Emerald | International Journal of Workplace Health Management

Managerial understanding of presenteeism and its economic impact.

Fiona Cocker, Angela Martin, Kristy Sanderson — 2012-06-22 00:00:00.0

Abstract

Purpose - The economic impact of ill-health in employed individuals is largely experienced via absenteeism- and presenteeism-related productivity loss. Using cognitive interviewing, this study evaluated a recently published interview method by which managers determine key job characteristics and their relationship to the cost of acute and chronic illness-related absenteeism and presenteeism in the workplace: the team production approach. Design/methodology/approach - Managers (n=20) from various industries in Australia completed the team production interview by telephone. Quantitative items measured replaceability, team production, time sensitivity of output and illness-related absenteeism and presenteeism costs. Concurrent verbal probes followed five items which assessed the productivity impact of illness-related presenteeism, identified as cognitively challenging. Findings - Content analysis of interview outputs examined cognitive processes underlying manager’s responses and revealed difficulties understanding and quantifying chronic illness and presenteeism. Difficulties were categorised as misunderstanding of key concepts/terminology, inability to provide answers due to lack of knowledge and difficulty applying questions/scenarios to employees/workplaces.Practical implications - Interview modifications addressed concerns of managers. Changes aimed to minimise measurement error in future applications of the instrument and improve valuation of chronic illness and presenteeism in the workforce. Social Implications Improved understanding could enhance estimation of productivity loss recoverable via health management/promotion strategies and increase manager’s willingness to implement such programs. Development in a manner acceptable to and informed by business leaders/employers ensures findings have "real-world" value. Originality/value - To our knowledge, this is the first use of cognitive interviewing to identify sources of response error in a productivity evaluation method via exploration of underlying cognitive processes.

The Justice-Workplace Health Relationship: The Mediating Role of Emotions

Dwayne Devonish, Anne Kouvonen, Iain Coyne — 2012-06-22 00:00:00.0

Abstract

Purpose - The study sought to examine the mediational effects of positive and negative emotions in the relationship between organisational justice and healthDesign/methodology/approach - This cross-sectional research obtained data from 206 workers employed within the financial/banking, manufacturing, and retail industries in Barbados. Findings - SEM analyses revealed that positive and negative emotions completely mediated the effects of relational justice (but not procedural justice) on overall health.Research limitations/implications - Research was cross-sectional, and relied on self-report measures. Practical implications - The findings suggest that employers must properly evaluate their health and safety policies and practices in the organisation to ensure that aspects of the psychosocial work environment are being properly implemented, managed, and monitored to ensure that individuals’ health and well-being are not at risk.Originality/value - The study represents a first attempt to investigate the roles of positive and negative emotions in the justice-health relationship in a different cultural context such as the Caribbean. Justice has been rarely researched as a psychosocial work stressor. The study focused on multiple health outcomes.

A Balanced View of Long Work Hours

Victor Y. Haines, Alain Marchand, Emilie Genin, Vincent Rousseau — 2012-06-22 00:00:00.0

Abstract

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to address the theoretical ordering of the associations between work hours, psychological demands, decision latitude, and psychological distress.Design/methodology/approach - A mediation model predicting that the association between long work hours and psychological distress is mediated by psychological demands and decision latitude was tested with a representative sample of 7,802 individuals in full-time paid employment surveyed by a government agency. Structural equation modeling was used and the full mediation model was replicated for subsamples of men and women. The analysis controlled for demographic variables, work characteristics, and socioeconomic status.Findings - As expected, decision latitude is associated with less and psychological demands with more psychological distress. Long work hours are associated with more decision latitude and psychological demands. The association between long work hours and psychological distress is mediated by psychological demands and decision latitude. The mediation process was supported in male and female sub-samples.Research limitations/implications - Considering the weak associations between work hours and psychological strain reported in previous research, the findings of this study support new theorizing about this association. Accordingly, long work hours may be viewed as a distal variable influencing the duration of exposure to psychological demands. The study reported here also underscores the need to further investigate the positive consequences of long work hours within the context of psychological contracts.Originality/value - This is one of the few studies that conceptualize work hours as something other than an occupational risk factor or as a job demand with a direct impact on psychological strain. It thus provides a new basis for thinking about the process through which long work hours may influence psychological strain.

Environmental determinants of obesity-associated morbidity risks for truckers

Yorghos Apostolopoulos, Sevil Sönmez, Mona Shattell, Michael Belzer — 2012-06-22 00:00:00.0

Abstract

Purpose - This paper examines how the transportation environment triggers, exacerbates and sustains truckers’ risks for obesity and associated morbidities.Design/methodology/approach - An extensive literature review of PubMed Central and TRANSPORT databases was conducted on truckers’ obesity risks and 120 journal articles were identified for closer evaluation. From these, populations, exposures, and relevant outcomes were evaluated within the framework of the broad transportation environment. Findings - Connections between the transportation environment and truckers’ risks for obesity-associated comorbidities were delineated, and an original conceptual framework was developed to illustrate links between the two. This framework addresses links not only between the transportation environment and trucker obesity risks but also with other health strains—applicable to other transport occupational segments as well. Moreover, it provides direction for preliminary environmental-scale interventions to curb trucker obesity. Research limitations/implications - The utilization of this framework underscores the need for an appraisal of the health parameters of trucking worksites; assessment of truckers’ obesity-risk trajectories, and examination of potential causality between the transportation environment, inactivity and diet-related morbidities. Practical implications - Practical implications include a framework to guide the development, implementation and evaluation of interventions to mitigate trucker obesity. While there is a geographic emphasis on North America, data and assertions of this paper are applicable to trucking sectors of many industrialized nations.Originality/value - The paper brings to light the influences of the transportation environment on trucker obesity-associated morbidity risks.

Perceived organizational support, employee health and emotions

Kara A. Arnold, Kathryne Dupre — 2012-06-22 00:00:00.0

Abstract

Purpose - To examine work-related emotion as a mechanism explaining the relationship between perceived organizational support (POS) and employee physical health.Design/methodology/approach - Study participants were employees at a large Canadian health care organization (N=72). A survey methodology was utilized to assess these relationships. Findings - POS was positively related to physical health. Negative emotion fully mediated this relationship and positive emotion was found to partially mediate this relationship.Research limitations/implications - Cross sectional survey data is one potential limitation. Findings suggest that further investigation of the links between POS, positive and negative emotion and physical health would be a fruitful avenue of research.Practical implications - Organizations can increase POS through actions that have been investigated in past research. Increasing POS would appear to be one avenue that an organization can utilize to positively influence employee health through its effect on employee work-related emotion. Originality/value - This study addresses previous calls to investigate mechanisms underlying the relationship between POS and physical health. It illustrates that emotion plays a role in explaining why POS is positively correlated with physical health.