scholarly journals ‘You Get Really Old, Really Quick’: Involuntary Long Hours in the Mining Industry

2011 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Peetz ◽  
Georgina Murray
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Mining Industry ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
Job Quality ◽  
National Standard ◽  
Life Balance ◽  
Policy Responses ◽  
Australian Bureau Of Statistics ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Work And Life

Is there a job-quality problem in mining? Is part of this problem that mining employees are working involuntary long hours? If so, how extensive is this problem? What is the impact, if any, of involuntary long hours in mining on family life? And how much control do mining employees have over their working-time arrangements? What are the possible policy responses? We address these questions through analysis of data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the Australian Work and Life Index survey, a survey of employees in Queensland, and qualitative interviews with 135 people associated with the Queensland mining industry. We find evidence of substantial involuntary long hours in mining, closely related to 24-hour operations and 12-hour shifts, with adverse implications for the work—life balance, which is made worse where employees lack input into the design of rosters. The findings suggest that, in order to promote ‘good jobs’ in the mining industry, there is both a need to revisit protections for employees against being forced to work ‘unreasonable’ hours above the ostensible national standard of 38 hours per week and strong support even amongst mine-workers for a ceiling on hours worked per week.

scholarly journals Educational Film Experiment at Workplaces: Can Sex-Role Attitudes and Work and Life Balance Capabilities Related to Maternity Be Treated?

2022 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Ester Eomois
Keyword(s):  
Treatment Group ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
Sex Role ◽  
Educational Film ◽  
Sex Role Attitudes ◽  
Life Balance ◽  
Attitudes And Perceptions ◽  
Educational Videos ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Work And Life

In order to understand the impact of educational videos on the sex-role attitudes and perceptions of maternity at workplaces, an experimental research design was selected. Our survey data originates from a randomized control trial of 262 employees across Estonian organisations. After using a randomization method to select five companies from Estonian company TOP 100 ranking, an equal size control and treatment groups within these companies were randomly selected. Employees of the control group were treated with a 20-minute educational film which was designed originally for highschool students for treating a traditional male-breadwinner type of sex-role attitudes. Research goal was to explore whether an educational film as a teaching tool could be also used in organisations to affect sex role attitudes and challenges of work and life balance with focus on maternity at workplaces. Survey data collection was arranged in companies by randomly splitting the employees into treatment and control groups, and they were guided through the experiment via written instructions and HR specialist support. For data analysis, author used descriptive analysis to measure the differences between the control and treatment group by analysing employees’ responses to 20 individual statements in Likert scale, with a focus on sex-role attitudes and maternity challenges questions. More specifically, author compared the differences between control and treatment group as well as the gender differences across the two groups (i.e whether an educational film had a greater affect to one over the other sex). This experiment suggests which topics in educational videos could positively affect sex-role attitudes and perceptions of maternity at workplace. The article also makes suggestions how context supporting training tools can be used together with educational videos at workplaces.

scholarly journals JOB QUALITY AND WELL-BEING IN OECD COUNTRIES

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
pp. 1-23
Author(s):  
Xose Picatoste ◽  
Mirela Ionela Aceleanu ◽  
Andreea Claudia Șerban
Keyword(s):  
Structural Equation ◽  
Job Strain ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Work Life ◽  
Job Quality ◽  
Work Life Balance ◽  
Stressful Situation ◽  
Life Balance ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
The Impact

The lifestyle of world citizens has suffered an unprecedented impact as a result of the health crisis caused by the COVID-19. Economies and worldwide societies expect huge damages comparable to that caused by war. To the effects of this crisis on employment and wages must be added those produced in the workplace, with a foreseeable increase in job strain, not only as of the result of the health security reasons in the workplace but also to the effects on work-life balance, training and promotion possibilities, etc. This research analyses the impact of the economic situation on health, the influence of health on labour strain and on job quality. Using OECD data and a structural equation model, we have investigated the relationship between economy, health, quality of the job, work-life balance and well-being. The importance of security and safeness in the workplace is one of the items for evaluating job strain, particularly when they become even more crucial in pandemic times. This issue implicates not only the real risk of individual and social health but also a stressful situation for workers. The main contribution of our paper relies on establishing and prove causal relations among social and economic variables related to health, well-being and job quality, including safeness at the workplace. Considering that this relationship will probably become reinforced after a pandemic, like COVID-19, the actual relevance of the analysed topic and the achieved results becomes crucial.

