Contextual antecedents of job crafting: review and future research agenda

Purpose The purpose of this study is to critically review current studies on job crafting to identify contextual factors related to employees’ job crafting and to integrate the findings to help organizations improve employees’ job crafting. Design/methodology/approach Based on the guidelines provided by Torraco (2016), the authors reviewed 44 quantitative studies on job crafting published between 2001and 2020. Findings The authors identified 35 contextual antecedents of job crafting at the job (11), group (6), leadership (12) and organizational (6) levels. The findings reveal that a significant number of studies have focused on contextual aspects related to employees’ job crafting. In particular, multiple studies discussed the important role of empowering leadership, servant leadership, transformational leadership, leader-member exchange in job crafting. Originality/value The authors emphasize contextual factors influencing job crafting including job, group, leadership and organizational levels. Based on the review, the authors suggest a future research agenda on job crafting in terms of job, group, leadership and organizational antecedents.

Predictors of welfare dependency at 1, 3 and 5 years after first visit to a jobs and benefits office due to mental health related sickness absence: A Danish cohort study

Background The cost of mental ill health in the EU-28 nations was estimated at approximately 4.1% of the total gross domestic products (GDP). Improved rates of return to sustainable employment among people who are sick-listed due to mental ill health would decrease spending on welfare benefits and costs associated with lost productivity. The present cohort study provides statistical information that may be helpful in the design and prioritizing of efforts aimed at reducing the burden of sickness absence due to mental ill health among employees in the general working population of Denmark. Our primary aim was to estimate odds of receiving health and non-health related welfare benefits, respectively, (compared to being self-reliant) at 1, 3 and 5 years after a first visit to a jobs and benefits office due to mental health related sickness absence, as a function of industrial sector and job group skill level at baseline. A secondary aim was to analyse these odds as a function of baseline age, gender, type of mental ill health, family type and employment status. Methods The study population consisted of all 20–54 year-old persons on long-term sickness absence due to mental health problems in 21 Danish municipalities in 2010–2012 (N = 19,660). Odds ratios were estimated by use of multinomial logistic regression. The outcomes were ascertained through national registers. Results We did not find any statistically significant association between baseline industrial sector or job group skill level and welfare dependency at follow-up. In the secondary analyses, the estimated odds of health and non-health related welfare dependencies at follow-up tended to increase with unemployment, age, being single and being on sick leave due to self-reported anxiety or depression versus stress/burnout at baseline. The odds ratios for welfare dependencies among men versus women were not statistically significant. Conclusions We did not find any significant association between baseline industrial sector or job group skill level and welfare dependencies at 1, 3 or 5-year follow-up after first visit to a jobs and benefits office due to mental health related sickness absence in Denmark.

Relative burden of lung and pleural cancers from exposure to asbestos: a cross-sectional analysis of occupational mortality in England and Wales

ObjectivesTo explore the extent to which asbestos-exposed jobs vary in the ratio of excess mortality from lung cancer to deaths from pleural cancer.DesignUsing data on underlying cause of death and last full-time occupation for 3 688 916 deaths among men aged 20–74 years in England and Wales during 1979–2010, we calculated proportional mortality ratios (PMRs), standardised for age and social class, with all occupations combined as reference. For each of 22 asbestos-exposed job groups with significantly elevated PMRs for pleural cancer, we calculated excess mortality from lung cancer (observed minus expected deaths) and its ratio to number of deaths from pleural cancer. To reduce confounding effects of smoking, we adjusted expected deaths from lung cancer in each job group, according to a formula based on its PMR for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.SettingEngland and Wales.Participants3 688 916 men who died aged 20–74 years during 1979–2010.Outcome measuresRatios of excess mortality from lung cancer to deaths from pleural cancer by job group.ResultsAdjusted PMRs for lung cancer were elevated in all but 4 of the 22 asbestos-exposed job groups, but the ratio of excess lung cancer to deaths from pleural cancer varied widely between job groups, being significantly greater than the overall ratio in six, and significantly less in seven. Analysis for 2001–2010, when (because of changes in coding) ascertainment of pleural tumours was more reliable, showed similar variation between job groups, and indicated an overall ratio of 0.28.ConclusionsExcess lung cancer in asbestos-exposed jobs is not in a simple proportion to deaths from pleural cancer, and the ratio may vary importantly according to intensity of exposure to different types of asbestos and concomitant smoking habits. The current burden of lung cancer from occupational exposure to asbestos in Britain may not be so high as previously thought.

