Occupational Health Psychology - Essay Example

Running head: Occupational health psychology Occupational health psychology Why and how might shift work impact on the health of employees? What could be done to minimize the health risk of such work? The term "shift work" connotes different meanings to different people. Shift work is commonly used to refer to work where employees shift their time of work at regular intervals from daytime to evening or extending into night time. Shift work is a salient feature of all jobs that require 24/7 support to be given to customers or where the processes need 24/7 monitoring. Many researchers have explained shift work as the employment process in which two or more groups of employees work at different timings of the day. This may involve working in the day shift, evening shift or night shift. For employees, working in shifts particularly night shifts can reduce their job satisfaction levels and morale. Shift work also impacts employees in their personal space posing issues for their family and social life, health and safety. At the same time, shift work also extends many advantages to employees. It can help workers to hold two jobs, one during the day and another during the night (OSH, 2008). It could also be beneficial to students by providing them an opportunity to earn during their spare time. Shift work holds many advantages for companies and businesses. It is important here to acknowledge that shift work has both unique advantages and limitations. Therefore, law makers, regulatory bodies, companies, directors, managers and employees need to understand in-depth the impact shift work has on employees, families and society. This will help in identifying the advantages of shift work that can be further accentuated and the weaknesses that need to be mitigated (Finn, 1981). With companies becoming truly global and having locations worldwide, a number of jobs require 24/7 monitoring and support. As a result, there is more number of jobs involving shift work available than daytime jobs. A number of employees are willing to take up shift work because there are more such jobs vacant in the job market than regular, daytime jobs. This enables workers to put their skills to good use and earn good remuneration in return. The most attractive feature of shift work is higher salary due to the component of shift allowance. Shift work provides employees with the unique opportunity to earn more by taking up part time jobs during the day. A study of shift workers found that some did not want to change shifts as shift work presented them a unique opportunity to supplement their incomes by taking up a second job. A lot of employees working on night shifts face less stress and go about their job in a more calmer and laidback manner when compared to the daytime due to lesser supervision and intervention from administrative and managerial staff. It can be said that shift work allures a number of people and provides many unique opportunities. But at the same time the government, business leaders and employees themselves need to balance the advantages with the limitations of shift work and its impact on health, safety, family and social life. The main reason why shifts reduce employee job satisfaction is due to the fact that working night shifts upsets the mind and body cycle. Their day to day routine is different to how the rest of the people work. This has a negative impact on their physical and mental health, family and social life (IWH, 2010). A human body has a 24-hour cycle that affects its key biological functions. When people work during the night, it upsets the natural cycle of the body. This imbalance in the cycle is the major trigger of physical and emotional issues faced by shift workers. The disturbance in the body clock results in serious physiological problems such as blood pressure, cardio-vascular problems, loss in appetite, gastroenteritis problems among several others. Working in evening and night shifts interferes with the functioning of these processes. The body is pushed to perform these processes at times for which it is not prepared. People who have been working in the same shift for a considerable amount of time may have adapted to some extent to these changes. However, this is disrupted during holidays, leaves and vacations as they will return to a normal day routine when they are off work. As a result, a number of shift workers mainly have issues in the areas of sleep, appetite, and digestion. Irregular eating habits and sleep patterns could lead to many health issues, such as weight loss, unhealthy weight gain and hormonal imbalance (H&SA, 2012). There are many viewpoints when it comes to the effects of shift work on the emotional health of employees. But a number of shift workers feel that they are not able to devote quality time for their families due to the differences in work timings. They may also feel more tired and stressed, and tend to spend more time catching up on sleep rather than spending time with family. Another factor that needs consideration is how society views these shift workers and the fact that their work schedules are conflicting with how the rest of the community functions (CDC, 2012). An analytical step by step approach is critical to identifying and solving the problems associated with shift work. When the problem areas are addressed, it will help in improving the health, safety and overall well-being of employees. Top management in companies need to acknowledge the risks of shift work and need to be committed to finding solutions to mitigate the risks. Key personnel in the organization need to be part of the process to bring about meaningful change. The senior leadership in all organizations irrespective of size needs to formulate appropriate and effective policies for managing the risks associated with shift work. This will help in communicating the message that managing shift work arrangements need to be incorporated in the planning process across all levels and functions in the organization. Key personnel need to be given the responsibility of managing the shift work arrangements. They must