Raising Awareness and Appreciation: Employee Perspectives on Disability Management in Swiss Companies

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Geisen ◽  
Benedikt Hassler ◽  
Shannon Wagner ◽  
Nicholas Buys ◽  
Christine Randall ◽  
...  

AbstractIn Western countries, an increasing number of companies has difficulties with recruiting and retaining employees, along with growing employer responsibilities in the workplace. Therefore, companies’ interest in disability management programs has increased. This article examines employee perspectives of disability management and how it is related to job satisfaction, physical and mental health, workplace morale and sickness absence. Employees from seven Swiss companies (N=482), from the private and public sector, participated in either an online and paper-and-pencil survey for this present study. The survey asked employees to report their views of how disability management is related to job satisfaction, mental health, physical health, workplace morale and absenteeism. The Swiss employees participating in the study knew about disability management and related programs, which are implemented in their company. They valued them as moderately helpful for a variety of factors related to workplace wellbeing, and regarded the programs generally as high quality and wanted them to continue, because they contribute to job satisfaction, mental health, physical health, workplace morale and reduced sickness absence. However, employees also saw more value in disability prevention (DP) and stay at work (SAW) programs than in return to work (RTW) programs. Male employees and those working for public organisations saw more benefit in disability management programs than female employees and those working in the private sector.

Author(s):  
Nicholas Buys ◽  
Shannon Wagner ◽  
Christine Randall ◽  
Ignatius Yu ◽  
Thomas Geisen ◽  
...  

Disability management is now recognised as an effective means of managing the increasing global costs of injury and disability. However, research on disability management particularly employee perceptions of its value, are sparse. This paper reports on the Australian findings of a large international project that included Canada, China, Switzerland and Australia, which examined employee perspectives of disability management related to job satisfaction, physical and mental health, workplace morale and reduced sickness absence. Data was collected from 365 employees in 10 large private and public companies using an online survey tool that focused on three components of a disability management program — disability prevention (DP), stay at work (SAW) and return to work (RTW) programs — in relation to the dependent variables of job satisfaction, physical and mental health, workplace morale, sickness absence. Multivariate regression was used to predict disability management's influence on the dependent variables. Results demonstrated positive perceptions regarding the perceived benefits of disability management to both individual employees and their perceptions of coworkers. It was apparent that each component of a disability management program (DP, SAW, and RTW) is positively related to job satisfaction, physical and mental health, workplace morale and reduced sickness absence Disability management programs were perceived as more beneficial in private, as opposed to public, workplaces; however, no differences were evident according to union status or gender of the respondent. It is possible disability management may impact on organisational productivity via variables associated with workplace culture, as well as through the direct benefits flowing from preventing and managing injury. Given the significant costs associated with absenteeism, an outcome of interest to many employers was the finding that employees perceived SAW programs as the most beneficial in terms of reducing absenteeism for both themselves and their coworkers.


Author(s):  
Shannon Wagner ◽  
Henry Harder ◽  
Liz Scott ◽  
Nicholas Buys ◽  
Ignatius Yu ◽  
...  

A Canadian sample was collected as an aspect of a large international project, with representation from Australia, Canada, China, and Switzerland. In each country, interview and survey data were collected using team-created research tools. Canadian survey data on disability management (DM) perceptions were collected from 218 employees in both public and private organisations. Our Canadian employee sample reported perceived influence of disability prevention on job satisfaction, physical health, mental health, and morale for both themselves and their coworkers. Return to work programs were seen as valuable for job satisfaction of both the employee and coworkers, as well as the physical health of coworkers. Similarly, stay at work programs were seen as valuable for mental health and morale of coworkers. There was no relationship between perceived influence of DM interventions and reduction of sickness absence. The influence of DM was perceived as more positive for private and/or nonunionised workplaces. No gender differences were evident.


2021 ◽  
Vol 75 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. 7512505178p1-7512505178p1
Author(s):  
Buwen Yao ◽  
Sandy Takata ◽  
Shawn C. Roll

Abstract Date Presented Accepted for AOTA INSPIRE 2021 but unable to be presented due to online event limitations. We examined the relationships between participation in different extracurricular activities and the overall physical and mental health in college students across a 2-year period. Participation in certain occupations was associated with positive mental health, whereas other occupations were linked to poorer physical health. Exploration and promotion of participation in extracurricular occupations should be considered to support student health. Primary Author and Speaker: Buwen Yao Contributing Authors: Sandy Takata, Shawn C. Roll


2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 176-184
Author(s):  
Bernadette Mazurek Melnyk ◽  
Alai Tan ◽  
Andreanna Pavan Hsieh ◽  
Kate Gawlik ◽  
Cynthia Arslanian-Engoren ◽  
...  

