Doing More with Less? Work and Wellbeing in Academics

Somatechnics ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 219-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gail Kinman
Keyword(s):  
Working Conditions ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Professional Autonomy ◽  
Work Life ◽  
Occupational Groups ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Management Standards ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The University ◽  
Over Time

There is evidence that fundamental changes to the context and content of academic work have increased demands, reduced support and eroded professional autonomy. Drawing on research conducted in the UK and Australia, this paper initially considers the implications of these changes for the wellbeing of academics. Particular focus is placed on a longitudinal programme of research that has utilised the UK Health and Safety Executive's Management Standards Framework to investigate the job-related stressors and strains experienced in the university sector. It is argued that this benchmarking approach has strong potential to monitor working conditions in universities over time, facilitate comparisons with the work-related wellbeing of other occupational groups, and identify priority areas for intervention. The paper also focuses on the antecedents and outcomes of work-life conflict which is particularly prevalent amongst academics and a key source of strain. Finally, ways in which the wellbeing of academic employees may be enhanced are considered. The need for universities to provide active and visible support to monitor the wellbeing of their employees and take necessary action is emphasised.

Workplace and Health: A Survey of Classical Orchestral Musicians in the United Kingdom and Germany

2002 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 83-92
Author(s):  
Beatrice S Harper
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Working Conditions ◽  
Classical Music ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Work Related ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Working Lives ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Orchestral Musicians

This article presents the results of a survey that was carried out among UK and German professional classical musicians between November 2000 and April 2001. The UK Musicians’ Union and the German musicians’ union, the Deutsche Orchester Vereinigung (DOV), assisted greatly with the duplication and distribution of the questionnaires. Selected results have been disseminated to the respondents via the UK Musicians’ Union journal, Musician. A full report will appear in Cultural Trends, to be published in 2002 by the Policy Studies Institute, London. The survey covered many aspects of musicians’ perceptions of occupational health and safety, the provision of appropriate information, their general working conditions, and their health. One of the main aims was to bring to the forefront a discussion of musicians’ working conditions and to raise awareness of the range of problems that exist. Key findings identify areas of concern to the respondents, in particular, regarding the environmental conditions of their workplaces. Additionally, findings indicate the use and effectiveness of the measures used by musicians to ameliorate a range of occupational hazards. This article also reports the respondents’ hearing problems, and which medical and alternative practitioners the sample consulted in cases of work-related ill health. The contrasting structure of the profession determined the choice of the United Kingdom and Germany for this study. The UK classical music workforce is predominantly freelance, whereas in Germany there are relatively few freelance musicians, and most orchestral musicians have the status of local government employees. One of the aims of the survey was to elicit information that might indicate whether such different conditions of employment affect the working lives of musicians. This article is organized in two parts. The first part places this survey in context and discusses the particular range of health problems highlighted by the respondents. The second part presents the survey and its findings.

scholarly journals OP0317-PARE THE CONTEMPORARY WORK-RELATED BURDEN OF DISEASE FOR PEOPLE WITH RHEUMATIC DISEASES IN GREECE

2021 ◽  
Vol 80 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 193.1-194
Author(s):  
K. Koutsogianni ◽  
F. Asimakopoulou ◽  
E. Repa ◽  
I. Papadakis ◽  
M. Chatziioannou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Work Environment ◽  
Working Conditions ◽  
Rheumatic Diseases ◽  
Burden Of Disease ◽  
Work Life ◽  
Work Setting ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Flexible Schedule ◽  
Financial Income ◽  
State Pension