be empowered with the correct information about shift work and made aware of the health and safety laws governing shift work. It is also very important to involve the employees working in shifts themselves in the process. Their opinions need to be heard and considered while devising policies on shift work (Josling, 1999). A working group can be formed comprising of shift workers and other personnel who may be indirectly be affected by shift work arrangements. It could include employees, health and safety personnel, a representative from the trade union, a mid-level manager, an expert on occupational health and a senior manager. The working group will provide a platform for the different stakeholders to discuss issues related to shift work and express their opinions (HSE, 2006). In many areas, it is practically not possible to do away with shift work due to the nature of the job, like in the case of critical health care. Doctors and nurses need to present round the clock to monitor patients and provide care. But allotting shift work on a rotation basis can ensure that doctors, nurses and administrative staff need to do only few evening or night shifts each. But not many hospitals and healthcare facilities are able to adopt this approach due to budget constraints. References CDC. (2012). Work schedules: shift work and long work hours. Retrieved on 2 Dec 2012 from http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/workschedules/ Finn, P. (1998). The effect of shift work on the lives of the employees. Monthly Labour Review. October issue. H&SA. (2012). Our vision: a national culture where all commit to safe and healthy workplaces and the safe and sustainable management of chemicals. Health and Safety Authority publication. HSE. (2006). Managing shiftwork – health and safety guidance. Health and Safety Executive. IWH. (2010). The health effects of shift work. Scientific symposium. Toronto. Summary report. Institute for Work and Health. Josling, L. (1999). Shift work and ill-health. Retrieved on 29 Nov 2012 from http://www.wsws.org/articles/1999/sep1999/shift-s06.shtml OSH. (2008). Guide on shift work. Occupational Safety and health branch. Retrieved on 2 Dec 2012 from http://www.labour.gov.hk/eng/public/oh/ShiftWork.pdf 2: Critically review the evidence that work life conflict has a negative impact on the well-being of employees and family. In the new millennium, rapid economic growth and expansion has brought in new challenges for companies worldwide. Globalization has rendered the world a global marketplace. In the face of these challenges, companies are driven to create and maintain a unique identity and gain a competitive edge over their rivals through devising strategies to increase profits, reduce cost and expand operations. This has brought in significant changes to the organizational culture. Mergers, acquisitions, restructuring and streamlining of operations, and changes in tools and technology have pushed organizational changes and altered the way in which companies operate. This has led to changes in the way employees function and the overall work atmosphere in organizations. Employees are more driven and focused on their jobs when compared to their predecessors. They work for longer hours as their jobs are more demanding. They face increased levels of competition to excel in their job, and as a result face more stress and tension. In the current situation, more and more employees are finding it challenging to balance their work and home (Duxbury and Higgins, 2012). This gives rise to the issue of Work Life Conflict (WLC). An individual assumes different roles in his personal and professional life, such as being a father, son, husband or brother in his personal life and a worker, colleague, manager or mentor at workplace. Work Life Conflict comes into play when one role takes up so much time and effort that it becomes challenging for a person to devote time and attention to the other role. Work life conflict hence reflects the “push and pull between family and work responsibilities” (Ahmad, 2008). Work life balance has undergone drastic changes in the past few decades. When compared to prior decades, now there is more number of women entering the workforce and there is more number of families with both parents working. As a result of this, families have to deal with issues relating to childcare and elder care. With the advent of Internet, laptops and Wi-Fi, employees can do their job from any place at any time. As a result, employers expect more from their employees. This leads to longer working hours and increased work pressure. This puts the employees in a challenging position and they find it difficult to balance their work and family commitments. High pressure jobs that are very demanding of the employees could lead to serious problems, such as stress, tension, burnout and absenteeism. This could affect the overall well-being of the employees and lead to increased levels of employee turnover (Ahmad, 2008). Work life conflict occurs when employees find it difficult to balance the demands placed on them by their work and family lives. The conflict between work and family often results from stress of handling the pressure in both work and family context. It can be in the form of work to family conflict or family to work conflict (OSHA, 2011). There are three types of work-family conflict: time-based, strain-based and behaviour-based. Work-family conflict leads to increased levels of stress and tension for the individual as they try to juggle the demands of both roles. A number of studies have shown that the struggle to balance work and family life has many adverse outcomes. Work-life conflict has a negative impact on the physical and emotional health of individuals. It could lead to increased levels of fatigue, stress, depression and burnout. People with highly demanding jobs may develop unhealthy eating habits and could indulge in smoking and drinking to relieve the stress. They also face problems, such as lack of appetite and decrease energy levels. They may also face anxiety and depression, which could lead to serious health problems (Jung and