with various levels of experience (including entry-level nurses and nursing students). Compassion competence of clinical nurses was a predictive factor for professional quality of life. Hospital administrators, nurse leaders and policy makers should develop and adopt nurse-retaining strategies that focus on improving nurses' compassion competence in order to reduce their burnout. We recommend the development of educational programmes to improve nurses' compassion competence and thereby enhance their professional quality of life. © 2016 International Council of Nurses.

Boundary Management Preferences, Boundary Control, and Work-Life Balance among Full-Time Employed Professionals in Knowledge-Intensive, Flexible Work

OpenAIRE

Christin Mellner; Gunnar Aronsson; Göran Kecklund

2015-01-01

Profound changes are taking place within working life, where established boundaries between work and personal life are challenged by increased global competition, ever-faster changing markets, and rapid development of boundary transcending information and communication technologies (ICT). The aim of this study was to investigate boundary management preferences in terms of keeping work and personal life domains separated or integrated, that is, segmenting or blending of domains, the perception...

The influence of psychosocial factors at work and life style on health and work ability among professional workers.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

T.I.J. van den Berg (Tilja); S.M. Alavinia (Seyed Mahammad); F.J. Bredt (Folef); D. Lindeboom; L.A.M. Elders (Leo); A. Burdorf (Alex)

2008-01-01

textabstractOBJECTIVES: The purpose of this article is to explore the associations of psychosocial factors at work, life style, and stressful life events on health and work ability among white-collar workers. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among workers in commercial services (n =

New policies help faculty members balance work, rest of life

OpenAIRE

Trulove, Susan

2007-01-01

Virginia Tech has joined a cadre of leading universities with progressive work/life policies that provide flexibility for faculty members and graduate students to address special family and personal issues without jeopardizing their professional progress.

Predicting quality of work life on nurses' intention to leave.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Ya-Wen; Dai, Yu-Tzu; Park, Chang-Gi; McCreary, Linda L

2013-06-01

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between quality of work life (QWL) and nurses' intention to leave their organization (ITLorg). A descriptive cross-sectional survey design was conducted using purposive sampling of 1,283 nurses at seven hospitals in Taiwan. Data were collected from March to June 2012. Three questionnaires, including the Chinese version of the Quality of Nursing Work Life scale (C-QNWL), a questionnaire of intention to leave the organization, and a demographic questionnaire, with two informed consent forms were delivered to the nurses at their workplaces. Descriptive data, Pearson's correlations, and the ordinal regression model were analyzed. Over half (52.5%) of nurses had ITLorg. Seven QWL dimensions were significantly negatively correlated with ITLorg (r = -0.17 to -0.37, p working in a nonteaching hospital. Four of the QWL dimensions--supportive milieu with job security and professional recognition, work arrangement and workload, work or home life balance, and nursing staffing and patient care--were also predictors of ITLorg. Three QWL dimensions were not predictors of ITLorg. This study showed that individual-related variables (being single, having a diploma or lower educational level), a work-related variable (working at a nonteaching hospital), and the four QWL dimensions play a significant role in nurses' ITLorg. After the QWL dimensions were added to the regression, the variance explained by the model more than doubled. To reduce nurses' ITLorg, nursing administrators may offer more focused interventions to improve the supportive milieu with job security and professional recognition, work arrangement and workload, work or home life balance, and nursing staffing and patient care. © 2013 Sigma Theta Tau International.

Workplace stress and its influence in professional and private life of health care workers

OpenAIRE

Aristotelis Koinis; Maria Saridi

2014-01-01

Stress work place influences the physical and mental well-being of health professionals, reducing performance and negatively affecting health-related quality of life. Aim: The purpose of this review was to investigate the causes of occupational stress and the impact on the professional and personal lives of healthcare professionals. Methodology: It is conducted a literature review of published journals from scientific databases such as Medline, Pub Med, Google Scholar, for the period 1985-201...

Work accidents and self-esteem of nursing professional in hospital settings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sérgio Valverde Marques dos Santos

Full Text Available Abstract Objective: to analyze the occurrence of work accidents and the self-esteem of nurses in hospitals of a municipality of Minas Gerais. Method: descriptive-analytical and cross-sectional study developed with 393 nursing professionals from three hospitals of a municipality in southern Minas Gerais. The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and a questionnaire to characterize the population and work accidents were used for data collection. Data analysis was performed using Person's chi-squared test, Fisher's exact test, Cronbach's alpha, odds ratio and logistic regression. Results: of the professionals studied, 15% had suffered an accident at work and 70.2% presented high self-esteem. Through the analysis, it was observed that smoking, religious belief and an outstanding event in the career were significantly associated with work accidents. In relation to self-esteem, family income, length of time working in the profession and an outstanding event in the career presented significant associations. Conclusion: factors such as smoking, religious belief, family income, length of time working in the profession and an outstanding event in the career can cause professionals to have accidents and/or cause changes in self-esteem, which can compromise their physical and mental health and their quality of life and work.

Work accidents and self-esteem of nursing professional in hospital settings

Science.gov (United States)

dos Santos, Sérgio Valverde Marques; Macedo, Flávia Ribeiro Martins; da Silva, Luiz Almeida; Resck, Zelia Marilda Rodrigues; Nogueira, Denismar Alves; Terra, Fábio de Souza

2017-01-01

Abstract Objective: to analyze the occurrence of work accidents and the self-esteem of nurses in hospitals of a municipality of Minas Gerais. Method: descriptive-analytical and cross-sectional study developed with 393 nursing professionals from three hospitals of a municipality in southern Minas Gerais. The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and a questionnaire to characterize the population and work accidents were used for data collection. Data analysis was performed using Person's chi-squared test, Fisher's exact test, Cronbach's alpha, odds ratio and logistic regression. Results: of the professionals studied, 15% had suffered an accident at work and 70.2% presented high self-esteem. Through the analysis, it was observed that smoking, religious belief and an outstanding event in the career were significantly associated with work accidents. In relation to self-esteem, family income, length of time working in the profession and an outstanding event in the career presented significant associations. Conclusion: factors such as smoking, religious belief, family income, length of time working in the profession and an outstanding event in the career can cause professionals to have accidents and/or cause changes in self-esteem, which can compromise their physical and mental health and their quality of life and work. PMID:28443993

BlackBerry for Work Productivity for Professionals

CERN Document Server

Mittal, K

2010-01-01

The BlackBerry is cool, and the BlackBerry is fun, but the BlackBerry also means serious business. For those of you who bought your BlackBerry to help get your life organized and free yourself from the ball-and-chain of desktop computing, BlackBerry at Work: Productivity for Professionals is the book to show you how. There are plenty of general-purpose BlackBerry guides, but this book shows you how to complete all the traditional smartphone tasks, like to-dos, calendars, and email, and become even more efficient and productive. You'll learn mechanisms for developing effective workflows specifi

Work-related quality of life of Ugandan healthcare workers.

Science.gov (United States)

Opollo, J G; Gray, J; Spies, L A

2014-03-01

To describe perceived work-related quality of life of Ugandan healthcare workers. A secondary aim was to seek participant input on ways to improve work environments. Poor patient outcomes, decreased employee motivation and decisions to leave the organization have been linked to poor work conditions. Interventions to correct healthcare worker shortage in developing countries require information about work quality of life. Descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in health and educational settings in Uganda in July 2011. Participants completed the Biographical Information Scale demographic questionnaire and the validated 24-item Work-Related Quality of Life scale. Sample included 146 healthcare workers employed in various settings. Participants reported poorer quality of work life on the work conditions, control at work and home-work interface subscales. Participants perceived stress at work to be low and experienced higher job career satisfaction. There was a significant relationship between work-related quality of life, gender and hours worked. Participants' suggestions to improve work life ranged from simple no-cost suggestions to more complex system level interventions. Work-related quality of life was low in this convenience sample. Perceived stress at work was lower than expected, but may have been due to nurses' expectations of a normal work assignment. Predominantly women, the participants had significant caregiving responsibilities. Nurses must acquire a seat at the table where crucial decisions about nursing and its future are made. By advancing leadership skills, nurses can effectively advocate for organizational changes that address broad factors related to increasing job satisfaction, and retaining and attracting nurses. Nurses can influence work quality of life individually and collectively by identifying workplace concerns, demanding safe work environments, fostering teamwork and enhancing professional growth. © 2014 International Council of Nurses.

Understanding and Supporing Knowledge Work in Everyday Life

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jeffrey T. Grabill

2007-03-01

Full Text Available Our purpose in writing is two-fold: (1 to introduce this audience to the Writing in Digital Environments (WIDE Research Center, and (2 to make an argument about the importance of understanding and supporting knowledge work for professional and technical communicators. We are particularly interested in what knowledge (writing work looks like in multiple contexts—for instance, in civic organizations as well as in corporate organizations— because contemporary social and community contexts are dependent on high-quality knowledge work. This explains our interest in “everyday life.”

Professional Learning through Everyday Work: How Finance Professionals Self-Regulate Their Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Littlejohn, Allison; Milligan, Colin; Fontana, Rosa Pia; Margaryan, Anoush

2016-01-01

Professional learning is a critical component of ongoing improvement and innovation and the adoption of new practices in the workplace. Professional learning is often achieved through learning embedded in everyday work tasks. However, little is known about how professionals self-regulate their learning through regular work activities. This paper…

Factors related to nursing students' readiness to enter working life - A scoping literature review.

Science.gov (United States)

Järvinen, Tiina; Eklöf, Niina; Salminen, Leena

2018-03-01

The aim of this scoping literature review was to identify the factors related to nursing students' readiness to enter working life. The literature search was carried out in autumn 2017 in PubMed and CINAHL databases. The studies selected for this review (n = 17) were analyzed thematically with inductive content analysis. Four subthemes that were combined into two main factors related to nursing students' readiness to enter working life were found. The main factors found were 1) educational factors and 2) personal factors. Educational factors consisted of professional competence and clinical practice, while personal factors consisted of nursing students' background and feelings. Some nursing students tend to feel insecure about entering working life as a newly graduated nurse. This literature review also supports the importance of clinical practice periods in nursing education and for readiness for working life. Nurse education needs to ensure clinical practice periods which support nursing students' professional growth. Further research is needed on how the factors related to nursing students' readiness to enter working life correlate with each other. Particularly, the association between competence, readiness and positive feelings towards graduation needs further investigation. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Organizational and individual determinants of using initiatives conducive to successful work-life balance].

Science.gov (United States)

Andysz, Aleksandra; Najder, Anna; Merecz-Kot, Dorota

2014-01-01

Appropriate distribution of time and energy between work and personal life poses a challenge to many working people. Unfortunately, many professionally active people experience work-family conflict. In order to minimize it, employees are offered various solutions aimed at reconciling professional and private spheres (work-life balance (WLB) initiatives). The authors attempt to answer what makes employees use WLB initiatives and what influences the decision to reject the available options. The review is based on the articles published after 2000, searched by Google Scholar and Web of Knowledge with use of the key words: work-life balance, work-family conflict, work-life balance initiatives, work-life balance initiatives use, use of WLB solutions. We focused on organizational and individual determinants of WLB initiatives use, such as organizational culture, stereotypes and values prevailing in the work environment that may result in stigmatization of workers - flexibility stigma. We discuss the reasons why supervisors and co-workers stigmatize their colleagues, and what are the consequences of experiencing such stigmatization. Among the individual determinants of WLB initiatives use, we have inter alia focused on the preference for integration vs. separation of the spheres of life. The presented material shows that social factors - cultural norms prevailing in a society, relationships in the workplace and individual factors, such as the level of self-control - are of equal importance for decisions of using WLB initiatives as their existence. Our conclusion is that little attention has been paid to the research on determinants of WLB initiatives use, especially to individual ones.

Night Work And Its Implications In The Quality Of Life Of Nurses

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wanderson Carneiro Moreira

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Objective: to know the consequences that night work can bring to the quality of life of nurses, identifying the strategies adopted by nurses to stay healthy. Method: descriptive, mixed-approach (quanti-qualitative research, carried out with nine Nursing professionals. Data were collected in June 2016. Results: The male gender (77.7% prevailed, the working time in the sector was between 1 and 5 years (55.5%, with the majority still working overtime (66.6%. Most participants report being dissatisfied with the quality of their sleep, although 88.8% of professionals say they are satisfied with their quality of life. From the testimonies, we obtained the meanings that were grouped in the categories: "It is something related to my health", "It interferes with my work, family and leisure ...", Night work and basic necessities. Conclusion: It was found that night work has negative social impacts that affect workers' personal and social lives. These negative aspects are compounded by poor working conditions, double working hours, overtime, among other factors.

Shift work a reality in life and health nurses

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mª Mercedes Gago López

2013-05-01

Full Text Available The need to provide care 24 hours of the day, 365 days of the year, means for nurses, compulsory work in a system of rotating shifts, including the realization of nights. This system has repercussions on the life, health and well-being of nurses.In order to identify evidence on the relationship between the work to shift and/or night the health and well-being of nurses and develop recommendations to improve the adaptation to the system of rotating shifts and/or night, have carried out a review of the literature.After detailed analysis of the literature, we can conclude that the quality of the care provided is in direct relation to the health and well-being of the nursing professional. Implement measures to reduce the physical, psychic, social and family wear must be priority, being necessary to educate professionals, families, society and business. Among the recommendations highlight, those directed to the company; set realistic goals, to reduce workloads in the night shift adapting them to the actual number of nurses, flexible schedules and recommendations addressed to the professional related: diet, sleep, exercise, family life and social hygiene. The implementation of these measures will mean: increase satisfaction, reduce absenteeism, increase productivity, reduce the number of errors and decrease spending.

Exploring Senior Level Athletic Training Students' Perceptions on Burnout and Work-Life Balance

Science.gov (United States)

Barrett, Jessica L.; Mazerolle, Stephanie M.; Eason, Christianne M.

2016-01-01

Context: The professional socialization process enables athletic training students (ATSs) to gain insights into behaviors, values, and attitudes that characterize their chosen profession. However, the process often focuses on skill development over professional issues. ATSs may be exposed to burnout and work-life conflict, which may impact their…

Exposure to traumatic events at work, posttraumatic symptoms and professional quality of life among midwives.

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen, Ran; Leykin, Dmitry; Golan-Hadari, Dita; Lahad, Mooli

2017-07-01

in their line of duty, midwives are often exposed to traumatic births that may lead to symptoms of compassion fatigue (CF), which includes burnout (BO) and secondary traumatic stress (STS).Conversely, midwives derive pleasure and great satisfaction in seeing the positive effect they have on their clients. This experience is known as compassion satisfaction (CS). Together, CS and CF comprise the professional quality of life (ProQOL). The aim of this paper was to study midwives' professional quality of life and traumatic experiences. The highly stressful environment of midwives may also include primary exposure to traumatic experiences and therefore PTSD levels were also assessed. the participants (N=93) were professional midwives from four medical centers in Israel. The participants answered selfreport questionnaires that assessed their ProQOL and PTSD symptoms. results indicated relatively high levels of CS which may mitigate, at least to some degree, the negative aspects of CF. PTSD levels significantly and positively correlated with STS and BO. Sixteen per cent presented with PTSD symptoms of clinical significance. Also, seniority was significantly and positively correlated with BO and PTSD symptoms. high ProQOL was found amongst the participants, with more than 74% scoring on the high range of CS. Nevertheless, we recommend further research and implementing strategies to maintain or further enhance CS and decrease CF levels. Finally, a more comprehensive understanding of the development of PTSD amongst midwives is vital in order to minimize its occurrence in the future. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The representations of work-life balance in Canadian newspapers.

Science.gov (United States)

Reece, Katherine T; Davis, Jane A; Polatajko, Helene J

2009-01-01

Work-life balance has become a topic of increasing interest in the media as well as a concern among working Canadians. Since print media discourse can both reflect and shape societal values, cultural norms and ideals of workers in this country, it is important to understand this representation and its potential influence on the occupational engagement and life transitions of Canadian workers. Articles from four major Canadian newspapers published between 2003 and 2005 were used as data sources to examine the media construction of "work-life balance". Thematic analysis of 100 articles was performed using a modified affinity diagramming process. Representations within the Canadian print media conveyed both themes pertaining to the perceived experiences of imbalance and balance, as well as, a process of life balance. Obtaining balance was portrayed as an ongoing process during which an individual negotiates and sacrifices in an attempt to achieve his or her ideal level of balance. Environmental expectations and individual practices and perceptions were conveyed as reasons for the success or derailment of balance. The representations of work-life balance found in the Canadian print media were predominantly of professionals, focused on the demands of work and family, and did not appear to be a broad representation of the multiple realities that all Canadians face.

Assessing strategies to manage work and life balance of athletic trainers working in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I setting.

Science.gov (United States)

Mazerolle, Stephanie M; Pitney, William A; Casa, Douglas J; Pagnotta, Kelly D

2011-01-01

Certified athletic trainers (ATs) working at the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I level experience challenges balancing their professional and personal lives. However, an understanding of the strategies ATs use to promote a balance between their professional and personal lives is lacking. To identify the strategies ATs employed in the Division I setting use to establish a balance between their professional and personal lives. Qualitative investigation using inductive content analysis. Athletic trainers employed at Division I schools from 5 National Athletic Trainers' Association districts. A total of 28 (15 women, 13 men) ATs aged 35 ± 9 years volunteered for the study. Asynchronous electronic interviews with follow-up phone interviews. Data were analyzed using inductive content analysis. Peer review, member checking, and data-source triangulation were conducted to establish trustworthiness. Three higher-order themes emerged from the analysis. The initial theme, antecedents of work-family conflict, focused on the demands of the profession, flexibility of work schedules, and staffing patterns as contributing to work-life conflict for this group of ATs. The other 2 emergent higher-order themes, professional factors and personal factors, describe the components of a balanced lifestyle. The second-order theme of constructing the professional factors included both organizational policies and individual strategies, whereas the second-order theme of personal factors was separation of work and life and a supportive personal network. Long work hours, lack of control over work schedules, and unbalanced athlete-to-AT ratios can facilitate conflicts. However, as demonstrated by our results, several organizational and personal strategies can be helpful in creating a balanced lifestyle.

WORK- LIFE BALANCE AND WORK- LIFE CONFLICT ON CAREER ADVANCEMENT OF WOMEN PROFESSIONALS IN INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY SECTOR, BENGALURU, INDIA

OpenAIRE

Munwari Padmanabhan; S. Sampath Kumar

2016-01-01

The dynamics of socio-economic, personal and career advancement aspects were analysed from 75 information and communication technology (ICT) women professionals, from 7 various ICT organisations from Bengaluru, India. ICT industry continues to be the largest private sector employer in India for women in that 800,000 women currently working in this sector account for over 30 per cent of the existing hires and this figure is all set to rise in the future. The characteristics of the ICT industry...

Predictors of work life balance for women entrepreneurs in the North East Region of Romania

OpenAIRE

Dan Dumitru Ionescu; Alina Mariuca Ionescu

2015-01-01

The paper aims to investigate the predictors of work life balance of women entrepreneurs in the North East Region of Romania. It emphasizes features of interaction between professional and personal life in case of women and reviews main disturbance or enhancing factors that impact work life balance of women entrepreneurs. A sample of 50 female entrepreneurs from the North East Region of Romania was surveyed in order to assess their work life balance and the factors that correlate with it. The...

(Dissatisfaction of health professionals who work with oncology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maiara Bordignon

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Objective: identify sources of satisfaction and dissatisfaction at work for health professionals who work with oncology. Methods: Qualitative research conducted with 31 professionals from a multidisciplinary health team who worked in an Oncology Inpatient Unit of a public hospital in the south of Brazil, using a semi-structured interview, analyzed according to Bardin’s proposal. Results: the main sources of job satisfaction emerged from the relationship between patients and health professionals. The dissatisfaction sources were connected to the working environment and conditions. Conclusion:. A humanized look to health professionals who work with oncology, with changes in their work environment seems to be relevant in the context investigated.

Organizational and individual determinants of using initiatives conducive to successful work-life balance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aleksandra Andysz

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Appropriate distribution of time and energy between work and personal life poses a challenge to many working people. Unfortunately, many professionally active people experience work-family conflict. In order to minimize it, employees are offered various solutions aimed at reconciling professional and private spheres (work-life balance (WLB initiatives. The authors attempt to answer what makes employees use WLB initiatives and what influences the decision to reject the available options. The review is based on the articles published after 2000, searched by Google Scholar and Web of Knowledge with use of the key words: work-life balance, work-family conflict, work-life balance initiatives, work-life balance initiatives use, use of WLB solutions. We focused on organizational and individual determinants of WLB initiatives use, such as organizational culture, stereotypes and values prevailing in the work environment that may result in stigmatization of workers - flexibility stigma. We discuss the reasons why supervisors and co-workers stigmatize their colleagues, and what are the consequences of experiencing such stigmatization. Among the individual determinants of WLB initiatives use, we have inter alia focused on the preference for integration vs. separation of the spheres of life. The presented material shows that social factors - cultural norms prevailing in a society, relationships in the workplace and individual factors, such as the level of self-control - are of equal importance for decisions of using WLB initiatives as their existence. Our conclusion is that little attention has been paid to the research on determinants of WLB initiatives use, especially to individual ones. Med Pr 2014;65(1:119–129

Plastic surgeons' satisfaction with work-life balance: results from a national survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Streu, Rachel; McGrath, Mary H; Gay, Ashley; Salem, Barbara; Abrahamse, Paul; Alderman, Amy K

2011-04-01

Plastic surgery demographics are transforming, with a greater proportion of women and younger physicians who desire balance between their career and personal lives compared with previous generations. The authors' purpose was to describe the patterns and correlates of satisfaction with work-life balance among U.S. plastic surgeons. A self-administered survey was mailed to a random sample of American Society of Plastic Surgeons members (n = 708; 71 percent response rate). The primary outcome was satisfaction with work-life balance. Independent variables consisted of surgeon sociodemographic and professional characteristics. Logistic regression was used to evaluate correlates of satisfaction with work-life balance. Overall, over three-fourths of respondents were satisfied with their career; however, only half were satisfied with their time management between career and personal responsibilities. Factors independently associated with diminished satisfaction with work-life balance were being female (odds ratio = 0.63; 95 percent CI, 0.42 to 0.95), working more than 60 hours per week (versus work-life balance.

Work-Life Balance, Burnout, and Satisfaction of Early Career Pediatricians.

Science.gov (United States)

Starmer, Amy J; Frintner, Mary Pat; Freed, Gary L

2016-04-01

Data describing factors associated with work-life balance, burnout, and career and life satisfaction for early career pediatricians are limited. We sought to identify personal and work factors related to these outcomes. We analyzed 2013 survey data of pediatricians who graduated residency between 2002 and 2004. Dependent variables included: (1) balance between personal and professional commitments, (2) current burnout in work, (3) career satisfaction, and (4) life satisfaction. Multivariable logistic regression examined associations of personal and work characteristics with each of the 4 dependent variables. A total of 93% of participants completed the survey (n = 840). A majority reported career (83%) and life (71%) satisfaction. Fewer reported current appropriate work-life balance (43%) or burnout (30%). In multivariable modeling, excellent/very good health, having support from physician colleagues, and adequate resources for patient care were all found to be associated with a lower prevalence of burnout and a higher likelihood of work-life balance and career and life satisfaction. Having children, race, and clinical specialty were not found to be significantly associated with any of the 4 outcome measures. Female gender was associated with a lower likelihood of balance and career satisfaction but did not have an association with burnout or life satisfaction. Burnout and struggles with work-life balance are common; dissatisfaction with life and career are a concern for some early career pediatricians. Efforts to minimize these outcomes should focus on encouragement of modifiable factors, including health supervision, peer support, and ensuring sufficient patient care resources. Copyright © 2016 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Professional Learning between Past Experience and Future Work

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Weber, Kirsten

2010-01-01

This paper is about learning, qualification and possible professionalization in human service work. With human services we primarily refer to work related to health care, child care, social work, and education. I present empirical findings from different phases of training and workplace experience...... of Danish child care pedagogues. The investigation is part of a human resource centered research program studying the development of welfare institutions and systems in Denmark. Welfare institutions have been developing since World War II as an important aspect of and precondition for the socio...... reality as well as defensive “shyings-away”. It cannot be produced by a formal education alone, neither can it emerge from life experiences alone. In the development of research methodology we explore the interplay of regression and progression, the lifelong and everyday active functions of what was named...

Specific work-life issues of single and childless female expatriates: An exploratory study in the Swiss context

OpenAIRE

Salamin Xavier

2015-01-01

Work life balance has been identified as a key challenge in expatriation which impacts both private and professional spheres. Especially for women work and private life issues have been found to be particularly exacerbated abroad. Up until today research on work life interface in the expatriation context has focused on expatriates relocating with a family. However single expatriates represent a non negligible proportion of the expatriate population and their work life experiences remain large...

[Perception of professionals' quality of life in the Asturias a Health Care Area, Spain].

Science.gov (United States)

Alonso Fernández, M; Iglesias Carbajo, A I; Franco Vidal, A

2002-11-15

To report on the perceived quality of life of professionals in the health services sector. Descriptive, cross-sectional study. Directorate of Primary Care of Health Care Area VIII in Asturias, Spain. Two hundred thirty-seven professionals in the health care sector and other sectors. Internal mail was used to send all employees the CV-35 self-administered questionnaire, which measures perceived professional quality of life, understood as the balance between work demands and the capacity to cope with them. The instrument consists of 35 items that evaluate three dimensions: perception of demands, emotional support received from superiors, and intrinsic motivation. Each item was scored on a quantitative scale of 1 to 10. One hundred thirty-five completed questionnaires were received (59.5%). Mean professional quality of life was 5.35 (5.12-5.58); there were no significant differences between age groups, sexes or employment status. Mean score for perceived demands at the workplace was 6.03 (5.89-6.17), and mean score for emotional support received from superiors was 4.78 (4.63-4.97). This support was valued most highly by employees who held a position of responsibility. Mean score for intrinsic motivation was 7.45 (7.34-7.56). Employees in Health Care Area VIII in Asturias perceived their professional quality of life to be moderately good, perceived a moderate degree of support received, and had a high level of intrinsic motivation to cope with high demands at the workplace.

Rural Women Family Physicians: Strategies for Successful Work-Life Balance.

Science.gov (United States)

Phillips, Julie; Hustedde, Carol; Bjorkman, Sarah; Prasad, Rupa; Sola, Orlando; Wendling, Andrea; Bjorkman, Kurt; Paladine, Heather

2016-05-01

Women family physicians experience challenges in maintaining work-life balance while practicing in rural communities. We sought to better understand the personal and professional strategies that enable women in rural family medicine to balance work and personal demands and achieve long-term career satisfaction. Women family physicians practicing in rural communities in the United States were interviewed using a semistructured format. Interviews were recorded, professionally transcribed, and analyzed using an immersion and crystallization approach, followed by detailed coding of emergent themes. The 25 participants described a set of strategies that facilitated successful work-life balance. First, they used reduced or flexible work hours to help achieve balance with personal roles. Second, many had supportive relationships with spouses and partners, parents, or other members of the community, which facilitated their ability to be readily available to their patients. Third, participants maintained clear boundaries around their work lives, which helped them to have adequate time for parenting, recreation, and rest. Women family physicians can build successful careers in rural communities, but supportive employers, relationships, and patient approaches provide a foundation for this success. Educators, employers, communities, and policymakers can adapt their practices to help women family physicians thrive in rural communities. © 2016 Annals of Family Medicine, Inc.

A qualitative study of work-life balance amongst specialist orthodontists in the United Kingdom.

Science.gov (United States)

Bateman, Lindsey E; Collins, Joanne M; Cunningham, Susan J

2016-12-01

To identify factors affecting work-life balance amongst male and female orthodontists in the UK. A qualitative interview-based study with a cross-sectional design. Specialist orthodontists working in specialist practice and the hospital service in the UK were selected by purposive sampling. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 orthodontic specialists. Interview transcripts were analyzed using Framework Analysis. Four main themes pertaining to work-life balance in orthodontics were identified: work factors affecting work-life balance, life factors affecting work-life balance, perception and effects of work-life balance and suggestions for managing work-life balance within the profession. There was substantial variation in the work-life balance of the orthodontists interviewed in this study; however the majority reported high levels of career satisfaction despite difficulties maintaining a good work-life balance. Whilst there were some clear distinctions in the factors affecting work-life balance between the hospital environment and specialist practice (including additional professional commitments and teaching/training-related issues), there were also a number of similarities. These included, the lack of flexibility in the working day, managing patient expectations, taking time off work at short notice and the ability to work part-time.

Advancing Work Practices Through Online Professional Development

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Noesgaard, Signe Schack

The natural expectation for professional development courses is that they will improve a participant’s work performance, but do they? This PhD research challenges several assumptions underlying the design of online professional development courses, revealing that it is after such interventions...... was not effective and subsequently terminate change that could have advanced their practices. This underlines the need to think beyond the course format to make online professional development interventions continuous, committing, and contextual. The research suggests rethinking online professional development...... as adaptive “just-in-time” technologies and proposes a design theory called “situated online professional development,” entailing six design principles for advancing work practices....

Fulfillment of work-life balance from the organizational perspective: a case study.

Science.gov (United States)

Mazerolle, Stephanie M; Goodman, Ashley

2013-01-01

Researchers studying work-life balance have examined policy development and implementation to create a family-friendly work environment from an individualistic perspective rather than from a cohort of employees working under the same supervisor. To investigate what factors influence work-life balance within the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I clinical setting from the perspective of an athletic training staff. Qualitative study. Web-based management system. Eight athletic trainers (5 men, 3 women; age = 38 ± 7 years) in the NCAA Division I setting. Participants responded to a series of questions by journaling their thoughts and experiences. We included data-source triangulation, multiple-analyst triangulation, and peer review to establish data credibility. We analyzed the data via a grounded theory approach. Three themes emerged from the data. Family-oriented and supportive work environment was described as a workplace that fosters and encourages work-life balance through professionally and personally shared goals. Nonwork outlets included activities, such as exercise and personal hobbies, that provide time away from the role of the athletic trainer. Individualistic strategies reflected that although the athletic training staff must work together and support one another, each staff member must have his or her own personal strategies to manage personal and professional responsibilities. The foundation for a successful work environment in the NCAA Division I clinical setting potentially can center on the management style of the supervisor, especially one who promotes teamwork among his or her staff members. Although a family-friendly work environment is necessary for work-life balance, each member of the athletic training staff must have personal strategies in place to fully achieve a balance.

Fulfillment of Work-Life Balance From the Organizational Perspective: A Case Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Mazerolle, Stephanie M; Goodman, Ashley

2013-04-18

  Researchers studying work-life balance have examined policy development and implementation to create a family-friendly work environment from an individualistic perspective rather than from a cohort of employees working under the same supervisor.   To investigate what factors influence work-life balance within the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I clinical setting from the perspective of an athletic training staff.   Qualitative study.   Web-based management system.   Eight athletic trainers (5 men, 3 women; age = 38 ± 7 years) in the NCAA Division I setting.   Participants responded to a series of questions by journaling their thoughts and experiences. We included data-source triangulation, multiple analyst triangulation, and peer review to establish data credibility. We analyzed the data via a grounded theory approach.   Three themes emerged from the data. Family-oriented and supportive work environment was described as a workplace that fosters and encourages work-life balance through professionally and personally shared goals. Nonwork outlets included activities, such as exercise and personal hobbies, that provide time away from the role of the athletic trainer. Individualistic strategies reflected that although the athletic training staff must work together and support one another, each staff member must have his or her own personal strategies to manage personal and professional responsibilities.   The foundation for a successful work environment in the NCAA Division I clinical setting potentially can center on the management style of the supervisor, especially one who promotes teamwork among his or her staff members. Although a family-friendly work environment is necessary for work-life balance, each member of the athletic training staff must have personal strategies in place to fully achieve a balance.