Background:EULAR recommendations emphasize the importance of suitable working conditions for people with Rheumatic diseases (RD). Thus, opportunities and choices at work need to be increased for people with rheumatic diseases. Conversely, the COVID-19 pandemic has challenged the working population and particularly those with chronic conditions, such as those with RD. However, there is still a lack of reliable data.Objectives:To depict contemporary real-life data regarding the work-related burden of disease among Greek patients with RD. To develop a White Paper with proposals to the State in order to facilitate people with rheumatic diseases to rejoin or be retained in the work force.Methods:A 24-item quantitative questionnaire was uploaded in the website and social media of REUMAZEIN to capture patients’ responses in respect to work life. The questionnaire was online accessible for a 45-day period (15/8-30/9/2020).Results:The responses of 503 adult people with RD (M/F/NA 94/408/1), were available for analysis. Their age was stratified in decades (18-20 0.6%,21-30 5.99%, 31-40 22.36%, 41-50 38.92%, 51-60 22.16% and over 60 9.58%); totally, 83.44% were in the “work-reproductive” period. The predominant RD types were RA 30.3%, SLE 22.8%, AS 20.2% and PsA 20.2%, respectively. Nearly 90% were on medication, namely 40% on biologics, 33% on methotrexate (as a monotherapy or combined therapy), 16.2% on steroids. A minority were either on alternative therapies (2.8%) or off medication (7.5%), respectively. Most of the people were still employed (72.9%) on a full-time schedule (57.7%) and 4.8% on a part-time one, due to their RD. The rest of them (27.1%) were out of work either due to RD (17%) or retirement (1.7%) or for unrelated to the RD reasons (8.4%). The main source of financial income was personal work (52.4%), followed by a family member support (31.1%), while 11% had either a state pension (8%) or a subsidy (3.2%). In respect to the daily house-keeping, half of them (59.3%) had a varying difficulty (mild 36.3%, severe 23%) and 0.8% considered themselves as “unable”. The diagnosis was mostly established (81%) prior to the work onset. Post-diagnosis, RD had not affected their working schedule in 47.2%, 17% continued to work with respective adaptations but 30% had quitted or resigned from their work 1-7 years later. RD was notified to the work environment by 85%. As for a compassionate work management, 46% reported no change, 28% an improved policy but 28% a worse one. The development of relative adaptations in the work setting (as chairs, devices, flexible schedule) were considered as favorite factors easing the work by 85%. 17% reported an employer’s knowledge on RD related working legislation, 43% the contrary and another 38.7% wished for a future employer’s awareness. Most of the participants (58.9%) had no personal information on this field but were eager to get it. The uneventful impact of RD on finding or keeping a job was registered by 77.4% and 66.9%, respectively. During COVID, most of the participants (53%) have not asked for an RD-related leave and only 24.2% chose to telework, a policy that raised mutual satisfaction in 19%. Of note, the working conditions have not mainly been altered (67%) after the end of the 1st quarantine.Conclusion:This study highlighted that although RD predominate in females, women are more willing to participate in such projects (F 90%). The financial income was mainly based on a personal or a family member work reimbursement (83%), while 11% depended on a state pension or subsidy. The majority has notified the RD to their work environment (85%) while another 85% considered as favorite factors easing the work, several adaptations in the work setting such as chairs, devices, flexible schedule etc. Interestingly, 60% of the participants were unaware of the beneficial legal work rights and nearly 70% of them believe that RD is an obstacle for employment or working maintenance. COVID has not dramatically impaired their work life although the use of teleworking should be strengthened.Disclosure of Interests:None declared.

Ill health retirement

2019 ◽  
pp. 262-274
Author(s):  
Jon Poole ◽  
Glyn Evans
Keyword(s):  
Health Status ◽  
Working Conditions ◽  
Perceived Health ◽  
Perceived Health Status ◽  
Pension Schemes ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Pensions Ombudsman

This chapter gives advice to doctors who provide reports for pension schemes about the merits of a patient’s application for ill health retirement. This is a challenging area of practice in which the structure and wording of the report is important if difficulties are to be reduced. An overview of pension provision in the UK is included as well as advice contained in determinations by the Pensions Ombudsman. Rates of ill health retirement for national schemes are shown against which doctors should audit their practice. In general, a retiree’s perceived health status tends to improve after retirement, although the improvement will attenuate over time. Heavy manual workers are more likely to retire on the grounds of ill health than non-manual workers, which has been attributed to their poorer health and less favourable working conditions.

scholarly journals O7C.2 Developing a measuring strategy for monitoring and evaluation of a national occupational health intervention programme in great britain (GB)

2019 ◽  
Vol 76 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. A64.3-A65
Author(s):  
Yiqun Chen ◽  
Andrew Curran
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Health ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
National Level ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Monitoring And Evaluation ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Measurement Framework ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Over Time

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is the GB regulator for health and safety at work. The HSE Health and Work (H&W) program designs and carries out a wide range of interventions; including inspection, enforcement and other regulatory activities as well as prevention; targeting priority health conditions in high-risk sectors. It is anticipated that long-term, sustainable and coordinated actions developed as part of the program will over time improve awareness, behaviors, control of exposures, and, as a result, prevent work-related ill health in GB workforce.An HSE Measuring Strategy, together with measurement framework and principles, has been developed. The measurement framework draws together data systems, covering Attitudes (A), Behaviors (B), Control of exposures (C), and Disease and work-related ill health reduction (D), based on a simple model to provide evidence required for evaluating the short, medium and long term impacts of the large scale and complex H&W program on the GB health and safety system. The Strategy gives a new focus on measuring behavioral changes and risk reductions; and emphasizes longitudinal measurement designs to assess progress over time.For developing the Strategy, workshops were organized to bring stakeholders across HSE to review existing systems for conducting population surveys, collecting exposure intelligence and occupational health surveillance, which have contributed to forming a long-term vision of fit-for-purpose measurement systems.We will present the development of the Strategy and the plans to implement it with the H&W program, which requires close collaborations between epidemiologists and social researchers, policy makers, and other multidisciplinary regulatory specialists. The lessons learnt will help HSE towards building the right evidence base for monitoring and evaluation of a range of national level intervention programs for work-related ill health prevention.©British Crown copyright (2019)

scholarly journals Bullying and harassment and work-related stressors: Evidence from British small and medium enterprises