Zippay, 2011). It has been observed that work to family conflict and family to work conflict result in adverse consequences for the individual. Frone and colleagues (2003) undertook a study to understand the effect of work to family conflict and family to work conflict on health outcomes. The findings of the study showed that both forms of work life conflict led to depression, poor physical health and heavy alcohol use. In the study, there were no major gender differences found. Kossel and Ozeki (1999) observed that both work to family conflict and family to work conflict have adverse effects on job-life satisfaction. The study also showed that the impact was more in the case of women. Similar studies in Sweden found that both forms of work life conflict led to increased levels of exhaustion. The study showed that even though more number of men faced work family conflict, it had a stronger relationship with exhaustion in the case of women (Pickering, 2006). Another study conducted among a group of practicing psychologists to understand the relationship between work-family conflict and burnout. The findings of the study showed that both work to family conflict and family to work conflict result in burnout. Most often it was found that the conflict was related to low self esteem, emotional stress and a feeling of alienation from others. But no significant gender differences were found in the study (Pickering, 2006). There are costs associated with the issues arising from work life family for both employees and employers. Studies have shown that imbalance in work and family spheres lead to poorer physical and mental health for employees. This reduces their drive and enthusiasm for their job resulting in reduced levels of job satisfaction and higher levels of absenteeism and employee turnover (Jung and Zippay, 2011). Work life conflict affects the overall well-being of individuals, affecting both their physical and emotional health. Studies have shown that both work to family conflict and family to work conflict are strongly associated with depression. It has also been observed that family-work conflict has adverse impact on the physical health of individuals. References Ahmad, A. (2008). Job, family and individual factors as predictors of work-family conflict. The journal of human resource and adult learning, Vol 4, No. 1, pp 57-65. Duxbury, L. and Higgins, C. (2012). Caring for and about those who serve: work life conflict and employee well-being within Canada’s police departments. Carleton University. Frone, M.R. 2003. “Work-Family Balance.” In J.C. Quick and L.E. Tetrick (Eds.), Handbook of Occupational Health and Psychology:143-162 Jung, S. and Zippay, A. (2011). The juggling act: managing work-life conflict and work-life balance. Families in Society: The journal of contemporary social services, Vol 92, Issue 1, pp 84-90. Kossel, E.E., & Ozeki, C. (1999). Bridging the work-family policy and productivity gap: A literature review. Community, Work, & Family, 2(1), 7-32. OSHA. (2011). Family issuesk-life balance. Retrieved on 3 Dec 2012 from http://osha.europa.eu/en/publications/e-facts/e-fact-57-family-issues-work-life-balance Pickering, D. (2006). The relationship between work-life conflict/work-life balance and operational effectiveness in the Canadian forces. Defence R&D Canada Technical report. 3: Discuss and critically evaluate research that has examined the health-related impact of bullying at work. An individuals work and professional life has a profound impact on the overall well-being of the individual. People spend a major part of their day in the workplace, so the work environment and experience becomes an integral part of their lives. Over the years, a number of research studies conducted all over the world has shown that bullying and harassment in the workplace is an important issue that should not be ignored. The stress brought about by bullying not only affects the job satisfaction of employees, but also has a strong impact on their mental and emotional well-being. The ill effects of bullying and harassment on the job is not restricted to employees alone, it affects the organization itself in the form of low employee morale and motivation, absenteeism, decreased productivity and increased employee turnover (HSE, 2012). Even though the loss to the organization as a result of this cannot be accurately quantified, it is significant nonetheless. According to a report from IBEC, even though the cost of harassment to the organization cannot be accurately measured, bullying does have negative financial impact in the form of losses through lower levels of productivity, lower employee morale and job satisfaction, absenteeism and increased rate of labour turnover (H&SA, 2001). Companies need to realize that bullying and harassment in the workplace is an unwarranted and indirect cost that can be avoided. Workplace bullying has a negative impact on the public image of organizations amongst vendors, customers, shareholders and other stakeholders. A majority of companies are not open to discuss and disclose information on workplace bullying and harassment as they may feel it will harm their corporate image. Their reluctance may be due to the fact that acknowledging the existence of bullying in the company may reduce its attractiveness as a good place to work among job seekers. Therefore, it becomes important for organizations to formulate clear policies and procedures on workplace bullying and harassment in order to attract and retain the best talent pool. In designing these policies, the management must aim to create a fair, open and transparent work atmosphere. All organizations irrespective of their size and nature of operations need to design policies to discourage and mitigate bullying. These policies and procedures must also be reviewed periodically to ensure their effectiveness. In a workplace where there are strict policies in place to mitigate harassment for employees, bullying will not take place. The management must create such a corporate culture where the bullies will not receive any support or encouragement from their colleagues. As a result of