75 research outputs found
Self efficacy, perceptions of social context, job satisfaction and their relationship with absences at work. An integrated model rooted in Social Cognitive Theory
No full textBackground: Absenteeism is a major concern for organizations and companies since it has negative repercussions on productivity and represents a huge cost due to sick pay and expensive temporary replacement of employees who are obliged to take long-term absences. Objectives: The current study aimed at focussing on absenteeism and its causes through the investigation of a conceptual model founded on social cognitive theory where self-efficacy and Perceptions of Social Context (PoSC, i.e., perceptions of immediate supervisor, colleagues and top management) concur to predict absence from work through the mediating role of job satisfaction. Methods: A group of 361 sales assistants and administrative staff employed by the Italian branch of a retail clothing multinational were administered a self-report questionnaire for measuring self-efficacy, PoSC and job satisfaction. We then matched the self-report answers with objective absence measures. Results: Structural equation modelling lent support to the presumed relationships between variables. We found that: 1) self-efficacy was positively related to the three PoSC; 2) PoSC had a positive relationship with job satisfaction; 3) job satisfaction was negatively related to absence from work; 4) job satisfaction mediated the relationship between PoSC and absence from work. Conclusions: Overall, our contribution offers a theoretical basis for further investigations on the role of individual characteristics and perceptions of social context in absenteeism studies via both observational and intervention studies and cost-effectiveness analysis
The challenge of making the work smarter: a Systematic Review of remote working demands and resources
No full textThe recent Covid-19 pandemic changed working landscape to a great extent: in this situation remote working has become an essential work-practice. Nevertheless, remote working could be a weapon with two edges: on one hand, it has various benefits such as a better work-life balance, providing more flexibility to work, increase in job satisfaction, and employee engagement. On the other hand, several studies indicated that remote work could be challenging for many employees compared to working at the office (e.g., social isolation and technostress). Considering the growing use of technology and flexibility at the workplace, there is a need to systematize the evidence from studies conducted before, during and after the pandemic to support employers, policy makers and OSH professionals. The aim of this systematic literature review is to explore the existing knowledge about remote working to identify potential risk factors (demands) and protection factors (resources), and their impact on employees’ wellbeing. Following PRISMA guidelines, we performed a literature search and we decided to include one hundred and four studies, published between 2012 and 2022, using quantitative designs. We have identified a wide range of risk factors (e.g., isolation, work overload and technology intrusion) and resources (e.g., social support, autonomy, and flexibility). Moreover, the most investigated aspects of well-being are burnout, work engagement, and musculoskeletal symptoms. Increasing knowledge of remote working will help identify effective implementation strategies for companies, capable of making work smarter for both employees and organizations
Prevalence of work related musculoskeletal disorders in Italian workers: is there an underestimation of the related occupational risk factors?
No full textBackground: Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) represent an important socio-economic burden. The current risk assessment and management involved in the ethiopathogenesis of WMSDs is based on observational tools and checklists, which have some limitations in terms of accuracy and reliability. The aim of this study was to assess WMSD prevalence and identify possible correlations with several socio-demographic and work-related variables in a large cohort representative of Italian workers in order to improve our understanding of the WMSD phenomenon. Methods: This study includes data from INSuLa, a cross-sectional nationally representative survey of health and safety at work, developed by the Italian Workers’ Compensation Authority. A total of 8000 Italian workers were included. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to evaluate the association of independent variables, such as workers’ perceptions of exposure to biomechanical/ergonomic and video display unit (VDU) risks (Risk Perceived) and the actual risk exposure (Risk Detected) on Back, Lower and Upper limb pain. Socio-demographic, occupational and other health-related variables were included to investigate possible association with musculoskeletal disorders. Results: Workers perceiving a significant exposure to biomechanical/ergonomic and VDU risks but not included in a health surveillance program for them (Risk Perceived/No Risk Detected) have had significantly higher odds of reporting musculoskeletal disorders. Regarding the biomechanical/ergonomic risk these workers are in the 19–24 age range (39.9%), transportation, warehousing/information and communication sectors (38.9%) and are employed in companies with more than 250 workers (35.8%). Regarding VDU risk, workers are in the 45–54 age range (24.5%), professional, financial and business services (38.0%) and come from companies with more than 250 employees (25.6%). Conclusions: Within the occupational safety and health management systems an appropriate assessment of occupational risk factors correlated to musculoskeletal disorders (mainly biomechanical/ergonomic and VDU) and the correct definition of their exposure levels is essential to adequately prevent the onset of WMSDs. In this regard, our findings provide useful information to design novel approaches, aimed at improving our understanding of emerging risks, identifying gaps in current risk assessment strategies and enhancing workplace interventions are mandatory to improve the occupational risk assessment and management process and therefore implement the subsequent health surveillance systems
What makes employees engaged with their work? The role of self-efficacy and changes in employee’s perceptions of context over time
