Workplace Barriers Among People With Arthritis: Results From the Work Experience Survey for Rheumatic Conditions

Date Presented Accepted for AOTA INSPIRE 2021 but unable to be presented due to online event limitations. Introduce OTs to the Work Experience Survey for Rheumatic Condition, and discuss the major reported barriers people with arthritis and rheumatological conditions Primary Author and Speaker: Rawan Alheresh Contributing Authors: Julie Keysor

Engagement Strategy for a Racism-Free Workplace

Executive summary of a Canadian qualitative study conducted by John Samuel and Nand Tandon, John Samuel and Associates, Ottawa (2015). Despite being conducted several years ago, the study has remained unpublished until its inclusion in this CPI issue. The research examines systemic issues and barriers encountered by members of the First Nations and visible minorities in the high education segment of the Canadian workplace, barriers that remain in Canada today. The Engagement Plan for a Racism-Free Workplace forms part of the Labour Program of [the federal government’s] HRSDC’s drive to end race-based discrimination in the workplace faced by Aboriginal peoples and members of visible minority groups. As well, the federal government has made a commitment to removing race-related barriers in the workplace and to consulting racial and ethnic groups in developing public policy to achieve this objective.

Ecological Influences on Employees’ Workplace Sedentary Behavior: A Cross-Sectional Study

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between ecological factors and occupational sedentary behavior (SB). Design: Cross-sectional online survey. Setting: Participants were employees recruited from a large, public university in the Southeastern United States from August to November 2016. Participants: The final sample included 527 (56% response rate) employees. Measures: Data were collected through an 87-item survey using previously validated scales that assessed occupational SB, perceived behavioral control, barrier self-efficacy, self-regulation strategies, organizational social norms, office environment, and worksite climate. Analysis: One-way analysis of variance analyses were used to determine differences in occupational SB by demographic factors. A multivariate regression model was used to determine significant ecological determinants of occupational SB. Results: Mean SB was 342.45 (standard deviation = 133.25) minutes. Significant differences in SB were found by gender, education, and employment classification. Barrier self-efficacy and workplace connectivity, which evaluates the spatial layout of the office setting that may impact mobility within the workplace, were significant predictors of SB in the multivariate model. Conclusion: Results from this study provide new information regarding the potential impact of workplace barriers and connectivity on occupational SB. The findings from this study support the inclusion of intervention modalities to minimize workplace barriers and increase workplace connectivity to increase workplace mobility and decrease SB.

Workplace Barriers and Leadership Conflicts Experienced by the Women in Higher Education in Saudi Arabia

Based on the published scholarly works, this paper attempts to explore and accumulate the challenges and barriers that Saudi women leaders in higher education are experiencing in their professional lives. For this purpose, literature review method has been adopted. Relevant scholarly articles published in 2004 to 2017 have been rigorously studied and cited. Findings of this paper suggest that women leaders in higher education generally experience assorted challenges, such as 1) socio-cultural, 2) organizational, 3) economical and 4) personal. They also encounter eight workplace berries, such as 1) gender-based stereotypes, 2) work-life conflict, 3) self-imposed constraints, 4) social network limitations, 5) biased organizational policies, 6) non-gender-based discrimination, 7) inadequate qualification and 8) minimal existing representation. The findings also suggest that these challenges and barriers decrease the job-performances of the women leaders while igniting conflicts with their male counterparts. This paper can be helpful to the policy maker in formulating effective solutions for women leadership conflicts in Saudi Arabia. Besides, it may create new scopes for the researchers and academicians to conduct empirical studies in this very realm.