Rural specialists: The nature of their work and professional satisfaction by geographical location of work.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Sullivan, Belinda; McGrail, Matthew; Russell, Deborah

2017-12-01

Systematically describe the characteristics of rural specialists, their work and job satisfaction by geographical location of work. Cross-sectional. Three thousand, four hundred and seventy-nine medical specialists participating in the 2014 Medicine in Australia: Balancing Employment and Life (MABEL) survey of doctors. Location of practice, whether metropolitan, large (>50 000 population) or small regional centres (Rural specialists had more on-call requirements and poorer professional development opportunities. However, satisfaction with work hours, remuneration, variety of work, level of responsibility, opportunities to use abilities and overall satisfaction did not differ. Specialists in general medicine and general surgery were significantly more likely to work rurally compared with anaesthetists, particularly in small regional centres, whereas a range of other relevant specialists had lower than the average rural distribution and paediatricians and endocrinologists were significantly less likely to work in large regional centres. Rural specialists are just as satisfied as metropolitan counterparts reporting equivalent variety and responsibility at work. Better support for on-call demands and access to professional development could attract more specialists to rural practice. Increased rural training opportunities and regional workforce planning is needed to develop and recruit relevant specialties. Specifically, targeted support is warranted for training and development of specialists in general medicine and general surgery and overseas-trained specialists, who provide essential services in smaller regional centres. © 2017 National Rural Health Alliance Inc.

Professional Quality of Life and Clinical Competencies among Korean Nurses

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Kyunghee Kim, PhD

2015-09-01

Conclusions: This study demonstrated that it is possible to directly examine the relationship between professional quality of life level and clinical competence among nurses. Thus, interventions to increase nurses' compassion satisfaction and relieve compassion fatigue are needed, as professional quality of life may affect clinical competence.

The new generation of family physicians--career motivation, life goals and work-life balance.

Science.gov (United States)

Buddeberg-Fischer, Barbara; Stamm, Martina; Buddeberg, Claus; Klaghofer, Richard

2008-05-31

The present study aimed to investigate the differences between future family physicians, and physicians aspiring to other medical specialities, in terms of sociodemographic factors and variables concerning personality factors, career motivation, career success, importance of life goals and work-life balance; further, the stability in career choice of family physicians from medical school through to residency was evaluated. Data reported are from four assessments of the Swiss physicians' longitudinal career development study, begun in 2001 (T1). At T4, in 2007, 543 residents (76% of the initial sample at T1) completed a questionnaire concerning their personal and professional goals. The difference between family physicians and specialists was studied by multivariate analyses of covariance adjusted for gender. Of the study sample, 84 (17%) decided on family medicine, 66% of them as early as medical school or at the beginning of residency. Compared to specialists, more family physicians are married and more have children. Their intrinsic and extrinsic career motivation is lower, their extraprofessional concerns are greater and they rate their objective and subjective career success lower. The favoured models of work-family and work-life balance respectively are part-time oriented. Future family physicians, both females and males, are less career-oriented. The results suggest that the waning reputation of family medicine and the uncertain development of this medical discipline in the Swiss healthcare system attract less career-oriented applicants. A well-balanced integration of professional and private life is an essential goal for the new generation of doctors; this applies even more to female doctors and family physicians. Considering this trend, the question arises whether the current number of medical school graduates is sufficient to ensure the population's healthcare provision in the future.

Work-Family Conflict, Perceived Organizational Support and Professional Commitment: A Mediation Mechanism for Chinese Project Professionals.

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Junwei; Wu, Guangdong

2018-02-15

Projects are characterized by long working hours, complex tasks and being a kind of temporary organization. As such, work-family conflict is particularly prominent for project employees. This research examined whether and how work-family conflict affects professional commitment among Chinese project professionals. Research hypotheses were developed to explore the relationship between work-family conflict, professional commitment to the project and the mediating effects of perceived organizational support. Data were collected from 327 project managers or professionals working in construction enterprises in China; data were analyzed using structural equation modeling, applying the bootstrapping method. Results showed that there were three dimensions of work-family conflict: time-based conflict, strain-based conflict and behavior-based conflict. There were two dimensions of perceived organizational support: emotional support and instrumental support. The study also tested the negative effect of work-family conflict on professional commitment and the positive effect of perceived organizational support on professional commitment. Specifically, time-based conflict and emotional support had positive effects on professional commitment. Perceived organizational support had a total mediating effect between work-family conflict and professional commitment. The strain-based conflict dimension of work-family conflict had negative impacts on professional commitment through perceived emotional support and instrumental support. Overall, our findings extend a better understanding of work-family conflict and professional commitment in the project setting and verify the importance of social support in balancing work and family and improving employee mobility.

Work-Family Conflict, Perceived Organizational Support and Professional Commitment: A Mediation Mechanism for Chinese Project Professionals

Science.gov (United States)

2018-01-01

Projects are characterized by long working hours, complex tasks and being a kind of temporary organization. As such, work-family conflict is particularly prominent for project employees. This research examined whether and how work-family conflict affects professional commitment among Chinese project professionals. Research hypotheses were developed to explore the relationship between work-family conflict, professional commitment to the project and the mediating effects of perceived organizational support. Data were collected from 327 project managers or professionals working in construction enterprises in China; data were analyzed using structural equation modeling, applying the bootstrapping method. Results showed that there were three dimensions of work-family conflict: time-based conflict, strain-based conflict and behavior-based conflict. There were two dimensions of perceived organizational support: emotional support and instrumental support. The study also tested the negative effect of work-family conflict on professional commitment and the positive effect of perceived organizational support on professional commitment. Specifically, time-based conflict and emotional support had positive effects on professional commitment. Perceived organizational support had a total mediating effect between work-family conflict and professional commitment. The strain-based conflict dimension of work-family conflict had negative impacts on professional commitment through perceived emotional support and instrumental support. Overall, our findings extend a better understanding of work-family conflict and professional commitment in the project setting and verify the importance of social support in balancing work and family and improving employee mobility. PMID:29462860

Work-Family Conflict, Perceived Organizational Support and Professional Commitment: A Mediation Mechanism for Chinese Project Professionals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Junwei Zheng

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Projects are characterized by long working hours, complex tasks and being a kind of temporary organization. As such, work-family conflict is particularly prominent for project employees. This research examined whether and how work-family conflict affects professional commitment among Chinese project professionals. Research hypotheses were developed to explore the relationship between work-family conflict, professional commitment to the project and the mediating effects of perceived organizational support. Data were collected from 327 project managers or professionals working in construction enterprises in China; data were analyzed using structural equation modeling, applying the bootstrapping method. Results showed that there were three dimensions of work-family conflict: time-based conflict, strain-based conflict and behavior-based conflict. There were two dimensions of perceived organizational support: emotional support and instrumental support. The study also tested the negative effect of work-family conflict on professional commitment and the positive effect of perceived organizational support on professional commitment. Specifically, time-based conflict and emotional support had positive effects on professional commitment. Perceived organizational support had a total mediating effect between work-family conflict and professional commitment. The strain-based conflict dimension of work-family conflict had negative impacts on professional commitment through perceived emotional support and instrumental support. Overall, our findings extend a better understanding of work-family conflict and professional commitment in the project setting and verify the importance of social support in balancing work and family and improving employee mobility.

A gender-based analysis of work patterns, fatigue, and work/life balance among physicians in postgraduate training.

Science.gov (United States)

Gander, Philippa; Briar, Celia; Garden, Alexander; Purnell, Heather; Woodward, Alistair

2010-09-01

To document fatigue in New Zealand junior doctors in hospital-based clinical training positions and identify work patterns associated with work/life balance difficulties. This workforce has had a duty limitation of 72 hours/week since 1985. The authors chose a gender-based analytical approach because of the increasing proportion of female medical graduates. The authors mailed a confidential questionnaire to all 2,154 eligible junior doctors in 2003. The 1,412 respondents were working > or = 40 hours/week (complete questionnaires from 1,366: response rate: 63%; 49% women). For each participant, the authors calculated a multidimensional fatigue risk score based on sleep and work patterns. Women were more likely to report never/rarely getting enough sleep (P life (odds ratio: 3.83; 95% CI: 2.79-5.28), home life (3.37; 2.43-4.67), personal relationships (2.12; 1.57-2.86), and other commitments (3.06; 2.23-4.19).Qualitative analyses indicated a common desire among men and women for better work/life balance and for part-time work, particularly in relation to parenthood. Limitation of duty hours alone is insufficient to manage fatigue risk and difficulties in maintaining work/life balance. These findings have implications for schedule design, professional training, and workforce planning.

Working with children with special needs in Finnish kindergartens: Professionals and/or specialists?

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Mari Nislin

2016-02-01

Full Text Available The aim is to investigate the links between job satisfaction of Finnish early childhood professionals (ECPs and the appreciation they receive for their work, and how these are associated with their competence to work with children with diverse needs and backgrounds. Data was collected via nationwide online survey for practitioners (n = 885 working in Finnish kindergartens. The main findings show that ECPs experience their work as satisfactory and receive appreciation from colleagues, friends and the children’s parents. It was also evident form the data that ECPs felt themselves to be incompetent to work with children with disabilities or children who had experienced trauma. This may reflect that more in-service training regarding these special education issues is needed. We argue that satisfaction, appreciation and competence, are key factors in the development of a strong professional identity, enhanced well-being at work and in other domains of life and particularly for high quality and inclusive early childhood education.

Pain, health perception and sleep: impact on the quality of life of firefighters/rescue professionals.

Science.gov (United States)

Marconato, Rafael Silva; Monteiro, Maria Ines

2015-01-01

To evaluate the quality of life of firefighters and rescue professionals, and characterize their socio-demographic, health, work and lifestyle profile. Cross-sectional study that used a socio-demographic, lifestyle, health, work data questionnaire and the WHOQOL-BREF quality of life aspects, in Fire Department bases, Civil Air Patrol Group of the Military Police and Rescue Group of Emergency Services. Ninety professionals participated in this study - 71 firefighters, 9 nurses, 7 doctors and 3 flight crew members. The average age of the group was 36.4 ± 7.8 years; they worked about 63.7 hours per week; 20.2% reported pain in the last week and 72.7% had body mass index above 25 kg/m2. The average of the WHOQOL-BREF domains was: physical (74.6), psychological (75.2), social (76.5) and environmental (58.7). Significant association was found (Mann-Whitney test and Spearman correlation) between the WHOQOL-BREF domains and pain in the past six months, in the last week, health perception, job satisfaction, hours of sleep, domestic tasks and study. The main factors related to quality of life were presence of pain, health perception, sleep and domestic activity.

Life Science Professional Societies Expand Undergraduate Education Efforts

Science.gov (United States)

Matyas, Marsha Lakes; Ruedi, Elizabeth A.; Engen, Katie; Chang, Amy L.

2017-01-01

The "Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education" reports cite the critical role of professional societies in undergraduate life science education and, since 2008, have called for the increased involvement of professional societies in support of undergraduate education. Our study explored the level of support being provided by…

Unnoticed Professional Competence in Day Care Work

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ahrenkiel, Annegrethe; Schmidt, Camilla; Nielsen, Birger Steen

2013-01-01

This article presents a double perspective on social educators’ professional competence: It discusses how everyday life in day care centres (preschools) is dependent on professional competences that can be conceived as “unnoticed.” These aspects of professional competence are embedded in routines...... by a discussion of unnoticed professional competence and the related notion of gestural knowledge. The double perspective on social educators’ professional competences will be illuminated by empirical examples from a research project involving social educators from two day care centres in Denmark......., experiences and embodied forms of knowledge. However, it may be discussed whether these competences are under pressure from increased demands for documentation, standardization and evaluation of children’s learning outcomes. The article will briefly outline this development in the day care sector, followed...

An Empirical Study on the Effect of Work/Life Commitment to Work-Life Conflict

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Li; Yin, Jie-lin

This study examined the relation between work and life orientation and work interfere with personal life or personal life interfere with work of employees in China. Cluster analysis results showed that there are four profiles of orientation: work orientation, life orientation, integration and disengagement orientation. There are significant differences in work interfere personal life and personal life interfere work between different profiles.

Enhancing a sustainable healthy working life: design of a clustered randomized controlled trial

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Koolhaas Wendy

2010-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background To improve a sustainable healthy working life, we have developed the intervention 'Staying healthy at work', which endeavours to enhance work participation of employees aged 45 years and older by increasing their problem-solving capacity and stimulating their awareness of their role and responsibility towards a healthy working life. This research study aims to evaluate the process and the effectiveness of the intervention compared with care as usual. Methods/design The study is a cluster-randomized controlled trial design (randomized at the supervisor level, with a 1-year follow-up. Workers aged 45 years and older have been enrolled in the study. Workers in the intervention group are receiving the intervention 'Staying healthy at work'. The main focus of the intervention is to promote a healthy working life of ageing workers by: (1 changing workers awareness and behaviour, by emphasizing their own decisive role in attaining goals; (2 improving the supervisors' ability to support workers in taking the necessary action, by means of enhancing knowledge and competence; and (3 enhancing the use of the human resource professionals and the occupational health tools available within the organization. The supervisors in the intervention group have been trained how to present themselves as a source of support for the worker. Workers in the control group are receiving care as usual; supervisors in the control group have not participated in the training. Measurements have been taken at baseline and will be followed up at 3, 6 and 12 months. The primary outcome measures are vitality, work ability and productivity. The secondary outcomes measures include fatigue, job strain, work attitude, self-efficacy and work engagement. A process evaluation will be conducted at both the supervisor and the worker levels, and satisfaction with the content of the intervention will be assessed. Discussion The intervention 'Staying healthy at work' has the

Returning to Work after Childbirth in Europe: Well-Being, Work-Life Balance, and the Interplay of Supervisor Support

OpenAIRE

Ana M. Lucia-Casademunt; Antonia M. García-Cabrera; Laura Padilla-Angulo; Deybbi Cuéllar-Molina

2018-01-01

Parents returning to work after the arrival of a new son or daughter is an important question for understanding the trajectory of people's lives and professional careers amid current debates about gender equality and work-life balance (WLB). Interestingly, current research concludes that general WLB practices at the workplace may be necessary in the specific case of women returning to work after childbirth because of the particular maternal and infant factors involved. However, WLB practices ...

QUALITY OF WORKING LIFE IN COMMODITIZED HOSPITALS AND UNIVERSITIES

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Josep M. Blanch

2014-01-01

Full Text Available New Public Management (NPM turns public hospital and university services into market enterprises. The aim of the paper is to analyze and describe the impact of this metamorphosis on the labor subjectivity of the staff employed in such services. Empirical studies in Spanish and Latin American hospitals and universities uncover a paradoxical experience: relative manifest satisfaction with material and technical conditions allowing them to work harder and better, but also latent discomfort with the task overload, and professional and ethical dilemmas posed by new organizational demands, in the face of which staff develop ways of coping ranging from manifest obedience to latent resistance. This supports the reasons for the redesign of these services based on a better balance between commercial and social demands, managerial and professional values, and between business efficiency and quality of working life.

Survey dataset on work-life conflict of women in the construction industry.

Science.gov (United States)

Tunji-Olayeni, Patience F; Afolabi, Adedeji O; Adewale, Bukola A; Fagbenle, Ayoola O

2018-08-01

Work-life conflict can have a detrimental effect on family life, particularly for women who have to work in order to support their families financially. The data set presents the views of 50 female construction professionals in Lagos, Nigeria through a purposive sampling technique with the aid of questionnaire. Categorical Regression was used to assess the effect of work pressure on family expectations. The features of the respondents in terms of profession, years of experience, office location and household characteristics were presented in bar chart. Analysis of the data can provide information on the work experiences of women in the construction industry particularly work load, hours worked per day, work on weekends and work on holidays. The data can also provide insights on the family expectations that are significantly affected by work pressure.

Work climate, work values and professional commitment as predictors of job satisfaction in nurses.

Science.gov (United States)

Caricati, Luca; Sala, Rachele La; Marletta, Giuseppe; Pelosi, Giulia; Ampollini, Monica; Fabbri, Anna; Ricchi, Alba; Scardino, Marcello; Artioli, Giovanna; Mancini, Tiziana

2014-11-01

To investigate the effect of some psychosocial variables on nurses' job satisfaction. Nurses' job satisfaction is one of the most important factors in determining individuals' intention to stay or leave a health-care organisation. Literature shows a predictive role of work climate, professional commitment and work values on job satisfaction, but their conjoint effect has rarely been considered. A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was adopted. Participants were hospital nurses and data were collected in 2011. Professional commitment and work climate positively predicted nurses' job satisfaction. The effect of intrinsic vs. extrinsic work value orientation on job satisfaction was completely mediated by professional commitment. Nurses' job satisfaction is influenced by both contextual and personal variables, in particular work climate and professional commitment. According to a more recent theoretical framework, work climate, work values and professional commitment interact with each other in determining nurses' job satisfaction. Nursing management must be careful to keep the context of work tuned to individuals' attitude and vice versa. Improving the work climate can have a positive effect on job satisfaction, but its effect may be enhanced by favouring strong professional commitment and by promoting intrinsic more than extrinsic work values. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Working conditions, work life and quality of life of the temporary ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Working conditions, work life and quality of life of the temporary support staff ... and expectations of the temporary support staff with regard to their working ... conditions mainly as unpleasant, but that they adapted because of the team spirit.

How does older people’s drinking appear in the daily work of home care professionals?

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Koivula Riitta

2016-12-01

Full Text Available AIMS - In this article the authors ask how the alcohol use of elderly home care clients affects the daily work of home care professionals and how the professionals act to support the drinking client. METHODS - Semi-structured interviews with 10 home care professionals were conducted from December 2014 to February 2015 in the Helsinki metropolitan area of Finland. Everyday situations during home visits related to the clients’ alcohol use were analysed according to modalities of agency of the home care professionals. RESULTS - The results focus on three themes raised in the interviews: supporting life management of the client, the lack of qualifications in tackling clients’ drinking and the need for multi-professional collaboration. Intoxicated clients complicated the home care nurses’ work and obstructed the implementation of recommendations set out to guide the professionals’ operations. Care work with alcohol-using clients was particularly demanding, and the professionals were concerned about not having enough training in how to encounter elderly clients’ drinking. Multi-professional collaboration with substance abuse services and emergency department personnel was called for to remedy this problem. CONCLUSIONS - More extensive and detailed research is needed for a better picture of how clients’ drinking influences home care nurses’ working conditions and what kind of skills nurses need in different alcohol-related situations. Such research would have the potential to benefit clients and improve the well-being of the employees.

Balancing Work and Life Promotes Job Satisfaction – Generational Gap among Medical Doctors

OpenAIRE

Perumal, Kala Premarani

2013-01-01

The profession of a doctor is considered to be one of the noblest professions. Doctors in general work around the clock in their deed of saving human lives and relieving them of physical ailments. However, on their personal front, most of them do not find them to fulfil their personal obligations. A work-life balance, which is nothing but the art of balancing personal and professional lives, is important for any individual to have fulfilment and satisfaction in life. This research intended to...

Time-usage strategies in the context of work-life balance : the survey results

OpenAIRE

Tubutienė, Vilma; Poškuvienė, Beatričė

2007-01-01

Work-Life-Balance has become a long-term subject. In an economy which brings people to the limits of their possibilities it depends more than ever on creating a well-balanced relation between professional requirements and personal wishes by suitable measures and conditions. But it is not simply about the reduction of work and rise of spare time-oriented life. It is about the creation of a wellharmonized balance which connects efficiency with personal well-being. This division cannot hide some...

Working conditions, work life and quality of life of the temporary ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Five major categories resulted: experiences of the organisational structure; work life; interpersonal relationships; occupational development and quality of life while working at TLS. Conclusions were that staff experienced working conditions mainly as unpleasant, but that they adapted because of the team spirit.

Quality of Life in Professional, Semiprofessional, and Amateur Athletes

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Ana Lúcia Padrão dos Santos

2013-07-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to investigate the Ferrans and Powers Quality of Life Index (QLI and its domains in Brazilian athletes. The sample comprised 219 athletes from six sports, and included 127 men and 92 women, with mean age of 23.1 years (±5.2. All participants were associated with a sports organization and participated in official competitions at the professional, semiprofessional, and amateur levels, and completed a self-report demographics survey and the QLI during one testing session. Kruskal–Wallis and Mann–Whitney U tests were utilized to compare differences between competitive levels and gender, respectively. Significant differences were reported between professional and amateur athletes for the socioeconomic (p = .016; professional: 17.2, amateur: 15.1 and psychological/spiritual (p = .011; professional: 24.3, amateur: 21.9 domains and between genders on the family domain (p = .027; male: 21.8, female: 20.2. These findings suggest that professional athletes are more satisfied from a socioeconomic and psychological/spiritual perspective when compared with the amateur group. In addition, the results suggest that family issues are more satisfying and/or have less importance for males than for females. This study provides further insights into the quality of life of athletes and suggests differences based on competition levels and gender. Future studies are needed to further our understanding of the quality of life in athletes.

Pain, health perception and sleep: impact on the quality of life of firefighters/rescue professionals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rafael Silva Marconato

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Objective: to evaluate the quality of life of firefighters and rescue professionals, and characterize their socio-demographic, health, work and lifestyle profile. Methods: cross-sectional study that used a socio-demographic, lifestyle, health, work data questionnaire and the WHOQOL-BREF quality of life aspects, in Fire Department bases, Civil Air Patrol Group of the Military Police and Rescue Group of Emergency Services. Results: ninety professionals participated in this study - 71 firefighters, 9 nurses, 7 doctors and 3 flight crew members. The average age of the group was 36.4 ± 7.8 years; they worked about 63.7 hours per week; 20.2% reported pain in the last week and 72.7% had body mass index above 25 kg/m2. The average of the WHOQOL-BREF domains was: physical (74.6, psychological (75.2, social (76.5 and environmental (58.7. Significant association was found (Mann-Whitney test and Spearman correlation between the WHOQOL-BREF domains and pain in the past six months, in the last week, health perception, job satisfaction, hours of sleep, domestic tasks and study. Conclusion: the main factors related to quality of life were presence of pain, health perception, sleep and domestic activity.

Senior dental students' career intentions, work-life balance and retirement plans.

Science.gov (United States)

Stewart, F M J; Drummond, J R; Carson, L; Theaker, E D

2007-09-08

To gather information from senior dental students about their future career plans, with particular emphasis on work-life balance issues, their attitudes towards the NHS and retirement plans. Senior dental students at the Universities of Dundee and Manchester were asked to complete a voluntary anonymous questionnaire. In all 141 questionnaires were completed, 42 by students in Manchester and 114 in Dundee. On qualification nearly all surveyed intend to work full time but after five years one quarter (26%) of females intend to work part time. This is significantly (p work full time. Although the majority (65%) intend to work in general practice significant numbers (19%) wish to have a career in hospital dentistry and very few (3%) in community dentistry. Senior students seem to show no more commitment to the NHS than those in our previous study of dental school applicants. Only 3% intend to work exclusively for the NHS and 18% intend to work exclusively in the private sector. Surprising numbers had plans to retire or go part time before 60 years of age. Only 20% of the sample intended to continue working full time after the age of 60 years. The mode age that those surveyed intended to start a family was 30 years and a large majority of both sexes thought this would interrupt their professional life. More than half of the sample intend to take time out of dentistry until their children attended primary school (female 63%, male 38%) and 6% (female 6%, male 8%) until secondary school. Many of our findings suggest that future generations of dentists may have a pattern of professional life that will have the effect of reducing their clinical commitment, although it is not possible to determine how significant an effect this will have on the workforce. It may, however, be appropriate to take career intention into account when workforce planning.

Assessing Strategies to Manage Work and Life Balance of Athletic Trainers Working in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Setting

Science.gov (United States)

Mazerolle, Stephanie M.; Pitney, William A.; Casa, Douglas J.; Pagnotta, Kelly D.

2011-01-01

Abstract Context: Certified athletic trainers (ATs) working at the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I level experience challenges balancing their professional and personal lives. However, an understanding of the strategies ATs use to promote a balance between their professional and personal lives is lacking. Objective: To identify the strategies ATs employed in the Division I setting use to establish a balance between their professional and personal lives. Design: Qualitative investigation using inductive content analysis. Setting: Athletic trainers employed at Division I schools from 5 National Athletic Trainers' Association districts. Patients or Other Participants: A total of 28 (15 women, 13 men) ATs aged 35 ± 9 years volunteered for the study. Data Collection and Analysis: Asynchronous electronic interviews with follow-up phone interviews. Data were analyzed using inductive content analysis. Peer review, member checking, and data-source triangulation were conducted to establish trustworthiness. Results: Three higher-order themes emerged from the analysis. The initial theme, antecedents of work–family conflict, focused on the demands of the profession, flexibility of work schedules, and staffing patterns as contributing to work–life conflict for this group of ATs. The other 2 emergent higher-order themes, professional factors and personal factors, describe the components of a balanced lifestyle. The second-order theme of constructing the professional factors included both organizational policies and individual strategies, whereas the second-order theme of personal factors was separation of work and life and a supportive personal network. Conclusions: Long work hours, lack of control over work schedules, and unbalanced athlete-to-AT ratios can facilitate conflicts. However, as demonstrated by our results, several organizational and personal strategies can be helpful in creating a balanced lifestyle. PMID:21391805

Work/Life Practices and the Recruitment and Retention of Large School Districts' Foodservice Professionals

Science.gov (United States)

Harrison, Mary Kate

2010-01-01

With the forthcoming retirement of school foodservice directors, the increasing pressures faced by employees at home and work, and the financial constraints of school districts, recruiting and retaining skilled and diverse employees will be challenging. Marketing work/life benefits to potential employees and supporting these policies to current…

[Asthma and professional life (author's transl)].

Science.gov (United States)

Gervais, P; Diamant-Berger, O; Gervais, A

1979-01-01

In world industry and agriculture as a whole, the number of people with asthma and complex pneumopathies related to chemical and organic pollution seems important. Indeed, subjects with an atopic inclination are often the first to be jeoparized. However, it must be stressed that occurrence of asthma in relation with work should always lead to investigate an anomaly in professional hygiene. For other workers this latter eventuality constitutes in the long run a threat of precipitin pneumopathy, chronic bronchitis, pulmonary fibrosis, or even cancer (in the case of nickel). Selection upon hiring is an unsatisfactory measure. The improvement of the atmospheric conditions at work should always be sought for. In some professional asthma cases, we were able to confirm that medication provides efficient protection. This solution, however, seems only slightly satisfactory since the subject is still left in contact with substances which have harmful effects other than asthma. It is therefore important that doctors track down and explore the cases of professional asthma, declaring their existence to social security and work inspection organizations, in order to establish an epidemiological knowledge, regularly updated, which would provide an indispensable basis for any prevention through improvement of working conditions.

Ethical Considerations for Psychologists Taking a Public Stance on Controversial Issues: The Balance Between Personal and Professional Life

OpenAIRE

Haeny, Angela M.

2013-01-01

Previous literature has documented the general issues psychologists often face while balancing their personal and professional lives. The struggle stems from attempting to satisfy the need to maintain a life outside of work while having the professional obligation to follow the American Psychological Association’s (APA’s) Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct (Ethics Code) to prevent their personal lives from interfering with their professional roles and relationships. The p...

Working Parents' use of work-life policies

OpenAIRE

Dulk, Laura den; Peper, Bram

2007-01-01

In this paper, we examine working parent’s use of work-life policies in three financial sector organizations in the Netherlands. We analyse the barriers and support regarding the actual take up of work-life policies by working parents and to what extent this in turn influence their experienced work-life balance. We collected survey data in three Dutch financial sector organizations: one public sector organization and two private firms. All three differ considerably regarding their organizatio...

Psychological impact of working with patients with cystic fibrosis at end-of-life, pre-transplant stage.

Science.gov (United States)

Clisby, Nicola; Shaw, Samantha; Cormack, Maggie

2013-04-01

Multidisciplinary staff who work with end-of-life, pre-transplant patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) have to juggle two seemingly opposing care approaches; active care to maintain their patients' health and condition in anticipation of a transplant, and sensitive palliative care that takes their end-of-life wishes into consideration should they not receive a transplant. Little is known about the psychological impact on staff working within this care dichotomy. The aim of this study is to explore staff's experiences and understand more about the psychological impact of this work on them professionally and personally, and how this affects their ability to provide appropriate care for their patients. A qualitative explorative research design was used. Ten semistructured interviews with multidisciplinary staff working in cystic fibrosis centers and units across the United Kingdom were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Two superordinate themes emerged from the analysis: factors contributing to the "juggle" of active and palliative care, and extent of emotional impact on staff. The study indicates that there is an emotional impact on staff working with patients with CF at end-of-life, pre-transplant stages. Specifically, it reveals the extent of the unpredictability that staff work with, and the range of emotions that staff experience, including uncertainty about professional identity and anxiety about working practices. The depth and intimacy of professional-patient relationships is highlighted, particularly for staff in close contact with and similar in age to their patients. Additionally, the strength of staff's commitment and desire to care for patients within broader humanistic terms that mesh with their own personal values is brought to light. Despite the difficulties with their work, the majority of staff adopted numerous coping strategies to manage their emotions, many of which emphasized the link between their professional and

A qualitative investigation of specialist orthodontists in New Zealand: part 2. Orthodontists' working lives and work-life balance.

Science.gov (United States)

Soma, Kieran J; Thomson, W Murray; Morgaine, Kate C; Harding, Winifred J

2012-11-01

Orthodontics is the most widely practised form of specialist dentistry in New Zealand. To date, no known qualitative research has been published examining the work-life balance of practitioners. The aim of this study was to investigate the working lives and work-life balance of NZ orthodontists in order to generate an understanding of the reality of orthodontic specialist practice and its effects on orthodontists' professional and personal lives. Semi-structured interviews were conducted involving 19 practising orthodontists (four females, 15 males; mean age 50 years) from throughout New Zealand and selected for maximum variation in the sample. Transcribed interviews were analysed for themes using an applied grounded theory approach. A core category of 'practising orthodontist' was derived, and related themes were grouped under the sub-categories of: (a) NZ orthodontic specialist practice; (b) NZ specialist orthodontists; and (c) Work-life balance. The present paper reports on the final sub-category. Themes emerging from the work-life sub-category were further divided into two sub-themes of 'work' and 'life'. Themes in the 'work' subgroup included time off, injuries and illness, regrets, personality traits, job stress and criticism, establishing a practice, peer support and contact, and success in orthodontics. Themes in the 'life' sub-group were personal development, family life, life balance and interests outside work, and financial security. This was the first qualitative investigation of the orthodontic profession in New Zealand. The findings provided a valuable insight into the working lives of New Zealand orthodontists and effects on their day-today lives. It will be revealing and interesting to observe how the modernisation of orthodontic practice will affect the work-life balance of New Zealand orthodontists in the future.

