Occupational Health Psychology & Ergonomics

Three preferences/management styles:
o Integrators(even in their free time they only talk about work), separators(strict separation between business & private) and volleyers(no strict pattern)

Enactment: four categories of tactics:
o Behavioral, temporal(dont do anything after 8), physical(student which is only learning in library), & communicative(kollegen sagen dass die immer anliegen schicken können, die nach 8 allerdings ned bearbeitet werden)

a)primary--> avoiding the disease; health promotion; primery intervention like prophylaxie

b) secondary--> avoiding disease progression

c) acute clinical stadium

d) tertiary--> avoiding consequences--> reintegration, rehab

primary: Legislation to limit hours of work
secondary: Worker compensation
tertiary: Social security/ disability programs

primary: Work-family programs
secondary: Return-to-work programs
tertiary: Company-provided long-term disability benefits

primary: Job / task redesign, job enrichment, job rotation
secondary: Provision of light-duty jobs

primary: Health promotion programs
secondary: Stress management programs
tertiary: Employee-assistance / disease-management programs

a) person oriented approaches--> change of appraisal, reaction, coping on basis that there are interindividual differences

b) organization oriented approaches--> chang of work itself, working conditions(job rotation, more breaks), social relationship(advising on how to support each other)

other combined comprehensive approaches

job rotation in fleisch fabric: wrappers, meat processors + cutters; für die wrapper nettes upgrade, für die cutter eher n downgrade

Workers with worst conditions show largest improvements

Workers with best conditions show
➢ Improvement of symptoms, together with
➢ Deteriorated job satisfaction

Results not equal for different individuals/groups
Results not necessarily uniform within an individual:
Symptoms may improve while job satisfaction
declines

+ Quantitative measure plus interviews
- Weak design (lack of control group)
- Only narrative report, no numbers provided,
no statistical analyses --> potential was not used

social skills training for the mentally ill(oder solche die at brink sind); . Human service workers participated in a theory-driven training program
designed to increase individual and group psychosocial coping resources and individuals'
abilities to use those resources when coping with job demands

Goal
Improve recognition and mobilization of social support as
well as problem solving

RCS-design

rocedure
Six Training sessions, two employees from respective home
in the experimental group
Participants were expected to train their colleagues

General results: 

Effects: Supportive feedback, Perceived coping abilities, Work-team climate 

Tendencies (p <.10) : Work-team functioning Somatic symptoms
No effects: Supervisor support, Depressive symptoms

Results indicated that the program enhanced the work team climate and
reduced depresssive symptoms and somatization in those most at risk for leaving their
job

methodology: tend to have higher quality

-can be tailored to one person --> to tackle person related differences e.g. stress... appraisal, ..reactivity, ..production

-can be used in all kind of contexts

-can be helpful at the work environment e.g. solving conflicts

strain: ist grundlegend bei leuten mit external locus of control höher

leute mit high job-control(hoher Handlungsspielraum faktisch): wenn die internalen locus of control(ich kann die situation beeinflussen)  haben ändert sich der strain während phasen mit vielen stressoren bzw. wenig stressoren ned relevant und bleibt eig niedrig; wenn die external locus of control habendie bei niedrigen stressoren sehr niedrigen strain bei vielen stressoren aber den höchsten strain von allen

leute mit low job control: haben bei nem internal locus of control wenig strain bei wenig stressoren aber ganz hohen strain bei vielen stressoren; leute mit external locus of control relativ hohen strain bei wenig stress und hohen strain bei viel stress

--> external locus + low job control ist ist kacka; internal locus + high job control als schutzfakor vor strain bei hohem stress

-a) methodology: few strong studies: few that combine input(process) + output variables

-b): content: difficult to change a whole organisation; UN tends to take advantage of any progress--> more efficient--> higher expectations; ppl. have different preferences; change in sub-system may harm another subsystem

-c) process/organization: many ppl. have to be informed about changes, there will be always stakeholders which are not motivated to take part at the changes

-d)process/project management: p.managers must be socially competent, motivate withour overselling, resist temptation to "own" the project, react to negative feedback in a proppor mannor

Tailor person-focused elements to support organizational elements, e.g.:

-Reappraisal(neubewertung)
▪ Active-coping skills (problem-solving)
▪ Social skills
▪ Social support (giving, seeking, accepting)
▪ Rethinking job design
▪ etc.

