Do job demands and resources differ between permanent and temporary eldercare workers in Sweden?

Introduction: Eldercare organizations face high sickness absence rates and staff turnover and rely heavily on temporary workers to fill staffing gaps. Temporary workers may experience differences in job demands and resources compared with permanent workers, but this has been largely understudied.

Objective: To compare perceived job demands and resources between permanent and temporary Swedish eldercare workers.

Effects of a Participative Workplace Intervention on Work Strategies and Expectations of Availability Among Office-Based Employees With Flexible Work Arrangements.

Occupational ApplicationsWork strategies changed following a participatory workplace intervention among office-based employees with flexible work arrangements (FWA). Also, the intervention likely led to clearer rules and routines for FWA within the work group. As FWA increases, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, it will be important to revise work strategies for both the individual and the work group.

Prospective association of occupational and leisure-time physical activity with orthostatic blood pressure changes in older adults.

Orthostatic hypotension (OH) is common in older people. We examined the influence of self-reported occupational-related physical activity (PA) and leisure-time physical exercise (PE) on orthostatic response in a sample of older people over a 2 year period. Supine and orthostatic systolic blood pressure (sBP), diastolic blood pressure (dBP), and mean blood pressure (mBP) were assessed in response to Active Stand (AS) test in 205 older subjects (> 60 years old) at baseline and 2-year follow-up.

Hybrid office work in women and men: do directly measured physical behaviors differ between days working from home and days working at the office?

Objective: We investigated and compared temporal sitting patterns among male and female hybrid office workers when working at the office (WAO), working from home (WFH), and for non-working days (NWD).

Methods: We analyzed data collected in 2020 among 165 hybrid office workers, carrying thigh-worn accelerometers for 938 days in total. Day type (WAO, WFH, or NWD) and time in bed were identified using diaries.

Mismatch between actual and preferred extent of telework: cross-sectional and prospective associations with well-being and burnout.

Background: This study aimed to determine whether telework mismatch, i.e., lack of fit between actual and preferred extent of telework, is cross-sectionally and prospectively associated with well-being and burnout.

Ward-level leadership quality and prospective low-back pain of eldercare workers: do resident handlings mediate the association?

Objective: We investigated the extent to which ward-level leadership quality was associated with prospective low-back pain among eldercare workers, and how this association was mediated by observed resident handlings.

Methods: 530 Danish eldercare workers, employed in 121 wards, distributed across 20 nursing homes were evaluated. At baseline, leadership quality was measured using the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire, and resident handlings [handlings per shift, handlings not using assistive devices, handlings done alone, interruptions to handlings, impediments to handlings] were assessed using observations.

Individual determinants of satisfaction with the work environment after relocation to activity-based workplaces: A prospective study.

Relocation to activity-based workplaces influences work environment satisfaction, but individual determinants of changes in satisfaction remain unknown. The aim of the present study was to determine whether age, gender, education, occupational position, or office type before relocation can predict work environment satisfaction among employees and managers relocated to activity-based offices. Respondents (n = 422) rated work environment satisfaction three months before and nine months after relocation.

Associations Between Telework Experience and Psychosocial Working Conditions During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-sectional Analysis Among White-Collar Workers in Sweden.

Objectives: The aim of the study are to determine to what extent pre-COVID-19 experience of telework was associated with perceived psychosocial working conditions (PWCs; job demands, social support, and influence at work) during the COVID-19 pandemic among white-collar workers in Sweden and to determine to what extent the association depends on demographic factors, organizational tenure, and amount of computer use.

Methods: Cross-sectional questionnaire data from 603 white-collar workers were collected October to December 2020 in an industrial company.

Results: In general, telework experience was not significantly associated with PWCs.

A Work Time Control Tradeoff in Flexible Work: Competitive Pathways to Need for Recovery.

Work time control may offer opportunities, but also implies risks for employee recovery, influenced by increased work-related ICT use and overtime work. However, this risk-opportunity tradeoff remains understudied. This study aimed to test two different models of associations between work time control, work-related ICT use, overtime work, and the need for recovery.

Effects of Combining Occupationally Relevant Physical and Cognitive Tasks. A Systematic Review.

Objectives: Physical and cognitive tasks occur together in many occupations. Previous reviews of combined tasks have mainly focused on their effects in a sports context. This review investigated to which extent combinations (concurrent or alternating) of occupationally relevant physical and cognitive tasks influence responses reflecting biomechanical exposure, stress, fatigue, performance, and well-being.

Sedentary behaviour, physical activity, and sleep among office workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: a comparison of Brazil and Sweden.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the physical behaviours of office workers worldwide, but studies comparing physical behaviours between countries with similar restrictions policies are rare. This study aimed to document and compare the 24-hour time-use compositions of physical behaviours among Brazilian and Swedish office workers on working and non-working days during the pandemic.

Methods: Physical behaviours were monitored over 7 days using thigh-worn accelerometers in 73 Brazilian and 202 Swedish workers.

Implementation of Activity-Based Workplaces (ABW)-The Importance of Participation in Process Activities.

Relocation to new office solutions such as activity-based workplaces (ABW) has increased but satisfaction with the ABW among employees varies, and the importance of participation in the relocation process is unclear. This study aimed to examine the association between employees' extent of participation in the implementation process activities and satisfaction with the relocation to ABW. Data were collected from 699 employees in a Swedish governmental agency 3-months prior to, 3-months and 9-months after relocation to the ABW.

