Individual work-motive values: determinants and consequences for the appraisal of specific health-related work characteristics.

The objectives of the present study were to determine whether (I) work-motive values influence the appraisal of specific work characteristics of significance for health and function and (II) subject variables impact work-motive values. Two aspects of work-motive values were studied: values that assign importance to pursuing one's personal goals and interests, (IntWMVs), and values that assign importance to external factors, (ExtWMVs). These aspects of motive values, age, gender, skill level, managerial role, and specific psychosocial work characteristics were analyzed in a cross-sectional sample of 12,994 employees in 101 private and public organizations.

Effects of the Labor Inspection Authority's regulatory tools on physician-certified sick leave and employee health in Norwegian home-care services - a cluster randomized controlled trial.

Objective: This study aimed to determine the effects of the Labor Inspection Authority's regulatory tools on physician-certified sick leave and self-reported health outcomes among employees in municipal home-care services in Norway.

Methods: We conducted a cluster-randomized controlled trial in the home-care service sector, and 96 eligible municipalities were randomly assigned to one of three groups: (i) labor inspection visits, based on the Labor Inspection Authority's standard inspections; (ii) guidance-through-workshops, where participants from home-care services met with labor inspectors to receive information and discuss relevant topics; and (iii) the control group. Data on employee self-reported health (N=1669) were collected at baseline and 6 and 12 months after the interventions.

Pain, Conflicted Feelings About Work, and Sickness Absence: A Prospective Study of the Effects of Number of Pain Sites and Role Conflicts on Medically Certified Sickness Absence.

We investigated associations between the number of pain sites (NPS) and role conflict with medically certified, pain-related sickness absence (SA) in employees of Norwegian enterprises (N = 5,654). Latent profile analyses identified exposure profiles based on 3 types of role conflict (work-role conflict, work-life conflict, and emotional dissonance). Multinomial logistic regressions estimated effects on absence (short-term absence of less than 56 days, long-term absence of more than 56 days) during 1 year after survey.

The contribution of office design to the appraisal of job control: A longitudinal study.

The appraisal of control over work intensity and decisions at the workplace is a well-established determinant of health and well-being among employees. Building on job design theories, the overarching aim of this study was to determine office layout as a predictor of perceived job control. Specifically, we investigated between-group differences in control by contrasting employees in cellular offices with employees in shared/open offices, as well as effects on control among employees transitioning from one office design to another.

"I'm too old for this!": A prospective, multilevel study of job characteristics, age, and turnover intention.

Introduction: Deciding to leave a job is often foreshadowed by burgeoning job dissatisfaction, which is in turn often attributed to characteristics of the job and work environment. However, while we know that job characteristics influence job satisfaction, health, and motivation, their associations with turnover intention is less clear. Moreover, despite aging workforces, an understanding of how working conditions influence workers across the lifespan is lacking.

Do regulatory tools instigate measures to prevent work-related psychosocial and ergonomic risk factors? A process evaluation of a Labour inspection authority trial in the Norwegian home-care services.

Objective: There is a research gap regarding the way managers and employee representatives respond to Labour Authority interventions targeting work-related psychosocial and ergonomic risk factors. The present study aimed to determine if (I) labour inspections and (II) guidance-through-workshops led by inspectors were perceived by the target audience as equally useful and educational; and to determine if utility and enhanced knowledge were associated with the implementation of measures to prevent work-related risk factors. Finally, it aimed to determine if the managers in the intervention groups to a greater extent than the controls reported implementing such measures.

Effects of the Labour Inspectorate Authority's regulatory tools on psychosocial and biomechanical work factors in Norwegian home care services: a cluster randomised controlled trial.

Objectives: This study aimed to determine the effects of the Labour Inspectorate Authority's (LIA's) regulatory tools on psychosocial and biomechanical work factors in the Norwegian municipal home care services.

Methods: A cluster-randomised controlled trial conducted in the home care services with employee questionnaire data on work factors at baseline, and 6 and 12 months after the interventions. In total, 96 eligible municipalities were randomly assigned to either the control group or one of two interventions: (1) labour inspection visits, based on the LIA's standard inspections; and (2) guidance-through-workshops, where the participating services highlighted issues and trained labour inspectors provided guidance based on existing labour laws and regulations.

