Aligning Perspectives on Health, Safety and Well-Being – serie

This volume explores psychosocial problems amongst one of the most vulnerable social groups in our societies, immigrant workers, through a multidisciplinary approach. Migration has sometimes been oversimplified as a flow of workers from “poorer”, developing nations to “wealthier”, industrialised nations. The issue, however, is more complex and currently migration is a global phenomenon in which all countries are recipients of workers from third countries and send workers to third countries.  The working conditions of immigrant workers at various levels are not always well known, though some studies have established that the negative impact on migrant workers is cumulative, and primarily stems from adverse living and working conditions in a new country and increased levels of vulnerability. The contributions to this volume cover discussions on migrant workers in the industrial, agricultural and service sectors across the world. They critically study the impactof work Hazards on the health and wellbeing of migrant workers in order to shed light on the social and health implications of migrant work, explore the relation between organizational, psychosocial and work factors, and analyse the migration process from a wider perspective and as a global phenomenon present in every country. The contributors provide multidisciplinary and multicultural contemporary perspectives, thereby providing readers with wide-ranging insights. This volume is of interest to researchers and students from the social and behavioural sciences, particularly those focusing on health studies and migration studies.

This volume explores psychosocial problems amongst one of the most vulnerable social groups in our societies, immigrant workers, through a multidisciplinary approach. Migration has sometimes been oversimplified as a flow of workers from “poorer”, developing nations to “wealthier”, industrialised nations. The issue, however, is more complex and currently migration is a global phenomenon in which all countries are recipients of workers from third countries and send workers to third countries.  The working conditions of immigrant workers at various levels are not always well known, though some studies have established that the negative impact on migrant workers is cumulative, and primarily stems from adverse living and working conditions in a new country and increased levels of vulnerability. The contributions to this volume cover discussions on migrant workers in the industrial, agricultural and service sectors across the world. They critically study the impactof work Hazards on the health and wellbeing of migrant workers in order to shed light on the social and health implications of migrant work, explore the relation between organizational, psychosocial and work factors, and analyse the migration process from a wider perspective and as a global phenomenon present in every country. The contributors provide multidisciplinary and multicultural contemporary perspectives, thereby providing readers with wide-ranging insights. This volume is of interest to researchers and students from the social and behavioural sciences, particularly those focusing on health studies and migration studies.

This book brings together various threads of research in the field of gender mainstreaming. It aids in further supporting and understanding the role of gender in health and safety research, practice, and policy. It looks at gender mainstreaming as being recognised as key in cultivating sustainable worker health and working systems due to it being a central component of many international policy initiatives. This book deals with gender mainstreaming being advocated at a policy level, while focusing on the limited recognition and discourse on the issue of gender and its direct and indirect association to workers’ health in the field of occupational health and safety. This book addresses problems facing gender-sensitive policies and outlines and reflects upon current best practice principles and practices to support the development and implementation of policies, interventions, and research initiatives.

This book brings together various threads of research in the field of gender mainstreaming. It aids in further supporting and understanding the role of gender in health and safety research, practice, and policy. It looks at gender mainstreaming as being recognised as key in cultivating sustainable worker health and working systems due to it being a central component of many international policy initiatives. This book deals with gender mainstreaming being advocated at a policy level, while focusing on the limited recognition and discourse on the issue of gender and its direct and indirect association to workers’ health in the field of occupational health and safety. This book addresses problems facing gender-sensitive policies and outlines and reflects upon current best practice principles and practices to support the development and implementation of policies, interventions, and research initiatives.

This volume delineates the ways in which key areas of healthcare, well-being, patient safety and organisational change overlap with and contribute to unhealthy workplaces for healthcare professionals. There is a growing realisation within healthcare that healthcare worker well-being, patient outcomes and organisational change are symbiotically linked. Burnout and stress in healthcare workers and toxic organisational cultures can lead to a cycle of patient neglect, medical errors, sub-optimal care and further stress. This topical volume therefore outlines the ways in which worker well-being, patient outcomes and organisational change can be aligned to contribute to a healthy workplace and therefore better medical care. The volume includes an array of authors from different disciplines including primary care, clinical medicine, psychology, sociology, management, clinical governance, health policy and health services research. It succeeds in integrating different voices and reaches meaningful conclusions to address the challenges facing the healthcare workforce.