Are changes in pain associated with changes in heart rate variability in patients treated for recurrent or persistent neck pain?

Background: Persistent or recurrent neck pain is associated with perturbations in the autonomic nervous system balance, and nociceptive stimulation has been seen to influence this balance. However, very few prospective studies have addressed the extent to which changes in pain associate with changes in autonomic cardiac regulation. Therefore, we investigated if changes in pain vary with changes in heart rate variability in a cohort of patients treated for persistent or recurrent neck pain.

Flexible Work: Opportunity and Challenge (FLOC) for individual, social and economic sustainability. Protocol for a prospective cohort study of non-standard employment and flexible work arrangements in Sweden.

Introduction: Flexibility in working life, including non-standard employment (NSE) and flexible work arrangements (FWAs), offers the organisation a better ability to adapt to changing conditions while also posing considerable challenges for organisations as well as workers. The aim of the Flexible Work: Opportunity and Challenge (FLOC) study is to investigate associations between NSE and FWA on the one hand, and individual, social and economic sustainability on the other.

Methods And Analysis: This prospective open cohort study targets approximately 8000 workers 18-65 years old in 8-10 public and private organisations in Sweden.

Nursing Home, Ward and Worker Level Determinants of Perceived Quantitative Work Demands: A Multi-Level Cross-Sectional Analysis in Eldercare.

Introduction: Perceived quantitative demands at work have been associated with poor mental and physical health, long-term sickness absence and subsequent early retirement. Identifying modifiable determinants of perceived quantitative demands at different levels of the organization is key to developing effective interventions. The aim of the study was to identify determinants of perceived quantitative demands at work and examine the extent to which they occur at different levels of the eldercare organisation (i.

Associations between perceived quantitative work demands at different organisational levels and pain and sickness absence in eldercare workers: a multi-level longitudinal analysis.

Purpose: Eldercare work is characterised by high quantitative work demands and high occurrence of musculoskeletal pain and sickness absence. Our aim was to investigate the association between quantitative demands aggregated at the different organizational levels of eldercare and low back pain (LBP) and sickness absence due to pain among workers.

Methods: This study was conducted in 527 eldercare workers from 105 wards across 20 nursing homes in Denmark.

24-Hour Physical Behavior Balance for Better Health for All: "The Sweet-Spot Hypothesis".

"Sit less-move more" has been the univocal advice to adults for better health. Predominantly, this advice is based on research of physical behaviors during leisure-time. A recent study among > 100,000 adults indicates a u-shaped association between leisure-time physical activity and risk for cardiovascular disease and mortality among adults in physically active occupations.

The effect of spinal manipulative therapy and home stretching exercises on heart rate variability in patients with persistent or recurrent neck pain: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Persistent or recurrent neck pain is, together with other chronic conditions, suggested to be associated with disturbances of the Autonomic Nervous System. Acute effects on the Autonomic Nervous System, commonly measured using Heart Rate Variability, have been observed with manual therapy. This study aimed to investigate the effect on Heart Rate Variability in (1) a combination of home stretching exercises and spinal manipulative therapy versus (2) home stretching exercises alone over 2 weeks in participants with persistent or recurrent neck pain.

Relocation to Activity-Based Workplaces (ABW)-Importance of the Implementation Process.

Activity-based workplaces (ABW) have been implemented in many organizations to offer office flexibility and decrease facility costs. Evaluations of the ABW implementation process are rare. The study aimed to examine the ABW relocation process of two offices in a Swedish governmental agency and to explore factors that influence the implementation process and satisfaction with it.

Are resident handlings in eldercare wards associated with musculoskeletal pain and sickness absence among the workers? A prospective study based on onsite observations.

Objectives: We aimed to identify eldercare wards with different types of resident handling characteristics ('phenotypes') and determine the prospective association between these characteristics and musculoskeletal pain and sickness absence among workers during a one-year follow-up.

Methods: Our study was based on the DOSES cohort, including 467 workers at 103 eldercare wards. At baseline, resident handlings were assessed using onsite observations.

Fatigue, Stress, and Performance during Alternating Physical and Cognitive Tasks-Effects of the Temporal Pattern of Alternations.

In occupational life, performing cognitive work tasks in between fatiguing physical work tasks may allow recovery and reduce stress without losing productive working time. The temporal pattern of such alternations is likely a determinant of the recovery effect, influencing both stress and fatigue; the difficulty of the cognitive task (CT) would also be a likely determinant. The aim of this study was to determine to what extent the temporal pattern of alternations between a repetitive physical task and a CT of different difficulties influenced perceived fatigability, performance fatigability, stress-related outcomes, and performance.

What Determines Step-Rate at Work? An Investigation of Factors at the Shift, Worker, Ward, and Nursing Home Levels in Eldercare.

Objectives: Current knowledge on the determinants of step-rate at different organizational levels is limited. Thus, our aim was to identify, in eldercare, at what workplace level differences in step-rate occur and to identify determinants of workers' step-rate at these levels.

Methods: Participants were 420 eldercare workers from 17 nursing homes (126 wards) in Denmark.

Heart rate during work and heart rate variability during the following night: a day-by-day investigation on the physical activity paradox among blue-collar workers.

Objectives: Contrary to leisure-time physical activity, occupational physical activity (OPA) may have harmful health effects, called the physical activity paradox. A proposed mechanism is that OPA can elevate the heart rate (HR) for several hours per day. We aimed to investigate the association between the mean intensity of OPA and HR variability (HRV) indices the following night.