Rhythm-based Analysis As A Different Way Of Viewing Work Life In A School

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Clausen, Jacob

This abstract is about rhythms and how professionals struggle to balance two categories of rhythms in a public school. The teachers at this school clearly expressed that they had a common denominator in regards to their work life, being that they did not have enough time to do their work....... Their understanding of time were always audible and they were very verbal about their frustrations in relation to time (pressure). The full article is about rhythms in a specific public school as a way to gather a new perspective on work life....

Work-Family Conflict, Perceived Organizational Support and Professional Commitment: A Mediation Mechanism for Chinese Project Professionals

OpenAIRE

Junwei Zheng; Guangdong Wu

2018-01-01

Projects are characterized by long working hours, complex tasks and being a kind of temporary organization. As such, work-family conflict is particularly prominent for project employees. This research examined whether and how work-family conflict affects professional commitment among Chinese project professionals. Research hypotheses were developed to explore the relationship between work-family conflict, professional commitment to the project and the mediating effects of perceived organizati...

Work Identity and Contradictory Experiences of Welfare Workers in a Life-history Perspective

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dybbroe, Betina

2012-01-01

Transformation of the welfare sectors challenge professional identities of care and welfare workers in Scandinavia. At the same time welfare and care workers take part in these changes and are changed in the psycho-social setting of the workplace. This article presents research about care work...... in nursing and involves a young nurse in scenes of the hospital, where gendered life history is re-enacted and present in a gendered work life with fragile possibilities of identification . Social dynamics interact with subjective dynamics in ways that illuminate not only habitual and creative orientations...

Analysis of the basic professional standards involving the work of psychologists in difficult and legally significant situations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bogdanovich N. V.

2016-06-01

Full Text Available In this article the analysis of professional standards in terms of the scope of work of the psychologist with clients in difficult life and legal situations. The criteria of analysis chosen: reflected in professional activities, the choice of grounds for the selection of professional activities that focus on a specific Department, selection of a particular direction of activity of the psychologist (prevention, support, rehabilitation. It is shown that all five of the analyzed standards imply such a situation, but only three of them ("educational psychologist", "Psychologist in the social sphere", "Specialist in rehabilitative work in the social sphere" describe the activities of the psychologist, and the remaining ("Expert of bodies of guardianship and guardianship concerning minors" and "Specialist in working with families" are more organizational in nature. The conclusion about compliance of the training programs developed by the Department of legal psychology and law and education, the requirements of professional standards, proposed improvements in these programs.

Contracting: The modern way to work. A professional's perspective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Banks, C.D.; Pavan, E.A.

1991-01-01

The relationship between employers and employees in the oil and gas industry has undergone some fundamental changes, including increasing use of contract professionals, work sharing, more work done at home, individuals partnering or in association with groups of professionals, and transfer of properties to subsidiaries or contract management organizations. The use of contract professionals and technical personnel within an existing corporate structure is examined. Reasons for individuals to choose contracting include career choice, early- or semi-retired status, between jobs, and family/personal reasons. Contracting provides a more open relationship between the professional and the contractor, allows professionals to pursue a career of choice, and gives time flexibility. By contracting through a linking company, a professional can earn about the same annual income as through regular employment if 220 days of work a year can obtained. 1 tab

Working Parents' Use of Work-Life Policies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

L. den Dulk (Laura); A. Peper (Bram)

2007-01-01

textabstractIn this paper, we examine working parent’s use of work-life policies in three financial sector organizations in the Netherlands. We analyse the barriers and support regarding the actual take up of work-life policies by working parents and to what extent this in turn influence their

Effect of Premenstrual Syndrome on Work-Related Quality of Life in Turkish Nurses.

Science.gov (United States)

Kahyaoglu Sut, Hatice; Mestogullari, Elcin

2016-03-01

Little is known about the effects of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) on work-related quality of life in nurses. We aimed to investigate the effect of PMS on work-related quality of life in Turkish nurses. A total of 134 volunteer nurses were included in this cross-sectional study between January 2015 and March 2015. One hundred and thirty-four nurses completed a questionnaire regarding demographic data, the Premenstrual Syndrome Scale (PMSS), and the Work-Related Quality of Life Scale (WRQoL). The nurses were classified as having or not having premenstrual syndrome according to the PMSS. The average age was 29.5 ± 7.1 years and the prevalence of PMS was 38.1%. The total score of PMSS was significantly negatively correlated with the overall score (r = -0.341; p work (p = 0.179) in nurses with PMS were significantly lower than those of nurses without PMS (p work-related quality of life in their professional lives. Methods to help cope with cyclic premenstrual symptoms may be used, and as a result, productivity and work-related quality of life may increase.

The importance of work or productive activity in life care planning and case management.

Science.gov (United States)

Reid, Christine; Riddick-Grisham, Susan

2015-01-01

The importance of work or productive activity for the well-being, community integration, and quality of life of people living with disabilities is addressed, with implications for life care planning and case management. The role of work or productive activity in our society, and consequences of deprivation if rehabilitation services do not address vocational effects of disabilities, is explored. A continuum of productivity options is introduced; types of vocational rehabilitation assessment processes and interventions are described. The role of vocational rehabilitation services in life care planning and case management is discussed, focusing on quality of life for people living with disabilities. Rehabilitation and health care professionals should understand the importance of work or other productive activity, and support the development of appropriate plans to address those needs among people who have disabilities.

Social Work Discretion between Professionalism and Managerialism in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Skals, Anette

working with clients who are unfit for work or work market as a result of ill health. In Denmark the local municipal Job Centre is the primary service delivery involved in welfare-to-work. Here values, interest and policies, transformed into rules and regulation, meet the concrete practices of welfare-to-work...... for working in order to helping clients in becoming self-supporting after ill health. As well as examining how social work discretion is made possible in the work organization, the research behind the paper focuses on the issue of new forms of professionalism in social work. In the light of policy changes......Professionalism and managerialism are important and conflicting concepts in the study of professionals working in public service organizations. By focusing on street-level social workers and social work discretion, it is possible to see how welfare-to-work policies are practiced as well as how...

Effectiveness of Positive Thinking Training Program on Nurses' Quality of Work Life through Smartphone Applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Motamed-Jahromi, Mohadeseh; Fereidouni, Zhila; Dehghan, Azizallah

2017-01-01

Job stress is a part of nurses' professional life that causes the decrease of the nurses' job satisfaction and quality of work life. This study aimed to determine the effect of positive thinking via social media applications on the nurses' quality of work life. This was a pretest-posttest quasi-experimental study design with a control group. The samples were selected among the nurses in two hospitals in Fasa University of Medical Sciences and divided randomly into two interventional ( n = 50) and control ( n = 50) groups. Positive thinking training through telegrams was sent to the intervention group during a period of 3 months. Data were collected by using Brooks and Anderson's questionnaire of work life quality and analyzed by SPSS 18. The mean total scores of pretest and posttest in the intervention group improved noticeably and there were significant differences between mean scores of quality of work life in pretest and posttest scores in interventional groups ( p work life quality, home life ( p work design ( p work context ( p work world ( p = 0.003). This study concluded that positive thinking training via social media application enhanced nurses' quality of work life. This study is necessary to carry out on a larger sample size for generalizing findings better.

'A Study on Impact of Job Satisfaction on Quality of Work life: With Special Reference to It Professionals in Bangalore City'

OpenAIRE

Dr.S.Gomathi and Ms.M.Swapna.

2012-01-01

Quality of working life has been differentiated from the broader concept of quality of life. To some degree, this may be overly simplistic, as Elizur and Shye,(1990) concluded that quality of work performance is affected by quality of life as well as quality of working life. However, the specific attention to work-related aspects of quality of life is valid. Whilst quality of life has been more widely studied, quality of working life remains relatively unexplored and unexplained. A review of ...

Professional Agency, Identity, and Emotions While Leaving One’s Work Organization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katja Vähäsantanen

2015-11-01

Full Text Available This study investigated the enactment of professional agency in an emotionally troubled work context emerging from a conflicted relationship between the professional and the work organization. Narrative interviews with Finnish educators were utilized. The findings indicate that the enactment of agency was in part framed by the educators’ rational interpretations of the relationship between themselves and their employer, plus their work history and future prospects. However, it was simultaneously embedded with contradictory emotions, such as a sense of being undervalued, fear, and a sense of empowerment. Within this framework, multifaceted professional agency was enacted particularly via leaving the organization. This was also a means of upholding one’s professional identity and resisting the organization’s work practices. The paper contributes to the theorizing of professional agency, particularly regarding its emotional dimension, and elaborates the significance of an emotional relationship between professionals and their organizations.Keywords: career, educators, emotions, meaningful work, narrative research, professional agency, professional identity

Psychological Needs as the Working-Life Quality Predictor of Special Education Teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Bozgeyikli, Hasan

2018-01-01

The purpose of this research is to determine whether psychological needs that the special education teachers have, significantly predict the professional quality of life. Descriptive survey design was used in the research. The data of the research were obtained from 238 special education teachers (45% males and 55.5% females) who were working as a…

Cooperation of return-to-work professionals: the challenges of multi-actor work disability management.

Science.gov (United States)

Liukko, Jyri; Kuuva, Niina

2017-07-01

This article explores which concrete factors hinder or facilitate the cooperation of return-to-work (RTW) professionals in a complex system of multiple stakeholders. The empirical material consists of in-depth interviews with 24 RTW professionals from various organizations involved in work disability management in Finland. The interviews were analyzed using thematic content analysis. The study revealed several kinds of challenges in the cooperation of the professionals. These were related to two partly interrelated themes: communication and distribution of responsibility. The most difficult problems were connected to the cooperation between public employment offices and other stakeholders. However, the study distinguished notable regional differences depending primarily on the scale of the local network. The main areas of improvement proposed by the interviewees were related to better networking of case managers and expansion of expertise. The article argues for the importance of systematic networking and stresses the role of public employment services in the multi-actor management of work disabilities. The article contributes to existing work disability case management models by suggesting the employment administration system as an important component in addition to health care, workplace and insurance systems. The study also highlights the need for expansion of expertise in the field. Implications for Rehabilitation Cooperation between RTW professionals in public employment offices and other organizations involved in work disability management was considered inadequate. In order to improve the cooperation of RTW professionals, the stakeholders need to create more systematic ways of communication and networking with professionals in other organizations. There is a need to expand the expertise in work disability management and rehabilitation, partly by increasing the role of other professionals than physicians.

Life habits of school-aged children with specific language impairment as perceived by their parents and by school professionals.

Science.gov (United States)

Croteau, Claire; McMahon-Morin, Paméla; Morin, Claudia; Jutras, Benoît; Trudeau, Natacha; Le Dorze, Guylaine

2015-01-01

Describe social participation of a group of children with specific language impairment. 26 parents of children with specific language impairment (SLI) aged from 5 to 13 years and 11 school professionals participated in the study. Data collection was performed with the adapted version for children aged from 5 to 13 years old of the Assessment of Life Habits (Fougeyrollas et al., 2001). The questionnaire encompasses 196 life habits, grouped in 12 dimensions: nutrition, fitness, personal care, communication, housing, mobility, responsibilities, interpersonal relationships, community life, education, work and recreation (Fougeyrollas, 2010). According to their parents and school professionals, children in this study carried out without difficulty life habits related to housing and mobility. However, they experienced difficulty with life habits related to interpersonal relationships, recreation and responsibilities, in addition to communication and education. Children with SLI are perceived by their parents and school professionals as having reduced social participation in many aspects of their daily life. Social participation should be considered as a major outcome when offering services in school to these children. This study proposes specific ways to help children with SLI. Crown Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The importance of work or productive activity in life care planning and case management

Science.gov (United States)

Reid, Christine; Riddick-Grisham, Susan

2015-01-01

Abstract INTRODUCTION: The importance of work or productive activity for the well-being, community integration, and quality of life of people living with disabilities is addressed, with implications for life care planning and case management. BACKGROUND: The role of work or productive activity in our society, and consequences of deprivation if rehabilitation services do not address vocational effects of disabilities, is explored. A continuum of productivity options is introduced; types of vocational rehabilitation assessment processes and interventions are described. PURPOSE: The role of vocational rehabilitation services in life care planning and case management is discussed, focusing on quality of life for people living with disabilities. CONCLUSION: Rehabilitation and health care professionals should understand the importance of work or other productive activity, and support the development of appropriate plans to address those needs among people who have disabilities. PMID:26409330

Developments in working long and unsocial hours in a Danish prospective cohort study on family and work life

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Hans H. K.; Westerling, Allan

, medical professionals and food processing workers. Several of the studies included pointed at life style behavior, well-being, fatigue and dys-functional sleep patterns as mediating factors while none of the studies had looked at work-family life interaction. The panel study is based on a randomized......A recent systematic literature review by Wagstaff and Sigstad Lie (2011) of shift and night work and long working hours found that those involved might have a higher risk of being involved in occupational accidents especially within safety critical occupations like long-distance lorry drivers...... sample (n=1600) of people born in 1968, living in Denmark in 2003. The panel has participated in two waves of data collection. One in 2003, collected via Computer Assisted Telephone Interviews, and one in 2014, based on a web-based survey. The study shows that significant more people are working more...

Gender differences in academic surgery, work-life balance, and satisfaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Baptiste, Dadrie; Fecher, Alison M; Dolejs, Scott C; Yoder, Joseph; Schmidt, C Maximillian; Couch, Marion E; Ceppa, DuyKhanh P

2017-10-01

An increasing number of women are pursuing a career in surgery. Concurrently, the percentage of surgeons in dual-profession partnerships is increasing. We sought to evaluate the gender differences in professional advancement, work-life balance, and satisfaction at a large academic center. All surgical trainees and faculty at a single academic medical center were surveyed. Collected variables included gender, academic rank, marital status, family size, division of household responsibilities, and career satisfaction. Student t-test, Fisher's exact test, and chi-square test were used to compare results. There were 127 faculty and 116 trainee respondents (>80% response rate). Respondents were mostly male (77% of faculty, 58% of trainees). Women were more likely than men to be married to a professional (90% versus 37%, for faculty; 82% versus 41% for trainees, P working full time (P working spouse and to be primarily responsible for managing their households. Additional consideration for improvement in recruitment and retention strategies for surgeons might address barriers to equalizing these gender disparities. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Work engagement in professional nursing practice: A systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Keyko, Kacey; Cummings, Greta G; Yonge, Olive; Wong, Carol A

2016-09-01

Work engagement in professional nursing practice is critically important to consider when addressing key challenges of health systems, including the global nursing shortage, pressures to reduce health care spending, and increasing demands for quality care and positive outcomes for patients. However, research on work engagement in professional nursing practice has not yet been synthesized and therefore, does not provide a sufficient foundation of knowledge to guide practice and further research. The overall aim of this systematic review is to determine what is currently known about the antecedents and outcomes of work engagement in professional nursing practice. Systematic review. The search strategy included eight electronic databases: CINAHL, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, PROQUEST, SCOPUS, Web of Science, EMBASE, and Business Source Complete. The search was conducted in October 2013. Quantitative and qualitative research that examined relationships between work engagement and antecedent or outcome factors was included. Quality assessment, data extractions, and analysis were completed on all included studies. Data extracted from included studies were synthesized through descriptive and narrative synthesis. Content analysis was used to categorize factors into themes and categories. 3621 titles and abstracts were screened and yielded 113 manuscripts for full text review. Full text review resulted in 18 included studies. All factors examined were grouped into either influences or outcomes of work engagement. A total of 77 influencing factors were categorized into 6 themes: organizational climate, job resources, professional resources, personal resources, job demands, and demographic variables. A total of 17 outcomes of work engagement were categorized into 3 themes: performance and care outcomes, professional outcomes, and personal outcomes. Based on the results, we adapted the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model and developed the Nursing Job Demands-Resources (NJD-R) model for

Life satisfaction and work-related satisfaction among anesthesiologists in Poland.

Science.gov (United States)

Gaszynska, Ewelina; Stankiewicz-Rudnicki, Michal; Szatko, Franciszek; Wieczorek, Andrzej; Gaszynski, Tomasz

2014-01-01

The aim of the study was to assess the level of life and job satisfaction of Polish anesthesiologists and to explore the impact of extrinsic-hygiene and intrinsic-motivating determinants. A cross-sectional questionnaire study was conducted among consultant anesthesiologists in Lodz region. The questionnaire concerned patient care, burden, income, personal rewards, professional relations, job satisfaction in general, and life satisfaction. Respondents were asked to rate their level of satisfaction for each item on a seven-point Likert scale (1: extremely dissatisfied; 7: extremely satisfied). 86.03% of anesthesiologists were satisfied with their economic status, 77.94% found their health status satisfactory, and 52.21% viewed their personal future optimistically. In general, 71.32% of anesthesiologists were satisfied with their current job situation. Among the less satisfying job aspects were work-related stress (2.49; SD = 1.23), administrative burden (2.85; SD = 1.47), workload (3.63; SD = 1.56), and leisure time (3.09; SD = 1.44). Considerable work-related stress leads to job dissatisfaction among anesthesiologists. There is an association between job satisfaction and health status, social life, and economic status. Working for long hours by anesthesiologists results in a high risk of burnout.

Secondary school students' perceptions of working life skills in science-related careers

Science.gov (United States)

Salonen, Anssi; Hartikainen-Ahia, Anu; Hense, Jonathan; Scheersoi, Annette; Keinonen, Tuula

2017-07-01

School students demonstrate a lack of interest in choosing science studies and science-related careers. To better understand the underlying reasons, this study aims to examine secondary school students' perceptions of working life skills and how these perceptions relate to the skills of the twenty-first century. The participants in this study were 144 Finnish 7th graders (aged 13-14 years). Using a questionnaire and qualitative content analysis, we examined their perceptions of working life skills in 'careers in science' and 'careers with science'. Results reveal that although students have a great deal of knowledge about working life skills, it is often just stereotyped. Sector-specific knowledge and skills were highlighted in particular but skills related to society, organisation, time and higher order thinking, were often omitted. Results also indicate that students do not associate 'careers in science' with creativity, innovation, collaboration or technology and ICT skills. Conversely, according to the students, these careers demand more sector-specific knowledge and responsibility than 'careers with science'. We conclude that students need more wide-ranging information about scientific careers and the competencies demanded; such information can be acquired by e.g. interacting with professionals and their real working life problems.

Work Identity and Contradictory Experiences of Welfare Workers in a Life-history Perspective

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dybbroe, Betina

2013-01-01

in these changes and are changed in the psycho-social setting of the workplace. This article presents research about care work in Denmark with a focus on subjective processing of work identity, applying a psycho-societal theoretical and methodical approach. A life historical and experiential understanding...... of identification. Social dynamics interact with subjective dynamics in ways that illuminate not only habitual and creative orientations and practices of professionals in care, but also the contradictory transformations of the work, e.g. marketization and democratization in the work place....

Work-Life Balance and Work Satisfaction in Workplace

OpenAIRE

Soo, Chin Hock

2014-01-01

This study aims to investigate whether the workplace environment in an ICT organizations are conducive for the employees to use work-life balance and secondary investigation will involving whether the ability to have work-life balance will increase the happiness and this job satisfaction and leads to higher productivity. A questionnaire which consisted of all the work-life balance activities in the ICT organization were sent out and a total of 94 respondents whom worked in ICT organizations h...

Work-life balance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Roche, Pat

2011-03-15

Gay Renouf has opted for a work/life balance; with a chemistry degree she joined the Saskatchewan Research Council out of graduate school in 1986. She first worked on understanding surfactants in emulsions and then dealt more with petroleum engineering issues like pipeline specifications. She is looking at waterfloods in heavy and medium gravity pools and has discovered factors helping to produce heavy oil waterfloods. But all Renouf's life is not devoted to her work: she has been working part-time, spending her free time being a parent, training for marathons and being a running coach. Renouf believes that her passion for running is consistent with her work as a scientist.

Professional Satisfaction Of Nurses Working In Operating Room Of A Hospital School

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jéssica Helena Dantas de Oliveira

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Objective: to characterize in a sociodemographic way the nursing staff of the surgical center; Check the degree of importance assigned to each component of satisfaction: autonomy, interaction, professional status, task requirements, organizational policies, and pay; verify job satisfaction perceived by nurses. Method: exploratory, descriptive, quantitative study, consisting of 9 nurses working in the operating room. The research project was approved by the CEP/HULW, CAAE Nº 24597513.2.0000.5183. Data were collected through questionnaires and then analyzed using descriptive statistics in SPSS 20. Results: We found that the standby component was considered the most important for job satisfaction and Professional Status least important. Conclusion: nurses have a low level of job satisfaction, impacting the performance of its activities. Descriptors: Job Satisfaction. Perioperative Nursing. Quality of Life.

Individual features, working conditions and work injuries are associated with work ability among nursing professionals.

Science.gov (United States)

Fischer, Frida Marina; Martinez, Maria Carmen

2013-01-01

To investigate factors associated with work ability among nursing professionals. They comprised 514 nursing professionals (83.8% of the total number of workers) from a hospital in São Paulo, Brazil. In 2009, we conducted a cross-sectional study that was a part of a 5-year planned cohort study initiated in 2008. We administered a comprehensive questionnaire to the participants in order to obtain data on their sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyles, and working conditions. The questionnaire also contained the Brazilian versions of the following: the Job Stress Scale (JSS), Effort-Reward Imbalance (ERI) Questionnaire, Work-Related Activities That May Contribute To Job-Related Pain and/or Injury (WRAPI), and Work Ability Index (WAI). The results were analyzed using descriptive, bivariate, and multivariate linear regression analyses. On the WAI, 74.9% of the workers obtained a score of over 40 points (score range 7-49); the mean score was 42.3 points (SD=4.5). The final multivariate model showed that lower WAI scores were related to the work-related outcome, which was work injury, and the following individual characteristics and working conditions: body mass index (p=0.001), sex (female; p=0.002), sedentariness (p work (p=0.003), effort-reward ratio (p=0.001), violence at work (p=0.005), WRAPI score (p work injuries (yes; p=0.001). Various factors were associated with work ability. The results showed that a number of variables should be considered when planning and implementing actions to maintain or improve work ability among nursing professionals.

A new inter-professional course preparing learners for life in rural communities.

Science.gov (United States)

Medves, Jennifer; Paterson, Margo; Chapman, Christine Y; Young, John H; Tata, Elizabeth; Bowes, Denise; Hobbs, Neil; McAndrews, Brian; O'Riordan, Anne

2008-01-01

The 'Professionals in Rural Practice' course was developed with the aim of preparing students enrolled in professional programs in Canada to become better equipped for the possible eventuality of professional work in a rural setting. To match the reality of living and working in a rural community, which by nature is interprofessional, the course designers were an interprofessional teaching team. In order to promote group cohesiveness the course included the participation of an interprofessional group of students and instructors from the disciplines of medicine, nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, teacher education, and theology. The format of the course included three-hour classes over an eight-week period and a two-day field experience in a rural community. The course utilized various experiential and interactive teaching and learning methods, along with a variety of assessment methods. Data were collected from student participants over two iterations of the course using a mixed methods approach. Results demonstrate that students value the interprofessional and experiential approach to learning and viewed this course as indispensable for gaining knowledge of other professions and preparation for rural practice. The data reveal important organizational and pedagogical considerations specific to interprofessional education, community based action research, and the unique interprofessional nature of training for life and work in a rural community. This study also indicates the potential value of further longitudinal study of participants in this course. Key words: Canada, community based action research, education, interdisciplinary, interprofessional.

Work-life balance, time and money: identifying the work-life balance priorities of working class workers

OpenAIRE

Warren, Tracey

2017-01-01

This chapter provides an overview of the relative roles played by time and money in debates around work-life balance. It shows how time trumps money in dominant understandings of what ‘work-life’ means and in what parts of our lives are presumed to be in need of balance. Working ‘too many’ hours is seen to be the major challenge for achieving a work-life balance. This is an incomplete account. It is largely about the work-lives of the middle classes and it neglects the priorities of working c...

Professional 'imperialism' and resistance: Social Work in the Filippines

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jem Price

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The sociology of professions has traditionally attempted to increase our understanding of categorisations of different occupations by reference to taxonomic hierarchies, as well as the identification and exploration of characteristics that warrant 'professional status'. In may cases, this explorations take the forms of historical accounts of professional activity. Rarely, however, has the literature on professions explored processes of professionalization in devoliping, post-colonial contexts. This article contributes to this body of literature in the study of professions in a number of ways. Firstly, it 'maps' the growth of social work in the Filippines, placing this account within a broader discussions of social work as an internationality activity (Harrison & Melville, 2010; Lyons, 2006 and identifying some of the key forms and features of social work in the Filippines. Consideration is given to the degree of professionalisation of social work within the country by exploring professional organisation, regulation and education.  In doing this, the article offers a critical overview of the nature and preoccupations of social work in the Filippines and celebrates the invaluable contributions it makes to the country and its people. The article argue that the forms social work takes and the settings in wich it happens reflect both contemporay societal and environmental factors as well as the global development of social work.  In this sense, the article considers the impact of Roman Catholicism as well as the orientation of social work in relation to some enduring tensions and debates around the profession's purpose and potential. Key to the professional forms that social work takes in the Filippines is the contribution of 'indigenous' social work knowledge base wich is explored, alongside a comentary on social work education and training in the country. 

The Impossible Confinement of Nuclear Work. The Professional and Family Experience of Subcontractors Exposed to Radioactivity in France Nuclear Power Industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghis Malfilatre, Marie

2016-01-01

Drawing on an ethnographical approach paying close attention to biographical careers, this article focuses on the relationship subcontractors and their partners have with a professional activity defined by considerable geographical mobility and structural exposition to radioactivity. This work, seized as an opportunity by young men and couples, demands a challenging organization of the life 'on the side' which is tolerated for a while, but which is also unable to put an end to male professional fatigue and can even turn out to deteriorate family life. While workers and their partners are busy holding together to face the constraints of long time separation, the risks of work, long ignored, eventually bring trouble and anxiety into family life. This situation affects relatives whose support appears to be decisive, in the mobilization dynamics for the defense of health as well as in the industrial disease experience

The Project of Life like interpretation category in the professional formation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Reinaldo Meléndez Ruiz

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The structuring of the professional formation as essential mark for the appropriation of the content of the profession with emphasis in the scientific knowledge, the professional abilities and the ethical values, outlines the necessity of comprehensive categories that they allow an integrative focus of the essential addresses in that the professional formation is built: the project of life.

Current situation and discussion of acquisition work in professional libraries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lu Yan; Xin Pingping

2010-01-01

The acquisition work in professional libraries is an important part of library work, and faces enormous challenges at this stage. For the status quo of the acquisition work in professional libraries, we should develop effective acquisition principles to ensure the integrity of our professional library's collection and systematic literature, and to provide more effective protection for relevant research work. We need reasonable arrangements for the procurement of books with limited funding to avoid the waste of funds. We should use the network, to actively develop the procurement channels, and to establish accurate and reliable systematic network of information resources for the reader. We need to consciously cultivate and improve the professional competence of acquisition staff, to meet the requirement of the acquisition staff in the new situation. We should carry out knowledge management in professional library, to form a competitive 'knowledge resources'. For information research, technical personnel, and scientific researchers, we provide effective information services in time, and carry out personalized services. (authors)

What keeps health professionals working in rural district hospitals in South Africa?

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Louis S. Jenkins

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Background: The theme of the 2014 Southern African Rural Health Conference was ‘Building resilience in facing rural realities’. Retaining health professionals in South Africa is critical for sustainable health services. Only 12% of doctors and 19% of nurses have been retained in the rural areas. The aim of the workshop was to understand from health practitioners why they continued working in their rural settings. Conference workshop: The workshop consisted of 29 doctors, managers, academic family physicians, nurses and clinical associates from Southern Africa, with work experience from three weeks to 13 years, often in deep rural districts. Using the nominal group technique, the following question was explored, ‘What is it that keeps you going to work every day?’ Participants reflected on their work situation and listed and rated the important reasons for continuing to work. Results: Five main themes emerged. A shared purpose, emanating from a deep sense of meaning, was the strongest reason for staying and working in a rural setting. Working in a team was second most important, with teamwork being related to attitudes and relationships, support from visiting specialists and opportunities to implement individual clinical skills. A culture of support was third, followed by opportunities for growth and continuing professional development, including teaching by outreaching specialists. The fifth theme was a healthy work-life balance. Conclusion: Health practitioners continue to work in rural settings for often deeper reasons relating to a sense of meaning, being part of a team that closely relate to each other and feeling supported.

Social Work or Relief Work? A Crisis in Professional Social Work

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Adhikari Harasankar

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Social work is a sharing and caring profession based on scientific methods. This problem solving profession makes people self-reliant and self-dependent when he/she is in any sorts of crises. Thus, it differs from relief work, social services or social welfare delivered during emergence crises. This paper examined the application of professional social work as relief work, which did not bring any change among the beneficiaries; rather it set their mind as opportunist. For this purpose, the programme sponsored by the government of India and implemented by nongovernmental organizations for rehabilitation of the street children (i.e., pavements and slums dwellers, children of sex workers, and so forth of Metro cities like Kolkata had priority. This evaluative study assessed the progress and changes among 500 street children who were the beneficiaries for 10 years of the programme, selected according to their parental residents/occupation through stratified sampling. Interviews, case studies and group interaction were used to collect data on various aspects, i.e. personal background, education, and occupation of these children. It revealed that after almost 10 years of services, the problem of children was static. Firstly, service delivery system was as relief work. The methods of social work were not implied while the professionals were in implementation. On the other hand, the scope of monitoring and evaluation of the programme by government was suspended due to several reasons. Definitely, the politicalization in human development would be restricted. The problems of suffering would be root out and it should not be a continued process.

Quality in modern Nordic working life

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jacobsen, Stine; Bramming, Pia; Holt, Helle

2013-01-01

quality issues of modern working life. Welfare research, working environment research, and human resource management (HRM) research attack the multiple challenges of working life in different ways and share the overall objective of solving issues in modern working life. Research from the three...... of the perspectives are applied at the same time in the same study. Our results show that while the perspectives share a common interest in solving the problems of the overlapping working life (OWL), they do so with different methods and criteria for success, and offer different solutions. We propose the concept “OWL...... theme reflects an approach to solving the issues of modern working life through improvements of the working life balance. The quality theme reflects an approach to solving issues in modern working life by addressing quality of work, preventing stress, burnout, etc. The review only finds three studies...

How are compassion fatigue, burnout, and compassion satisfaction affected by quality of working life? Findings from a survey of mental health staff in Italy

OpenAIRE

Cetrano, Gaia; Tedeschi, Federico; Rabbi, Laura; Gosetti, Giorgio; Lora, Antonio; Lamonaca, Dario; Manthorpe, Jill; Amaddeo, Francesco

2017-01-01

BACKGROUND: Quality of working life includes elements such as autonomy, trust, ergonomics, participation, job complexity, and work-life balance. The overarching aim of this study was to investigate if and how quality of working life affects Compassion Fatigue, Burnout, and Compassion Satisfaction among mental health practitioners.METHODS: Staff working in three Italian Mental Health Departments completed the Professional Quality of Life Scale, measuring Compassion Fatigue, Burnout, and Compas...