This volume delineates the ways in which key areas of healthcare, well-being, patient safety and organisational change overlap with and contribute to unhealthy workplaces for healthcare professionals. There is a growing realisation within healthcare that healthcare worker well-being, patient outcomes and organisational change are symbiotically linked. Burnout and stress in healthcare workers and toxic organisational cultures can lead to a cycle of patient neglect, medical errors, sub-optimal care and further stress. This topical volume therefore outlines the ways in which worker well-being, patient outcomes and organisational change can be aligned to contribute to a healthy workplace and therefore better medical care. The volume includes an array of authors from different disciplines including primary care, clinical medicine, psychology, sociology, management, clinical governance, health policy and health services research. It succeeds in integrating different voices and reaches meaningful conclusions to address the challenges facing the healthcare workforce.

This edited volume discusses how deeply entrenched gender norms in work environments, even in welfare economies, can affect women’s health in an adverse way. The volume provides a broad overview of contributing factors. It derives specific answers from case studies in Sweden, a welfare state where women’s labour market participation is very high, but where horizontal and vertical gender segregation in work is also one of the highest in the world. Women tend to work in occupations that are heavily dominated by women. An issue in women-dominated occupations is a considerably higher sickness absence than men, with the highest rates being in human service and care occupations. This volume adds to the literature on health and wellbeing in women-dominated professions and workplaces through studying the work environment, organizational changes, digitalization, threats, violence and conflict, and work conditions that could contribute to healthier workplaces for women. In addition, it pointsto the need for deeper gender analysis in work norms, and using both quantitative and qualitative approaches. It is of interest to social and behavioural scientists studying work, gender and health, as well as HR professionals and policy makers.

This edited volume discusses how deeply entrenched gender norms in work environments, even in welfare economies, can affect women’s health in an adverse way. The volume provides a broad overview of contributing factors. It derives specific answers from case studies in Sweden, a welfare state where women’s labour market participation is very high, but where horizontal and vertical gender segregation in work is also one of the highest in the world. Women tend to work in occupations that are heavily dominated by women. An issue in women-dominated occupations is a considerably higher sickness absence than men, with the highest rates being in human service and care occupations. This volume adds to the literature on health and wellbeing in women-dominated professions and workplaces through studying the work environment, organizational changes, digitalization, threats, violence and conflict, and work conditions that could contribute to healthier workplaces for women. In addition, it pointsto the need for deeper gender analysis in work norms, and using both quantitative and qualitative approaches. It is of interest to social and behavioural scientists studying work, gender and health, as well as HR professionals and policy makers.

In this groundbreaking interdisciplinary work, the authors focus on organizational analysis to understand workplace wellbeing, deviating from previous research that mostly looks at the individual worker or intervention. In addressing the question of why workplace health and wellbeing practices initiatives fall short of delivering sustained improvements in worker wellbeing, this book moves beyond localized explanations of the failure of specific interventions. Instead, it creates theoretical frameworks that explain how wellbeing at work can be improved and sustained. The authors use evidence from systematic and comprehensive surveys of the literature as well as new empirical research, and present an explanatory framework of the processes through which organizations change to implement and accommodate workplace health and wellbeing practices. Learning, adaptation and continuation explain successful implementation of workplace health and wellbeing practices, while Gestalting, fracturing and grafting explain how organizations resolve or negotiate conflict between health and wellbeing practices and existing organizational procedures, systems and practices. In addition, the authors reflect on the implications for research of reframing the unit of analysis as the organization and how studies on workplace wellbeing practices can provide a conceptual platform for thinking about the way organizations can create social value in a broader sense. This book, authored by experts in their field, is a great resource for academics and professionals of organizational studies and of worker wellbeing across the social sciences, behavioural sciences, business and management courses, wellbeing research, and labour studies.