An Exploratory Study on the Physical Activity Health Paradox-Musculoskeletal Pain and Cardiovascular Load during Work and Leisure in Construction and Healthcare Workers.

Using a novel approach, this exploratory study investigated whether the physical activity (PA) paradox extends to cardiovascular load and musculoskeletal pain. At baseline, 1-2 days of 24 h heart rate was assessed in 72 workers from construction and healthcare. Workers then reported pain intensity in 9 body regions (scale 0-3) every 6 months for two years.

Working at home and expectations of being available: effects on perceived work environment, turnover intentions, and health.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine if (i) working at home and (ii) expectations of being available to the employer in their spare time influences employees' perceptions of their work environment and well-being, health, organizational commitment, or intention to leave.

Methods: We conducted cross-sectional analyses of survey data from 7861 office workers reporting hours worked at home and 3146 reporting frequency of expectations of being available to the employer in spare time (availability expectations). Prospective analyses (two-year follow up) comprised 5258 and 2082, respectively.

The Impact of a Workplace Terrorist Attack on the Psychosocial Work Environment: A Longitudinal Study From Pre- to Post-disaster.

The psychosocial work environment is of great importance for regaining health and productivity after a workplace disaster. Still, there is a lack of knowledge about the impact of a disaster on the psychosocial work environment. The purpose of this study was to examine whether employees' perceptions of role clarity, role conflicts, and predictability in their work situation changed from before to after a workplace terrorist attack.

Working at home and alcohol use.

Working at home has become a frequent work arrangement following the COVID-19 pandemic. However, little is known about how working at home influence alcohol use among employees. This study examines associations between working at home at least 15 h per week and alcohol consumption using data from a sample.

Do intensity of pain alone or combined with pain duration best reflect clinical signs in the neck, shoulder and upper limb?

Objectives: It is important to validate self-reported musculoskeletal pain used in epidemiological studies for evaluation of pain outcome measures. The main objective of this paper was to assess the association between self-reported neck/shoulder/upper limb pain and clinical signs of disorders in the region, especially by comparing a measure that only used pain intensity with a measure that combined pain intensity and pain duration.

Methods: Four hundred and twenty technical school students of both genders were included with a median age of 17 years (16-28).

Safety incidents associated with extended working hours. A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: We performed a systematic review to assess potential consequences of extended working hours on accidents, near-accidents, safety incidents and injuries (incidents) by considering the overall certainty of evidence.

Methods: We searched five databases systematically (Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and Proquest Health and safety Science Abstract) and identified 10072 studies published until December 2020. Twenty-two studies met the inclusion criteria.

The Influence of Affective State on Subjective-Report Measurements: Evidence From Experimental Manipulations of Mood.

A substantial portion of the knowledge base of psychology is based on subjective reports with a risk of information bias. The objective of the present study was to elucidate one contextual source of variance and potential bias in subjective reports: the influence of affective state at the time of responding to questionnaires. Employees ( = 67, abstaining from stimulants and activities that may influence emotional and physiological state) were subjected to mood-induction procedures in the laboratory.

Associations of objectively measured total duration and maximum bout length of standing at work with lower-extremity pain intensity: a 2-year follow-up of construction and healthcare workers.

Background: Musculoskeletal disorders are among the major reasons for years lived with disability. Approximately one third of the European working population report lower-extremity discomfort and many attribute these discomforts to work-related factors. Employees in the healthcare and construction sectors reports high levels of lower-extremity pain and commonly relate the pain to their profession.

Psychometric properties and validation of the Brief NORSCI safety perceptions and climate inventory in the Norwegian waste management industry.

A valid, standardized tool for assessing workplace safety can help organizations and employers to detect potential safety risks. This is crucial to improve safety and protect employees and production against accidents and injuries. As no such tool has so far been developed for the waste management industry, this study aimed to establish the psychometric properties and the concurrent validity of the 11-item Brief Norwegian Safety Climate Inventory (Brief NORSCI).