Correlation Between Stress and Quality of Life Experienced by Caregivers: Perception of a Group of Healthcare Professionals.

Science.gov (United States)

Silva, Bhárbara Karolline Rodrigues; Quaresma, Fernando Rodrigues Peixoto; Maciel, Erika da Silva; Figueiredo, Francisco Winter Dos Santos; Sarraf, Jonathan Souza; Adami, Fernando

2017-01-01

This study aims to evaluate the relationship between perceived level of stress and quality of life of professionals working in Prompt Service Units in the city of Palmas, Tocantins. A cross-sectional study was performed among 164 professionals from Prompt Service Units. Stress levels were evaluated using the Perceived Stress Scale. The WHOQOL-bref was used to evaluate the perception of quality of life. Quantitative variables distribution was evaluated using Shapiro-Wilk's test. For the analyses of correlations among perceived level of stress, total quality of life score, and the physical health domain of the WHOQOL-bref, Pearson's correlation test was applied. The significance level adopted for this trial was 95%. The study was approved by the Committee of Ethics in Research with Human Beings. When assessing the perceived level of stress with the total quality of life score, there was no significant correlation between those variables. However, there was an association between the perceived level of stress and the physical health domain of quality of life. Perceived quality of life was correlated with the physical health domain, and this result reinforces the importance of the facets that make up this area.

[Favouring the work-life balance].

Science.gov (United States)

Masurelle, Franck

2015-01-01

Saint-Amand-les-Eaux general hospital, in the north of France, actively promotes quality of life at work for its staff. In 2014, during National Quality of Life at Work week, the hospital put in place a programme of activities encouraging a better work-life balance. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Work-life balance and family friendly policies

OpenAIRE

Janine Chapman; Natalie Skinner

2013-01-01

This paper presents Australian and international research on work-life interaction. We review the work-life policies and practices that are likely to have the greatest impact on work-life outcomes, specifically reducing the negative impact of work on other life domains (work-life interference), and enhancing the positive effect (work-life facilitation). The review addresses four policy areas common in work-life studies of the general workforce: employee-centered flexible work practices; worki...

Work, work-life conflict and health in an industrial work environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Hämmig, O; Bauer, G F

2014-01-01

Work-life conflict has been poorly studied as a cause of ill-health in occupational medicine. To study associations between physical and psychosocial working conditions, including work-life conflict on the one hand and general, physical and mental health outcomes on the other. Cross-sectional data were used from an employee survey among the workforces of four medium-sized and large companies in Switzerland. Physical work factors included five demands and exposures such as heavy loads, repetitive work and poor posture. Psychosocial factors included 14 demands and limited resources such as time pressure, overtime, monotonous work, job insecurity, low job autonomy, low social support and work-life conflict. Health outcomes studied were self-rated health, sickness absence, musculoskeletal disorders, sleep disorders, stress and burnout. There was a response rate of 49%; 2014 employees participated. All adverse working conditions were positively associated with several poor health outcomes in both men and women. After mutual adjustment for all work factors and additional covariates, only a few, mainly psychosocial work factors remained significant as risk factors for health. Work-life conflict, a largely neglected work-related psychosocial factor in occupational medicine, turned out to be the only factor that was significantly and strongly associated with all studied health outcomes and was consistently found to be the strongest or second strongest of all the studied risk factors. Even in an industrial work environment, psychosocial work factors, and particularly work-life conflict, play a key role and need to be taken into consideration in research and workplace health promotion.

Life Cycle Characteristics of Small Professional Service Firms

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Masurel, E.; van Montfort, C.A.G.M.

2006-01-01

Our study of professional services firms clearly revealed that firms change over the course of their life cycles. During the first three stages, diversification in sales, the differentiation in labor force, and the level of labor productivity increase. In the last stage, diversification in sales,

Life Satisfaction and Work-Related Satisfaction among Anesthesiologists in Poland

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Ewelina Gaszynska

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of the study was to assess the level of life and job satisfaction of Polish anesthesiologists and to explore the impact of extrinsic-hygiene and intrinsic-motivating determinants. Materials and Methods. A cross-sectional questionnaire study was conducted among consultant anesthesiologists in Lodz region. The questionnaire concerned patient care, burden, income, personal rewards, professional relations, job satisfaction in general, and life satisfaction. Respondents were asked to rate their level of satisfaction for each item on a seven-point Likert scale (1: extremely dissatisfied; 7: extremely satisfied. Results. 86.03% of anesthesiologists were satisfied with their economic status, 77.94% found their health status satisfactory, and 52.21% viewed their personal future optimistically. In general, 71.32% of anesthesiologists were satisfied with their current job situation. Among the less satisfying job aspects were work-related stress (2.49; SD = 1.23, administrative burden (2.85; SD = 1.47, workload (3.63; SD = 1.56, and leisure time (3.09; SD = 1.44. Conclusions. Considerable work-related stress leads to job dissatisfaction among anesthesiologists. There is an association between job satisfaction and health status, social life, and economic status. Working for long hours by anesthesiologists results in a high risk of burnout.

Multiple Relationships : Maintaining Professional Identity in Rural Social Work Practice

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Keith Brownlee

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Working in a rural community locates the professional in a wider social network as community members often expect more from their professionals; not only as service providers, but also as engaged members of the community. This can result in the rural social worker being highly visible both personally and professionally and it can also lead to overlapping relationships. These higher expectations can place stress on the worker in terms of maintaining accepted professional roles and a sense of professional identity. This qualitative study explores the first-hand experiences of a cross-section of service providers in more than a dozen communities within northwestern Ontario and northern Manitoba, Canada. The responses of the participants provide some insight into how rural practitioners maintain their professional identity when working within the unique demands of the rural and remote context. Recurring themes from the interviews suggest that these professionals craft their own informal decision-making processes to address intersecting roles, community gossip, and personal isolation, even while, in some cases, practicing in their home community. The findings provide greater understanding of the pressures and realities of working in small remote towns and the challenges of responding to the expectations and realities of relationships including the expectation of working with friends and family members of friends or colleagues: issues that have not been adequately studied in the literature to date.

Work engagement in employees at professional improvement programs in health

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Elizangela Gianini Gonsalez

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Objective: This study evaluated the levels of engagement at work in enhancement programs and professionals training in health. Method: A cross-sectional study with 82 health professionals enhancement programs and improvement of a public institution in the State of São Paulo, using the Utrech Work Engagement Scale (UWES, a self-administered questionnaire composed of seventeen self-assessment items in three dimensions: vigor, dedication and absorption. The scores were calculated according to the statistical model proposed in the Preliminary Manual UWES. Results: Engagement levels were too high on the force, high dedication and dimension in general score, and medium in size to 71.61% absorption, 58.03%, 53.75% and 51.22% of workers, respectively. The professionals present positive relationship with the work; they are responsible, motivated and dedicated to the job and to the patients. Conclusion: Reinforces the importance of studies that evaluate positive aspects of the relationship between professionals and working environment, contributing to strengthen the programs of improvement, advancing the profile of professionals into the labour market.

International regulations concerning gender discrimination in professional life

OpenAIRE

Patrycja Zwiech

2011-01-01

The paper is aimed at presenting legal regulations imposed by International Labour Organization, the United Nations and the European Union, and regarding gender equality in professional life. Issues relating to discrimination against women on labour market have been addressed by international institutions for over 60 years.

Employee-oriented leadership and quality of working life: mediating roles of idiosyncratic deals.

Science.gov (United States)

Hornung, Severin; Glaser, Jürgen; Rousseau, Denise M; Angerer, Peter; Weigl, Matthias

2011-02-01

Leader consideration has long been suggested to be conducive to quality of working life experienced by employees. The present study links this classic leadership dimension with more recent research on idiosyncratic deals, referring to personalized conditions workers negotiate in their employment relationships. A two-wave survey study (N = 159/142) among German hospital physicians suggests that authorizing idiosyncratic deals is a manifestation of employee-oriented leader behavior. Consideration had consistent positive effects on idiosyncratic deals regarding both professional development and working time flexibility. These two types had differential effects on two indicators of the quality of working life. Development related positively to work engagement, flexibility related negatively to work-family conflict. Cross-lagged correlations supported the proposed direction of influence between consideration and idiosyncratic deals in a subsample of repeating responders (n=91). The relation between development and engagement appeared to be reciprocal. Longitudinal results for the association between flexibility and work-family conflict were inconclusive.

Emotional Impact of End-of-Life Decisions on Professional Relationships in the ICU: An Obstacle to Collegiality?

Science.gov (United States)

Laurent, Alexandra; Bonnet, Magalie; Capellier, Gilles; Aslanian, Pierre; Hebert, Paul

2017-12-01

End-of-life decisions are not only common in the ICU but also frequently elicit strong feelings among health professionals. Even though we seek to develop more collegial interprofessional approaches to care and health decision-making, there are many barriers to successfully managing complex decisions. The aim of this study is to better understand how emotions influence the end-of-life decision-making process among professionals working in ICU. Qualitative study with clinical interviews. All interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed thematically using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Two independent ICUs at the "Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal." Ten physicians and 10 nurses. None. During the end-of-life decision-making process, families and patients restructure the decision-making frame by introducing a strong emotional dimension. This results in the emergence of new challenges quite different from the immediacy often associated with intensive care. In response to changes in decision frames, physicians rely on their relationship with the patient's family to assist with advanced care decisions. Nurses, however, draw on their relationship and proximity to the patient to denounce therapeutic obstinacy. Our study suggests that during the end-of-life decision-making process, nurses' feelings toward their patients and physicians' feelings toward their patients' families influence the decisions they make. Although these emotional dimensions allow nurses and physicians to act in a manner that is consistent with their professional ethics, the professionals themselves seem to have a poor understanding of these dimensions and often overlook them, thus hindering collegial decisions.

Work-life balance and family friendly policies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Janine Chapman

2013-12-01

Full Text Available This paper presents Australian and international research on work-life interaction. We review the work-life policies and practices that are likely to have the greatest impact on work-life outcomes, specifically reducing the negative impact of work on other life domains (work-life interference, and enhancing the positive effect (work-life facilitation. The review addresses four policy areas common in work-life studies of the general workforce: employee-centered flexible work practices; working hours (e.g. access to part-time work; paid and unpaid leave (e.g. parental leave; and access to childcare. It then considers the work-life literature related to two specific industries – the Australian public sector, and health and social services – to identify work-life issues and practices specific to each industry. We then conclude with a general discussion of challenges associated with the policy-practice gap, focusing particularly on work intensification and the role of organisational culture as the catalyst for policy uptake and effectiveness.

Psychometric properties of the Chinese-version Quality of Nursing Work Life Scale.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Ya-Wen; Dai, Yu-Tzu; McCreary, Linda L; Yao, Grace; Brooks, Beth A

2014-09-01

In this study, we developed and tested the psychometric properties of the Chinese-version Quality of Nursing Work Life Scale along seven subscales: supportive milieu with security and professional recognition, work arrangement and workload, work/home life balance, head nurse's/supervisor's management style, teamwork and communication, nursing staffing and patient care, and milieu of respect and autonomy. An instrument-development procedure with three phases was conducted in seven hospitals in 2010-2011. Phase I comprised translation and the cultural-adaptation process, phase II comprised a pilot study, and phase III comprised a field-testing process. Purposive sampling was used in the pilot study (n = 150) and the large field study (n = 1254). Five new items were added, and 85.7% of the original items were retained in the 41 item Chinese version. Principal component analysis revealed that a model accounted for 56.6% of the variance with acceptable internal consistency, concurrent validity, and discriminant validity. This study gave evidence of reliability and validity of the 41 item Chinese-version Quality of Nursing Work Life Scale. © 2014 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

Entrepreneurial Woman and Analysis of Barriers and Opportunities Ensuring the Work-Life Balance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zeynep OYURYÜZ

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Today, there is an increase in the number of women participating in working life with the result of developing technology and industrialization. In our country, there are still many problems that prevent women to become business owners and business owners to continue their business. In this context; potential barriers and opportunities associated with women who could establish a business owner's work-life balance has been identified in Tekirdağ. Women business owners in the sectors of agriculture and agro-based entrepreneurship and participate in 22 different comments associated with being a woman in business levels were evaluated and findings were grouped by factor analysis. According to the reduced factor; ensuring women's work-life balance of barriers or opportunities that may be 6 groups of factors have been identified. In evaluating the distribution of the factor group analysis; "personality characteristics, time constraints, marital status, gender roles, social position and communicative features" titles were created. The factors of entrepreneurial women’s work-life balance have been interpreted to establish the feasibility of barriers or opportunities. For the continuity of business life of women, entrepreneurs are required to continuously improve themselves and their business. In this context, to establish a women's work-life balance training should be provided by the universities and professional chambers. Personal development trainings such as; management skills, motivation, organization, efficient use of time, gain control capability, produce a solution in the face of challenges should be given by the institutions.

How does work fit with my life? The relation between flexible work arrangements, work-life balance and recovery from work

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kecklund, L.G.; Beckers, D.G.J.; Leineweber, C.; Tucker, P.T.; Chmiel, N.; Fraccaroli, F.; Sverke, M.

2017-01-01

The right balance between work, personal life and daily recovery is an important determinant of employees’ well-being, health and experience of stress. One of the most important things in many people's lives is their relationship with their family. Work and home life are central aspects of most

Work-life balance of German gynecologists: a web-based survey on satisfaction with work and private life.

Science.gov (United States)

Hancke, Katharina; Igl, Wilmar; Toth, Bettina; Bühren, Astrid; Ditsch, Nina; Kreienberg, Rolf

2014-01-01

Work-life balance is an upcoming issue for physicians. The working group "Family and Career" of the German Society for Gynecology and Obstetrics (DGGG) designed a survey to reflect the present work-life balance of female and male gynecologists in Germany. The 74-item, web-based survey "Profession-Family-Career" was sent to all members of the DGGG (n = 4,564). In total, there were 1,036 replies (23%) from 75% female gynecologists (n = 775) aged 38 ± 7 (mean ± standard deviation [SD]) years and 25% male (n = 261) gynecologists aged 48 ± 11 years. Statistical analyses were performed using the mean and SD for descriptive analysis. Regression models were performed considering an effect of p ≤ 0.05 as statistically significant. 47% women and 46% men reported satisfaction with their current work-life balance independent of gender (p(gender) = 0.15). 70% women and 75 % men answered that work life and private life were equally important to them (p(gender) = 0.12). While 39% women versus 11% men worked part-time (p gender work than women (p(gender) Work life affected private life of men and women in a similar way (all p(gender) > 0.05). At least 37% women and men neglected both their partner and their children very often due to their work. Female physicians often described their work situation similar to male physicians, although important differences regarding total work time, overtime work and appreciation by supervisors were reported. Work life affected private life of women and men in a similar way.

Sandia National Laboratories: Careers: Work-Life Balance

Science.gov (United States)

; Culture Work-Life Balance Special Programs Students and Postdocs Benefits and Perks Hiring Process Life at -Life Balance Careers Work-Life Balance People in park Your life is not just work We understand your healthy, multidimensional lifestyle and achieve a personal balance between home, work, and community life

Voice, stress, work and quality of life of soccer coaches and physical trainers.

Science.gov (United States)

Penteado, Regina Zanella; Silva, Noelle Bernardi da; Montebello, Maria Imaculada de Lima

2015-01-01

To assess aspects related to work, stress and quality of life related to voice in soccer coaches (C) and physical trainers (T), comparing the categories. Qualitative and quantitative studies with 13 C and 13 T of teams competing in Phase One of the highest level (Série A ) of the 2012 Campeonato Paulista (São Paulo State Soccer Championship). The questions were open ended and related to complaints, difficulties, and/or problems regarding voice use during work and to the relations between voice, work, stress, and quality of life. Stress at work was analyzed by the Job Stress Scale (JSS) questionnaire. The perception of the impact of the voice on quality of life was evaluated by the Voice-Related Quality of Life (V-RQOL) protocol. The answers to the questions were transcribed and submitted to content analysis, and regarding the questionnaire, descriptive data and analytical statistics were used. Content analysis showed lack of preparation for voice care; voice complaints; and intense vocal use demand under stressful work, in addition to the absence of healthy habits and social/family support. The JSS dimensions showed that the Active Work situation and the high V-RQOL scores are compatible with vocal health without complaints. There were no statistical differences between the categories. Both categories reported complaints/problems linked to professional voice use and stressful workload. However, the perception of vocal impact on the quality of life was positive, and the analysis of stress at work resulted in "good" and favorable conditions. The relationship between voice, work, stress, and quality of life in both the categories require further investigations.

[Analysis of risk factors associated with professional drivers’ work].

Science.gov (United States)

Czerwińska, Maja; Hołowko, Joanna; Stachowska, Ewa

Professional driver is an occupation associated with high health risk. The factors which increase the risk of developing lifestyle diseases are closely related to working conditions. The aim of this study was to analyse the risk factors which are associated with professional drivers’ lifestyle. The material consisted of 23 articles from PubMed.gov. Risk factors related to drivers’ work have a signiicant impact on their health.

Reconciling Work and Family Life

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holt, Helle

The problems of balancing work and family life have within the last years been heavily debated in the countries of the European Union. This anthology deals with the question of how to obtain a better balance between work and family life. Focus is set on the role of companies. The anthology tries...... to shed some light on questions such as: How can compagnies become more family friendly? What are the barriers and how can they be overcome? What is the social outcome when companies are playing an active role in employees’ possiblities for combining family life and work life? How are the solutions...... on work/ family unbalance/ problems related to the growing social problems related to unemployment? The anthology is the result of a reseach-network on ”Work-place Contributions ro Reconcile Work and Family Life” funded by the European Commission, DG V, and co-coordinated by the editors....

Involving healthcare professionals and family carers in setting research priorities for end-of-life care.

Science.gov (United States)

Diffin, Janet; Spence, Michael; Spencer, Rebecca; Mellor, Peter; Grande, Gunn

2017-02-02

It is important to ensure regional variances are considered when setting future end-of-life research priorities, given the differing demographics and service provision. This project sought to identify end-of-life research priorities within Greater Manchester (United Kingdom). Following an initial scoping exercise, six topics within the 10 national priorities outlined by The Palliative and end-of-life care Priority Setting Partnership were selected for exploration. A workshop involving 32 healthcare professionals and a consultation process with 26 family carers was conducted. Healthcare professionals and carers selected and discussed the topics important to them. The topics selected most frequently by both healthcare professionals and carers were 'Access to 24 hour care', 'Planning end-of-life care in advance' and 'Staff and carer education'. Healthcare professionals also developed research questions for their topics of choice which were refined to incorporate carers' views. These questions are an important starting point for future end-of-life research within Greater Manchester.

Investigating antecedent factors to job performance: Contemporary evidence from government supply management professionals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chengedzai Mafini

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Purpose: The purpose of the study was to investigate the influence of transformational leadership, organisational citizenship behaviour and quality of work life on job performance amongst supply management professionals employed by the South African government. Rationale: The depressed job performance of supply management professionals in the South African government presents an impetus to generate new empirical information on the subject in order to find solutions. Methodology: A quantitative survey approach was followed using a sample of 264 supply management professionals employed in the South African government and were based in Gauteng Province. A Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA was conducted to assess psychometric properties of the measurement instrument. Hypotheses were tested using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM. Findings: Transformational leadership had positive and significant relationships with organisational citizenship behaviour and quality of work life. Quality of work life exerted a greater influence of job performance than organisational citizenship behaviour. Value of research: The study provides current evidence of the influence of transformational leadership on organisational citizenship behaviour and quality of work life, as well as the influence of organisational citizenship behaviour and quality of work life on job performance amongst supply management professionals. Conclusion: Transformational leadership has a positive influence on organisational citizenship behaviour and quality of work life amongst supply management professionals in the government. Both organisational citizenship behaviour and quality of work life exerta positive influence on the job performance of supply management professionals in the government. Future studies should be extended to other professional cohorts in both the private and the government sectors.

The Effects of the Sleep Quality of 112 Emergency Health Workers in Kayseri, Turkey on Their Professional Life.

Science.gov (United States)

Senol, Vesile; Soyuer, Ferhan; Guleser, Gulsum Nihal; Argun, Mahmut; Avsarogullari, Levent

2014-12-01

Sleep adequacy is one of the major determinants of a successful professional life. The aim of this study is to determine the sleep quality of emergency health workers and analyze its effects on their professional and social lives. The study was carried out on 121 voluntary emergency health workers in 112 Emergency Aid Stations in Kayseri, Turkey, in 2011. The data was collected through the Socio-Demographics Form and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and analyzed via SPSS 18.00. The statistical analysis involved percentage and frequency distributions, mean±standard deviations, a chi-square test, correlations, and logistic regression analysis. The mean score of the participants according to the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index was 4.14±3.09, and 28.9% of participants had poor sleep quality. Being single and being a woman accounted for 11% (p=0.009, 95% CI: 0.111-0.726) and 7% (p=0.003, 95% CI: 0.065-0.564) of poor sleep quality respectively. There was a positive correlation between sleep quality scores and negative effects on professional and social life activities. Negative effects on professional activities included increased loss of attention and concentration (40.0%, p=0,016), increased failure to take emergency actions (57.9%, p=0.001), reduced motivation (46.2%, p=0.004), reduced performance (41.4%, p=0.024), and low work efficiency (48.1%, p=0.008). Poor sleep quality generally negatively affected the daily life of the workers (51.6%, p=0.004), restricted their social life activities (45.7%, p=0.034), and caused them to experience communication difficulties (34.7%, p=0.229). One third of the emergency health workers had poor sleep quality and experienced high levels of sleep deficiency. Being a woman and being single were the most important factors in low sleep quality. Poor sleep quality continuously affected daily life and professional life negatively by leading to a serious level of fatigue, loss of attention-concentration, and low levels of

Work Stress among Professionals in Building Construction Industry in Nigeria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eziyi Offia Ibem

2011-09-01

Full Text Available This study was undertaken to identify key stress factors among professionals in building construction industry in Nigeria. This is in view of the fact that to date, very little is known about work stress among professionals in building construction industry in this country. The study involved the administration of questionnaire to 107 professionals including architects, builders, civil/structural engineers and quantity surveyors randomly selected from 60 ongoing building projects in Anambra, Ogun and Kaduna States, Nigeria. The data was analysed using descriptive statistics, and findings show that the principal sources of stress were high volume of work, uncomfortable site office environment, lack of feedback on previous and ongoing building projects, and variations in the scope of work in ongoing building projects. The paper suggests that taking responsibility for work which one has adequate capacity to handle, establishing realistic budgets and time frame for project delivery, provision of spatially adequate, visually and thermally comfortable site offices, adoption of appropriate job design practice and education of professionals on stress management strategies will reduce the incidence of stress among professionals in building industry in Nigeria.

Work Stress among Professionals in Building Construction Industry in Nigeria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eziyi Offia Ibem

2011-09-01

Full Text Available This study was undertaken to identify key stress factors among professionals in building construction industry in Nigeria. This is in view of the fact that to date, very little is known about work stress among professionals in building construction industry in this country. The study involved the administration of questionnaire to 107 professionals including architects, builders, civil/structural engineers and quantity surveyors randomly selected from 60 ongoing building projects in Anambra, Ogun and Kaduna States, Nigeria. The data was analysed using descriptive statistics, and findings show that the principal sources of stress were high volume of work, uncomfortable site office environment, lack of feedback on previous and ongoing building projects, and variations in the scope of work in ongoing building projects. The paper suggests that taking responsibility for work which one has adequate capacity to handle, establishing realistic budgets and time frame for project delivery, provision of spatially adequate, visually and thermally comfortable site offices, adoption of appropriate job design practice and education of professionals on stress management strategies will reduce the incidence of stress among professionals in building industry in Nigeria. 

Working time, satisfaction and work life balance: A European perspective

OpenAIRE

Humpert, Stephan

2014-01-01

This paper analyses gender-specific differences in working time mismatches by using three different measures for representing satisfaction and work life balance. Results show that, while male satisfaction with life or work is in general not affected by working for more or less hours, over-time is found to significantly lower male work life balance. Women are more sensitive to the amount of working hours as they prefer part-time employment and they are dissatisfied with changes ...

Organizational-professional conflict of I/O psychologists, job satisfaction and work engagement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mladenović Branko

2015-01-01

Full Text Available organizational-professional conflict occurs among employees in situations when organizational expectations and demands are opposed to the professional principles and standards. The results of studies have shown that this conflict negatively affects employees' attitude towards the job and affective-motivational state of fulfilment with work role. The purpose of this research was to examine exposure to organizational-professional conflict among I/O psychologists in Serbia, to find out whether there is a correlation between the exposure to organizational-professional conflict, job satisfaction and work engagement, and to determine the main factors of exposure to organizational-professional conflict. Our sample consisted of 96 I/O psychologists. Results have shown that there was significant high negative correlation between the exposure to organizational-professional conflict and job satisfaction, as well as significant moderate negative correlation between the exposure to organizational-professional conflict and work engagement. The highest correlations were with social dimensions of job satisfaction. The exposure to organizational-professional conflict was lower among I/O psychologists with longer work experience and those at higher positions in organizational hierarchy. The exposure to organizational-professional conflict was higher among I/O psychologists who were working in privately owned companies and among those who were fixed-term employees. There was no significant correlation between the exposure to organizational-professional conflict and the size of the organization or business field. Our study showed that organizational-professional conflict should be considered as an important theoretical and research topic, as well as a relevant professional and career issue.

End-of-life training for paid carers working with people with learning disabilities.

Science.gov (United States)

Codling, Mary; Knowles, Jane; Vevers, Ann

2014-04-01

People with learning disabilities are living longer lives. Over the past few years, research has explored the needs of people with learning disabilities, their families and learning disability professionals in relation to end-of-life care and death. However, little is known about the needs of paid carers and their experience of end-of-life care. This article discusses the development, implementation and evaluation of a study day about end-of-life care that was delivered to paid carers on two separate occasions in Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. A total of 43 paid carers attended and the days were well evaluated. The need for further training for paid carers who work with people with learning disabilities at the end of life was highlighted.

Perceived Stress and Professional Quality of Life in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Nurses in Gujarat, India.

Science.gov (United States)

Amin, Amee A; Vankar, Jagdish R; Nimbalkar, Somashekhar M; Phatak, Ajay G

2015-11-01

To study the levels of perceived stress in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) nurses and its association with professional quality of life domains viz. compassion satisfaction, burnout and secondary trauma. In this multicenter, cross sectional study, data was collected by surveying 129 nurses from nine NICUs across six cities of Gujarat, India using demographic questionnaire, Perceived Stress Scale (PSS14) and Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL5) during July to September 2013. Descriptive statistics, correlation coefficient and multiple regression were used for analysis. The mean (SD) age of participants was 28.37 (8.20) y. Most were single, satisfied with salary benefits and reported 'good' to 'excellent' relationships at work. The mean (SD) duration of duty hours was 8.12 (0.76) h and 43.6% were attending to more than 4 patients/shift. The mean (SD) perceived stress level was 22.19 (7.17) [Range: 3 to 39]. High compassion satisfaction, high burnout, and high secondary traumatic stress were reported by 25 (19.4%), 30 (23.3%) and 30 (23.3%) nurses respectively. PSS14 was negatively correlated with compassion satisfaction (r = -0.28) and positively correlated with burnout (r = 0.43) and secondary traumatic stress (r = 0.24). Most of the nurses (91, 70.5%) were identified as perceiving moderate to high stress. Professional quality of life domains correlated with perceived stress. There is further need to study domains influencing NICU nurses' professional QOL. Identifying stress and QOL issues in NICU nurses can help formulate relevant policies.

Graduate Students' Perceptions of Professional Power in Social Work Practice

Science.gov (United States)

Bundy-Fazioli, Kimberly; Quijano, Louise M.; Bubar, Roe

2013-01-01

The study of ways that professional power is perceived in social work practice is limited. This exploratory qualitative study analyzes second-year MSW students' perceptions of professional power in social work practice. This inquiry is guided by social constructivism and symbolic interactionism perspectives. The authors used constant comparison…

Recession and Work-Life Balance Initiatives

OpenAIRE

Pranav Naithani

2010-01-01

Over the last six decades work-life balance emerged as an important human resource management aspect for employers. Globally, a wide gamut of work-life balance facilities is being provided by a large number of organisations. The recent economic downturn has witnessed a sudden interruption in the spread and growth of work-life balance facilities at the organisational level. This paper presents the key recessionary reasons which have negatively influenced employee work-life balance. Further, im...

Working part-time: achieving a successful 'work-life' balance?

Science.gov (United States)

Warren, Tracey

2004-03-01

The role of part-time employment in the balancing of women's employment and family lives has generated an immense literature. Using data on women working part-time and full-time in different level occupations in the British Household Panel Survey, this paper argues that it is now vital to move these balancing debates on from their location within work-family rhetoric and to re-position the study of women's working time in broader work-life discussions. Work-family debates tend to neglect a number of key domains that women balance in their lives, in addition to family and employment, including their financial security and their leisure. The paper shows that examining the financial situations and the leisure lives of female part-timers in lower level jobs reveals a less positive picture of their 'life balancing' than is portrayed in much work-family literature. Instead, they emerged as the least financially secure employees and, linked to this, less satisfied with their social lives too. It is concluded that since the work-life system is multi- and not just two-dimensional, it is important to examine how all life domains interrelate with each other. In this way, we would be in a better position to begin to assess all the benefits and disadvantages associated with working part-time and with other work-life balancing strategies.

Meaning in Work Life

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ravn, Ib

meaningful is still lacking (Harpaz & Fu, 2002), as are definitions of key terms. Here, I define meaning as the experience that something fits into a wider context or coheres within a larger whole.     I conceptualize meaning in work life as deriving from four factors, each of which helps us contribute...... to something larger than ourselves (Seligman, 2002) through our work. Thus, a person experiences meaning in work life when she... A. is able to use her signature strengths at work (Peterson and Seligman, 2004), B. makes an important contribution to the workplace (Drucker, 1999), C. participates in a productive...

Flexible working and work-life balance: Midwives’ experiences and views

OpenAIRE

Prowse, Julie; Prowse, Peter

2015-01-01

This article presents midwives’ views and experiences of flexible working and work–life balance. Both flexible working and work–life balance are important contemporary agendas within midwifery and can have both positive and negative consequences for midwives. Full-time midwives and those without caring commitments feel disadvantaged by flexible working and work–life balance policies as they have to fit when they work around part-time midwives and are increasingly expected to cover extra work....

Flexible work in call centres: Working hours, work-life conflict & health.