2016 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 116-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Duncan Lewis ◽  
Phil Megicks ◽  
Paul Jones
Keyword(s):  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Management Standards ◽  
Significant Relationships ◽  
Manager Support ◽  
Medium Enterprises ◽  
Employment Rights ◽  
Bullying And Harassment ◽  
Work Related Stressors

This article examines the relationship between work-related stressors and bullying and harassment in British small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). Using representative data from a national survey on employment rights and experiences (Fair Treatment at Work), this research identifies that bullying and harassment are just as prevalent in British SMEs as in larger organisations. Drawing upon the Management Standards of the Health and Safety Executive, a number of significant relationships with bullying and harassment are established. Work demands placed upon employees are positively related to bullying and harassment behaviours, while autonomy, manager support, peer support and clarity of role are negatively associated with such behaviours. The study considers implications for human resource practices in SMEs, and the risks of informal attitudes to these work-related stressors in contemporary workplaces are discussed.

‘Management Standards’ and work-related stress in the UK: policy background and science

Work & Stress ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 91-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin J. MacKay * ◽  
Rosanna Cousins ◽  
Peter J. Kelly ◽  
Steve Lee ◽  
Ron H. McCaig
Keyword(s):  
Work Related Stress ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Management Standards ◽  
Related Stress ◽  
The Uk

scholarly journals Cellular agriculture in the UK: a review

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 12
Author(s):  
Neil Stephens ◽  
Marianne Ellis
Keyword(s):  
Social Science Research ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Meat Products ◽  
Third Sector ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Cellular Level ◽  
Agricultural Products ◽  
Private Investors ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The University

This review details the core activity in cellular agriculture conducted in the UK at the end of 2019, based upon a literature review by, and community contacts of the authors. Cellular agriculture is an emergent field in which agricultural products—most typically animal-derived agricultural products—are produced through processes operating at the cellular level, as opposed to (typically farm-based) processes operating at the whole organism level. Figurehead example technologies include meat, leather and milk products manufactured from a cellular level. Cellular agriculture can be divided into two forms: ‘tissue-engineering based cellular agriculture’ and ‘fermentation-based cellular agriculture’. Products under development in this category are typically valued for their environmental, ethical, and sometimes health and safety advantages over the animal-derived versions. There are university laboratories actively pursuing research on meat products through cellular agriculture at the universities of Bath, Newcastle, Aberystwyth, and Aston University in Birmingham. A cellular agriculture approach to producing leather is being pursued at the University of Manchester, and work seeking to produce a palm oil substitute is being conducted at the University of Bath. The UK cellular agriculture companies working in the meat space are Higher Steaks, Cellular Agriculture Ltd, CellulaRevolution, Multus Media and Biomimetic Solutions. UK private investors include CPT Capital, Agronomics Ltd, Atomico, Backed VCs, and Breakoff Capital. The UK also has a strong portfolio of social science research into diverse aspects of cellular agriculture, with at least ten separate projects being pursued over the previous decade. Three analyses of the environmental impact of potential cellular agriculture systems have been conducted in the UK. The first dedicated third-sector group in this sector in the UK is Cultivate (who produced this report) followed by Cellular Agriculture UK. International groups New Harvest and the Good Food Institute also have a UK presence.

EDITORIAL INTRODUCTION

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Werdie Van Staden ◽  
James Appleyard
Keyword(s):  
Working Conditions ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Work Life ◽  
Work Life Balance ◽  
Life Balance ◽  
The Third ◽  
Regulatory Changes ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Relationship

This issue features the third set of articles in the volume on work–life balance and burnout. It focuses on burnout among physicians and an intervention pursuing well-being by which to prevent or recover from burnout. Burnout among physicians is addressed from perspectives from the United Kingdom (UK), Nordic countries, Japan and Germany [4]. Different from the focus on burnout among physicians in these four articles, another article [7] focuses on interventions that pursue well-being by which one may prevent or recover from burnout. Burnout is a global problem adversely affecting physicians and patient care. In the UK, the first article shows, burnout among about a third of physician puts their national health service at risk. Burnout is linked to working conditions leading to emotional exhaustion and impediments to a good work–life balance. Working conditions brought about by regulatory changes in Japan and Germany feature respectively in the third and fifth articles. The fourth article drawing on Nordic studies underscores the person-centered point that burnout among physicians is adversely affecting the very foundation of the physician’s work, that is, the relationship with the patient. This issue, furthermore, features an article on the quantitative effects that well-being interventions had on the personality and health of a sample of refugees living in Sweden.

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