The role of healthcare work environments in shaping a safety culture.

Patient safety is a basic goal of all Canadian healthcare organizations. Yet we still have much to learn about the determinants of safety. For instance, little is known about the how workplace environment factors that have an influence on employee behaviour also have implications for patient safety.

Raising the bar for people practices: helping all health organizations become "preferred employers".

Human resources are the single largest budget line in any healthcare organization. But employees are not costs; rather, they must be viewed by managers, boards, and governments as the core assets of the system.

Correlates of employees' perceptions of a healthy work environment.

Purpose: This study analyzed correlates of workers' perceptions of the extent to which their work environment is healthy and how these perceptions influence job satisfaction, employee commitment, workplace morale, absenteeism, and intent to quit.

Design: One-time cross-sectional telephone survey.

Setting: Canadian employees in 2000.

How many injured workers do not file claims for workers' compensation benefits?

Background: Anecdotal evidence suggests that there are injured workers who do not file for workers' compensation (WC). Several recent studies support this, and we aim to quantify the extent of under-reporting.

Methods: A Canadian survey asked about work injuries in the previous year, and several questions established eligibility for WC and whether a claim had been filed.

High-quality healthcare workplaces: a vision and action plan.

Looking into a future marked by intense competition for talent, growing numbers of employers are striving to create "workplaces of choice." Yet, despite the consensus that health human resources are a vital piece of the healthcare reform puzzle, few health service organizations have developed comprehensive strategies to address work environment issues. The cumulative impact of years of cost-cutting, downsizing and restructuring have left Canada's healthcare workforce demoralized, overworked and coping with working conditions that diminish both the quality of working life and organizational performance.