Science.gov (United States)

Bohle, Philip; Willaby, Harold; Quinlan, Michael; McNamara, Maria

2011-01-01

Call-centre workers encounter major psychosocial pressures, including high work intensity and undesirable working hours. Little is known, however, about whether these pressures vary with employment status and how they affect work-life conflict and health. Questionnaire data were collected from 179 telephone operators in Sydney, Australia, of whom 124 (69.3%) were female and 54 (30.2%) were male. Ninety-three (52%) were permanent full-time workers, 37 (20.7%) were permanent part-time, and 49 (27.4%) were casual employees. Hypothesised structural relationships between employment status, working hours and work organisation, work-life conflict and health were tested using partial least squares modelling in PLS (Chin, 1998). The final model demonstrated satisfactory fit. It supported important elements of the hypothesised structure, although four of the proposed paths failed to reach significance and the fit was enhanced by adding a path. The final model indicated that casual workers reported more variable working hours which were relatively weakly associated with greater dissatisfaction with hours. The interaction of schedule control and variability of hours also predicted dissatisfaction with hours. Conversely, permanent workers reported greater work intensity, which was associated with both lower work schedule control and greater work-life conflict. Greater work-life conflict was associated with more fatigue and psychological symptoms. Labour market factors and the undesirability of longer hours in a stressful, high-intensity work environment appear to have contributed to the results. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

The Quality of Working Life.

Science.gov (United States)

Burke, Ronald J.

1979-01-01

Defines the concept "quality of working life," why interest in this has increased, and why guidance counselors and students should understand it. Quality of working life means more than job satisfaction or flexible working hours. It helps guidance teachers understand attitudes and expectations of students embarking on their first job.…

Inner and Outer Life at Work. The Roots and Horizon of Psychoanalytically Informed Work Life Research

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lundgaard Andersen, Linda

2013-01-01

identities, conflicts, organisational and societal structuration. Against this background the accounts and conceptualisations of work life involving people to people interactions offered by psychodynamic theories and methods take up a pivotal position. Psychoanalytic organisational and work life research...... of personalised competences and work investments in welfare services, the transformation from subject-object relationships to subject-subject relationships and the emergence of the "learning organisations" and reflexive leadership. All of this has been the subject of critical analyses tracing modern work life...... position and German psychoanalytic social psychology in order to situate and identify how to understand the inner and outer life at work – in a generic display of concepts, methods and epistemology....

Managing work-life balance of working mothers

OpenAIRE

2014-01-01

M.Comm. (Business Management) Changes in the corporate landscape and an increase in female participation rates in corporate workforces necessitate a better understanding of female career paths and how organisations can accommodate them better. The purpose of this study is to identify the most appropriate work-life balance benefits organisations can offer to female employees to assist them in achieving greater work-life balance. The study further aims to identify learning and development op...

Nordic Working Life Research - Continuity and Renewal

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hvid, Helge Søndergaard; Bergholm, Tapio; Gonäs, Lena

2011-01-01

Working life research does not have clear boundaries; however its focus is quite clear: Changes in working life and how these changes affect qualifications, health, occupations, innovation, the economy, identity, social orientation and culture. The density of working life research is quite high...... in the Nordic countries, and this research has always been involved in the development of the Nordic welfare societies in which the development of work has been one important factor. In this article working life research is presented in its historical contexts, emphasizing the welfare challenges to which...... the research has been related. The challenges and tensions related to the research are not presented as being simply internal to the research work, they also reflect challenges and tensions in working life and institutions that are supposed to support working life. Current controversies in working life...

Giving birth to death.Life professionals managing the bereavement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José Manuel Hernández Garre

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The aim of the study was to investigate the main representations, experiences and coping strategies developed by health professionals involved in perinatal bereavement care. A qualitative and phenomenological approach was used conducting a series of semi-structured interviews to professionals of different categories of obstetric areas of three public hospitals in the region of Murcia. The stories talk about of professionals trained for the life they have to face death, talk about of a lack of institutional training to the professionals react drawing on the experience, empathy or self-taught. They talk about painful situations that are experienced by clinicians with hints of tragedy, speak of care directed to the psychological management of mourning, talks about the transition from coping models duels based on avoidance and emotional detachment to others centered on the verbalization of experience and contact with the stillborn.

[Quality of working life and burnout among nursing staff in Intensive Care Units].

Science.gov (United States)

Schmidt, Denise Rodrigues Costa; Paladini, Márcia; Biato, Cleonice; Pais, Juliana Domingues; Oliveira, Adelaine Rodrigues

2013-01-01

This descriptive-correlational and cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate the quality of working life (QWL) and the presence of burnout among nursing professionals working at Intensive Care Units. The sample was composed of 53 nursing professionals from a university hospital located in the city of Londrina-PR, Brazil. Three instruments were used for data collection: socio-demographic and professional characterization, Visual Analogue Scale for QWL and Maslach Burnout Inventory. Data was collected from April to August, 2009. Among the participants, most were auxiliary nurses (52.8%), women (66.0%) and married (67.9%). The average age was of 42.4 years. Regarding assessment of QWL, the average score obtained for the total sample was 71.1 (SD=15.5), showing that workers were satisfied with their QWL. The average for Emotional Exhaustion, Depersonalization and Personal Accomplishment dimensions was 11.4 (SD=7.7), 4.6 (SD=4.1) and 25.0 (SD=5.9), respectively. The QWL for the total sample showed significant association only with Emotional Exhaustion (p=0.000).

Explanatory factors of Work-Life Balance and time management leading to the well being in the vision of paranaian accountants1

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stella Maris Lima Altoé

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Recently, work-life balance has been focus of debates that aim to approach on the integration between the different domains work and family. The discussions seek to reduce the role conflicts inherent in these spheres. In certain professions, due to the intense work, one observes the intensification of the conflicts of roles. This fact shows that the accounting profession presents specific demands in certain periods, so the professional is overwhelmed with tasks and needs to manage his time properly. Thus, the study aims to identify which are the factors that explain the perception of accountants from Paraná regarding their work-life balance and time management. Through an online survey, from the research instrument adapted from the study of Wong and Ko (2009, 267 registered registries in the state of Paraná answered the questionnaire. To analyze the data, we used descriptive statistics and factor analysis. From the factor analysis technique, three factors were identified as explanatory of work-life balance: (1 work support; (2 commitment to work; and (3 commitment to family and personal aspects. In addition to the three work-life balance factors identified, time management was considered. The results of this research are in line with the findings of Wong and Ko (2009. As a scientific contribution, this study enables relevant discussions on aspects related to the quality of life and the performance of accounting professionals.

Managing work life with systemic sclerosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Sandqvist, Gunnel; Hesselstrand, Roger; Scheja, Agneta; Håkansson, Carita

2012-02-01

To explore how individuals with SSc manage their work life. We conducted four focus group interviews, which included 17 patients currently working at least 20 h per week. The interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. The transcribed texts were analysed according to thematic content analysis. Relevant statements that generated preliminary categories were identified, after which themes and underlying subthemes were generated. The participants perceived their work role as being important, giving them a structure in everyday life and a sense of being useful members of society. Work and private life were interacting, and different adjustments had been developed to create a satisfactory balance of activities in daily life. Three themes emerged: adjustment of work situation, adapting to own resources and disclosing limitations. Reduced working hours, flexibility in the workplace concerning time schedule, room and tasks were all valuable adjustments, and were dependent on the employer, fellow workers as well as the individual's attitude towards informing employer and colleagues about his/her limitations. The participants had simplified and rationalized a lot of household chores and pointed to the importance of prioritizing meaningful activities, as well as the necessity of having time for rest and recovery. Reduced working hours, work flexibility and prioritizing meaningful activities and recovery were important factors in order to manage work life. Intervention, including problem-solving techniques and re-designing of activities in daily life, could be useful to coach individuals towards finding a balance in their work life.

Work addiction and quality of life: a study with physicians.

Science.gov (United States)

Azevedo, Walter Fernandes de; Mathias, Lígia Andrade da Silva Telles

2017-01-01

To evaluate the quality of life of physicians and investigate to what extent it is affected by work addiction. This is an exploratory, descriptive and cross-sectional study, conducted with 1,110 physicians. For data collection, we used a questionnaire with sociodemographic information, the World Health Organization Quality of Life BREF, and the Work Addiction Scale. Most physicians presented high quality of life. Female participants presented lower quality of life in the domains psychologic, environment and general (plife was negatively correlated with the number of shifts (pwork, the lower the quality of life. The research allowed understanding the implications of work addiction in the quality of life. Further studies are required to support the development of strategies that improve health conditions and quality of life of medical professionals. Avaliar a qualidade de vida de médicos e investigar em que medida a adição ao trabalho a afeta. Trata-se de um estudo exploratório, descritivo e transversal, realizado com 1.110 médicos. Para coleta de dados, optou-se por utilizar um questionário contendo informações sociodemográficas, bem como aplicar o instrumento World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF e a Escala de Adição ao Trabalho. Os médicos, em sua maioria, apresentaram alta qualidade de vida. Os participantes do sexo feminino tiveram menor qualidade de vida em relação aos homens nos domínios psicológico, meio ambiente e geral (p<0,05). A qualidade de vida correlacionou-se negativamente com o número de plantões (p<0,005), e quanto maior a adição ao trabalho, menor a qualidade de vida. A pesquisa permitiu o conhecimento das implicações da adição ao trabalho sobre a qualidade de vida. Novos estudos são necessários para subsidiar a elaboração de estratégias que melhorem a saúde e a qualidade de vida do profissional médico.

Work-life balance and welfare.

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, Lois; Young, Greg

2017-04-01

An online survey and focus groups were conducted, providing qualitative information on the work-life balance of psychiatrists and trainees in Australasia. An invitation to participate in an anonymous online welfare survey was emailed to all the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists trainees, Fellows, and Affiliates. Following this, nine focus groups were held across Australia and New Zealand. Responses received were thematically analysed. The emergent patterns are presented in this report. Our research suggests that work-life balance can be subjectively and objectively measured. There are phases of good and bad work-life balance, depending on stage of career and other commitments. Work-life balance may be an indicator of the health of individuals and organisations. Due to its complexity, with intrinsic and extrinsic factors involved, solutions are unlikely to be simple. Further studies are needed to substantiate our findings.

Inner and Outer Life at Work. The Roots and Horizon of Psychoanalytically Informed Work Life Research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Linda Lundgaard Andersen

2012-09-01

Full Text Available The modern labour market has increasingly put the inner working life on the agenda. This stems from a number of societal changes: the knowledge society and its need of personalised competences and work investments in welfare services, the transformation from subject-object relationships to subject-subject relationships and the emergence of the "learning organisations" and reflexive leadership. All of this has been the subject of critical analyses tracing modern work life identities, conflicts, organisational and societal structuration. Against this background the accounts and conceptualisations of work life involving people to people interactions offered by psychodynamic theories and methods take up a pivotal position. Psychoanalytic organisational and work life research explores how work, organisations and individuals are affected by psychic dynamics, the influence of the unconscious in the forms of human development and interaction situated in a societal context. Based on this substantial work I draw upon two influential psychoanalytical positions—the British Tavistock position and German psychoanalytic social psychology in order to situate and identify how to understand the inner and outer life at work—in a generic display of concepts, methods and epistemology. URN: http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs1203232

A delicate balance? : a study of work-life conflicts, work-life enrichment, and worklife balance among management consultants in Norway

OpenAIRE

Nabong, Tristán; Trønnes, Hannah

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study is to identify the relationship among work-life balance, work-life enrichment, and work-life conflict by looking into the status, condition, and experiences of management consultants in Norway. The need to develop methods to achieve an optimal balance between employees’ productivity, work habits and personal life has sparked numerous studies investigating work-life balance in recent years. Because very few previous studies have dealt with work-life balance in the man...

Does work/life balance depend on where and how you work?

OpenAIRE

Kinman, G; McDowall, A

2009-01-01

This article reports on a symposium presented in EAWOP, 2009 that examined work-life balance issues in different occupational contexts. During a global recession where developing work-life balance policies may not be considered organizational priorities; we argue that the need for systematic research into work-life balance has never been greater. The findings of the four papers included in the symposium suggest that work-life balance initiatives that are firmly grounded in workplace context a...

[Analysis of relationships between perimenopausal symptoms and professional functioning and life satisfaction--Subjective perception of the dependence in women aged 40+].

Science.gov (United States)

Nowakowska, Iwona; Rasińska, Renata; Głowacka, Maria Danuta

2015-01-01

The aim of the study was to analyse and present the opinions of women in perimenopause on subjectively perceived symptoms characteristic of the climacteric period, and connected with their professional functioning, as well as to evaluate the effects of selected variables on the incidence and severity of these symptoms and the women's life satisfaction. The study included 250 professionally active women in perimenopausal age (40-57 years). The study used the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) to evaluate life satisfaction of women and the Kupperman Index (KI) as quantitative and qualitative self-assessment of climacteric symptoms. The authors also used a questionnaire of their own design that contains an index of defined symptoms of perimenopause, which warrants the use of Pareto-Lorenz analysis. The obtained results prove the presence of statistically significant correlations between the occurrence and severity of menopausal symptoms and the place of enployment (p=0.04912), gynecological care (p=0.00325), hormone replacement therapy (HRT) (p=0.01523) and assessment of life satisfaction (p=0.0325). Among the symptoms particularly influencing effective professional functioning, women pointed out hot flashes, irritability, reduced concentration and coordination, sleep disturbances, and increased sweating. There is a statistically significant correlation between the woman's place of employment, gynecological care, HRT, the evaluation of life satisfaction and the severity of perimenopausal symptoms. A set of symptoms whose presence and severity influence the sense of life satisfaction and evaluation of professional functioning was observed. Among the most frequently reported symptoms that exert an adverse effect on professional functioning of women are: hot flushes, irritability, reduced concentration and coordination, sleep disturbances, and increased sweating. This work is available in Open Access model and licensed under a CC BY-NC 3.0 PL license.

An empirical study of work and family life spheres and emergence of work-life balance initiatives under uncertain economic scenario.

OpenAIRE

Naithani, Pranav

2009-01-01

In the last six decades, work life and family life spheres of employees have undergone various changes. This paper presents an empirical study of major factors which have influenced employee work-life balance and popular work-life balance tools initiated at organisational level to help an employee balance different life segments such as work, family, personal finances, career and health. Current work-life balance approach, tools and programmes at organisational level primarily address those i...

An empirical study of work and family life spheres and emergence of work-life balance initiatives under uncertain economic scenario

OpenAIRE

Naithani, Pranav; Jha, A.N.

2009-01-01

In the last six decades, work life and family life spheres of employees have undergone various changes. This paper presents an empirical study of major factors which have influenced employee work-life balance and popular work-life balance tools initiated at organisational level to help an employee balance different life segments such as work, family, personal finances, career and health. Current work-life balance approach, tools and programmes at organisational level primarily address those i...

Policy on professional support in return-to-work: Occupational health professionals' experiences in a Canadian setting.

Science.gov (United States)

Maiwald, Karin; Meershoek, Agnes; de Rijk, Angelique; Nijhuis, Frans J N

2015-01-01

In Canada and other countries, sickness-based absences among workers is an economic and sociological problem. Return-to-work (RTW) policy developed by both employer and worker' representatives (that is, bipartite policy) is preferred to tackle this problem. The intent was to examine how this bipartite agreed-upon RTW policy works from the perspective of occupational health professionals (those who deliver RTW services to workers with temporary or permanent disabilities) in a public healthcare organization in Canada. In-depth interviews were held with 9 occupational health professionals and transcribed verbatim. A qualitative, social constructivist, analysis was completed. The occupational health professionals experienced four main problems: 1) timing and content of physicians' medical advice cannot be trusted as a basis for RTW plans; 2) legal status of the plans and thus needing workers' consent and managers' approval can create tension, conflict and delays; 3) limited input and thus little fruitful inference in transdisciplinary meetings at the workplace; and yet 4) the professionals can be called to account for plans. Bipartite representation in developing RTW policy does not entirely delete bottlenecks in executing the policy. Occupational health professionals should be offered more influence and their professionalism needs to be enhanced.

The work environment disability-adjusted life year for use with life cycle assessment: a methodological approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Scanlon, Kelly A; Gray, George M; Francis, Royce A; Lloyd, Shannon M; LaPuma, Peter

2013-03-06

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a systems-based method used to determine potential impacts to the environment associated with a product throughout its life cycle. Conclusions from LCA studies can be applied to support decisions regarding product design or public policy, therefore, all relevant inputs (e.g., raw materials, energy) and outputs (e.g., emissions, waste) to the product system should be evaluated to estimate impacts. Currently, work-related impacts are not routinely considered in LCA. The objectives of this paper are: 1) introduce the work environment disability-adjusted life year (WE-DALY), one portion of a characterization factor used to express the magnitude of impacts to human health attributable to work-related exposures to workplace hazards; 2) outline the methods for calculating the WE-DALY; 3) demonstrate the calculation; and 4) highlight strengths and weaknesses of the methodological approach. The concept of the WE-DALY and the methodological approach to its calculation is grounded in the World Health Organization's disability-adjusted life year (DALY). Like the DALY, the WE-DALY equation considers the years of life lost due to premature mortality and the years of life lived with disability outcomes to estimate the total number of years of healthy life lost in a population. The equation requires input in the form of the number of fatal and nonfatal injuries and illnesses that occur in the industries relevant to the product system evaluated in the LCA study, the age of the worker at the time of the fatal or nonfatal injury or illness, the severity of the injury or illness, and the duration of time lived with the outcomes of the injury or illness. The methodological approach for the WE-DALY requires data from various sources, multi-step instructions to determine each variable used in the WE-DALY equation, and assumptions based on professional opinion. Results support the use of the WE-DALY in a characterization factor in LCA. Integrating

Precarious employment, working hours, work-life conflict and health in hotel work.

Science.gov (United States)

McNamara, Maria; Bohle, Philip; Quinlan, Michael

2011-01-01

Precarious or temporary work is associated with adverse outcomes including low control over working hours, work-life conflict and stress. The rise in precarious employment is most marked in the service sector but little research has been done on its health effects in this sector. This study compares permanent and temporary workers in the hotel industry, where working hours are highly variable. Survey data from 150 workers from eight 3-Star hotels in urban and regional areas around Sydney were analyzed. Forty-five per cent were male and 52 per cent were female. Fifty four per cent were permanent full-time and 46 per cent were temporary workers. The effects of employment status on perceived job security, control over working hours, and work-life conflict are investigated using PLS-Graph 3.0. The effects of control over working hours, on work-life conflict and subsequent health outcomes are also explored. Temporary workers perceived themselves as less in control of their working hours, than permanent workers (β = .27). However, they also reported lower levels of work intensity (β = .25) and working hours (β = .38). The effects of low hours control (β = .20), work intensity (β = .29), and excessive hours (β = .39) on work-life conflict (r² = .50), and subsequent health effects (r² = .30), are illustrated in the final structural equation model. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

Interdisciplinary Work in Schools

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tofteng, Ditte Maria Børglum; Rasmussen, Gitte Lyng

In a Danish school or institutional context there is a variety of professionals working around children’s lives, both as a part of an ordinary child life and when there are cognitive or social challenges connected to this life. Thus, the professionals are often working closely together in both......, combined with their more formal organizational affiliation. In this way, professionals can be working directly within the school or institution, or they can be in a supportive role being formally affiliated to the local council. Both these types of affiliations entail interdisciplinary cooperation......, interdisciplinary work is part of the new vision of how welfare systems can work more effectively and successfully, and in this logic, it is framed as a new standard for working systematically and consistently with cases. Hence, interdisciplinary work also represents a meaningful way of working with cases...

THE INFLUENCE OF STRESS CONNECTED WITH PROFESSIONAL WORK ON THE OCCURRENCE OF BURNOUT SYNDROME IN NURSES WORKING IN SURGICAL AND MEDICAL TREATMENT WARDS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Grażyna Nowak-Starz

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Nursing is one of the professions where chronic stress is an inseparable characteristic and stems from the very nature of the profession itself. The job of a nurse involves particular mental burdens. The source of these is another person, one who has most often found themselves in an extreme situation. A nurse carries out her/his duties in a state of strong and long-lasting emotional strain. Inappropriate coping with stress and a lack of support from others in difficult situations leads to the development of burnout syndrome. This syndrome not only lowers, to a great extent, the quality of performed work but also prevents nurses from further professional development. Aims : The aim of the following paper is to evaluate the influence of stress connected with the professional work of a nurse on the occurrence of burnout syndrome. Material and methodology : Research was conducted on a group of 103 nurses working at eight hospital wards (surgical and medical treatment at the District Hospital in Lipsko. The research tool was a questionnaire of the author’s own devise, which contained 34 questions. Results : Among the examined nurses, 90% concluded that their professional work has a negative impact on their family life and they pointed to their own occupational burnout. Nurses who carried negative emotions over from work to their homes significantly more often showed a lack of satisfaction from their job and signs of occupational burnout. A substantial percentage of the participants considered shift-work and the professional position held to be a detrimental factor in the process of occupational burnout. Conclusion : The nurses were to a large extent exposed to mental burdens having a negative impact on their work. The vast majority of the respondents felt satisfaction from their job but a significant percentage of the respondents admitted to suffering from symptoms of chronic stress and exhaustion, which may indicate a lack of any support from co

Work and personal life boundary management: boundary strength, work/personal life balance, and the segmentation-integration continuum.

Science.gov (United States)

Bulger, Carrie A; Matthews, Russell A; Hoffman, Mark E

2007-10-01

While researchers are increasingly interested in understanding the boundaries surrounding the work and personal life domains, few have tested the propositions set forth by theory. Boundary theory proposes that individuals manage the boundaries between work and personal life through processes of segmenting and/or integrating the domains. The authors investigated boundary management profiles of 332 workers in an investigation of the segmentation-integration continuum. Cluster analysis indicated consistent clusters of boundary management practices related to varying segmentation and integration of the work and personal life domains. But, the authors suggest that the segmentation-integration continuum may be more complicated. Results also indicated relationships between boundary management practices and work-personal life interference and work-personal life enhancement. Less flexible and more permeable boundaries were related to more interference, while more flexible and more permeable boundaries were related to more enhancement.

Perspectives on Nordic Working Life Research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jan Ch. Karlsson

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Welcome to this Thematic Issue on Perspectives on Nordic Working Life Research! It is perhaps not that surprising that a journal called Nordic Journal of Working Life Studies contains many discussions about “Nordic Models”: What is the Nordic Welfare State Model? What has happened to it lately? Is there still one? Has there ever been one? What about the Nordic Industrial Relations Model—is it on its way to be abandoned? And the Nordic Labor Market Model? Or the Nordic Work Environment Model? In contrast, in the Thematic Issue part of this issue of NJWLS Nordic working life research itself is discussed. Editing the issue has led me to some (selfcritical reflections on Nordic working life research—or perhaps rather reflections on the self-image of Nordic working life researchers. We often say that two of the cornerstones of Nordic working life research are the assumption that there is a positive correlation between employee autonomy at work and higher productivity, and that our research tradition is different from those found in other geographical areas (and, implicitly, probably better. Being part of the Nordic tradition, I too have claimed both, but I now think both needs to be qualified and critically discussed. Or rather, the first needs to be qualified and the consequences of the other critically evaluated (...

Work-related stress, work/life balance and personal life coaching.

Science.gov (United States)

Hawksley, Barbara

2007-01-01

Work-related stress adversely affects personal performance, organizational efficiency and patient care as well as costing the NHS millions of pounds each year. Reducing the effects of work-related stress is a legal duty for all employers. There are a number of resources available to help both employees and employers, such as the Health and Safety Executive stress management standards. Personal life coaching is one approach to reducing work-related stress, which is well established amongst business and management executives as well as some public sector organizations.

Practicing Professional Values: Factors Influencing Involvement in Social Work Student Organizations

Science.gov (United States)

Martindale, Dorothy; Olate, René; Anderson, Keith A.

2017-01-01

One of the most promising avenues for the development of professional values is involvement in professional student organizations. A convenience sample of baccalaureate social work students (n = 482) was drawn from 15 institutions. Regression analyses revealed several predictors of involvement in social work student organizations, including…

To work or not to work in an extended working life?

OpenAIRE

Nilsson, Kerstin

2013-01-01

In most of the industrialised world, the proportion of older and retired people in the population is continuously increasing. This will have budgetary implications for maintaining the welfare state, because the active working section of the population must fund the non-active and old population. Aim: The overall aim of this thesis was to obtain knowledge about older workers’ work and life situation in association with their planning and decision to retire from working life. Method: Th...

Impact of shift work on sleep and daytime performance among health care professionals

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Sultan M. Alshahrani

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Objectives: To evaluate sleep quality and daytime sleepiness in health care professionals who are performing shift work. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 510 health care professionals at Prince Sultan Military Medical City and King Khalid University Hospital, King Saud University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia between December 2015 and April 2016. Data were collected using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS. Participants were divided into 2 groups: shift workers and non-shift workers. Results: We compared both groups regarding the effect of shift work on the total score of PSQI and ESS. We found that the PSQI global score (p less than 0.001 and the total ESS score (p=0.003 were significantly higher in shift work health care professionals. Conclusion: Shift work among health care professionals is associated with poor sleep quality but not excessive daytime sleepiness. Health care professionals performing shift work have PSQI and ESS scores slightly higher than non-shift work health professionals.

Impact of shift work on sleep and daytime performance among health care professionals.

Science.gov (United States)

Alshahrani, Sultan M; Baqays, Abdulsalam A; Alenazi, Abdelelah A; AlAngari, Abdulaziz M; AlHadi, Ahmad N

2017-08-01

To evaluate sleep quality and daytime sleepiness in health care professionals who are performing shift work. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 510 health care professionals at Prince Sultan Military Medical City and King Khalid University Hospital, King Saud University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia between December 2015 and April 2016. Data were collected using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). Participants were divided into 2 groups: shift workers and non-shift workers. Results: We compared both groups regarding the effect of shift work on the total score of PSQI and ESS. We found that the PSQI global score (p less than 0.001) and the total ESS score (p=0.003) were significantly higher in shift work health care professionals.  Conclusion: Shift work among health care professionals is associated with poor sleep quality but not excessive daytime sleepiness. Health care professionals performing shift work have PSQI and ESS scores slightly higher than non-shift work health professionals.

Living the academic life: A model for work-family conflict.

Science.gov (United States)

Beigi, Mina; Shirmohammadi, Melika; Kim, Sehoon

2015-01-01

Work-family conflict (WFC) is an inter-role conflict, which suggests that fulfilling expectations of family roles makes it difficult to satisfy expectations of work roles, and vice versa. Living an academic life includes balancing multiple work demands and family responsibilities, which may generate WFC for many faculty members. Researchers have emphasized the need for further studies of how faculty integrate work and family demands. This study explores WFC among Iranian faculty. We examine relationships among work hours, time spent with family, work-interference with family (WIF), family-interference with work (FIW), and job satisfaction. Faculty members from 25 Iranian public universities completed a questionnaire. Structural equation modeling was used to test hypotheses in a single model. Findings suggest a positive relationship between faculty weekly work hours and WIF, and between time spent with family and FIW. WIF correlated negatively with job satisfaction, and work hours correlated positively with job satisfaction. Time spent with family and FIW had no influence on job satisfaction, and spouse employment moderated the relationship between WIF and job satisfaction. Findings have implications for human resources and organizational development professionals seeking insight into how faculty members and other knowledge workers experience work-family interrelationships.

Work - life balance u studentů

OpenAIRE

Fesslová, Tereza Anežka

2017-01-01

This bachelor thesis is focused on the importance of work-life balance, which means balance between work and life. The aim of this thesis is to find out current status of satisfaction with work-life balance for students of universities. In the theoretical part is explained the concept of work-life balance and another concepts related to this topic. The focus is drawn on four individual parts of human life, where people must be able to allocate their time. The practical part is devoted to char...

Qualidade de Vida no Trabalho dos Profissionais de Enfermagem que atuam no Período Noturno em um Hospital Escola do Sul de Minas Gerais / Quality of Life at Work of the Nursing Professionals who work on the night shift in a Teaching Hospital in the Sout

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andréia Aparecida dos Santos

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Objetivo: Esta pesquisa teve como objetivo conhecer as características pessoais e profissionais da equipe de enfermagem que atua no período noturno Hospital Escola, bem como identificar a sua Qualidade de Vida no trabalho. Materiais e Métodos: Trata-se de uma pesquisa de campo de natureza quantitativa, descritiva e transversal. A amostra foi constituída por 74 profissionais da equipe de enfermagem que concordaram de participar do estudo. Foi utilizado um questionário para Caracterização Pessoal e Profissional e um Instrumento de Qualidade de Vida no Trabalho da Equipe de Enfermagem. Resultados: os resultados demonstraram a prevalência do gênero feminino (83,78%; com faixa etária dos 21 a 30 anos de idade (35% e estado civil, na metade da amostra, casada (50%, com o escore total de 11,7 (média = 10 pontos na escala de Qualidade de Vida. Conclusão: A equipe de enfermagem que atua no período noturno no Hospital pesquisado é constituída, por jovens, na sua maioria, do gênero feminino e com Qualidade de Vida no Trabalho. Objective: This research aimed to know the personal characteristics and nursing staff of professionals working at night at the Teaching Hospital, as well as identifying its quality of life at work. Materials and Methods: It is a quantitative, descriptive, cross sectional research. The sample consisted of 74 professionals of the nursing staff who agreed to participate. A questionnaire for characterization and Career and Life Quality at Work Instrument of Nursing Team was used. Results: the results showed the prevalence of females (83.78%, with ages from 21 to 30 years old (35% and marital status, in half of the sample, married (50%, with the total score of 11, 7 (mean = 10 points in the Quality of Life scale. Conclusion: The nursing staff that works at night in mentioned hospital is made of young, mostly female people that have Quality of Life at Work.

Development and Working Life – Work for Welfare

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hvid, Helge; Hasle, Peter

A study of a large number of company cases with focus on development of both production and working life. A number of management oriented concepts as well as employee oriented concepts for development are analysed.......A study of a large number of company cases with focus on development of both production and working life. A number of management oriented concepts as well as employee oriented concepts for development are analysed....

COOPERATIVE LEARNING AS A MEANS OF STIMULATING LIFE SKILLS IN PROFESSIONALLY-BIASED FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING

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Alexander Komarov

2016-02-01

Full Text Available The article is devoted to the contribution of foreign language learning to stimulating students’ life skills at non-linguistic higher institutions. In the article, the author considers the possibilities of motivating students to exercise life skills in the process of foreign language instruction. The author analyses the cooperative learning technology as a means that enables students to be involved into interaction with one another as well as it develops their team-building skills to successfully cooperate and communicate with each other. The author describes different forms of cooperative leaning, which give students an opportunity to mutually enrich and complement each other’s skills in foreign language learning. The author argues that cooperative learning technology stimulates the students’ existent life skills and makes them work in the process of professionally-biased instruction of a foreign language.

Work and Life Balance: Community College Occupational Deans

Science.gov (United States)

Bailey, Jean M.