Estimation of Source-Specific Occupational Benzene Exposure in a Population-Based Case–Control Study of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

Objectives Occupational exposures in population-based case–control studies are increasingly being assessed using decision rules that link participants’ responses to occupational questionnaires to exposure estimates. We used a hierarchical process that incorporated decision rules and job-by-job expert review to assign occupational benzene exposure estimates in a US population-based case–control study of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Methods We conducted a literature review to identify scenarios in which occupational benzene exposure has occurred, which we grouped into 12 categories of benzene exposure sources. For each source category, we then developed decision rules for assessing probability (ordinal scale based on the likelihood of exposure > 0.02 ppm), frequency (proportion of work time exposed), and intensity of exposure (in ppm). The rules used the participants’ occupational history responses and, for a subset of jobs, responses to job- and industry-specific modules. For probability and frequency, we used a hierarchical assignment procedure that prioritized subject-specific module information when available. Next, we derived job-group medians from the module responses to assign estimates to jobs with only occupational history responses. Last, we used job-by-job expert review to assign estimates when job-group medians were not available or when the decision rules identified possible heterogeneous or rare exposure scenarios. For intensity, we developed separate estimates for each benzene source category that were based on published measurement data whenever possible. Frequency and intensity annual source-specific estimates were assigned only for those jobs assigned ≥75% probability of exposure. Annual source-specific concentrations (intensity × frequency) were summed to obtain a total annual benzene concentration for each job. Results Of the 8827 jobs reported by participants, 8% required expert review for one or more source categories. Overall, 287 (3.3%) jobs were assigned ≥75% probability of exposure from any benzene source category. The source categories most commonly assigned ≥75% probability of exposure were gasoline and degreasing. The median total annual benzene concentration among jobs assigned ≥75% probability was 0.11 ppm (interquartile range: 0.06–0.55). The highest source-specific median annual concentrations were observed for ink and printing (2.3 and 1.2 ppm, respectively). Conclusions The applied framework captures some subject-specific variability in work tasks, provides transparency to the exposure decision process, and facilitates future sensitivity analyses. The developed decision rules can be used as a starting point by other researchers to assess occupational benzene exposure in future population-based studies.

Job-exposure matrices addressing lifestyle to be applied in register-based occupational health studies

ObjectivesInformation about lifestyle factors in register-based occupational health studies is often not available. The objective of this study was therefore to develop gender, age and calendar-time specific job-exposure matrices (JEMs) addressing five selected lifestyle characteristics across job groups as a tool for lifestyle adjustment in register-based studies.MethodsWe combined and harmonised questionnaire and interview data on lifestyle from several Danish surveys in the time period 1981–2013 for 264 054 employees registered with a DISCO-88 code (the Danish version of International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO)-88) in a nationwide register-based Danish Occupational Cohort. We modelled the probability of specified lifestyles in mixed models for each level of the four-digit DISCO code with age and sex as fixed effects and assessed variation in terms of intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) and exposure-level percentile ratios across jobs for six different time periods from 1981 through 2013.ResultsThe ICCs were overall low (0.26%–7.05%) as the within-job group variation was large relative to the between job group variation, but across jobs the calendar period-specific ratios between highest and lowest predicted levels were ranging from 1.2 to 6.9, and for the 95%/1% and the 75%/5% percentile ratios ranges were 1.1–2.8 and 1.1–1.6, respectively, thus indicating substantial contrast for some lifestyle exposures and some occupations.ConclusionsThe lifestyle JEMs may prove a useful tool for control of lifestyle-related confounding in register-based occupational health studies where lacking information on individual lifestyle factors may compromise internal validity.

Comparison of Relationship between Quality of Public Life and Quality Dedicated to Working Life in the Presence of the Mediator role of Work Conflict: A Multi-Group Analysis

Background and purpose: The concepts of work and life have the strongest and most effective relationship with individuals and society, and making a balance between them can have a direct impact on the achievement of organizational goals. The purpose of this study was to compare the relationship between quality of public life and quality dedicated to working life in the presence of the mediator role of work conflict.Materials and Methods: This applied study was conducted by implementing a descriptive-analytical method in 2017. The study population consisted of 351 working women in the health sector of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, who were selected using stratified sampling method. The survey tool was a standard questionnaire which was used to collect the data, and then the collected data was analyzed by SPSS 24 and AMOS 22.Results: The relationship between quality of public life and quality dedicated to work life in the job groups of women’s healthcare providers (P=0.0009,t=3.592), nurses and midwives' job group (P=0.009,t=2.595), and women’s technician/health expert working in health sector was significant (P=0.002, t=3.104). Whereas, there was no significant difference between the average quality of public life (P=0.117, F=1.788) and the quality dedicated to working life among the employees with different job titles (P=0.592, F=0.742). At the same time, the average of work conflicts was significantly different among different occupations (p = 0.009, F=3.152).Conclusion: The results showed that the relationship between quality of public life and the quality dedicated to work life varies from one job group to another. As a result, with proper planning aiming at increasing the quality of public life, an increase in the quality dedicated to work life and a reduction in their work conflicts can be seen.