In this groundbreaking interdisciplinary work, the authors focus on organizational analysis to understand workplace wellbeing, deviating from previous research that mostly looks at the individual worker or intervention. In addressing the question of why workplace health and wellbeing practices initiatives fall short of delivering sustained improvements in worker wellbeing, this book moves beyond localized explanations of the failure of specific interventions. Instead, it creates theoretical frameworks that explain how wellbeing at work can be improved and sustained. The authors use evidence from systematic and comprehensive surveys of the literature as well as new empirical research, and present an explanatory framework of the processes through which organizations change to implement and accommodate workplace health and wellbeing practices. Learning, adaptation and continuation explain successful implementation of workplace health and wellbeing practices, while Gestalting, fracturing and grafting explain how organizations resolve or negotiate conflict between health and wellbeing practices and existing organizational procedures, systems and practices. In addition, the authors reflect on the implications for research of reframing the unit of analysis as the organization and how studies on workplace wellbeing practices can provide a conceptual platform for thinking about the way organizations can create social value in a broader sense. This book, authored by experts in their field, is a great resource for academics and professionals of organizational studies and of worker wellbeing across the social sciences, behavioural sciences, business and management courses, wellbeing research, and labour studies.

This compelling book delves into the damaging effects of job insecurity in higher education across ten countries, shedding light on its profound implications for individuals and institutions. By exploring the associations between job insecurity and critical factors such as health, well-being, and performance, it underscores the urgent need for effective intervention measures. The book also highlights the ripple effects of job insecurity on academic staff, researchers, PhD and postdoctoral students as well as administrative and support staff, ultimately impacting the quality of education. Featuring the largest cross-country data collection on this topic to date, this collaborative effort brings together leading international researchers to provide novel insights. Each chapter offers unique comparative analyses, making the book a vital resource for academics, policymakers, students, and readers worldwide who are invested in the future of higher education. It is both a call to action and a foundation for further research in this critical area.

This compelling book delves into the damaging effects of job insecurity in higher education across ten countries, shedding light on its profound implications for individuals and institutions. By exploring the associations between job insecurity and critical factors such as health, well-being, and performance, it underscores the urgent need for effective intervention measures. The book also highlights the ripple effects of job insecurity on academic staff, researchers, PhD and postdoctoral students as well as administrative and support staff, ultimately impacting the quality of education. Featuring the largest cross-country data collection on this topic to date, this collaborative effort brings together leading international researchers to provide novel insights. Each chapter offers unique comparative analyses, making the book a vital resource for academics, policymakers, students, and readers worldwide who are invested in the future of higher education. It is both a call to action and a foundation for further research in this critical area.

This book provides a comprehensive, updated summary of research evidence on the effects of stressful working and employment conditions on workers’ health, as based on one of the worldwide leading theoretical models, effort-reward imbalance. It offers three innovative features that are appealing for research as well as for policy. Firstly, it presents and discusses comparable research findings from different continents, in particular from Japan, China, and Latin America. Secondly, it extends the conceptual framework of research on this topic by analysing associations of work stress with health in a life course perspective, and by linking these associations to the macro-level of national labour and social policies. Thirdly, the book helps to strengthen programs and policies that aim at promoting healthy work locally, nationally, and internationally, by providing solid facts on which such programs can be based.