2008-01-01

This article focuses on work and life balance from a community college occupational dean perspective. It addresses definitions and concepts of work life and the nature of the role of occupational dean. The themes from this study include the use of time both at work and away from work, work/life crossover, perception of work/life, and work/life…

Reconceptualizing the understanding of professional knowledge in day care work in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schmidt, Camilla

Re conceptualizing the understanding of professional knowledge in day care work As development of children’s competences increasingly sets the agenda for what counts as professional practice in day care, there is a risk that the majority of everyday practices become invisible, unnoticed and regar...... of departure in participative research conducted in day care institutions for 0-6 year olds, focusing on reconceptualizing pedagogical knowledge and paying attention to interrelations in every day practices.......Re conceptualizing the understanding of professional knowledge in day care work As development of children’s competences increasingly sets the agenda for what counts as professional practice in day care, there is a risk that the majority of everyday practices become invisible, unnoticed...... and regarded as unimportant in professional knowledge. Hence we lose sight of unique learning arenas for developing professional knowledge in day care work, and the everyday practices and routines are not considered to be in need for reflection and attention. The proposed presentation takes its’ point...

[The conflict between work and private life and its relationship with burnout - results of a physician survey in breast cancer centers in North Rhine-Westphalia].

Science.gov (United States)

Nitzsche, A; Driller, E; Kowalski, C; Ansmann, L; Pfaff, H

2013-05-01

This study investigates the conflict between work and private life (work-life conflict and life-work conflict) and its relationship with burnout among physicians in breast cancer centers in North Rhine-Westphalia (n=378). With regard to the construct burnout, we differentiated between the 3 subscales emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and personal accomplishment of the Maslach burnout inventory. In a structural equation model it was seen that above all the work-life conflict is positively associated with emotional exhaustion whereas the life-work conflict has a stronger positive correlation with depersonalisation and a negative relationship with personal accomplishment. Altogether, the results emphasise the importance of a successful interaction between professional work and private life ("work-life balance") for the health of medical personnel. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

What is the veterinary professional identity? Preliminary findings from web-based continuing professional development in veterinary professionalism.

Science.gov (United States)

Armitage-Chan, E; Maddison, J; May, S A

2016-03-26

Professionalism and professional skills are increasingly being incorporated into veterinary curricula; however, lack of clarity in defining veterinary professionalism presents a potential challenge for directing course outcomes that are of benefit to the veterinary professional. An online continuing education course in veterinary professionalism was designed to address a deficit in postgraduate support in this area; as part of this course, delegates of varying practice backgrounds participated in online discussions reflecting on the implications of professional skills for their clinical practice. The discussions surrounding the role of the veterinary professional and reflecting on strengths and weaknesses in professional skills were analysed using narrative methodology, which provided an understanding of the defining skills and attributes of the veterinary professional, from the perspectives of those involved (i.e. how vets understood their own career identity). The veterinary surgeon was understood to be an interprofessional team member, who makes clinical decisions in the face of competing stakeholder needs and works in a complex environment comprising multiple and diverse challenges (stress, high emotions, financial issues, work-life balance). It was identified that strategies for accepting fallibility, and those necessary for establishing reasonable expectations of professional behaviour and clinical ability, are poorly developed. British Veterinary Association.

WORK / LIFE BALANCE REFLECTIONS ON EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Selvarani

2011-03-01

Full Text Available The aim of this research is to analyze the relationship between employee satisfaction andwork/life balance. The construct used for this research consists of career opportunity, recognition,work tasks, payments, benefits, superior subordinate relationship, employee satisfaction, andwork/life balance. The study was conducted on a total of 210 respondents working in IT organization.This study makes a contribution to join two distinct research streams, namely employee satisfaction,and work/life balance. Findings suggest that high correlation exists between work task and employeesatisfaction with a mediator variable namely work-life balance.

Social work in oncology-managing vicarious trauma-the positive impact of professional supervision.

Science.gov (United States)

Joubert, Lynette; Hocking, Alison; Hampson, Ralph

2013-01-01

This exploratory study focused on the experience and management of vicarious trauma in a team of social workers (N = 16) at a specialist cancer hospital in Melbourne. Respondents completed the Traumatic Stress Institute Belief Scale (TSIBS), the Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL), and participated in four focus groups. The results from the TSIBS and the ProQol scales confirm that there is a stress associated with the social work role within a cancer service, as demonstrated by the high scores related to stress. However at the same time the results indicated a high level of satisfaction which acted as a mitigating factor. The study also highlighted the importance of supervision and management support. A model for clinical social work supervision is proposed to reduce the risks associated with vicarious trauma.

Professional quality of life, wellness education, and coping strategies among emergency physicians.

Science.gov (United States)

El-Shafei, Dalia A; Abdelsalam, Amira E; Hammam, Rehab A M; Elgohary, Hayam

2018-03-01

Professional quality of life (ProQOL) is affected by and affects professional well-being and performance. The objectives of this study are to identify risk factors of ProQOL among EM physicians in Zagazig University hospitals (ZUHs), to detect the relationship between ProQOL and coping strategies, and to measure the implication of the Worksite Wellness Education (WWE) program on improving knowledge skills, ProQOL, and coping. An intervention study was conducted among 108 EM physicians at ZUHs through two stages: assessing ProQOL subscales (CS, BO, and STS) and coping strategies and conducting the WWE program. A pre-post-test design was used in the evaluation. CS was higher among the older age group, smokers, nighttime sleepers, and hobbies' practitioners. Coping strategies carried out by EM physicians to overcome stress and their ProQOL scores were improved significantly post program. ProQOL has multiple factors that affect it. Applying the WWE program will address this concept and may raise awareness about how to cope with work stressors.

Lower extremity osteoarthritis is associated with lower health-related quality of life among retired professional footballers.

Science.gov (United States)

Gouttebarge, Vincent; Aoki, Haruhito; Kerkhoffs, Gino M M J

2018-03-15

The objective of the current study was to explore whether retired professional footballers suffering from lower extremity OA have a lower health-related quality of life than those without OA or current professional footballers. An observational study based on a cross-sectional design by means of questionnaires was conducted. Participants were retired and current professional footballers recruited by the World Players' Union (FIFPro). Information about lower extremity OA (clinically diagnosed by a medical professional) was gathered, while health-related quality of life (Global Physical Health and Global Mental Health scores) was assessed through a validated scale. A total of 396 retired and 361 current professional footballers were included in the analyses (response rate of 54%). The group of retired professional footballers was on average 36 years old, and they had competed in professional football for 11 years (retired for 5 years). The group of current professional footballers was on average 25 years old, and they had been active in professional football for 7 years. Within the group of retired professional footballers, prevalence of lower extremity OA was 33%. Both Global Physical Health and Global Mental Health scores among retired professional footballers with lower extremity OA were significantly lower than among retired players without OA and current players, but these scores were nearly similar to the norm for the general population (regardless the presence of OA or not). Health-related quality of life among retired professional footballers with lower extremity OA was significantly lower than among retired players without OA and current players but nearly similar to the norm for the general population (regardless the presence of OA or not). A rational recommendation is that a support measure such as the After Career Consultation should be introduced among retired professional footballers in order to empower their sustainable health and quality of life

Why work-life balance now?

OpenAIRE

Fleetwood, Steve

2006-01-01

In the vast literature on work-life balance one question remains seriously under-elaborated: Why now? The paper opens by recognising that flexible working practices can be employee friendly or employer friendly, and that current employer friendly practices tend to constrain, rather than enable, possibilities for work-life balance. Part two introduces neoliberalism, interpreting it as a new class strategy: the iron fist of a renewed ruling class offensive is wrapped in the velvet glove of free...

Healthcare professionals' work engagement in Finnish university hospitals.

Science.gov (United States)

Lepistö, Sari; Alanen, Seija; Aalto, Pirjo; Järvinen, Päivi; Leino, Kaija; Mattila, Elina; Kaunonen, Marja

2017-10-10

Concerns about the sufficiency and dedication of the healthcare workforce have arisen as the baby boomer generation is retiring and the generation Y might have different working environment demands. To describe the association between work engagement of healthcare professionals' and its background factors at five Finnish university hospitals. Survey data were collected from nurses, physicians and administrative staff (n = 561) at all five university hospitals in Finland. Data were collected using an electronic questionnaire that comprised the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (9 items) and 13 questions regarding the respondents' backgrounds. Descriptive and correlational analyses were used to examine the data. Most respondents were female (85%) and nursing staff (72%). Baby boomers (49%) were the largest generational cohort. The work engagement composite mean for the total sample was 5.0, indicating high work engagement. Significant differences in work engagement existed only among sex and age groups. The highest work engagement scores were among administrative staff. Work engagement among healthcare professionals in Finnish university hospitals is high. High work engagement might be explained by suitable job resources and challenges, as well as opportunities provided by a frontline care environment. Attention should especially be paid to meeting the needs of young people entering the workforce to strengthen their dedication and absorption. © 2017 Nordic College of Caring Science.

Work-Life-Balance in der Unternehmenspraxis

OpenAIRE

Beile, Judith; Jahnz, Sebastian

2007-01-01

Um die Frage zu beantworten, welche Maßnahmen einer Work-Life-Balance von Unternehmen im einzelnen umgesetzt werden, berichten die Autoren aus einschlägigen Studien der Hertie-Stiftung, des Instituts der deutschen Wirtschaft und einer eigenen Unternehmensbefragung. Sie skizzieren zunächst die Ziele, Chancen und Risiken von Work-Life-Balance als Personal- und Führungskonzept sowie als Wettbewerbsstrategie. Sie erörtern ferner die Frage, ob durch die Implementation von Work-Life-Balance bestehe...

Professional Burnout in European Young Oncologists

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Banerjee, Sutanuka; Califano, R; Corral, Javier

2017-01-01

≤40 (YOs). Methods: A survey was conducted using the validated Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and additional questions exploring work/lifestyle factors. Statistical analyses were performed to identify factors associated with burnout. Results: 737 surveys (all ages) were collected from 41 European......Background: Burnout in health care professionals could have serious negative consequences on quality of patient care, professional satisfaction and personal life. Our aim was to investigate the burnout prevalence, work and lifestyle factors potentially affecting burnout amongst European oncologists...... = 0.0001 ) and low accomplishment was highest in the 26-30 age group ( p work/life balance, access to support services, living alone and inadequate vacation time remained independent burnout factors ( p 

Nursing work hours: individual needs versus working conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Silva, Amanda Aparecida; Rotenberg, Lúcia; Fischer, Frida Marina

2011-12-01

To assess factors associated with professional and total hours of work (work + home) among nursing staff. Cross-sectional study conducted in a university hospital in the city of São Paulo, southeastern Brazil, between 2004 and 2005. A total of 696 workers (nurses, nurse technicians and aids), mostly women (87.8%) working day and/or night shifts, participated in the study. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collected information on demographic characteristics, and working and life conditions. Translated and adapted into Portuguese versions of the Job Stress Scale, Effort-reward imbalance, Short-Form-Health-related quality of life and the Work Ability Index were also administered. Logistic regression models were used for data analysis. Sole breadwinner, working night shifts and effort-reward imbalance were the variables associated with both professional (OR = 3.38, OR = 10.43, OR = 2.07, respectively) and total hours of work (OR = 1.57, OR = 3.37, OR = 2.75, respectively). There was no significant association between the variables related to hours of work and low Work Ability Index. Inadequate rest at home was statistically associated with professional (OR = 2.47) and total hours of work (OR = 1.48). Inadequate leisure time was significantly associated with professional hours of work (OR = 1.58) and barely associated with total hours of work (OR = 1.43). The sole breadwinner, working night shifts and effort-reward imbalance are variables that need to be further investigated in studies on work hours among nursing staff. These studies should explore workers' income and the relationship between effort and reward, taking into consideration gender issues.

"I have the right to a private life": medical students' views about professionalism in a digital world.

Science.gov (United States)

Ross, Shelley; Lai, Krista; Walton, Jennifer M; Kirwan, Paul; White, Jonathan S

2013-10-01

Social media site use is ubiquitous, particularly Facebook. Postings on social media can have an impact on the perceived professionalism of students and practitioners. In this study, we explored the attitudes and understanding of undergraduate medical students towards professionalism, with a specific focus on online behaviour. A volunteer sample of students (n = 236) responded to an online survey about understanding of professionalism and perceptions of professionalism in online environments. Respondents were encouraged to provide free text examples and to elaborate on their responses through free text comments. Descriptive analyzes and emergent themes analysis were carried out. Respondents were nearly unanimous on most questions of professionalism in the workplace, while 43% felt that students should act professionally at all times (including free time). Sixty-four free text comments revealed three themes: "free time is private time";" professionalism is unrealistic as a way of life"; and "professionalism should be a way of life". Our findings indicate a disconnect between what students report of what they understand of professionalism, and what students feel is appropriate and inappropriate in both online and real life behaviour. Curriculum needs to target understanding of professionalism in online and real environments and communicate realistic expectations for students.

Self-management support at the end of life: Patients', carers' and professionals' perspectives on managing medicines.

Science.gov (United States)

Campling, N; Richardson, A; Mulvey, M; Bennett, M; Johnston, B; Latter, S

2017-11-01

side-effects, led to a complex web of roles and behaviours, varying day by day, if not hour by hour. Data confirmed previously proposed professional roles were enacted to support self-management. Furthermore, as patients, carers and clinical nurse specialists worked together to achieve effective pain management, they enacted and inter-acted in the roles of advocate, educator, facilitator, problem solver, communicator, goal setter, monitor and reporter. The study has demonstrated what self-management support at end of life entails and how it is enacted in practice. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Self-assessment of professional development at work.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Evers, Arnoud

2018-01-01

Short discussion: What is professional development/learning at work and why is it relevant? • Filling in the questionnaire • Compare your own numbers to mean scores of teachers in the Netherlands • Focus group discussion about need for adjustment of the questions in the US context

Surgeons' work engagement: influencing factors and relations to job and life satisfaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Mache, Stefanie; Vitzthum, Karin; Klapp, Burghard F; Danzer, Gerhard

2014-08-01

Work engagement has become a topic of great interest in recent years. However, clinicians' work engagement has rarely been studied and relatively little is known about its predictors and consequences. Therefore the objective of this cross-sectional questionnaire study was to test a model of possible institutional and personal predictors and significant relations to job and life satisfaction. 123 clinicians specializing in Surgery Medicine participated in the study. Self-administered questionnaires, including the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire, the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, the Brief Resilient Coping Scale and the Questionnaire for Self-efficacy, Optimism and Pessimism, were administered. Bivariate analyses and a stepwise regression analysis were performed. The whole sample of surgeons rated work engagement with a high mean of M = 4.38; SD = .91. Job satisfaction and perceived quality of life have been rated with moderate scores. The results show that job resources have a greater impact on surgeons' work engagement than their job demands. Significant correlations between surgeons' work engagement, their job satisfaction and quality of life were found. Moreover, work engagement mediated the relation between institutional factors and surgeons' job satisfaction. Our research suggests that strengthening surgeons' work engagement will contribute to a more sustainable workplace, in terms of both individual and hospital performance. Therefore, increasing work engagement among surgeons should be of concern for supervisors and hospital managers. Future research should focus on further predictors that may have an influence on health professionals' work engagement. Another field for future research is to study potential effects of interventions on work engagement. Copyright © 2013 Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (Scottish charity number SC005317) and Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Inaugural Editorial - Modern working life and inclusion

OpenAIRE

Vinberg, Stig

2012-01-01

Working life occupies a considerable part of life for most people and is therefore of great importance to public health. Besides work environment factors, employment conditions and the possibilty to balance work and leisure are of importance to individual health. Working environment conditions and the health of individuals are also important issues for the development and growth of organizations and regions. Health in working life is therefore a special target in several European and Swedish ...

Workplace violence against nurses in Korea and its impact on professional quality of life and turnover intention.

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Seung-Hye; Lee, Haeyoung

2017-10-01

To inform countermeasures against nurses' workplace violence by reviewing the experience of violence. Violence is an important issue in medical settings that influences turnover intention of nurses. However, few studies have dealt with the effects of violence experienced by nurses on professional quality of life and turnover intention. A descriptive study using a structured questionnaire and data were analysed using t-test, one-way anova and hierarchical multiple regression analysis. Of 358 nurses 95.5% reported that they had experienced workplace violence during the previous 1 year. Findings indicated that turnover intention was positively associated with years worked as a nurse, functional nursing delivery system, exposure types of violence with physical threats, and mild or severe burnout. Nurses experienced diverse workplace violence, which could decrease their professional quality of life and be a factor affecting their turnover intention. Role of leadership in creating a positive work environment is needed. Prevention of workplace violence should focus on at-risk groups to reduce workplace violence. Workplace violence should be communicated regularly and feedback should be given if there is unintentional non-physical violence. In particular it is important to investigate post-violence management in nurses who have experienced violence to reduce secondary trauma. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The role of work-family enrichment in work-life balance & career success

OpenAIRE

Shah, Shalaka Sharad

2014-01-01

The issue of work-life balance is becoming increasingly important for employers and employees globally. The clearer becomes our understanding about this issue; the better it will be for an effective and positive integration of these dynamic domains of our lives. Work-family enrichment is a positive way of integrating work and family and it helps to achieve work-life balance. In this Indo-German study, work-life balance, work-family enrichment, work-family culture and career success are analys...

Working hours and Work-Life Balance Satisfaction in Couples

OpenAIRE

Nathalie Georges; Dominique Méda; Danièle Trancart

2010-01-01

Over the past several years, many studies have highlighted the strategic nature of working hours, the way they are determined, their regularity and their predictability to judge the qualities of a job and how family life and work life are reconciled. Our results confirm those obtained by previous studies and clarify them, while also showing that both the working hours of the persons questioned and those of their spouse constitute a central variable. We will first review the results from the a...

The effects of positive versus negative impact reflection on change in job performance and work-life conflict.

Science.gov (United States)

Cardador, M Teresa

2014-01-01

Research on task significance and relational job design suggests that information from beneficiaries of one's work fosters perceptions of impact, and thus improved work outcomes. This paper presents results from a longitudinal field experiment examining the effect of another strategy for fostering perceptions of impact - engaging employees in regular reflection about how their work benefits others. With a sample of professionals from multiple organizations, this longitudinal study examined the effect on job performance and work-life conflict of both positive and negative impact reflection. Results show that negative impact reflection had a pronounced negative effect on job performance, but no effect on work-life conflict. Positive impact reflection had a weak positive effect on work-life conflict, but no significant effect on job performance. The direction of effects seen in the no intervention condition mirrored that of the negative impact reflection condition, suggesting a possible buffering effect for positive impact reflection. This research provides empirical and theoretical contributions to the literatures on relational job design and task significance.

Associations of professional quality of life and social support with health in clinical nurses.

Science.gov (United States)

Fu, Chia-Yun; Yang, Mei-Sang; Leung, Wan; Liu, Yea-Ying; Huang, Hui-Wen; Wang, Ruey-Hsia

2018-03-01

To explore the associations of the professional quality of life and social support with health in nurses. Physical and mental health may be associated with absence from work among nurses. Few studies have explored the associations of professional quality of life and social support on the physical and mental health of nurses. This was a cross-sectional study. In total, 294 nurses were recruited from a hospital in Southern Taiwan. A self-report questionnaire was used to collect data. Burnout, secondary traumatic stress and social support from relatives or friends were important factors of physical and mental health. Interactions between support from relatives or friends and secondary traumatic stress are important factors in physical health. Reducing burnout and secondary traumatic stress is important for physical and mental health of nurses. Increasing social support from relatives or friends may be useful to reduce the negative effects of secondary traumatic stress on the physical health of nurses. Nurse managers could design interventions to reduce and prevent nurses from being influenced by burnout and secondary traumatic stress. Educating nurses to build effective social networks with relatives or friends and to seek support when experiencing secondary traumatic stress may also be needed. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Learning Strategies at Work and Professional Development

Science.gov (United States)

Haemer, Hannah Deborah; Borges-Andrade, Jairo Eduardo; Cassiano, Simone Kelli

2017-01-01

Purpose: This paper aims to investigate the prediction of current and evolutionary perceptions of professional development through five learning strategies at work and through training and how individual and job characteristics predict those strategies. Design/methodology/approach: Variables were measured in a cross-sectional survey, with 962…

Does Personal Distress Mediate the Effect of Mindfulness on Professional Quality of Life?

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Jacky T. Thomas

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Personal distress is an aspect of the empathy construct which has been negatively associated with a range of psychological and behavioral problems. However, it is unclear whether mindfulness serves to buffer these negative relationships. This study examines direct effects and mediation effects of personal distress and mindfulness among three measures of professional quality of life: compassion fatigue, burnout, and compassion satisfaction. This model was tested using a sample of clinical social workers (n = 171. Results indicated that higher personal distress is significantly associated with higher compassion fatigue and burnout and lower compassion satisfaction, while mindfulness is significantly associated with lower compassion fatigue and burnout and higher compassion satisfaction. Mediation analyses showed significant indirect effects on all three measures of professional quality of life, with effect sizes in the small to moderate range. The indirect effects of mindfulness via the personal distress path accounted for 14-22% of the total effect of mindfulness on the three measures of professional quality of life. Implications for the education and training of social workers are discussed.

Quality of working life of nurses in a tertiary cancer center in Qatar

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Santhirani Nagammal

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Background Nurses are the largest segment of professionals working in the healthcare industry, and a satisfactory quality of working life will empower them to provide the highest quality care to their patients. Aim To assess the quality of working life among nurses in a tertiary cancer care center in Qatar concerning the following variables; control at work, employee engagement, general well-being, home-work interface, job/career satisfaction, stress at work, and working conditions. Methods A cross-sectional, descriptive study was conducted to assess the QoWL among 146 Staff Nurses working in different units of a tertiary cancer center in Qatar. A Quality of Work life Scale, a seven-point Likert’s scale was used, were nurses self-reported their QoWL. Results The mean age of the study participants were 36.48 years ± 6.74, and mean total years of clinical experience in nursing and clinical experience at the center was 14.16 years and 7.65 years respectively. The majority (69.9% of the nurses who participated in the study were working in inpatient units. Around fifty-four percentage were graduate nurses. A vast majority (89.7% of the respondents were married and among them, 84.2% of nurses lived with their family. Nurses’ perception of the factors associated with QoWL including control and stress at work were found average, and others such as employee engagement, general well-being, homework interface, job/career satisfaction, working condition, and overall quality of work life were considered good. There was no statistically significant difference in the QoWL scores and participants’ characteristics (P>0.05. Conclusion The overall QoWL was found to be good for the Oncology Nurses working at a cancer center in Qatar. However, Nurses reported having varying degrees of stress at work. Nurses require highly specialized clinical competencies to accurately determine patients' states and predict and cope with difficulties that may occur during

Working-life - A paradox in Knowledge-Intensive Companies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ipsen, Christine

2004-01-01

A Working-Life Paradox in Knowledge Intensive Companies Keywords: Knowledge work, knowledge management, working-life, consulting companies. The purpose of this article is to identify the influence knowledge-work has on working life of the personnel in knowledge-intensive companies, more precisely...

Low skilled work, Work Life experiences and Learner identity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kondrup, Sissel

on an educational optimism not necessarily shared by the target groups . I therefore wanted to examine how an unskilled work life conditions the experience of a need for and possibility to participate in different kind of formal, informal and non-formal learning activities related to the job, and how...... this constitutes a certain learner identity. By conducting narrative interviews with 23 employees in 6 different small and medium sized private manufacturing companies in Denmark, I have focused on peoples work life stories, how they entered the labour marked, what kind of jobs and tasks they have undertaken, how...... their jobs have developed and how they have obtained the skills required in their jobs. I have thus examined the specific work life experiences of people working in unskilled jobs, most likely to be marginalised in a labour marked characterised by skill bias, and how these experiences constitutes a certain...

A Literature Review on Quality Teacher’s Working Life

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Ishak Siti Intan Diyana

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Quality of work life is becoming an imperative issue to achieve the goals of the organization in every sector whether it is education, tourism, service sector, manufacturing, banking sector and other. Quality of work life it about work environment, reward, organizational commitment, recognition, participative management, work life balance, welfare facilities, proper grievances handling, job satisfaction and other. High quality of work life can give a result in better organizational performance, effectiveness and innovativeness. Quality of work life also affects the social responsibility. This is because quality of work life can improves the family life as well as work life of the individual. This paper focuses and analyse the literature review on the quality of teacher work life.justified.

Ethical Considerations for Psychologists Taking a Public Stance on Controversial Issues: The Balance Between Personal and Professional Life.

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Haeny, Angela M

2014-07-01

Previous literature has documented the general issues psychologists often face while balancing their personal and professional lives. The struggle stems from attempting to satisfy the need to maintain a life outside of work while having the professional obligation to follow the American Psychological Association's (APA's) Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct (Ethics Code) to prevent their personal lives from interfering with their professional roles and relationships. The present paper analyzes the subject of psychologists taking a public position on controversial public issues. Although the APA Ethics Code does not restrict how psychologists conduct themselves during their personal time, taking a public stance on a controversial issue could potentially strain professional relationships and inadvertently reflect negatively on the profession. The present paper examines ethical issues that a) should be taken into account before psychologists take a public position on a controversial issue, and b) are in conflict with APA's Ethics Code or current research.

Ethical Considerations for Psychologists Taking a Public Stance on Controversial Issues: The Balance Between Personal and Professional Life

Science.gov (United States)

Haeny, Angela M.

2014-01-01

Previous literature has documented the general issues psychologists often face while balancing their personal and professional lives. The struggle stems from attempting to satisfy the need to maintain a life outside of work while having the professional obligation to follow the American Psychological Association’s (APA’s) Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct (Ethics Code) to prevent their personal lives from interfering with their professional roles and relationships. The present paper analyzes the subject of psychologists taking a public position on controversial public issues. Although the APA Ethics Code does not restrict how psychologists conduct themselves during their personal time, taking a public stance on a controversial issue could potentially strain professional relationships and inadvertently reflect negatively on the profession. The present paper examines ethical issues that a) should be taken into account before psychologists take a public position on a controversial issue, and b) are in conflict with APA’s Ethics Code or current research. PMID:25342876

Changes in Burnout and Satisfaction With Work-Life Balance in Physicians and the General US Working Population Between 2011 and 2014.

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Shanafelt, Tait D; Hasan, Omar; Dyrbye, Lotte N; Sinsky, Christine; Satele, Daniel; Sloan, Jeff; West, Colin P

2015-12-01

To evaluate the prevalence of burnout and satisfaction with work-life balance in physicians and US workers in 2014 relative to 2011. From August 28, 2014, to October 6, 2014, we surveyed both US physicians and a probability-based sample of the general US population using the methods and measures used in our 2011 study. Burnout was measured using validated metrics, and satisfaction with work-life balance was assessed using standard tools. Of the 35,922 physicians who received an invitation to participate, 6880 (19.2%) completed surveys. When assessed using the Maslach Burnout Inventory, 54.4% (n=3680) of the physicians reported at least 1 symptom of burnout in 2014 compared with 45.5% (n=3310) in 2011 (Pbalance also declined in physicians between 2011 and 2014 (48.5% vs 40.9%; Pbalance were observed by specialty. In contrast to the trends in physicians, minimal changes in burnout or satisfaction with work-life balance were observed between 2011 and 2014 in probability-based samples of working US adults, resulting in an increasing disparity in burnout and satisfaction with work-life balance in physicians relative to the general US working population. After pooled multivariate analysis adjusting for age, sex, relationship status, and hours worked per week, physicians remained at an increased risk of burnout (odds ratio, 1.97; 95% CI, 1.80-2.16; Pbalance (odds ratio, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.62-0.75; Pbalance in US physicians worsened from 2011 to 2014. More than half of US physicians are now experiencing professional burnout. Copyright © 2015 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Professional identity, career choices, and working conditions of future and young dentists in Germany - study design and methods of a nationwide comprehensive survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Kettler, Nele; Frenzel Baudisch, Nicolas; Micheelis, Wolfgang; Klingenberger, David; Jordan, A Rainer

2017-10-18

Little is known regarding young and future dentists' career choices, professional identity, and working conditions in Germany. While the dental healthcare environment and demands in treatment are changing, it remains unclear what job perceptions young dentists have developed at the beginning of their work life and if and how these perceptions change during the subsequent years. The aim of this study was to survey future and young dentists regarding their professional identity, planned career paths, and working conditions and strains to understand career decisions and choices and enable policy makers to include future dentists' views and expectations in their decisions. This study is a longitudinal nationwide survey over a time span of 4 years of dental students and young dentists in Germany and is comprised of three waves. The first wave focuses on dental students in their final year before the state examination and is composed of a qualitative pre-study in the form of focus groups and a quantitative main survey in the form of a questionnaire. The end points were established to analyse (1) the professional identity of the young future dentists; (2) their career paths, preparation for a career, and basic career conditions; and (3) perceived conditions and strains. The aim of the overall survey was to depict the development of these three aspects during the first years of work life. All of the questions were evaluated with a descriptive univariate analysis. The analysed subgroups were grouped according to gender, target working condition (employed/self-employed), and primary socialisation (parents dentists/parents not dentists). To our knowledge, this is the only study which focuses on career choices, professional identity, and working conditions of future and young dentists in Germany. The longitudinal observation provides information that is essential for professional and purposive dental health care planning, and to meet the oral health demands and needs of the

The life and work of Tomislav Rakićević

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Tasić Ana

2015-01-01

Full Text Available After the Second World War begins the rapid development of the scientific geography and climatology, the discipline whose pioneer was in the first half of XX century Pavle Vujević, attracts a number of researchers. Tomislav Rakićević, professor at the Faculty of Geography, University of Belgrade, has dedicated its researches to this discipline of physical geography throughout his career, giving it special focus since the 70’s with only occasional researches in his primarily field of hydrogeography. This paper concerns with the life and work of Tomislav Rakićević, his scientific development, professional engagement, researches, fields of interest, influences of his work, participation in various conventions but also with his pedagogical activities, devotion to bring science closer to the public and his work on the popularization of science. Among the honours he received, the “Jovan Cvijić” medal is of the special importance. The paper includes the comprehensive bibliography of published works after 1990, the first of its kind.

Islamic Work Ethics and Audit Opinions: Audit Professionalism and Dysfunctional

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Tulus Suryanto

2016-02-01

Full Text Available This study examines the relationship between Islamic work ethics and auditors' opinion, focusing on the aspects of audit professionalism and dysfunctional behavior  as intervening  variables. The research involved in Internal Auditors working of Islamic Banking industry in Sumatra Island. A questionnaire was used for data collection. The study represents the empirical test employing census sampling. The data collected were analysed using Amos.  The results of the study confirmed the three hypotheses examined: there is a positive corelation between Islamic work ethics and auditors' opinions; auditors’ professionalism is an intervening variable of the correlation between Islamic work ethics and auditors’ opinions and dysfunctional behavior is a negative intervening variable of the correlation between Islamic Work Ethics and auditors' opinionsDOI: 10.15408/aiq.v8i1.1864

Transformations of Professional Work in Psychiatric Health Care

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dybbroe, Betina

- effectiveness intertwine with a neo-liberal health policy of a “user- focus and user involvement”,that transforms psychiatric practice. Through the micro-sociological study of professionals working with patients in psychiatry, it is illuminated how patients/clients are objectified and left to care......In psychiatry in Denmark health and social care is being replaced by diagnostic categorisations and a more consumerized relation between the health professionals and patients as self- responsible citizens. Increasing medicalization and New Public Management reforms and standardization for cost...