Background Critical care nurses experience higher rates of mental distress and poor health than other nurses, adversely affecting health care quality and safety. It is not known, however, how critical care nurses’ overall health affects the occurrence of medical errors. Objective To examine the associations among critical care nurses’ physical and mental health, perception of workplace wellness support, and self-reported medical errors. Methods This survey-based study used a cross-sectional, descriptive correlational design. A random sample of 2500 members of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses was recruited to participate in the study. The outcomes of interest were level of overall health, symptoms of depression and anxiety, stress, burnout, perceived worksite wellness support, and medical errors. Results A total of 771 critical care nurses participated in the study. Nurses in poor physical and mental health reported significantly more medical errors than nurses in better health (odds ratio [95% CI]: 1.31 [0.96-1.78] for physical health, 1.62 [1.17-2.29] for depressive symptoms). Nurses who perceived that their worksite was very supportive of their well-being were twice as likely to have better physical health (odds ratio [95% CI], 2.16 [1.33-3.52]; 55.8%). Conclusion Hospital leaders and health care systems need to prioritize the health of their nurses by resolving system issues, building wellness cultures, and providing evidence-based wellness support and programming, which will ultimately increase the quality of patient care and reduce the incidence of preventable medical errors.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Thomson ◽  
Maureen Wilson-Genderson ◽  
Laura A Siminoff

Abstract Background Informal caregivers play a fundamental role in the care of hematological cancer patients, but less is known about how secondary caregivers are involved. We assessed the presence or absence of a secondary caregiver, the types of caregiving activities performed by primary and secondary caregivers and examined whether the presence of a secondary caregiver was associated with primary caregiver characteristics and wellbeing over time. Methods A case series of hematological cancer patient-caregiver dyads (n = 171) were recruited from oncology clinics in Virginia and Pennsylvania and followed for 2 years. Multi-level models were developed to examine the associations between presence of a secondary caregiver and the primary caregivers’ well-being. Results Most (64.9%) primary caregivers reported having secondary caregivers. Multilevel models showed primary caregivers without help had higher baseline mental and physical health, but experienced deteriorating physical health overtime, compared to supported primary caregivers. Supported primary caregivers reported improvements in mental health over time that was associated with improvements in physical health. Conclusions Primary caregivers in good physical and mental health at the beginning of their caregiving journey but who have the least assistance from others may be at greatest risk for detrimental physical health effects long term. Attention to the arrangement of caregiving roles (i.e., who provides what care) overtime is needed to ensure that caregivers remain healthy and well supported.


2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 621-639 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashleigh Coser ◽  
Kelley J. Sittner ◽  
Melissa L. Walls ◽  
Tina Handeland

American Indian (AI) communities experience a disproportionate rate of Type 2 diabetes (T2D) and cumulative exposure to stress. Although this link is well researched among various populations, it has not been examined among AI communities. Path analysis was used to examine a multiple-mediator model to explain how caregiver stress influences self-reported mental and physical health among 100 AI participants with T2D. Caregiver stress was negatively associated with physical and mental health. Physical health was positively associated with family/community connectedness and mental health was positively associated with both family support and connectedness. The relationship between caregiver stress and mental health was partially mediated by family/community connectedness; caregiver stress had no indirect effects on physical health via either hypothesized mediator. Findings demonstrate the importance of integrating individuals’ connection to family and community and its influence on caregiver stress and mental health in intervention programs targeting diabetes management and care among AI communities.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon Dyg Sperling ◽  
Nina Dalkner ◽  
Christina Berndt ◽  
Eva Fleischmann ◽  
Michaela Ratzenhofer ◽  
...  

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increased psychological strain on public mental health and may impact behavioral, mental, and physical health, presumably with effects on patients with severe mental disorders. This study examines pandemic-related physical and mental health and (compensatory) behavioral changes, in patients with BD as compared to healthy control individuals.Method: Physical and mental health and self-reported changes in daily structure and behavior due to the pandemic were assessed using a self-constructed questionnaire and the brief symptom inventory (BSI) in Germany, Austria, and Denmark in individuals with BD and a healthy control group.Results: The present study included 118 individuals with BD and 215 healthy controls. Individuals with BD reported statistically significant higher physical risk burden, increased weight gain, more physical comorbidities, and a decrease in physical activity and they further reported higher rates of COVID-19 testing, had more worries concerning health, and experienced more anxiety but less social distancing.Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic seems to have a greater impact on physical health in individuals with BD than in healthy controls. Individuals with BD appear to be having more difficulties compensating their behavior due to the pandemic which could amplify the effect of risk factors associated with poorer physical health. This highlights the necessity for optimizing and targeting the overall treatment of both mental and physical health in patients with BD during periods with far-reaching changes such as the COVID-19 pandemic.Limitations: Sampling issues and self-report forms, selectivity (missing elderly, and those lacking access or knowledge of technology).


