• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.104-113
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• 2015

Background: Given the long hours on the road involving multiple and interacting work stressors (i.e., delivery pressures, irregular shifts, ergonomic hazards), commercial drivers face a plethora of health and safety risks. Researchers goal was to determine whether and to what extent long-haul trucker work schedules influence sleep duration and quality. Methods: Survey and biometric data collected from male long-haul truck drivers at a major truckstop in central North Carolina over a six month period. Results: Daily hours worked (mean = 11 hours, 55 minutes) and frequency of working over government-mandated daily HOS regulations (23.8% "frequently or always") were statistically significant predictors of sleep duration. Miles driven per week (mean = 2,812.61), irregular daily hours worked (63.8%), and frequency of working over the daily hour limit (23.8% "frequently or always") were statistically significant predictors of sleep quality. Conclusion: Implications of findings suggest a comprehensive review of the regulations and operational conditions for commercial motor vehicle drivers be undertaken.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.421-423
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• 2021

Providing a "safe system of work" is the essence of the general duties that employers have to their employees under workplace health and safety regulations. Despite this, consistent and appropriate definition of what constitutes a safe system of work is almost non-existent. Available definitions tend to confuse a safe system of work with management practices intended to bring about a safe system, or conflate the broad system suggested in general duties clauses with procedures or work methods that are focused on particular hazards or tasks. This article develops a definition of safe systems of work which recognises the broad scope of the concept and includes psychological health and return to work processes. This definition can be used by a range of stakeholders to better communicate the scope of occupational health and safety duties and more consistently assess whether a safe system has been provided both before and after incidents occur.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.155-165
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• 2012

Reflecting the current international trends toward proactive risk assessment and control at work with practical procedures, participatory action-oriented approaches are gaining importance in various sectors. The roles of these approaches in promoting the safety and health at work are discussed based on their recent experiences in preventing work-related risks and improving the quality of work life, particularly in small-scale workplaces. The emphasis placed on the primary prevention at the initiative of workers and managers is commonly notable. Participatory steps, built on local good practices, can lead to many workplace improvements when the focus is on locally feasible low-cost options in multiple aspects. The design and use of locally adjusted action toolkits play a key role in facilitating these improvements in each local situation. The effectiveness of participatory approaches relying on these toolkits is demonstrated by their spread to many sectors and by various intervention studies. In the local context, networks of trainers are essential in sustaining the improvement activities. With the adequate support of networks of trainers trained in the use of these toolkits, participatory approaches will continue to be the key factor for proactive risk management in various work settings.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.359-364
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• 2021

Aim: We aimed to examine the cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between sleep and work-related impaired cognitive and emotional functioning in police employees. Methods: This study included 410 participants (52% men) employed in a police district in Norway at baseline, of which 50% also participated in the study at 6 months later follow-up. The questionnaires included items measuring work schedule, sleep length, insomnia, as well as impaired cognitive and emotional functioning at work. Results: The results showed that insomnia was related to impaired work-related emotional functioning measured at baseline, and to impaired cognitive functioning measured at both baseline and follow-up. Sleep length and rotating shift work were not associated with future decline in cognitive or emotional functioning. Conclusion: Our study indicates that the relationship between insomnia and emotional functioning at work may be transient, whereas insomnia can be related to both immediate and future impaired cognitive functioning. Replication of the findings in larger samples is advised. The findings call for an emphasis on the prevention and treatment of sleep problems among police employees as a mean of maintaining and improving cognitive and emotional functioning at work, and thereby reducing the risk for impaired performance and negative health and safety outcomes.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.340-346
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• 2016

Background: safety and healthy working environment has received numerous research attention over the years. Majority of these researches seem to have been conducted in the construction industry, with little attention in the health sector. Nonetheless, there are couple of studies conducted in Africa that suggest pressure in hospitals. Therefore the aim of the study was to examine how pressure influence safety behavior in the hospitals. With reference to the relevance of safety behavior in primary health care delivery, there was the need for the study. Method: Data was obtained from 422 public hospital employees. Respondents were assured that all information would be kept confidential to increase the response rate and acquire more accurate information. Collection of questionnaires from participants took four weeks (20 working days), after which the data was analyzed. Results: The result of the study showed that work pressure correlated negatively with safety behavior. General safety climate significantly correlated positively with safety behavior and negatively with work pressure, although the effect size for the latter was smaller. Hierarchical regression analysis showed management commitment to safety to moderate the relationship between work pressure and safety behavior. Conclusion: When employees perceive safety communication, safety systems and training to be positive, they seem to comply with safety rules and procedures than voluntarily participate in safety activities.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.187-196
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• 2013