Can a metric combining arm elevation and trapezius muscle activity predict neck/shoulder pain? A prospective cohort study in construction and healthcare.

Objective: To determine whether a composite metric of arm elevation and trapezius activity (i.e. neck/shoulder load) is more strongly associated with the 2-year course of neck and shoulder pain intensity (NSPi) among construction and healthcare workers than each exposure separately.

Pain complaints after consecutive nights and quick returns in Norwegian nurses working three-shift rotation: an observational study.

Objectives: To determine whether nurses working consecutive night shifts, or short transitions between shifts (quick returns (QRs)), yielded higher risk for pain complaints when compared with regular morning shifts. Sleep duration was tested as a potential mediator.

Design: Observational diary study.

Office design as a risk factor for disability retirement: A prospective registry study of Norwegian employees.

Objectives This aim of this study was to (i) examine differences in risk of subsequent disability retirement between employees working in cellular, shared, and open-plan offices and (ii) determine the contribution of gender, skill-level, work ability, medically certified sickness absence, leadership position, and personality traits (extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness) as confounders. Methods Survey data on predictor variables combined with official objective registry data on disability retirement and sickness absence were extracted from a large Norwegian occupational cohort of office workers (N=6779, 53.5% women).

Effects of exposure to workplace terrorism on subsequent doctor certified sickness absence, and the modifying role of psychological and social work factors: a combined survey and register study.

Background: Studies have shown that terrorist attacks affect the mental and physical health of persons exposed to terrorism. When terror strikes at the workplace where people spend much time, and should feel safe, the health consequences for those affected might be severe. The aim of the study was to determine whether psychological and social work factors moderates effects of exposure to a workplace terrorist attack on subsequent doctor-certified sickness absence.

The Effect of Organizational Changes on the Psychosocial Work Environment: Changes in Psychological and Social Working Conditions Following Organizational Changes.

The present study aimed to clarify the prospective effects of various types and frequencies of organizational changes on aspects in the psychosocial work environment. The study had a prospective, full-panel, repeated measures design. Data were collected by self-administered, online questionnaires, with a 2-year interval between measurement occasions.

How leadership behaviors influence the effects of job predictability and perceived employability on employee mental health - a multilevel, prospective study.

Objectives This study aimed to elucidate the potential moderating effect of fair-, empowering-, and supportive-leadership behaviors on the relationship between job predictability, future employability, and subsequent clinically relevant mental distress. Method The study had a full panel, prospective design, utilizing online, self-administered questionnaire data collected at two time points, two years apart. Fair-, empowering-, and supportive-leadership behaviors, job predictability and future employability were measured by the General Nordic Questionnaire for Psychological and Social Factors at Work (QPSNordic).

Effects of psychosocial work factors on number of pain sites: The role of sleep quality as mediator.

Background: Objective of the current study was to determine which of thirteen specific psychosocial work factors were related to number of musculoskeletal pain sites (NPS) prospectively over a two-year time span. Furthermore, the study aimed to explore possible mediation of these prospective relationships through sleep problems.

Methods: The study was a two-wave full panel study.

Effectiveness of the Labour Inspection Authority's regulatory tools for work environment and employee health: study protocol for a cluster-randomised controlled trial among Norwegian home-care workers.

Introduction: There is a need to evaluate whether, and to what degree, labour inspections or other regulatory tools have the desired effects on psychosocial, organisational and mechanical work environment, and employee health. The Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority (NLIA) uses different tools and strategies to enforce compliance with occupational safety and health (OSH) legislation. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the effects of labour inspections and other regulatory tools employed by the NLIA.

The impact of office design on medically certified sickness absence.

Objective The aim of this study was to determine the impact of three different office designs (cellular office, shared office, and open-plan workspace) on the risk of medically certified sickness absence and the number of days, respectively, of medically certified sickness absence over a 12-month follow-up period. Methods The study relied on a combination of self-report survey questionnaire data on office design supplemented with official registry data number of days with sickness absence from the Norwegian Labor and Welfare Administration. The sample comprised 6328 Norwegian office workers (57% women, age range: 19-70 years, mean age: 44 years).