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 302-312
Author(s):  
KS Oritogun ◽  
OO Oyewole

Background: Stroke is one of the major public health problems worldwide. Physical and mental health data of stroke survivors are often expressed in proportions. Therefore, the Beta Regression models family for data between zero and one will be appropriate. Objectives: To identify a suitable model and the likely risk factors of physical and mental health of stroke survivors. Method: Secondary data of stroke survivors from two tertiary health Institutions in Ogun State, Nigeria, were analysed. Inflated Beta (BEINF) and Inflated-at-one-Beta (BEINF1) models were compared using Deviance (DEV), Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) and Bayesian Information Criteria (BIC) for model selection. The model with minimum DEV, AIC and BIC was considered to be better. Results: The deviance (-86.0604,), AIC (-46.0604) and BIC (6.4391) values of the BEINF1 model for physical health and the deviance (-20.1217), AIC (19.8783) and BIC (72.3778) values of BEINF1 model for mental health were smaller than BEINF models. Therefore, BEINF1 was the better model to identify the health risk factors of stroke survivors. Age, marital status, diastolic blood pressure, disability duration and systolic blood pressure had a significant association with physical health, while BMI had a significant positive association with mental health.  Conclusion: The beta-inflated-at-one (BEINF1) model is suitable for identifying health risk factors of stroke survivors when the outcome variable is a proportion. Both demographic and clinical characteristics were significantly associated with the health of stroke survivors. This study would assist researchers in knowing the appropriate model for analysing proportion or percentage response variables.


2012 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edgar Voltmer ◽  
Mark Zander ◽  
Joachim E Fischer ◽  
Brigitte M Kudielka ◽  
Bernhard Richter ◽  
...  

Objectives: This study examined the physical and mental health of orchestra musicians of different types of orchestras compared to a reference sample of the general population and of two other professions. Methods: Professional musicians (n = 429) from nine opera and/or concert orchestras were surveyed with the Short Form-12 general health questionnaire (SF-12). Data were compared with a reference sample (n = 2805) with a sample of physicians (n = 549) and aircraft manufacturers (n = 822). Results: Compared to the reference sample and the two other professional groups, the musicians had a higher physical health score: 53.07 (SD 5.89) vs 49.03 (SD 9.35) reference, 51.26 (SD 7.53) physicians, and 49.31 (SD 7.99) aircraft manufacturers. The musicians’ mental health score was lower compared to the reference sample but did not differ from the other professional groups: 48.33 (SD 9.52) for musicians vs 52.24 (SD 8.10) reference, 48.26 (SD 10.06) physicians, and 48.54 (SD 9.59) aircraft manufacturers. Physical health but not mental health decreased with age in all groups. In physical and mental health, women scored lower than men. There was no significant difference in physical and mental health scores between musicians of concert and opera orchestras. Age and gender accounted for 3.6% of the variance of the physical health score, but none of the demographic characteristics or orchestral roles and functions was predictive for mental health scores. Conclusions: Musicians report better physical but poorer mental health than the general population, but they did not differ in mental health scores from physicians or aircraft manufacturers.


2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 236-261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine M. Boydell ◽  
Jeffrey Ball ◽  
Jackie Curtis ◽  
Adèle De Jager ◽  
Megan Kalucy ◽  
...  

Estimates indicate the lifespan of individuals with psychotic illness is reduced by approximately 15-20 years. Consequently there is a need to address the physical health of those who live with a mental illness, like psychosis. The Bondi Centre provides an integrated model of care to young people with a first episode of psychosis. The Keeping the Body In Mind program focuses on prevention and early intervention of physical health issues and is offered alongside treatment for mental health and social issues as part of routine care. We used body mapping, an arts-based research method, to explore the complexity of this physical health intervention. Our aim was to develop an in-depth understanding of experiences of young clients of the early intervention centre, with a particular focus on the embodied relationship between physical and mental health. Six young people engaged in creating life-sized body maps depicting their experience of the physical intervention program over four 3-hour sessions, followed by an in-depth interview. Analysis of our body maps drew on thematic analysis and narrative inquiry. The narrative trope was one of recovery, highlighting the importance of the link between body and mind, individual and community, and the balance between light and darkness. There was an emphasis on developing feelings of connectedness (to self and others), hope and optimism for the future, a sense of having an identity, and a sense of meaning and empowerment. Recovery was conceptualised as an ongoing process rather than an end product or fixed state. Involvement in the body mapping process was consistently identified as therapeutic, offering an opportunity for reflection on the journey to recovery with a focus on past, present and imagined storylines of the future. 


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document