This book brings together the most current thinking and research on educator stress and how education systems can support quality teachers and quality education. It adopts an occupational health perspective to examine the problem of educator stress and presents theory-driven intervention strategies to reduce stress load and support educator resilience and healthy school organizations. The book provides an international perspective on key challenges facing educators such as teacher stress, teacher retention, training effective teachers, teacher accountability, cyber-bullying in schools, and developing healthy school systems. Divided into four parts, the book starts out by introducing and defining the problem of educator stress internationally and examining educator stress in the context of school, education system, and education policy factors. Part I includes chapters on educator mental health and well-being, stress-related biological vulnerabilities, the relation of stress to teaching self-efficacy, turnover in charter schools, and the role of culture in educator stress. Part II reviews the main conceptual models that explain educator stress while applying an occupational health framework to education contexts which stresses the role of organizational factors, including work organization and work practices. It ends with a proposal of a dynamic integrative theory of educator stress, which highlights the changing nature of educator stress with time and context. Part III starts with the definition of what constitute healthy school organizations as a backdrop to the following chapters which review the application of occupational health psychology theories and intervention approaches to reducing educator stress, promoting teacher resources and developing healthy school systems. Chapters include interventions at the individual, individual-organizational interface and organizational levels. Part III ends with a chapter addressing cyber-bullying, a new challenge affecting schools and teachers. Part IV discusses the implications for research, practice and policy in education, including teacher training and development. In addition, it presents a review of methodological issues facing researchers on educator stress and identifies future trends for research on this topic, including the use of ecological momentary assessment in educator stress research. The editors’ concluding comments reflect upon the application of an occupational health perspective to advance research, practice and policy directed at reducing stress in educators, and promoting teacher and school well-being.

This book focuses on workplace innovation, which is a key element in ensuring that organizations and the people within them can adapt to and engage in healthy, sustainable change. It features a collection of multi-level, multi-disciplinary contributions that combine theory, research and practical perspectives. In addition, the book presents new perspectives from a number of nations on policies with novel theoretical approaches to workplace innovation, as well as international case studies on the subject. These cases highlight the role of leadership, the relation between workplace innovation and well-being, as well as the do’s and don’ts of workplace innovation implementation. Whether you are an experienced workplace practitioner, manager, a policy-maker, unionist, or a student of workplace innovation, this book contains a range of tips, tools and international case studies to help the reader understand and implement workplace innovation.

This book studies a range of legal systems and compares them on their ability to deal with psychosocial risks at work. The book looks at prevention of psychosocial risks from a labor law perspective and at compensation and reparation from a social security law perspective. It pays special attention to the topic of bullying in the work place, which is currently the subject of most legal summons.This book presents the views on the subject from leading national and international experts and provides an in-depth coverage of legal systems used in Southern and Northern European countries, as well as Canada and Japan to deal with this topic. The topic of psychosocial risks at work has received much attention recently, both from the general public, the press, and those working in the legal arena. It is difficult for lawyers to deal with the issue of psychosocial risks at work due to the multifactorial and subjective features involved.

This book provides a comprehensive, updated summary of research evidence on the effects of stressful working and employment conditions on workers’ health, as based on one of the worldwide leading theoretical models, effort-reward imbalance. It offers three innovative features that are appealing for research as well as for policy. Firstly, it presents and discusses comparable research findings from different continents, in particular from Japan, China, and Latin America. Secondly, it extends the conceptual framework of research on this topic by analysing associations of work stress with health in a life course perspective, and by linking these associations to the macro-level of national labour and social policies. Thirdly, the book helps to strengthen programs and policies that aim at promoting healthy work locally, nationally, and internationally, by providing solid facts on which such programs can be based.

This book brings together the most current thinking and research on educator stress and how education systems can support quality teachers and quality education. It adopts an occupational health perspective to examine the problem of educator stress and presents theory-driven intervention strategies to reduce stress load and support educator resilience and healthy school organizations. The book provides an international perspective on key challenges facing educators such as teacher stress, teacher retention, training effective teachers, teacher accountability, cyber-bullying in schools, and developing healthy school systems. Divided into four parts, the book starts out by introducing and defining the problem of educator stress internationally and examining educator stress in the context of school, education system, and education policy factors. Part I includes chapters on educator mental health and well-being, stress-related biological vulnerabilities, the relation of stress to teaching self-efficacy, turnover in charter schools, and the role of culture in educator stress. Part II reviews the main conceptual models that explain educator stress while applying an occupational health framework to education contexts which stresses the role of organizational factors, including work organization and work practices. It ends with a proposal of a dynamic integrative theory of educator stress, which highlights the changing nature of educator stress with time and context. Part III starts with the definition of what constitute healthy school organizations as a backdrop to the following chapters which review the application of occupational health psychology theories and intervention approaches to reducing educator stress, promoting teacher resources and developing healthy school systems. Chapters include interventions at the individual, individual-organizational interface and organizational levels. Part III ends with a chapter addressing cyber-bullying, a new challenge affecting schools and teachers. Part IV discusses the implications for research, practice and policy in education, including teacher training and development. In addition, it presents a review of methodological issues facing researchers on educator stress and identifies future trends for research on this topic, including the use of ecological momentary assessment in educator stress research. The editors’ concluding comments reflect upon the application of an occupational health perspective to advance research, practice and policy directed at reducing stress in educators, and promoting teacher and school well-being.