No full textPurpose – Work engagement represents an important aspect of employee well-being and performance and has been related to both job and personal resources. The purpose of this paper, based on Social Cognitive Theory, is to emphasize the proactive role of self-efficacy which is hypothesized to predict work engagement, not only directly, but also indirectly through positive changes in employee’s perceptions of social context (PoSC); namely, perceptions of one’s immediate supervisor, colleagues and top management. Design/methodology/approach – A sample of 741 employees of a communication service company completed two questionnaires, with a time interval of three years. Structural equation modeling was performed in order to test the hypothesized model. Findings – Results revealed that, as expected: first, initial self-efficacy predicts work engagement three years later; and second, positive changes in employee’s perceptions of the social work context across the three year period, mediates the relationship between self-efficacy and work engagement. Research limitations/implications – Results relied only upon self-report data. Moreover, each variable was only measured at the time in which it was hypothesized by the conceptual model. Practical implications – The significant role of self-efficacy as a direct and indirect predictor of work engagement suggests the development of training programs centered on the main sources of self-efficacy, specifically focussed on the social work domain. Originality/value – This research provides evidence of the substantial contribution of self-efficacy to
work engagement over time. Moreover, the results also support the beneficial effects of self-efficacy through its influence on the improvements in the individuals’ perceptions of their social context
Good example 41. A tool for the risk assessment and risk management of work-related stress - Italy
No full textUsing Emotion Recognition and Temporary Mobile Social Network in On-Board Services for Car Passengers
No full textIn next-generation cars, passengers will have more time for fun and relaxation, as well as the number of unknown passengers traveling together will increase. Thanks to the progress in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning techniques, new interaction models could be exploited to develop specialized applications that will be informed of the passengers’ experience. The mood and the emotional state of driver and passengers can be detected, and utilized to improve safety and comfort by taking actions that improve driver and passengers’ emotional state. Temporary Mobile Social Networking (TMSN) is a key functionality that can enhance passengers’ user experience by allowing passengers to form a mobile social group with shared interests and activities for a time-limited period by utilizing their already existing social networking accounts. By minimizing isolation and promoting sociability, TMSN aims to redesign user profiles and interfaces automatically into a group-wise passengers’ profile and a common interface. This work proposes and develops the generation of TMSN-inspired music selection through the Spotify music streaming service. The results obtained are promising and encourage further development toward the concept of in-car entertainment. Finally, we evaluate the performance of lightweight and heavy intelligent models that recognize the emotion of a person from its face, using Raspberry Pi 4 B devices. The results show that it is possible to realize a system with face detector and facial emotion recognition models on edge devices with sufficient performance (Frame per Second) to detect at least emotions expressed through macro-expressions
Fast blob and air line defects detection for high speed glass tube production lines
No full textDuring the production of pharmaceutical glass tubes, a machine-vision based inspection system can be utilized to perform the high-quality check required by the process. The necessity to improve detection accuracy, and increase production speed determines the need for fast solutions for defects detection. Solutions proposed in literature cannot be efficiently exploited due to specific factors that characterize the production process. In this work, we have derived an algorithm that does not change the detection quality compared to state-of-the-art proposals, but does determine a drastic reduction in the processing time. The algorithm utilizes an adaptive threshold based on the Sigma Rule to detect blobs, and applies a threshold to the variation of luminous intensity along a row to detect air lines. These solutions limit the detection effects due to the tube’s curvature, and rotation and vibration of the tube, which characterize glass tube production. The algorithm has been compared with state-of-the-art solutions. The results demonstrate that, with the algorithm proposed, the processing time of the detection phase is reduced by 86%, with an increase in throughput of 268%, achieving greater accuracy in detection. Performance is further improved by adopting Region of Interest reduction techniques. Moreover, we have developed a tuning procedure to determine the algorithm’s parameters in the production batch change. We assessed the performance of the algorithm in a real environment using the “certification” functionality of the machine. Furthermore, we observed that out of 1000 discarded tubes, nine should not have been discarded and a further seven should have been discarded
Gender differences and occupational factors for the risk of obesity in the Italian working population
No full textBackground Obesity is a multifactorial condition and a major risk factor associated with several non-communicable diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, and with a higher risk of premature death and disability. Sex-specific factors have key roles and must be taken into consideration in studying occupational factors associated with the risk of obesity. The aim of this study was to investigate gender differences in body mass index (BMI) in a large cohort representative of Italian workers and, correlating this index with several demographic and occupational variables, to verify sex- and work-dependent differences in the risk of obesity. Methods We utilized data from INSuLa, a cross-sectional, nationally representative survey of the Italian worker population conducted in 2013 by the Italian Workers' Compensation Authority to investigate health and safety at work. Analyses were run on a sample of 8000 Italian workers, aged from 16 to 64 years. Logistic regression models were employed to assess gender differences in the relation between occupational characteristics and BMI. We adjusted for age, education, variables related to health protection at work, and chronic conditions and diseases. Results There were several significant differences in the BMI between males and females, linked to some occupational factors. For instance, female shift workers were 1.32 times (95% CI 1.11-1.57) more likely to be overweight or obese than normal-weight workers, and this association was maintained when controlling for confounders. The likelihood of overweight or obesity among women who worked 1-2 night shifts per week was significantly higher - 1.5-1.6 times - than those on day shifts. Conclusions Gender-specific differences in occupational factors associated with the risk of obesity are useful with a view to characterizing this risk and helping identify workplace-targeted intervention strategies
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