Perspectives for research of the procrastination phenomenon in professional work

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Valentina V. Barabanshchikova

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The paper describes the current state of the procrastination phenomenon in professional work, reviews the basic unexplored aspects in this area, and highlights the promising areas of scientific analysis. The survey of the existing literature periodization shows that the quantity of researches devoted to procrastination is growing exponentially every year. In spite of a pronounced research interest in this construct, in native and foreign psychological science procrastination phenomenon in the professional work is represented insufficiently. Firstly, there is no common and generally accepted definition of procrastination (Corkin, Yu, Lindt, 2011; Steel, 2010; Krause, Freund, 2014, that suggests that there is a deep terminological crisis in this area. Secondly, the characteristic of delaying the implementation of the elements of workload is represented only by the example of a fairly narrow range of professional activities, which makes it relevant to study the specificity of the differentiated functioning of the phenomenon on the material of a wide range of professions. Thirdly, in psychology there are no information about the peculiarities of the so-called “active” procrastination manifestations in professional activity, which is the tendency of conscious assignments delaying to achieve the optimum final result (Chu, Choi, 2005; Choi, Moran, 2009. Fourthly, there is an acute shortage of standardized psychodiagnostic tools to evaluate this phenomenon in work (most of the existing methods have been tested on samples of students and are aimed at identifying academic procrastination. In the fifth place, there are no science-based allocation of methods of coping with destructive manifestations of the psychological strategy of the job functions postponement in a professional work.

Work process, performance and professional profile of a Hearing Health Network: reference for satisfaction.

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Escarce, Andrezza Gonzalez; Lemos, Stela Maris Aguiar; Carvalho, Sirley Alves da Silva

2016-01-01

To analyze the correlation between the satisfaction of professionals from the Hearing Health Care network in two micro-regions of Minas Gerais state and the sociodemographic profile, work process, and work performance in the health service. This is a cross-sectional, observational, analytic study with a non-probabilistic sample including 34 professionals from the Hearing Health Care services. Data collection occurred through individual interviews in the municipality of professional practice. Associations between the Professional Satisfaction variable and the explanatory variables Sociodemographic Data, Work Routine, and Developed Actions were conducted. Professionals with graduate studies were more satisfied with the human resources policy and the activities developed, whereas health civil servants showed more satisfaction with the wage policy and the work schedule. The correlation analysis between work process and satisfaction revealed a moderate positive correlation between items such as Health Promotion Actions, Satisfaction with Diagnostic Equipment, and Satisfaction with Maintenance Equipment. The present study revealed a higher level of satisfaction among professionals with graduate studies (human resources policy and activities developed) and civil servants (wage policy and work schedule). The relevance of this study lies on the important role that health professionals play on the Health Care Network. Additionally, the study of satisfaction level can provide a search for improvements, considering that satisfied professionals not only improve service quality, but also show greater creativity, commitment, and performance.

Calidad de Vida Profesional y Burnout en Técnicos de Drogodependencias: Análisis Comparativo con otros Grupos Profesionales Professional Life Quality and Burnout Among Substance Abuse Technicians: A Comparative Analysis with other Professional Groups

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Ignacio García Barquero

2009-12-01

' job satisfaction and well-being is related to its productivity and quality of work. In the case of drug dependence technicians, existing research about its professional quality of life is scarce, being this a group exposed to several job stressors linked to emotional workload, patients, work team, etc. Aim: The main purpose is to analyze the relationship between professional quality of life and burnout in drug dependence technicians, compared to other sanitary and no sanitary professionals groups. Material and method: A descriptive and cross-sectional study was carried out in a sample of 233. 33% (n =77 are workers of drug dependence sector, 79 subjects work at sanitary area, and the rest of the sample (n =77 are general working population. All participants completed anonymously the Professional Quality of Life Questionnaire and the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Results and conclusions: Drug dependence professionals showed lower professional quality of life scores and higher of burnout than other groups. Several aspects of professional quality of life such as workload, intrinsic motivation, and supervisor support showed a main effect on burnout, confirming its importance in preventing burnout.

Happiness, Work Engagement, and Perception of Organizational Support of Student Affairs Professionals

Science.gov (United States)

Hempfling, Michele Sheets

2015-01-01

Little research has been conducted on the work engagement, subjective happiness, or perceived organizational support of student affairs professionals. In this study, 299 professionals in the American College Personnel Association were surveyed utilizing the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, the Subjective Happiness Scale, and the Survey of Perceived…

Public sector austerity cuts in Britain and the changing discourse of work-life balance

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Lewis, Suzan; Anderson, Deirdre; Lyonette, Clare; Payne, Nicola; Wood, Stephen; ,

2017-01-01

The relative importance of economic and other motives for employers to provide support for work- life balance (WLB) is debated within different literatures. However, discourses of WLB can be sensitive to changing economic contexts. This article draws on in-depth interviews with senior HR professionals in British public sector organisations to examine shifting discourses of WLB in an austerity context. Three main discourses were identified: WLB practices as organisationally embedded amid finan...

Professional burnout and work stress among Israeli dental assistants.

Science.gov (United States)

Uziel, Nir; Meyerson, Joseph; Birenzweig, Yonatan; Eli, Ilana

2018-05-16

Professional burnout and work-related stress are known problems that have been the subject of in-depth examination among dentists. Nevertheless, these issues have not been widely studied among dental assistants. The aims of this study were threefold: to confirm the structure of a Work Stress Inventory (WSI) for Dental Assistants which was originally developed for Jordanian dental assistants (factor analysis); to evaluate work stress and burnout among Israeli dental assistants and to discover the factors predicting Israeli assistants' burnout (regression analyses). The Maslach Burnout Inventory and the WSI were distributed by mail and in person. Varimax factor analysis revealed that the items which contribute to different aspects of work stress are similar among both Jordanian and Israeli populations. Among the 299 Israeli dental assistants who completed the questionnaires, the most stressful work-related factors were income, workload, and work hazards. Eighteen percent of the participants exhibited a high to very high level of burnout. Participants exhibited a moderate level of emotional exhaustion (EE), low level of depersonalization (DP), and high level of personal accomplishment (PA). Most WSI factors were found to correlate positively with EE and DP. Linear stepwise regression analyses revealed that the best predictor of EE was the dentist‒assistant relationship, followed by workload, patient type, and salary. The best predictor of DP was patient suffering followed by dentist‒assistant relationship, years of professional experience, and work hazards. Professional stress and burnout among dental assistants are important factors that can possibly affect the wellbeing of both dental personnel and their patients. Further studies are necessary to better understand these factors in addition to the effects of personal relationships on burnout among dentists and their assistants.

The Challenge of Assessing Professional Competence in Work Integrated Learning

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McNamara, Judith

2013-01-01

A fundamental aspect of work integrated learning (WIL) is the development of professional competence, the ability of students to perform in the workplace. Alignment theory therefore suggests that the assessment of WIL should include an assessment of students' demonstration of professional competence in the workplace. The assessment of professional…

Relationships among the nurse work environment, self-nurturance and life satisfaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Nemcek, Mary Ann; James, Gary D

2007-08-01

This paper is a report of a study to (1) ascertain the relationship among self-nurturance, perceived Magnet features and life satisfaction and (2) evaluate the predictive effects of self-nurturance and Magnet features on life satisfaction. Promoting health is a global priority for nurses and for the public who depend upon them to provide quality care. Health gains can be realized by modifying the work environment and by modifying lifestyle choices (self-nurturance). A study of nurses that examined perceptions of workplace features that enable nurses' professional practice (Magnet features), self-nurturance and healthy outcomes (life satisfaction) was not found in the literature. Survey data collected in May 2003 from a convenience sample of 310 Registered Nurses were used for this descriptive, correlational study. Self-nurturing nurses were more satisfied with life and perceived that more Magnet features were present in the workplace. Nurses with a master's degree were more self-nurturing than nurses without a baccalaureate degree. The synergistic effect of both self-nurturance and workplace factors predicted 29% of variance in nurses' life satisfaction. Higher levels of perceived Magnet features and frequent self-nurturance choices are important health influences on nurses' life satisfaction. Greater life satisfaction is known to reduce job dissatisfaction while improving retention. Approaches that incorporate both self-nurturance and workplace Magnet features are suggested to improve the health and retention of experienced nurses.

The Work-Family Interface of Service Sector Workers : A Comparison of Work Resources and Professional Status across Five European Countries

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Beham, Barbara; Drobnic, Sonja; Praeg, Patrick

The present paper examines cross-national differences in the utilisation of work-family resources at the organisational level and the relationships between these resources and work-to-home interference (WHI) and satisfaction with work-family balance (SWFB) among professional and non-professional

Balancing Act: A View of Benefits and Work-Life Balance through the Eyes of Advancement Professionals

Science.gov (United States)

Collins, Mary Ellen

2011-01-01

People who choose careers in advancement know they're not entering a 9-to-5, 40-hours-a-week profession. Staffers juggle personal lives with their commitment to stressful jobs that involve travel, long hours, weekend events, and deadlines. Work-life balance means different things to different people, but flexibility seems to be a priority for…

Admonitory Behavioral Norms of Campus Housing and Residence Life Professionals

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Wilson, Maureen E.; Hirschy, Amy S.; Braxton, John M.

2016-01-01

To protect the welfare of students, staff, and other clients in housing and residence life (HRL), administrators must understand what behaviors are unacceptable. Professionals might make idiosyncratic and unconstrained decisions when there is no conduct code or set of informal rules. Informal rules may become norms comprising normative structures…

Work ability among hospital food service professionals: multiple associated variables require comprehensive intervention.

Science.gov (United States)

Fischer, Frida Marina; Martinez, Maria Carmen

2012-01-01

The work of hospital food service is characterized by demands that can be associated with work ability--WA. The aim of this study was to evaluate factors associated with WA among hospital food service professionals and recommend intervention measures. This is a cross sectional study carried out in 2009, conducted in a hospital of São Paulo, Brazil. Participants were 76 (96.2%) of the eligible. They filled out a questionnaire including socio-demographic data, life styles, working conditions and WA. Multivariate linear regression analyses were performed. Factors associated with WA were age (p = 0.051), over commitment (p = 0.011), effort-reward ratio (p = 0.002) and work injuries (p work injuries is consistent with the theoretical model that demonstrated that health status is the basis to maintain the WA. The association of effort-reward imbalance shows that issues related with work organization are relevant for these workers. The association of overcommittment suggests that workers recognize their responsibility with the therapeutic processes of patients. Results showed a number of features of different nature that should be taken into account when implementing measures to improve the WA, to be applied at different levels: individual, task and institutional.

Professional women "rebalancing" in retirement: Time, relationships, and body.

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Loe, Meika; Johnston, D Kay

2016-01-01

This is an interview-based study focused on how professional baby boomer women negotiate and narrate postretirement lives. This group came of age in the 1960s and represents a socially privileged segment of the baby boomer generation, a cohort that created new gendered pathways in employment. Today, these retired professional women are attempting to make sense of their multilayered complex and changing realities. In their accounts, the most salient themes are shifting identity, embodiment, and relationships. By using what we call a relational lens, we will show how many aspects of postretirement life, for these professional women, are mediated by changing relationships-relationships to time, work identity, friends and family, and body. Through these individual and relational contexts we see how female professional baby boomer retirees grapple with liberation and loss, autonomy and control, ongoing gendered work, and rebalancing in a new chapter of life. Perhaps most importantly, we see how learning about self in this stage of life, and perhaps across the life course, takes place largely in the context of relationships.

Assessment of work ability of health professionals in the mobile emergency unit.

Science.gov (United States)

Santos, Y; Porto, F; Marques, L; Tomaz, A; Toledo, R; Lucena, N

2012-01-01

Ergonomics is the study of a workplace and the worker. Its aim is to better adapt the workplace to man by preserving the body for short and long term work. This helps to adjust and improve functionality, thus preserving the body for short and long term work. It was through the observation of SAMU's (Mobile Emergency Unit) professional's helpers that the interest to evaluate these individuals arose. In addition, the aim of this research is to investigate the work ability of health professionals that work for SAMU/JP. The population was composed of 97 health professionals who currently work for SAMU/JP. A sociodemographic questionnaire was used as data collection instrument and it was validated by the index of the Work Ability (WAI). The research took place in 2010, in the headquarters of SAMU, in the city of João Pessoa, state of Paraíba - Brazil. The data analysis was carried out by simple descriptive statistics followed by comparison of the results with the pertinent literature. The quantity of daily sleeping hours, the levels of satisfaction in the job and the number of diagnosed diseases were among the most worrying factors. In spite of this, the health professionals obtained a work ability average considered to be "good".

The meaning of work and working life after cancer: an interview study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Dorte M; Elverdam, Beth

2008-01-01

BACKGROUND: Cancer survivors have diverse and complex patterns of return to work, but little attention has been given to individual experiences of returning to work. OBJECTIVES: To analyse the meaning of work and working life for cancer survivors over time. METHODS: Participant observation...... was carried out at a cancer rehabilitation centre. A total of 23 participants were interviewed twice. RESULTS: Cancer survivors try to get back to work after treatment and try to re-establish their former structure of everyday-life that is seen as a normal and healthy existence. Work contributes to creating...... the individual as a social being, partaking in social relations with others. Work plays a role in establishing the individual's identity. It is difficult for many to resume work. When they are unable to work, they establish new activities in everyday-life that give meaning to a life. In order to understand...

Copyright Law Basics for the Nursing Professional: Part 2: Protecting Your Work.

Science.gov (United States)

LaVelle, Meghan B; LaVelle, Beth Elchek; Port, Kenneth L; Sherlock, Jacob T

2016-01-01

This article is a continuation of the discussion of Copyright Law (found in JNPD 31:5) as it applies to nursing professionals. This part focuses on the definition of "work made for hire" and how nursing professional development specialists can both protect and share their own work. Many nurses assume that they own the works they create, but authorship is not necessarily the same as ownership. Misunderstanding copyrights could put one's job and hard work at risk!

In the Face of Conflict: Work-Life Conflict and Desired Work Hour Adjustments

Science.gov (United States)

Reynolds, Jeremy

2005-01-01

This study helps integrate the work-life and work hours literatures by examining competing predictions about the relationship between work-life conflict and the desire for paid work. Using data from the 1997 National Study of the Changing Workforce (N = 2,178), I find that work-life conflict makes women want to decrease the number of hours they…

[Striking the work-life balance].

Science.gov (United States)

Dumas, Marc

2014-11-01

Solutions for finding a satisfactory balance between home life and work lie in the organisation of work and the work environment. Line managers in particular have a key role to play in helping their staff maintain this balance.

Work–family balance of Indian women software professionals: A qualitative study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Reimara Valk

2011-03-01

Full Text Available One of the significant changes witnessed in the labour markets in India has been the entry of women IT professionals in the rapidly growing software services sector. As the women take on the role of working professional in addition to their traditional role of the homemaker, they are under great pressure to balance their work and personal lives. This study attempts to understand how work and family related factors influence the work–family balance of Indian women IT professionals. The study is based on an exploratory qualitative study of 13 women IT professionals in the software sector in Bangalore, India. The narratives reveal six major themes: familial influences on life choices; multi-role responsibilities and attempts to negotiate them; self and professional identity; work–life challenges and coping strategies; organisational policies and practices; and social support.

Professional Excellence Beyond Technical Competence

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Rossiter, Alan P

2008-01-01

The training path for engineers focuses intensely on scientific and technical knowledge. Yet, our professional and personal satisfaction and success also depend on other traits that make us more effective and productive. In this thought-provoking book, Alan Rossiter provides practical guidance in developing the skills to become more effective in your work, while also balancing your life. It is invaluable reading for graduating college students and young professionals as well as seasoned practitioners who find that work is becoming all-consuming.

Work-Life Balance Among Humanitarian Aid Workers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Visser, Miranda; Mills, Melinda; Heyse, Liesbet; Wittek, Rafael; Bollettino, Vincenzo

2016-01-01

A limited body of research has examined satisfaction with work-life balance of expatriate workers who live abroad, residing outside the typical family or life domain. This study aims to demonstrate how and under which organizational circumstances job autonomy can increase work-life balance

The meaning of work and working life after cancer: an interview study.

Science.gov (United States)

Rasmussen, Dorte M; Elverdam, Beth

2008-12-01

Cancer survivors have diverse and complex patterns of return to work, but little attention has been given to individual experiences of returning to work. To analyse the meaning of work and working life for cancer survivors over time. Participant observation was carried out at a cancer rehabilitation centre. A total of 23 participants were interviewed twice. Cancer survivors try to get back to work after treatment and try to re-establish their former structure of everyday-life that is seen as a normal and healthy existence. Work contributes to creating the individual as a social being, partaking in social relations with others. Work plays a role in establishing the individual's identity. It is difficult for many to resume work. When they are unable to work, they establish new activities in everyday-life that give meaning to a life. In order to understand the cultural meaning of work in capitalist society, we incorporate the theoretical perspective of Max Weber. Those who after cancer treatment are unable to work lose a part of their identity; they lose the personal challenge and satisfaction related to work. They are no longer part of the companionship related to work. Having had cancer means a disruption of the structure of everyday-life that is taken for granted. (c) 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Physiotherapists' stories about professional development.

Science.gov (United States)

Pettersson, Anna F; Bolander Laksov, Klara; Fjellström, Mona

2015-01-01

A professional career may extend over a period of 40 years. Although learning is a feature of professional competence, little is known about learning and development after professional entry education. Narrative inquiry was used to understand how physiotherapists learned and developed over time, and stories from a purposeful sample of 12 physiotherapists were collected. Stories were thematically analyzed with regard to key elements related to learning and development, and common themes were identified across stories. Four themes emerged from the analysis where physiotherapists learned and developed in working life: (1) facing challenges; (2) contrasting perspectives; (3) drawing on hundreds of educators; and (4) building on personal experience. Non-formal ways of learning in working life may help physiotherapists learn and develop confidence, communication strategies and different approaches to treatment. Besides reflection on personal experience and patient encounters, learning and development may be promoted and supported by taking on challenges and changing settings.

Constructing principals' professional identities through life stories: an exploration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jabulani Mpungose

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Adopting a humanistic perspective to the study of leadership, I discuss and describe how school principals adapt to their new roles, owing to the new education policies and educational restructuring within the South African Department of Education. The Life History approach was used to collect data from six selected school principals in KwaZulu-Natal. On the basis of the analysis of data, I conclude that leaders create their provisional selves and construct their professional identities from their personal and professional knowledge. Provisional selves, in this context, are temporary solutions principals use to close the gap between their current capacities and self-concepts, and the ideas they hold about what attitudes and behaviours are expected in their new roles.

Balancing life and work by unbending gender: Early American women psychologists' struggles and contributions.

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Johnston, Elizabeth; Johnson, Ann

2017-07-01

Women's participation in the work force shifted markedly throughout the twentieth century, from a low of 21 percent in 1900 to 59 percent in 1998. The influx of women into market work, particularly married women with children, put pressure on the ideology of domesticity: an ideal male worker in the outside market married to a woman taking care of children and home (Williams, 2000). Here, we examine some moments in the early-to-mid-twentieth century when female psychologists contested established norms of life-work balance premised on domesticity. In the 1920s, Ethel Puffer Howes, one of the first generation of American women psychologists studied by Scarborough and Furumoto (1987), challenged the waste of women's higher education represented by the denial of their interests outside of the confines of domesticity with pioneering applied research on communitarian solutions to life-work balance. Prominent second-generation psychologists, such as Leta Hollingworth, Lillian Gilbreth, and Florence Goodenough, sounded notes of dissent in a variety of forums in the interwar period. At mid-century, the exclusion of women psychologists from war work galvanized more organized efforts to address their status and life-work balance. Examination of the ensuing uneasy collaboration between psychologist and library scholar Alice Bryan and the influential male gatekeeper E. G. Boring documents gendered disparities in life-work balance and illuminates how the entrenched ideology of domesticity was sustained. We conclude with Jane Loevinger's mid-century challenge to domesticity and mother-blaming through her questioning of Boring's persistent focus on the need for job concentration in professional psychologists and development of a novel research focus on mothering. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

From "Work-Family" to "Work-Life": Broadening Our Conceptualization and Measurement

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Keeney, Jessica; Boyd, Elizabeth M.; Sinha, Ruchi; Westring, Alyssa F.; Ryan, Ann Marie

2013-01-01

Despite frequent reference to "work-life" issues in the organizational literature, little theoretical or empirical attention has been paid to nonwork areas beyond family. The purpose of the research described here is to move beyond work-family conflict to a broader conceptualization and measurement of work interference with life. A measure of work…

The Virtuous, Wise, and Knowledgeable Teacher: Living the Good Life as a Professional Practitioner

Science.gov (United States)

Campbell, Elizabeth

2013-01-01

In this essay, Elizabeth Campbell reviews three recent books that address the ethical nature of professional practice: "Knowledge and Virtue in Teaching and Learning: The Primacy of Dispositions," by Hugh Sockett; "The Good Life of Teaching: An Ethics of Professional Practice," by Chris Higgins; and "Towards Professional…

Organizational Sense: A Notion for Studying Emerging Organizational Professionalism at Work

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Gérald Gaglio

2014-03-01

Full Text Available This article examines organizational professionalism at work and in action. I focus on how organizational professionalism emerges in the workplace and what kinds of situated skills are involved. Organizational professionalism is explored in three dimensions (activity, politics, and ethics, from which the notion of organizational senseis developed. Organizational sense has three accepted meanings. The first accepted meaning relates to everydayness and ecologies of action. It has collective, material, and informational dimensions, and is distributed between people and objects. The second accepted meaning concerns the political dimension of performing a professional activity and its sensitivity (attentiveness, discernment, etc.. The third accepted meaning concerns ethics and examines loyalty toward an organization. The notion of organizational sense is illustrated by means of fieldwork with a population of internal communicators working in seven major French organizations. 

WORK / LIFE BALANCE REFLECTIONS ON EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION

OpenAIRE

Selvarani; Kamalanabhan; Sakthivel Rani

2011-01-01

The aim of this research is to analyze the relationship between employee satisfaction andwork/life balance. The construct used for this research consists of career opportunity, recognition,work tasks, payments, benefits, superior subordinate relationship, employee satisfaction, andwork/life balance. The study was conducted on a total of 210 respondents working in IT organization.This study makes a contribution to join two distinct research streams, namely employee satisfaction,and work/life b...

A set of professional working ability indicators of military operators

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Mykola Korchahin

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Purpose: determination of indicators of professional work capacity and their impact on the success of professional activity of military operators in the cycle of alert duty. Material & Methods: indicators of the professional capacity of military operators were determined through theoretical analysis, systematization and generalization of data from scientific and methodological sources, medical-biological, psycho-diagnostic methods and mathematical methods of processing the results of the study. Result: it is determined that the most informative indirect indicators of the professional capacity of military operators of the contract service of the Air Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is: physical condition, psycho-emotional state, physical performance, aerobic endurance, static endurance of back muscles, neck and the abs, the speed of perception, memory, concentration and shifting attention. The correlation dependence of the level of professional preparedness of military operators on indirect indices of professional work capacity: physical fitness (r=0,58, psycho-emotional state (r=0,51, physical performance (r=0,34, aerobic endurance (r=0.59, static endurance of the muscles of the back and neck (r=0,52, static endurance of the abs muscles (r=0,48, simple sensorimotor reaction (r=0,44, short-term (operational memory (r=0,40, concentration and attention switching (r=0,46. Conclusion: a complex characteristic of the indicators of psycho-physiological functions of the body of a specialist can be used to assess the dynamics and prediction of the professional capacity of military operators of the Air Force in the cycle of alert duty.

Being on sick leave due to heart failure: self-rated health, encounters with healthcare professionals and social insurance officers and self-estimated ability to return to work.

Science.gov (United States)

Nordgren, Lena; Söderlund, Anne

2015-01-01

Younger people with heart failure often experience poor self-rated health. Furthermore, poor self-rated health is associated with long-term sick leave and disability pension. Socio-demographic factors affect the ability to return to work. However, little is known about people on sick leave due to heart failure. The aim of this study was to investigate associations between self-rated health, mood, socio-demographic factors, sick leave compensation, encounters with healthcare professionals and social insurance officers and self-estimated ability to return to work, for people on sick leave due to heart failure. This population-based investigation had a cross-sectional design. Data were collected in Sweden in 2012 from two official registries and from a postal questionnaire. In total, 590 subjects, aged 23-67, responded (response rate 45.8%). Descriptive statistics, correlation analyses (Spearman bivariate analysis) and logistic regression analyses were used to investigate associations. Poor self-rated health was strongly associated with full sick leave compensation (OR = 4.1, p health was moderately associated with low income (OR =  .6, p =  .003). Good self-rated health was strongly associated with positive encounters with healthcare professionals (OR = 3.0, p =  .022) and to the impact of positive encounters with healthcare professionals on self-estimated ability to return to work (OR = 3.3, p work imposes reduced quality of life. Positive encounters with healthcare professionals and social insurance officers can be supportive when people with heart failure struggle to remain in working life.

The Arena of the Professional Body

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Costas, Jana; Blagoev, Blagoy; Kärreman, Dan

2016-01-01

professionals, as well as to escape from frustrations arising in their everyday work life. We develop how this turn to sport can be viewed as an attempt to deal with the conflicting discourses of autonomy and ambition prevalent in professional service firms. In so doing, the paper seeks to contribute to a more...

Are healthcare professionals working in Australia's immigration detention centres condoning torture?

Science.gov (United States)

Isaacs, David

2016-07-01

Australian immigration detention centres are in secluded locations, some on offshore islands, and are subject to extreme secrecy, comparable with 'black sites' elsewhere. There are parallels between healthcare professionals working in immigration detention centres and healthcare professionals involved with or complicit in torture. In both cases, healthcare professionals are conflicted between a duty of care to improve the health of patients and the interests of the government. While this duality of interests has been recognised previously, the full implications for healthcare professionals working in immigration detention have not been addressed. The Australian Government maintains that immigration detention is needed for security checks, but the average duration of immigration detention has increased from 10 weeks to 14 months, and detainees are not informed of the progress of their application for refugee status. Long-term immigration detention causes major mental health problems, is illegal in international law and arguably fulfils the recognised definition of torture. It is generally accepted that healthcare professionals should not participate in or condone torture. Australian healthcare professionals thus face a major ethical dilemma: patients in immigration detention have pressing mental and physical health needs, but providing healthcare might support or represent complicity in a practice that is unethical. Individual healthcare professionals need to decide whether or not to work in immigration detention centres. If they do so, they need to decide for how long and to what extent restrictive contracts and gagging laws will constrain them from advocating for closing detention centres. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

EL HORARIO LABORAL COMO ELEMENTO DE RIESGO PSICOSOCIAL EN LOS PROFESIONALES DE LA SALUD I WORKING HOURS AS A PSYCHOLOGICAL RISK ELEMENT OF HEALTH PROFESSIONALS

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Yolanda Velázquez Narváez

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Psychosocial risk factors are a phenomenon that affects working activities, and needs to be addressed by experts in prevention of accidents and illnesses in order to take necessary measures to prevent suffering from workers. To invest more time than they should either staying in overtime or simply taking work home, as is reported by 40% of the participants in this study, affects the performance in other areas of life, like the time shared with the family. This study attends three health-related professionals: Graduates in Nursing, Safety and Psychology, with a sample of 163 graduates of the mentioned areas. The questionnaire used for data collection reached a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.80. The objective of the study was to determine whether psychosocial working hours represent a risk to health professionals. The variables observed were: work on Saturdays; work on Sundays and holidays; rest time; bringing work home and time shared with family and friends. The information obtained was analyzed under the Fisher test. No differences were observed that show working hours represent a psychosocial risk among the professionals under study. However, they do reduce rest time and even some professionals bring home work activity to finish it.

Parental Stress, Family-Professional Partnerships, and Family Quality of Life: Families of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

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Hsiao, Yun-Ju

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship among the quality of life of families that have at least one child with autism spectrum disorder, parental stress level, and partnerships between the family and professionals. Also, parent perceptions of parental stress, family quality of life, and family-professional partnerships were…

Perspectives for the Development of a Working Life Policy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hvid, Helge; Hasle, Peter

2003-01-01

A discussion of the perspectives in a working life policy with development of both a humane working life and productivity.......A discussion of the perspectives in a working life policy with development of both a humane working life and productivity....

Professional nursing practice in critical units: assessment of work environment characteristics

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Luiz Felipe Sales Maurício

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Objective: assess the autonomy, control over environment, and organizational support of nurses' work process and the relationships between physicians and nurses in critical care units. Method: cross-sectional study conducted with 162 nurses working in the intensive care units and emergency service of a university hospital. The workers' satisfaction with their work environment was assessed using Brazilian Nursing Work Index - Revised, translated and adapted for the Brazilian culture. Results: average age was 31.6 ± 3.9 years; 80.2% were women; 68.5% Caucasians and 71.6% worked in intensive care units. The nurses considered autonomy (2.38 ± 0.64 and their relationship with physicians (2.24 ± 0.62 to be characteristics of the work environment that favored professional practice. Control over environment (2.78 ± 0.62 and organizational support (2.51 ± 0.54, however, were considered to be unfavorable. No statistically significant differences were found between the units based on the scores obtained by the professionals on the Brazilian Nursing Work Index - Revised. Conclusion: autonomy, relationship between physicians and nurses, and organizational support were considered by the units to be characteristics that favored nurses' professional practices. On the other hand, control over environment and organizational support were considered unfavorable.

Turn to Practice Within Working Life Studies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Buch, Anders; Andersen, Vibeke; Klemsdal, Lars

2015-01-01

practice theoretical approaches can help working life studies in better understanding work practices and the material, technological, economic, organizational, and societal conditions that shape and are shaped by these practices. In addition, this issue contains three reviews of recent practice theoretical......What does practice theory and practice-based studies have to offer working life studies? This is the seminal question this special issue poses. In seven articles, researchers with an affiliation to Nordic working life studies and with a background in practice theory illustrate and reflect on how...

Professional caregivers' work with the dying in nursing homes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Karen Tind; Glasdam, Stinne

2013-01-01

International studies on the death of elderly nursing home residents show the complexity in the understanding of the professionals who care for the dying. The aim of this study is to explore the discourses about professional caregivers caring for those dying in Denmark in the last decade. A disco......International studies on the death of elderly nursing home residents show the complexity in the understanding of the professionals who care for the dying. The aim of this study is to explore the discourses about professional caregivers caring for those dying in Denmark in the last decade....... A discourse analysis inspired by Foucault was constructed. The material consists of different source documents: research articles, newspaper articles, theses, books, websites – 35 sources in total. There are constructed six positions of speech, five discourses and three themes: (1) ‘the work...

Work-Life Balance in a Low-Income Neighbourhood

OpenAIRE

Alice Coulter; Hartley Dean

2006-01-01

'Work-life balance' generally refers to how people may combine paid employment with family responsibilities. The UK government's attempts to promote work-life balance are connected to wider concerns to maximise labour-force participation and include policies on tax credits, child care and employment rights. Employers favour work-life balance if it promotes the flexibility of labour supply and enables them to retain valued staff. There are concerns about the extent to which work-life balance p...

["What you will": Results of an Empirical Analysis of the Need to Improve Work-life Balance for Physicians].