This book focuses on workplace innovation, which is a key element in ensuring that organizations and the people within them can adapt to and engage in healthy, sustainable change. It features a collection of multi-level, multi-disciplinary contributions that combine theory, research and practical perspectives. In addition, the book presents new perspectives from a number of nations on policies with novel theoretical approaches to workplace innovation, as well as international case studies on the subject. These cases highlight the role of leadership, the relation between workplace innovation and well-being, as well as the do’s and don’ts of workplace innovation implementation. Whether you are an experienced workplace practitioner, manager, a policy-maker, unionist, or a student of workplace innovation, this book contains a range of tips, tools and international case studies to help the reader understand and implement workplace innovation.

This book studies a range of legal systems and compares them on their ability to deal with psychosocial risks at work. The book looks at prevention of psychosocial risks from a labor law perspective and at compensation and reparation from a social security law perspective. It pays special attention to the topic of bullying in the work place, which is currently the subject of most legal summons.This book presents the views on the subject from leading national and international experts and provides an in-depth coverage of legal systems used in Southern and Northern European countries, as well as Canada and Japan to deal with this topic. The topic of psychosocial risks at work has received much attention recently, both from the general public, the press, and those working in the legal arena. It is difficult for lawyers to deal with the issue of psychosocial risks at work due to the multifactorial and subjective features involved.

The purpose of this volume is to describe the impact of the increased demand for flexibility on employees and its impact on their individual work life trajectories and health. The volume offers concrete examples of interventions aimed to find innovative ways of sustainable work careers for today's workers. We focus on the school to work transition, job insecurity, job loss and re-employment and retirement. The interventions described offer strategies for implementing support in employment contracts, increasing preparedness of individual employees with public education programs or developing work arrangements and support systems in work organizations.

The purpose of this volume is to describe the impact of the increased demand for flexibility on employees and its impact on their individual work life trajectories and health. The volume offers concrete examples of interventions aimed to find innovative ways of sustainable work careers for today's workers. We focus on the school to work transition, job insecurity, job loss and re-employment and retirement. The interventions described offer strategies for implementing support in employment contracts, increasing preparedness of individual employees with public education programs or developing work arrangements and support systems in work organizations.

To achieve sustainable progress in workplace and societal functioning and development, it is essential to align perspectives for the management of health, safety and well-being. Employers are responsible for providing every individual with a working environment that is safe and does not harm their physical or mental health. However, the current state of the art indicates that approaches used to promote health, safety and well-being have not had the anticipated results. At the level of the enterprise it is widely understood and accepted by all stakeholders that employers share the responsibility of promoting and managing the health of their workers. Evidence indicates that most employers put in place procedures and measures to manage workers’ health and create healthy workplaces to meet legal requirements, as a response to requests by employees, as a need to improve company image/reputation, and to improve productivity. This highlights that in addition to legal requirements, the keydrivers for companies also include the ethical and business case. While much has been written about role of legislation and the business case for promoting health, safety and well-being, not much is known about the ‘ethical case’ for promoting employment and working conditions. In this context, this book examines the potential of the link between responsible and sustainable workplace practices, human rights and worker health, safety and well-being and explores how complementary approaches can be used to promote employment and working conditions and sustainability at the organizational level. It offers a framework for aligning different approaches and perspectives to the promotion of workers’ health, safety and well-being and provides recommendations for introducing such an approach at the enterprise level.