Mining-Related Lower Back Injuries and the Compensation Process: An Injured Worker’s Journey

2019 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-31
Author(s):  
Sherry Mongeau ◽  
Nancy Lightfoot ◽  
Leigh MacEwan ◽  
Tammy Eger
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Injury ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Mining Industry ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Workplace Safety ◽  
Lower Back ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Qualitative Descriptive ◽  
Lower Back Injury ◽  
The Impact

Background: In Ontario, when an occupational injury occurs in the mining industry, there is often a need to interact with the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB). During this process, miners experience economic, social, and mental health–related issues that can affect their overall well-being. This study aimed to determine the impact of a lower back injury and the WSIB claim process experience expressed by some male, underground miners in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. Methods: A qualitative descriptive study design that utilized in-depth, individual qualitative interviews was conducted. Twelve male participants (underground miners) were interviewed in Sudbury, Ontario. Interviews were transcribed and thematically analyzed. Findings: The results emphasized the need for improved communication, the necessity for resources to be allocated to enhance public discussion about injury prevention, the social and economic burden that miners and their families face, and the power imbalances between injured miners and the companies that were meant to support them. Conclusion/Application to Practice: The findings indicate that several areas require improvement for an injured miner who submits a WSIB claim. Ideally, participants wanted an improved and streamlined process for reporting an injury and for WSIB claim management. These findings suggest that occupational health practices that foster a safe and healthy work environment in the mining industry must be promoted, which will help to guide future policies that enhance support for an injured worker and the WSIB claim process.

Retención de Talentos: Evidencia en la Industria Minera del Norte Grande de Chile

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 75-85
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Mining Industry ◽  
Multiple Linear Regression Model ◽  
Work Life ◽  
Parallel Analysis ◽  
Life Balance ◽  
Career Opportunity ◽  
Talent Retention ◽  
Contemporary Development ◽  
The Impact

The purpose of this study is to determine the impact that critical variables have, associated with the retention of talents in the intention of workers to abandon their employment in the Mining Industry. A rigorous literature review was carried out, in order to identify the variables that, according to the contemporary development of the theory, most impact talent retention and, subsequently, a survey is applied to workers and contractors of the mining indus- try, whose data is analyzed by means of an exploratory factor analysis, presenting the results through a parallel analysis and, finally, a multiple linear regression model. The results indicate that the only significant variables of the study were the Career Opportunity, the reward and benefits and the work-life balance.

Contact precautions for colonisation with multidrug-resistant organisms and haemodialysis patient quality of life and mood: a pilot case-control study

2019 ◽  
pp. 19-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rathika Krishnasamy
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Social Function ◽  
Multidrug Resistant ◽  
Contact Precautions ◽  
Dialysis Vintage ◽  
Multidrug Resistant Organisms ◽  
And Gender ◽  
The Impact

Background: The rate of multidrug-resistant organisms (MDRO) colonisation in dialysis populations has increased over time. This study aimed to assess the effect of contact precautions and isolation on quality of life and mood for haemodialysis (HD) patients colonised with MDRO. Methods: Patients undergoing facility HD completed the Kidney Disease Quality of Life (KDQOL–SFTM), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Personal Wellbeing-Index Adult (PWI-A). Patients colonised with MDRO were case-matched by age and gender with patients not colonised. Results: A total of 16 MDRO-colonised patients were matched with 16 controls. Groups were well matched for demographics and co-morbidities, other than a trend for older dialysis vintage in the MDRO group [7.2 years (interquartile range 4.6–10.0) compared to 3.2 (1.4–7.6) years, p=0.05]. Comparing MDRO-positive with negative patients, physical (30.5±10.7 vs. 34.6±7.3; p=0.2) and mental (46.5±11.2 vs. 48.5±12.5; p = 0.6) composite scores were not different between groups. The MDRO group reported poorer sleep quality (p=0.01) and sleep patterns (p=0.05), and lower social function (p=0.02). BDI scores were similar (MDRO-positive 10(3.5–21.0) vs. MDRO-negative 12(6.5–16.0), p=0.6). PWI-A scores were also similar in both groups; however, MDRO patients reported lower scores for “feeling safe”, p=0.03. Conclusion: While overall scores of quality of life and depression were similar between groups, the MDRO group reported poorer outcomes in sleep and social function. A larger cohort and qualitative interviews may give more detail of the impact of contact precautions and isolation on HD patients. The necessity for contact precautions for different MDRO needs consideration.