Background: Health, safety, and well-being (HSW) at work represent important values in themselves. It seems, however, that other values can contribute to HSW. This is to some extent reflected in the scientific literature in the attention paid to values like trust or justice. However, an overview of what values are important for HSW was not available. Our central research question was: what organizational values are supportive of health, safety, and well-being at work? Methods: The literature was explored via the snowball approach to identify values and value-laden factors that support HSW. Twenty-nine factors were identified as relevant, including synonyms. In the next step, these were clustered around seven core values. Finally, these core values were structured into three main clusters. Results: The first value cluster is characterized by a positive attitude toward people and their "being"; it comprises the core values of interconnectedness, participation, and trust. The second value cluster is relevant for the organizational and individual "doing", for actions planned or undertaken, and comprises justice and responsibility. The third value cluster is relevant for "becoming" and is characterized by the alignment of personal and organizational development; it comprises the values of growth and resilience. Conclusion: The three clusters of core values identified can be regarded as "basic value assumptions" that underlie both organizational culture and prevention culture. The core values identified form a natural and perhaps necessary aspect of a prevention culture, complementary to the focus on rational and informed behavior when dealing with HSW risks.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.75-76
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• 2013

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.370-376
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• 2021

Backround: Working condition surveys are widely recognized as useful tools for monitoring the quality of working life and the improvements introduced by health and safety policy frameworks at the European and national level. The Italian Workers' Compensation Authority carried out a national survey (Insula) to investigate the employer's perceptions related to working conditions and their impact on health. Methods: The present study is based on the data collected from the Italian survey on health and safety at work (INSULA) conducted on a representative sample of the Italian workforce (n = 8,000). This focuses on the relationship between psychosocial risk factors and self-reported health using a set of logistic and linear regression models. Results: Working conditions such as managerial support, job satisfaction, and role act as protective factors on mental and physical health. On the contrary, workers' risk perceptions related to personal exposure to occupational safety and health risks, concern about health conditions, and work-related stress risk exposure determine a poorer state of health. Conclusions: This study highlights the link between working conditions and self-report health, and this aims to provide a contribution in the field of health at work. Findings show that working conditions must be object of specific preventive measures to improve the workers' health and well-being.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.347-355
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• 2017

Background: The objective of this article is to make some analysis on the process of work and accidents occurring in slaughterhouses, evidenced in the Brazilian documentary film called Flesh and Bone. As such, it was necessary to discuss an alternative theoretical concept in relation to theories about health and safety at work. This alternative discussion focuses on the concepts of biopower and biopolitics. Methods: The use of audiovisual elements in research is not new, and there is already a branch of studies with methodological and epistemological variations. The Brazilian documentary Flesh and Bone was the basis for the research. The analysis of this documentary will be carried out from two complementary perspectives: "textual analysis" and "discourse analysis." Results: Flesh and Bone presents problems related to health and safety at work in slaughterhouses because of the constant exposure of workers to knives, saws, and other sharp instruments in the workplace. The results show that in favor of higher production levels, increased overseas market sales, and stricter quality controls, some manufacturers resort to various practices that often result in serious injuries, disposal, and health damages to workers. Conclusion: Flesh and Bone, by itself, makes this explicit in the form of denunciation based on the situation of these workers. What it does not make clear is that, in the context of biopolitics, the actions aimed at solving these problems or even reducing the negative impacts for this group of workers, are not efficient enough to change such practices.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.89-96
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• 2016

The incidence of occupational injuries and diseases associated with industrialization has declined markedly following developments in science and technology, such as engineering controls, protective equipment, safer machinery and processes, and greater adherence to regulations and labor inspections. Although the introduction of health and safety management systems has further decreased the incidence of occupational injuries and diseases, these systems are not effective unless accompanied by a positive safety culture in the workplace. The characteristics of work in the $21^{st}$ century have given rise to new issues related to workers' health, such as new types of work-related disorders, noncommunicable diseases, and inequality in the availability of occupational health services. Overcoming these new and emerging issues requires a culture of prevention at the national level. The present paper addresses: (1) how to change safety cultures in both theory and practice at the level of the workplace; and (2) the role of prevention culture at the national level.