this, bullies will feel alienated and will be forced to stop their bullying (Cooper, 2010). In a corporate environment, bullying is imbibed from seeing others do it. Bullying can take place in many forms and manifests itself through both direct and indirect means. When a person is bullied, it harms their physical, mental and emotional health. Bullying and harassment in the workplace has an adverse impact on the employee performance, morale, level of motivation to perform, job satisfaction, social and family life, and overall happiness and well-being. In the United Kingdom, research studies have pointed out that 25% of respondents who were subject to bullying quit their jobs as a result (Villadsen, Shalhoub, and Ryan, 2008). This harms the financial standing of the individuals and can be a major cause of worry for their families. In the United Kingdom, the Manufacturing, Science and Finance Union (MSF) has pointed out that when people have to undergo stress on a daily basis and nothing is done to relieve their stress, it can lead to major health problems (Workplace bullying website, 2012). Such people are more vulnerable to a complete nervous breakdown and heart attack. They may even be pushed to the extremity of contemplating suicide. Workplace bullying and harassment is usually associated with health problems, such as inability to sleep, digestion problems and muscular problems. Bullying has a powerful impact on the behaviour of the individual. When subjected to bullying, people tend to isolate themselves from others, and may take up bad habits, such as smoking, drinking alcohol and substance abuse. These behavioural changes harm their productivity and overall job performance. In Ireland, a study found that 80% of the respondents who were bullied had to face problems relating to stress, anger, irritability, anxiety, depression and paranoia (Villadsen, Shalhoub, and Ryan, 2008). The National Survey of the Task Force (2001) found strong evidence that bullying and harassment has a strong negative impact on the quality of work and professional life for employees in Ireland (Einarsen, Mikkelsen, and Matthiesen, 2002). Workplace bullying also affects an individuals life outside the workplace. Research has shown that bullying has dire consequences on the health and overall quality of life of those affected by it. Based on the symptoms shown by people who are subjected to bullying, experts have concluded that a majority of those affected experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). People suffering from PTSD face a lot of stress as they keep getting memories of the event that caused the trauma and also experience nightmares (Einarsen, Hoel, Zapf, and Cooper, 2011). They will isolate themselves from events that they associate with the trauma. It also affects their emotional health reducing their willingness to do things that used to make them happy. They may display a general lack of interest in the happenings in their surroundings. People suffering from PSTD also exhibit anxiety, anger, tension, irritability and a lack of focus and in some cases may also experience insomnia (Einarsen, Mikkelsen, and Matthiesen, 2002). Research over the years has shown that the adverse effects of workplace bullying is not limited to the employees, but also extends to their families, colleagues and the organization as a whole. The affected individual will face both physical and psychological problems. Physical problems could be in the form of stress, anxiety, anger, irritability, insomnia, body pain and chest pain. Victims of bullying are also more vulnerable to nervous breakdown, heart attack, depression and PSTD (PSHSA, 2010). It is very important for organizations to acknowledge that bullying does exist in the workplace and recognize the extent of its negative impact. The management must implement effective policies and procedures to mitigate workplace bullying to ensure that it does not become a menace and is detrimental to the long-term growth and success of the organization. References Einarsen, S., Mikkelsen, E.G., and Matthiesen, S.B. (2002). The psychology of bullying at work: explaining the detrimental effects on victims. Department of Psychosocial Science. University of Bergen, Norway. Einarsen, S., Hoel, H., Zapf, D., and Cooper, C.L. (2011). Bullying and harassment in the workplace: developments in theory, research, and practice. CRC Press. H&SA. (2001). Report of the task force on the prevention of workplace bullying – dignity at work – the challenge of workplace bullying. Health and Safety Authority report. HSE. (2012). Advice for individuals. Retrieved on 2 Dec 2012 from http://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/furtheradvice/bullyingindividuals.htm PSHSA. (2010). Bullying in the workplace: a handbook for the workplace. Public Services Health and Safety Association report. Villadsen,A., Shalhoub,H, and Ryan, P. (2008). Report on Staff Bullying & Harassment at West London Mental Health Trust (NHS). Middlesex University, Department of Social Work and Mental Health. Workplace bullying website. (2012). Bullying in the workplace – an acceptable cost? Retrieved on 2 Dec 2012 from http://www.workplacebullying.co.uk/aethesis.html 4: Compare and contrast the effectiveness of primary and secondary tertiary stress management strategies in improving employee wellbeing. Work related stress has become commonplace in today’s business environment. Numerous studies and researches in this context have identified stress as one of the common causes behind lack of motivation at workplace, negative employee performance and loss of productivity. It is also one of the primary factors impacting the physical and mental well-being of the workers. Stress is experienced by workers when the work demand exceeds the capacity of the employee to deal with. All these have led to various stress management techniques that are being adopted by the organizations. A recent report by World Health Organization (WHO) claims that stress related illness and its impacts on organizational performance and productivity accounts for costs estimating 20 billion Euros per annum (2008). The