1A stepwise and systematic approach
Clear determination of goals, tasks, responsibilities, planning,
financial resources
2. Adequate diagnosis („risk analysis“)
3. A combination of work-oriented & worker-oriented
measures
4. A participatory approach
5. Sustained commitment of top management oder auch von labour unions

Research field that focuses on health, safety and well-being of employees in the workplace (Spector, 2003)

--> performance sthet also ned im fokus

To design the system, organisation, job, machine, tool, or consumer product …

▪ … use knowledge of human abilities and limitations, … e.g. working-memory(7chunks)

▪ … consider environmental and organisational constraints …e.g. heat

▪ … so that it is safe, efficient and comfortable to use (Helander, 2006).

Work design and its effects on critical outcome variables, such as:

▪ Accidents, absenteeism, turnover

▪ Sleep quality, physical and mental health

--> work design soll also so konstruiert werden, dass des well being von AN zunimmt und daruch e.g. absenteeismn sinkt

Variety (of tasks or skills)

▪ Completeness--> one task is connected to another; part of the whole product as gold standard-> carpenter constructing his own table

▪ Autonomy--> can decide how you can get the job done

Job rotation

▪ Horizontal job enlargement

▪ Vertical job enlargement (job enrichment)

▪ Semi-autonomous work groups

▪ Self-managing teams

-formulation qualitive + quantitive goals

-selection of leader

-choice of working hours

-choice of production methods

-internal task distribution

-selection of group members

-completion of work operations

enrich--> more qualitative work

enlarge--> more qunatitative work

a) core job dimensions: 1. skill variety + task identification + task sigificance 2. autonomy 3. feedback

b) critical psychological states which must be fullfilled: 1. experienced meaningfullnes of work 2. experience responsibility for outcomes of the work 3. knowledge of the actual results of the work outcomes

c) personal + work outcomes: high internal work motivation, high quality work performance, high satisfaction with work, low abseentismn + turnover intention

-Illumination

▪ Noise

▪ Heat

▪ Cold

▪ Vibration 

Illuminance Amount of light falling on a surface: measured in  Lux (lx)

Performance of extremely low contrast task (e.g.
surgical operations) -->10,000
Textile inspection--> 1,500
Office work (pencil handwriting, poorly
reproduced documents) -->1,000
Precise assembly work -->1,000
Drawing offices, meat inspection, chain stores --> 750
Office work (VDU conversational tasks)-->  300
Rough assembly work-->  200
Rarely visited places where little perception of
detail is required (e.g. railway platforms) -->50

logarhitmische skala; zweigerung von 10dB=verdopplung der gefühlten lautstärke

Industrial work < 85 ≤ 75 Group

2: Office work and similar work in production and supervisory control ≤ 65 ≤ 55 Group

3: Mainly mental activity requiring considerable attention ≤ 50 ≤ 40

Air temperature (◦C), radiant temperature (◦C), air velocity (m/s) and relative humidity (%)

Discomfort

▪ Increase in heart rate

▪ Impairment of physical performance

▪ Decrements in complex cognitive and perceptual-motor performance (above about 30 ◦C to 33 ◦C)

▪ Increase in unsafe behavioural patterns --> dont war  safety pars of their uniform if its getting too hot

fans, more breaks, flexible working hours, home office, dress more flexible

Discomfort

▪ Frost bite and hypothermia (< 35o C)

▪ Decrease in muscle strength and endurance

▪ Loss of tactile sensitivity (e.g. touching an object becomes difficult)

▪ Impairment of manual performance

▪ Decrements in motivation (perhaps related to decreased performance)

▪ Results on effects of complex mental activities are ambiguous (e.g. act as a distractor?)