scholarly journals Use of Multi-Anionic Sodium Tripolyphosphate to Enhance Dispersion of Concentrated Kaolin Slurries in Seawater

Metals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 1085
Author(s):  
Williams Leiva ◽  
Norman Toro ◽  
Pedro Robles ◽  
Edelmira Gálvez ◽  
Ricardo Ivan Jeldres
Keyword(s):  
Rheological Properties ◽  
Fine Particles ◽  
Sodium Tripolyphosphate ◽  
Mining Industry ◽  
Chord Length ◽  
Water Recovery ◽  
Reflectance Measurement ◽  
Anionic Charge ◽  
Free Environment ◽  
The Impact

This research aims to analyze the impact of sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP) as a rheological modifier of concentrated kaolin slurries in seawater at pH 8, which is characteristic of copper sulfide processing operations. The dispersion phenomenon was analyzed through chord length measurements using the focused beam reflectance measurement (FBRM) technique, complementing size distributions in unweighted and square-weighted modes. The reduction of the rheological properties was significant, decreasing from 231 Pa in a reagent-free environment to 80 Pa after the application of STPP. A frequency sweep in a linear viscoelastic regime indicated that by applying a characteristic dosage of 0.53 kg/t of STPP, the pulp before yielding increases its phase angle, which increases its liquid-like character. Measurements of the chord length verified the dispersion of particles, which showed an apparent increase in the proportion of fine particles and a reduction of the coarser aggregates when STPP was applied. Measurements of the zeta potential suggested that the high anionic charge of the reagent (pentavalent) increases the electrostatic repulsions between particles, overcoming the effect of cations in seawater. The results are relevant for the mining industry, especially when the deposits have high contents of complex gangues, such as clays, that increase the rheological properties. This increases the energy costs and water consumption needed for pumping the tailings from thickeners to the tailing storages facilities. The strategies that allow for the improvement of the fluidity and deformation of the tailings generate slack in order to maximize water recovery in the thickening stages.

scholarly journals Green Work-Life Balance and Greenwashing the Construct of Work-Life Balance: Myth and Reality

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (15) ◽  
pp. 4556
Author(s):  
Anuradha Iddagoda ◽  
Eglantina Hysa ◽  
Helena Bulińska-Stangrecka ◽  
Otilia Manta
Keyword(s):  
Job Performance ◽  
Employee Engagement ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Work Life ◽  
Work Life Balance ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Life Balance ◽  
Theoretical Contribution ◽  
Green Human Resource Management ◽  
The Impact

Some of the frequently used buzz words in the corporate sector include green leadership, green human resource management, green employee engagement and green work-life balance. The intention of this article is to identify and examine the logical reasons that govern “green work-life balance” or, in simple terms, “greenwashing” work-life balance. The paper also aims at providing a comprehensive conceptualization of work-life balance, while thoroughly examining the components of measuring the construct. Based on a cross-sectional study in the banking industry with a sample of 170 managerial employees, this study analyzes the impact of work-life balance on employee job performance mediated by employee engagement. Results support the assumed relationship between work-life balance and employee job performance embedded in employee engagement. The theoretical contribution of this study concerns the application of role behavior theory to describe the mechanisms shaping the relationship between work-life balance and job performance through employee engagement. The practical implications of the paper include recommendations for improving job performance by enhancing the work-life balance and strengthening employee engagement.

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