stress management approach taken by organizations can be broadly categorized into primary, secondary and tertiary approaches. Primary prevention techniques aim to reduce stress by changing the way elements of work are organized or placed. The secondary prevention approach seeks to develop individual capability to handle stress through training programs. The tertiary stress management approach handles employee well-being through rehabilitation measures that help employees recuperate and return back to the workplace (Lundberg and Cooper, 2011). Given the high cost to companies incurred on grounds of stress related issues, organizations constantly seek to adopt measures that can effectively reduce stress levels. These three approaches provide distinctive ways of handling stress. While the primary measure focuses on eliminating the chances of stress by creating an enabling work environment and placing work tools in a manner that reduces stress, the secondary measure emphasizes on increasing individual capabilities to handle stress better. These two approaches can be termed as preventive measures taken by organizations to handle stress. On the other hand, the tertiary approach takes into account post stress measures where stressed employees are counselled and treated to enable them to return back to work (Stellman, 1998). The prevention and management of stress at workplace is vital not only for employee well-being but also organizational performance and operational efficiency. The physical and psycho-social environment at workplace plays an important role in defining the sources of stress. Employees have to deal with many issues that may be superfluous to their work and this may add to stress levels. Similarly strained or ineffective communication, strained relations with line managers or team members, low job satisfaction, and lack of scope to voice employee concerns can all add to employee stress levels. The primary intervention techniques seek to eliminate these triggers by creating a positive and enabling work environment (HSE, 2003). While these objectives may sound challenging to implement in reality, organizations have achieved some degree of success in imbibing good work practices. This helps in eliminating the root cause of stress at workplace and hence can be termed as most effective measure that can be adopted by organizations. However, as noted earlier, the key concern lies in managerial ability to identify the triggers and eliminate them to create an ideal workplace. The second approach relates to developing individual skills and capabilities to handle stress and improving their ability to cope with work related stress. The approach is based on the fact that stress will be there at workplace and hence the only way stress can be managed is by learning to identify the stress factors and adapt to the work environment accordingly. Stress often results in destructive human behaviour causing damage to self and others around them. The organization seeks to resolve such instances by educating its employees to identify potential sources of stress and methods of adapting to these conditions positively. The prominent methods of adapting involve planning, organizing, seeking other’s help, and indulging in relaxation techniques. Research studies have found that such measures have a positive impact on improving individual stress management abilities (Griffin and Clarke, 2009). Tertiary stress management approaches, on the other hand, seek to treat or help stressed employees’ gain their confidence and health to return back to work. The focus here is on providing assistance to affected employees through counselling, employee assistance programs, or specialist treatment that can help in healing the damage to the psychological and physiological elements. This kind of approach has been noted to have positive impacts on affected employees and helped them return back to normal lives. Some studies have also provided positive outcomes to individual well-being in terms of gaining back their self-esteem and confidence. While these techniques help the individual manage their stress levels, it fails to prepare them for situations that may demand more from them leading to more stress. This approach also fails to establish the effectiveness of the methods in ensuring that the individual does not get stressed out again or help them handle stress situations better (MHCC, 2012). There is no doubt that stress intervention techniques provide an effective measure for handling stress at workplace. Research evidence has established that while tertiary and secondary approach to stress management have displayed positive outcomes, primary approach can be highly effective in eliminating the sources of stress (Griffin and Clarke, 2009). The practical difficulty of implementing this approach is its implementation challenges in creating an ideal workplace where everything goes perfect. Human behaviour is not only complex but it is also difficult to predict. Hence, it is practically difficult to eliminate the sources of stress altogether. The organization must therefore focus on equipping its workforce in terms of identifying stress and adapting themselves to situations for effective results. Secondary stress management approach hence, maybe termed as most effective and desirable for all situations. References Griffin, M.A. and Clarke, S. (2009). Stress and well-being at work. Handbook of Industrial/Organizational Psychology, Vol 3. HSE. (2003). Beacons of excellence in stress prevention. Health and Safety Executive report. Lundberg, U. and Cooper, C.L. (2011). The science of occupational health: stress, psychobiology and the new world of work. Blackwell Publishing. MHCC. (2012). Psychological health and safety – an action guide for employers. Mental Health Commission of Canada report. Stellman, J.M. (1998). Encyclopaedia of Occupational health and safety. International Labour Organization publication. WHO. (2008). Best practice in work-related stress management interventions. Retrieved on 29 Nov 2012 from http://www.who.int/occupational_health/publications/09_Stress%20Interventions.pdf Read More