Science.gov (United States)

Jerg-Bretzke, L; Krüsmann, P; Traue, H C; Limbrecht-Ecklundt, K

2018-01-01

This study assessed the perceived need for clinics to improve work-life balance of physicians. Hospitals are increasingly facing demands to offer physicians working conditions that allow greater balance between family life and pursuit of career. Simultaneously, hospitals could consider this an opportunity to stand out as attractive employers. N=120 doctors of the medical faculty and N=679 medical students in their premedical and clinical training participated online. The results of the Work-Family/Family-Work Conflict Scale (WFC/FWC) showed physicians to have a decreased work/life balance when starting to work professionally, especially with a child. Ninety percent of the respondents considered the following arrangements to be especially helpful: temporary work interruptions in an emergency, part-time positions or emergency childcare. The doctors also expressed their wish to be actively supported by their supervisors on the topic of work/life balance. This analysis on work-family balance shows the need for change in the studied samples. Based on the measures that were determined to be helpful, hospitals can make conclusions about what concrete steps of action can be taken. Additionally, WFC/FWC could be used as a standardized analysis measure to assess the load imposed on physicians by family on work place and vice versa. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Inner and Outer Life at Work

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lundgaard Andersen, Linda

2012-01-01

involving people to people interactions offered by psychodynamic theories and methods take up a pivotal position. Psychoanalytic organisational and work life research explores how work, organisations and individuals are affected by psychic dynamics, the influence of the unconscious in the forms of human...... development and interaction situated in a societal context. Based on this substantial work I draw upon two influential psychoanalytical positions—the British Tavistock position and German psychoanalytic social psychology in order to situate and identify how to understand the inner and outer life at work...

Information system quality in work-life balance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sharmini Gopinathan

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This paper aims to look for the role information systems quality may play in work-life balance among Malaysian ICT employees. The results of this study will be useful in the development of new tools and technologies that are focused on ISQ dimensions primarily information system quality which can be helpful to devise suggestions to the ICT sector on matters pertaining to sustainable development/policy formulation with reference to achieving a good work-life balance. A total of 79 respondents’ views were analyzed using Partial Least Square (PLS to obtain the final results. The results showed that information quality and system quality has strong effect on work-life balance as compared to service quality which showed no relation to work-life balance.

Stress and burnout among healthcare professionals working in a mental health setting in Singapore.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Suyi; Meredith, Pamela; Khan, Asaduzzaman

2015-06-01

International literature suggests that the experience of high levels of stress by healthcare professionals has been associated with decreased work efficiency and high rates of staff turnover. The aims of this study are to identify the extent of stress and burnout experienced by healthcare professionals working in a mental health setting in Singapore and to identify demographic characteristics and work situations associated with this stress and burnout. A total of 220 Singaporean mental health professionals completed a cross-sectional survey, which included measures of stress, burnout (exhaustion and disengagement), participants' demographic details, and working situation. Independent t-tests and one-way ANOVAs were used to examine between-group differences in the dependent variables (stress and burnout). Analyses revealed that healthcare professionals below the age of 25, those with less than five years experience, and those with the lowest annual income, reported the highest levels of stress and burnout. No significant differences were found with other demographic or work situation variables. Findings suggest that healthcare professionals working in a mental health setting in Singapore are experiencing relatively high levels of stress and burnout. It is important that clinicians, administrators and policy makers take proactive steps to develop programs aimed at reducing stress and burnout for healthcare professionals. These programs are likely to also increase the well-being and resilience of healthcare professionals and improve the quality of mental health services in Singapore. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Midlevel Student Affairs Leaders' Intentions To Leave: Examining the Quality of Their Professional and Institutional Work Life.

Science.gov (United States)

Rosser, Vicki J.; Javinar, Jan Minoru

2003-01-01

This national study examines those demographic characteristics and work life issues that may have an impact on the morale and satisfaction of midlevel student affairs leaders and their intentions to leave their positions. Using structural equation modeling, this study proposes to demonstrate the roles job satisfaction and employee morale play in…

Challenges in end-of-life communication.

Science.gov (United States)

Galushko, Maren; Romotzky, Vanessa; Voltz, Raymond

2012-09-01

The purpose of this review is to give an overview of challenges that have been addressed in recent research in end-of-life communication. Diversity of difficulties that may occur in communication about end-of-life issues has been showed. The emotional quality of this communication requires special skills from professionals involved. Studies showed that physicians and medical students are often overstrained and avoid end-of-life discussions. Health professionals and patients are often ambivalent about end-of-life discussions. Nevertheless, professionals are expected to initiate these in an honest, needs-oriented way. Patient preferences are difficult to infer and have to be assessed explicitly and regularly. Studies showed that the emotional impact of end-of-life discussions can lead to a high burden or avoidance of professionals. Interdisciplinary, multi-professional work can support health professionals in end-of-life care but often structural barriers obstruct possible benefits. Health professionals need to initiate end-of-life communication in a sensitive way. Specific demands for health professionals in end-of-life communication are to differentiate own emotions and life events from those of patients and to deal with both adequately. Moreover, structural aspects can lead to difficulties between different specialties, professions and sectors, which can have a negative impact on adequate care for patient and relatives. Special efforts for improvement are needed.

Statement on National WorkLife Priorities

Science.gov (United States)

Cherniack, Martin; Henning, Rob; Merchant, James A.; Punnett, Laura; Sorensen, Glorian R.; Wagner, Gregory

2018-01-01

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) WorkLife Initiative (WLI) [http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/worklife] seeks to promote workplace programs, policies, and practices that result in healthier, more productive employees through a focus simultaneously on disease prevention, health promotion, and accommodations to age, family, and life stage. The Initiative incorporates the Institute’s foundational commitment to workplaces free of recognized hazards into broader consideration of the factors that affect worker health and wellbeing. Workplace hazards, such as physical demands, chemical exposures, and work organization, often interact with non-work factors such as family demands and health behaviors to increase health and safety risks. New workplace interventions being tested by the first three NIOSH WLI Centers of WorkLife Excellence are exploring innovative models for employee health programs to reduce the human, social, and economic costs of compromised health and quality of life. Many parties in industry, labor, and government share the goals of improving employee health while controlling health care costs. NIOSH convened a workshop in 2008 with representatives of the three Centers of Excellence to develop a comprehensive, long-range strategy for advancing the WorkLife Initiative. The recommendations below fall into three areas: practice, research, and policy. Responding to these recommendations would permit the WorkLife Center system to establish a new infrastructure for workplace prevention programs by compiling and disseminating the innovative practices being developed and tested at the Centers, and elsewhere. The WLI would also extend the customary scope of NIOSH by engaging with multiple NIH Institutes that are already generating research-to-practice programs involving the working-age population, in areas such as chronic disease prevention and management. Research to Practice (r2p) is a concept focused on the translation of research

Getting the Job Done: The impact of conception of work on work-life balance

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ballegaard, Stinne Aaløkke; Fangel, Anne Bøgh

Knowledge work is becoming more nomadic and flexible, and in recent years we have seen an increased blurring of the boundary between work and private life. While this new flexibility indeed has clear liberating potentials; providing new possibilities for coping with work-life balance, it also......, it is how we manage the balance between work and private life. We want to suggest that conceptions of work may influence the way we take on the new flexible ways of working....... carries the danger of work never really ending. Much has been said about the negative effects of the loss of a clear boundary between work and private life. However, in this paper we want to argue that the blurring of the boundary between work and private life is not in itself problematic. Rather...

The relation between work ethics and work morality and the factors effecting work ethics in work-life

OpenAIRE

Sibel Gök

2008-01-01

In recent years, the importance of work ethics and morality has been increased. The effect of them in work-life and their relations with the  subjects such as performance, loyalty, competition, etc. have been studied by a number of  researchers. The work ethics and morality concepts are becoming widespread in business application, work-life and global  trading. Therefore, they appear as a subject for further  researches.In this study, the concepts of the work ethics, moral...

Job crafting among health care professionals: The role of work engagement.

Science.gov (United States)

Bakker, Arnold B

2018-04-01

The aim of this study was to examine the impact of job crafting on the quality of the work environment of health care professionals. Job crafting refers to proactive behavior aimed at optimizing the fit between person and job. Using job demands-resources theory, we hypothesized that job crafting would be positively related to job resources and person-organisation fit, and negatively to hindrance demands. Furthermore, we hypothesized that these relationships would be qualified by work engagement. A total of 5,272 health care professionals from one of 35 different organisations filled out an electronic questionnaire (response is 55%). Regression analyses were used to test hypotheses. Consistent with hypotheses, job crafting in the form of increasing job resources was positively related to opportunities for development, performance feedback and P-O fit; and negatively related to hindrance job demands - particularly when work engagement was high. The combination of job crafting and work engagement is important for the realization of a resourceful work environment and fit between person and organisation. Interventions aimed at fostering job crafting should be tailored to the motivation of health care professionals. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Tautologies of work life balance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Eijnatten, van F.M.; Vos, J.P.; Eijnatten, van F.M.

2002-01-01

This conceptual contribution resembles the central theme of the 2002 SUSTAIN meeting and is about tautologies of Work Life Balance. It will be argued, that in Open-Systems Thinking the tautological character of work and non-work is obscured because the system and its environment are defined in an

Health Care Professionals' Understandings of Cross-Cultural Interaction in End-of-Life Care: A Focus Group Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Milberg, Anna; Torres, Sandra; Ågård, Pernilla

2016-01-01

The academic debate on cross-cultural interaction within the context of end-of-life care takes for granted that this interaction is challenging. However, few empirical studies have actually focused on what health care professionals think about this interaction. This study aimed to explore health care professionals' understandings of cross-cultural interaction during end-of-life care. Sixty end-of-life care professionals were recruited from eleven care units in Sweden to take part in focus group interviews. These interviews were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The health care professionals interviewed talked about cross-cultural interaction in end-of-life care as interaction that brings about uncertainty, stress and frustration even though they had limited experience of this type of interaction. The focus group discussions brought attention to four specific challenges that they expected to meet when they care for patients with migrant backgrounds since they took for granted that they would have an ethno-cultural background that is different to their own. These challenges had to do with communication barriers, 'unusual' emotional and pain expressions, the expectation that these patients' families would be 'different' and the anticipation that these patients and their families lack knowledge. At the core of the challenges in question is the idea that cross-cultural interaction means meeting "the unknown". In addition, the end-of-life care professionals interviewed talked about patients whose backgrounds they did not share in homogenizing terms. It is against this backdrop that they worried about their ability to provide end-of-life care that is individualized enough to meet the needs of these patients. The study suggests that end-of-life care professionals who regard cross-cultural interaction in this manner could face actual challenges when caring for patients whose backgrounds they regard as "the unknown" since they anticipate a variety of challenges

Health Care Professionals' Understandings of Cross-Cultural Interaction in End-of-Life Care: A Focus Group Study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna Milberg

Full Text Available The academic debate on cross-cultural interaction within the context of end-of-life care takes for granted that this interaction is challenging. However, few empirical studies have actually focused on what health care professionals think about this interaction. This study aimed to explore health care professionals' understandings of cross-cultural interaction during end-of-life care.Sixty end-of-life care professionals were recruited from eleven care units in Sweden to take part in focus group interviews. These interviews were analyzed using qualitative content analysis.The health care professionals interviewed talked about cross-cultural interaction in end-of-life care as interaction that brings about uncertainty, stress and frustration even though they had limited experience of this type of interaction. The focus group discussions brought attention to four specific challenges that they expected to meet when they care for patients with migrant backgrounds since they took for granted that they would have an ethno-cultural background that is different to their own. These challenges had to do with communication barriers, 'unusual' emotional and pain expressions, the expectation that these patients' families would be 'different' and the anticipation that these patients and their families lack knowledge. At the core of the challenges in question is the idea that cross-cultural interaction means meeting "the unknown". In addition, the end-of-life care professionals interviewed talked about patients whose backgrounds they did not share in homogenizing terms. It is against this backdrop that they worried about their ability to provide end-of-life care that is individualized enough to meet the needs of these patients.The study suggests that end-of-life care professionals who regard cross-cultural interaction in this manner could face actual challenges when caring for patients whose backgrounds they regard as "the unknown" since they anticipate a variety

Stress and ways of dealing with stress in the work of professionally active teachers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mariola Janiszewska

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Introduction. Stress is an inherent part of human life. It is well known and often associated with negative professional or family situations. Stress is not dangerous to our body, but it reacts to it. Aim of work. The aim of the study was to investigate the stressors of professionally working teachers. Material and methods. The research was conducted from November 2016 to May 2017 among teachers working in primary schools in the Lubelskie Voivodship. The study covered 77 respondents. The diagnostic survey was used in the study, which was carried out through a self-report questionnaire. Calculations were made using Microsoft Office Excel 2010. Results. Researchers believe that the best way to cope with stress is to talk to loved ones (57% and practice sports (39%. The respondents reported that they had neglected social interaction (25% and had no leisure time for themselves and their family (44%. In the opinion of the respondents the greatest source of stress is noise (60%, which is most often encountered in the corridor during intercourse breaks. The most frequently reported symptom of somatic symptoms was headache (45%. The respondents do not see the possibility of promotion (44% and some respondents want to improve their qualifications (34% only to be able to stay in their position. Conclusions. Teachers should have clearly defined roles, less stressed, have optimized tasks, a sense of safety, a good work atmosphere, regular and objective assessments, and specific career paths that can eliminate stressful situations in the teaching profession.

[Compatibility of Work and Family Life: Survey of Physicians in the Munich Metropolitan Area].

Science.gov (United States)

Lauchart, Meike; Ascher, Philipp; Kesel, Karin; Weber, Sabine; Grabein, Beatrice; Schneeweiss, Bertram; Fischer-Truestedt, Cordula; Schoenberg, Michael; Rogler, Gudrun; Borelli, Claudia

2017-05-15

Aim Investigation of the compatibility of work and family life for physicians in the Munich metropolitan area. Methods Survey of a representative sample of 1,800 physicians using a questionnaire. Results Men were less satisfied (7% very satisfied vs. 21%) with compatibility between work and family life than women. The group least satisfied overall was hospital-based physicians (p=0.000, chi-square=122.75). Women rather than men cut back their career due to children, perceived their professional advancement as impaired, desisted from establishing private practice or quit hospital employment altogether. Respondents strove for flexible childcare and makeshift solution if the established service failed. Most did not have that at their disposal. Hospital-based physicians wished for predictable working hours, and would like to have a say in the structure of their schedule. For the majority this was not the case. While for 80% it would be important to participate in the definition of their working hours, this was only possible in 17%. 86% found the opportunity to work part-time important, but many doctors (more than 30%) did not have that option. The biggest help for office-based physicians would be an expedited procedure by the Bavarian Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KVB) when applying for a proxy. The second most important would be the ability to hand over on-call duties. 36% of respondents felt that compatibility of work and family life was best achieved outside of patient care, during residency 42% believed this to be the case. Only 6% of physicians felt the best compatibility to be achieved in a hospital. Among the physician owners of practices, 34% considered their model to be the best way to reconcile both aspects of life. Conclusion More flexible options for childcare and more influence on the definition of working hours are necessary in order to better reconcile work and family life. For office-based physicians it must be made easier to

Organisational and task factors influencing teachers’ professional development at work

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Evers, A.T.; Heijden, B.I.J.M. van der; Kreijns, K.

2016-01-01

- Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate organisational (cultural and relational) and task factors which potentially enhance teachers’ professional development at work (TPD at Work). The development of lifelong learning competencies and, consequently, the careers of teachers, has

Working hours, work-life conflict and health in precarious and "permanent" employment.

Science.gov (United States)

Bohle, Philip; Quinlan, Michael; Kennedy, David; Williamson, Ann

2004-12-01

The expansion of precarious employment in OECD countries has been widely associated with negative health and safety effects. Although many shiftworkers are precariously employed, shiftwork research has concentrated on full-time workers in continuing employment. This paper examines the impact of precarious employment on working hours, work-life conflict and health by comparing casual employees to full-time, "permanent" employees working in the same occupations and workplaces. Thirty-nine convergent interviews were conducted in two five-star hotels. The participants included 26 full-time and 13 casual (temporary) employees. They ranged in age from 19 to 61 years and included 17 females and 22 males. Working hours ranged from zero to 73 hours per week. Marked differences emerged between the reports of casual and full-time employees about working hours, work-life conflict and health. Casuals were more likely to work highly irregular hours over which they had little control. Their daily and weekly working hours ranged from very long to very short according to organisational requirements. Long working hours, combined with low predictability and control, produced greater disruption to family and social lives and poorer work-life balance for casuals. Uncoordinated hours across multiple jobs exacerbated these problems in some cases. Health-related issues reported to arise from work-life conflict included sleep disturbance, fatigue and disrupted exercise and dietary regimes. This study identified significant disadvantages of casual employment. In the same hotels, and doing largely the same jobs, casual employees had less desirable and predictable work schedules, greater work-life conflict and more associated health complaints than "permanent" workers.

[Professional stressors and common mental health disorders: Causal links?

Science.gov (United States)

Nicolas, C; Chawky, N; Jourdan-Ionescu, C; Drouin, M-S; Page, C; Houlfort, N; Beauchamp, G; Séguin, M

2017-03-22

According to the World Health Organization, depression has become the leading cause of disability in the world, contributing significantly to the burden of health issues especially in the industrialized countries. This is a major public health problem, with potential impact on work climates, productivity at work and the continued existence of the organizations. Some recent studies have examined potential links between professional factors and common mental health disorders, but none have demonstrated a direct causal link. In the present study, we explored possible links between work-related stressors and common mental health disorders, with the objective of determining priority mental health prevention axes. The study used a life trajectory method. We compared professional stressors and difficulties present in other spheres of life in the last five years between two groups: a group of 29 participants with common mental health disorders during the last five years (depression, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, substance use disorders, pathological gambling), and a group of 29 participants who have not experienced a mental health disorder in the last five years. Data were collected from semi-structured interviews with the participants using a life course analysis method. Each participant was interviewed during two or three meetings of two to three hour duration. Questions regarding difficulties in different spheres of life and mental health were asked. More precisely, data were collected with regards to the presence or absence of mental health disorders in the last five years and the nature of mental health disorders and difficulties. Moreover, we collected data pertaining to the most important positive and negative events in different spheres of life that were present in the last five years, including family life, romantic relationships, social life, academic difficulties, losses and separations, episodes of personal difficulties, financial difficulties as well as

Stress among Health Professionals

OpenAIRE

García-Moran, María de Carmen; Universidad de Zaragoza (España); Gil-Lacruz, Marta; Universidad de Zaragoza (España)

2016-01-01

Stress among health professionals constitutes a significant problem, because of its strong impact both on them and their patients. This study finds that this syndrome varies according to gender, type of work and job role. We find that primary, secondary and tertiary prevention strategies are effective in minimizing this syndrome. These include better work management, an adjusted work schedule, a balance between work and family life, workforce personnel involvement, and improvement of employme...

Impact of Working Hours on Work-Life Balance

OpenAIRE

Sarah Holly; Alwine Mohnen

2012-01-01

To examine the influence of working hours on employees' satisfaction, this article uses a large, representative set of panel data from German households (GSOEP). The results show that high working hours and overtime in general do not lead to decreased satisfaction. Rather, increasing working hours and overtime have positive effects on life and job satisfaction, whereas the desire to reduce working hours has a negative impact on satisfaction. In 2009, nearly 60% of employees wanted to reduce t...

Learning experiences for the transition to professional work

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leigh N. Wood

2015-12-01

Full Text Available A better educated workforce contributes to a more informed and tolerant society with higher economic output, and this is also associated with higher levels of personal health, interpersonal trust and civic and social engagement. Against this backdrop, the role of universities has expanded, as university learning has moved beyond providing an education to preparing students for leadership positions within society. This article examines the effectiveness of final-year learning experiences from the perception of recent graduates. The aim is to improve undergraduate curriculum to facilitate the transition to professional employment. An online quantitative and qualitative survey instrument was developed to investigate graduates’ perceptions of their different learning experiences and assessment types in their senior year. Four hundred and twelve alumni from five universities completed the survey. Our results indicate that graduates value case studies, group work and oral presentations, and that graduates rate lectures and guest lectures from practitioners as the least important in their transition to work. The results validate the use of graduate capability frameworks and mapping the development of the skills over the curriculum. These results are useful for curriculum designers to assist with designing programmes on the transition to professional work.

Work-life balance of Eastern European migrants in Portugal

OpenAIRE

Flenova, Vera

2017-01-01

his study is devoted to the balance between work and life the Eastern European migrants manage to obtain. Work and life balance is considered as one of the core factors for the quality of life of the individual. Processes of migration and integration of migrants make the attainment of the work-life balance even more complicated and involve more resources. In this work the work and personal life balance of migrants is being analysed from the following perspectives: occupation, f...

Identifying Inviolable Behavioral Norms of Campus Housing and Residence Life Professionals

Science.gov (United States)

Hirschy, Amy S.; Wilson, Maureen E.; Braxton, John M.

2015-01-01

Housing and residence life (HRL) administrators who lack knowledge about accepted professional behaviors risk violating normative boundaries, likely jeopardizing themselves or their clients (e.g., students, parents, colleagues). The purpose of this survey study was to understand if a normative structure exists for the administrative role…

The Contribution of Individual Psychological Resilience in Determining the Professional Quality of Life of Australian Nurses

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Desley G Hegney

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Research Topic: The aim of this study was to determine the relative contribution of trait negative affect and individual psychological resilience in explaining the professional quality of life of nurses. In particular, we sought to test whether resilience would mediate the relationship between trait negative affect and compassion satisfaction.Methods: One thousand, seven hundred and forty-three Australian nurses from the public, private and aged care sectors completed an online Qaltrics survey. The survey collected demographic data as well as measures of depression, anxiety and stress, trait negative affect, resilience and professional quality of life. Results: Significant positive relationships were observed between anxiety, depression and stress, trait negative affectivity, burnout and secondary traumatic stress (compassion fatigue. Significant negative relationships were observed between each of the aforementioned variables and resilience and compassion satisfaction. Results of mediated regression analysis indicated that resilience partially mediates the relationship between trait negative affect and compassion satisfaction. Conclusions: Results confirm the importance of both trait negative affect and resilience in explaining positive aspects of professional quality of life. Importantly, resilience was confirmed as a key variable impacting levels of compassion satisfaction and thus a potentially important variable to target in interventions aimed at improving nurse’s professional quality of life.

Quality of work life in doctors working with cancer patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Bragard, I; Dupuis, G; Razavi, D; Reynaert, C; Etienne, A-M

2012-01-01

Although studies have shown that medical residents experience poor psychological health and poor organizational conditions, their quality of work life (QWL) had not been measured. A new tool, the Quality of Work Life Systemic Inventory (QWLSI), proposes to fill the gap in the definition and assessment of this concept. To confirm the convergent validity of the QWLSI, analyse Belgian medical residents' QWL with the QWLSI and discuss an intervention methodology based on the analysis of the QWLSI. One hundred and thirteen medical residents participated between 2002 and 2006. They completed the QWLSI, the Maslach Burnout Inventory and the Job Stress Survey to confirm the correspondence between these three tools. Residents' low QWL predicted high emotional exhaustion (β = 0.282; P work schedule (μ = 9; SD = 6.3), support offered to employee (μ = 7.6; SD = 6.1) and working relationship with superiors (μ = 6.9; SD = 5.3). The results confirm that the QWLSI can provide an indication of workers' health well-being and of organizational performance in different areas of work life. The problem factors found among Belgian medical residents suggest that prevention should focus on reduction of work hours, development of support and change in leadership style.

Challenges to Social Work research: from academic education to professional practice

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aglair Alencar Setubal

2007-05-01

Full Text Available The reflections contained in this essay seek to the call attention of professionals, professors and students of Social Work to the importance of research in the various contexts of activity in this field, despite the challenges and difficulties presented in its realization. It offers possibilities for conducting research from a critical professional intervention, in keeping with the concrete reality - the context of professional practice. It also highlights the importance for the preparation of a history of Social Work based on theoretical-methodological postures that consider the wealth, complexity and essence of reality, breaking with the 'pseudoconcreticity', with the utilitarian, manipulative praxis that is constructed in the dimension of a 'common consciousness'. Despite the importance attributed to research, it sought to avoid separating it from human-social reality, given that it is in this context that research acquires meaning, becomes accepted and considers the needs of Social Work as a historic profession.

A 'Balanced' Life: Work-Life Balance and Sickness Absence in Four Nordic Countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Antai, D; Oke, A; Braithwaite, P; Anthony, D S

2015-10-01

Little attention has been given to the relationship between work-life balance and sickness absence. To investigate the association between poor work-life balance and sickness absence in 4 Nordic welfare states. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed on pooled cross-sectional data of workers aged 15-65 years from Denmark, Finland, Sweden, and Norway (n=4186) obtained from the 2010 European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS). Poor work-life balance was defined based on the fit between working hours and family or social commitments outside work. Self-reported sickness absence was measured as absence for ≥7 days from work for health reasons. Poor work-life balance was associated with elevated odds (OR 1.38, 95% CI 1.06 to 1.80) of self-reported sickness absence and more health problems in the 4 Nordic countries, even after adjusting for several important confounding factors. Work-related characteristics, ie, no determination over schedule (OR 1.26, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.53), and job insecurity (OR 1.56, 95% CI 1.21 to 2.02) increased the likelihood of sickness absence, and household characteristics, ie, cohabitation status (OR 0.75, 95% CI 0.58 to 0.96) reduced this likelihood. The associations were non-significant when performed separately for women and men. Sickness absence is predicted by poor work-life balance. Findings suggest the need for implementation of measures that prevent employee difficulties in combining work and family life.

Educational interventions to train healthcare professionals in end-of-life communication: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Chung, Han-Oh; Oczkowski, Simon J W; Hanvey, Louise; Mbuagbaw, Lawrence; You, John J

2016-04-29

Practicing healthcare professionals and graduates exiting training programs are often ill-equipped to facilitate important discussions about end-of-life care with patients and their families. We conducted a systematic review to evaluate the effectiveness of educational interventions aimed at providing healthcare professionals with training in end-of-life communication skills, compared to usual curriculum. We searched MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, ERIC and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials from the date of inception to July 2014 for randomized control trials (RCT) and prospective observational studies of educational training interventions to train healthcare professionals in end-of-life communication skills. To be eligible, interventions had to provide communication skills training related to end-of-life decision making; other interventions (e.g. breaking bad news, providing palliation) were excluded. Our primary outcomes were self-efficacy, knowledge and end-of-life communication scores with standardized patient encounters. Sufficiently similar studies were pooled in a meta-analysis. The quality of evidence was assessed using GRADE. Of 5727 candidate articles, 20 studies (6 RCTs, 14 Observational) were included in this review. Compared to usual teaching, educational interventions to train healthcare professionals in end-of-life communication skills were associated with greater self-efficacy (8 studies, standardized mean difference [SMD] 0.57;95% confidence interval [CI] 0.40-0.75; P communication scores (8 studies, SMD 0.69; 95% CI 0.41-0.96; p communication training may improve healthcare professionals' self-efficacy, knowledge, and EoL communication scores compared to usual teaching. Further studies comparing two active educational interventions are recommended with a continued focus on contextually relevant high-level outcomes. PROSPERO CRD42014012913.

Perception of the quality of life in work througout the physical education teaching career

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jorge Both

2008-12-01

Full Text Available The objective of this study was to analyze the association between Quality of Life in the Teaching Profession(QVTD and Professional Development Cycles (CDP among Physical Education teachers working for the Santa Catarinastate education department. The sample was made up of 580 teachers from different parts of the state, 265 of whom weremale and 315 of whom were female. Data collection was carried out using the QVT-PEF to assess QVTD and years in theteaching profession to determine CDP. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was employed to determine prevalenceratios and the likelihood ratio test was used to determine whether associations were significant (p<0.05. Both statisticalprocedures were carried out using SPSS version 11.0. The results demonstrated that the teachers’ lowest levels of satisfactionwere in the dimensions “Adequate and fair compensation”, “Safe and healthy work conditions”, “Social integration in thework organization” and “Work and total life space”. A strong association between some of the QVTD dimensions and CDPrevealed that, as the years passed, teachers tend to become less satisfied with working autonomy, and salaries and workingconditions, all of which may have had an influence on the final QVTD score.

A Literature Review on Quality Teacher’s Working Life

OpenAIRE

Ishak Siti Intan Diyana; Abd Razak Nordin; Hussin H.; Fhiri @ Daud Nur Suriaty; Ishak Aida Shakila

2018-01-01

Quality of work life is becoming an imperative issue to achieve the goals of the organization in every sector whether it is education, tourism, service sector, manufacturing, banking sector and other. Quality of work life it about work environment, reward, organizational commitment, recognition, participative management, work life balance, welfare facilities, proper grievances handling, job satisfaction and other. High quality of work life can give a result in better organizational performanc...

Working atmosphere, job satisfaction and individual characteristics of community mental health professionals in integrated care.

Science.gov (United States)

Goetz, Katja; Kleine-Budde, Katja; Bramesfeld, Anke; Stegbauer, Constance

2018-03-01

Working requirements of community mental healthcare professionals in integrated care are complex. There is a lack of research concerning the relation of job satisfaction, working atmosphere and individual characteristics. For the current study, a survey evaluating job satisfaction and working atmosphere of mental healthcare professionals in integrated care was performed. About 321 community mental healthcare professionals were included in the survey; the response rate was 59.5%. The professional background of community mental healthcare professionals included nursing, social work and psychology. Community mental healthcare professionals reported the highest satisfaction with colleagues and the lowest satisfaction with income. Moreover, it could be shown that more responsibility, more recognition and more variety in job tasks lead to an increase of overall job satisfaction. Healthcare for mentally ill patients in the community setting is complex and requires well-structured care with appropriate responsibilities within the team. A co-operative relationship among colleagues as well as clearly defined responsibilities seem to be the key for the job satisfaction of community mental healthcare professionals in integrated care. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Unnoticed professional competence and knowledge in day care work

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Warring, Niels; Ahrenkiel, Annegrethe; Nielsen, Birger Steen

In research on professions in the public care and health sector the issue of professional competence and knowledge is central. Discussions on tacit knowledge (Polanyi), modus 1 and 2 knowledge (Gibbons), intuitive expertise (Dreyfus), reflective practice (Schön), practical knowledge (Bourdieu...... has had an important impact on care and health work imposing demands for documentation, standardization and evaluation. These increasing demands seem to be in contrast with the tacit and embodied parts of professional competence that not easily can be documented, standardized and evaluated. It can...... educators in day care centers. The paper is based on material from two research projects (Ahrenkiel et al. 2009, 2011) involving social educators and union representatives in day care institutions. We have observed everyday work activities in day care centres and various meetings involving union...

How Does Work-Life Balance Influence Expatriates’ Working Performance? : The Case of Malaysia

OpenAIRE

Ahmad Zahar, Nur Yuha Zulaikha

2011-01-01

This research examines the important factors that play significant parts in the life of expatriates as they attempt to gain work-life balance. If reaching work-life balance is important for an employee, it is even far more important for expatriates as they face a lot of challenges living thousands of miles away from their family members and friends whom they always seek support from. Understanding the true meaning of work-life balance is essential as it mirrors how the expatriate’s performanc...