arbejdet i samarbejdsudvalg: En empirisk undersøgelse af arbejdsformer, indhold og tilfredshed med SU-arbejdet

Artiklen præsenterer en undersøgelse af, hvorledes virksomhedsrepræsentanter fra både ledelses- og medarbejderside beskriver og vurderer samarbejdsudvalgets funktioner og betydning. Undersøgelsen er baseret på besvarelser fra ca. 1650 danske virksomheder, hvor både formand og næstformand har udfyldt spørgeskemaer omhandlende bla. udvalgets størrelse, mødefrekvens, behandlede temaer, graden af medindflydelse, tilfredshed, konflikter og syn på samarbejdsudvalgets faktiske og fremtidige betydning

People work: at arbejde med mennesker — belastninger og reaktioner

This study is part of a general survey study (PRIAM) with the aim of mapping the quality of the work environment and employee well being in 12 different local government social security offices. A total of 898 persons participated in the study (a response rate of 88%). The central perspective of the study is to look at work characterized by ‘people work’ and emotional worn out as an outcome and where this concept is meant to cover over traditional stress measures as well as burnout. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between (1) demands from clients and their ‘cases’ and after that (2) to investigate if client work in itself is more demanding concerning burnout, stress and psychological strain for finally to look at (3) an assumption that variations in demands related to client work are positively associated with variations in emotional worn out. The results shows (1) that many demands are related to working with clients, however they could not support the assumption (2) that it is the very contact with the client that leads to emotional worn out but (3) that this association was found with demands connected with client work.At 'arbejde med mennesker' vil sige, at man i sit daglige arbejde skal bruge sig selv i forhold til en klient, en elev, en kunde, en patient osv. Selv om mange umiddelbart vil betragte dette som et interessant og spændende arbejde, har man inden for arbejdsmiljøpsykologien gennem mange år beskæftiget sig med de belastninger, der også kan ledsage denne arbejdssituation. Man har betegnet de negative konsekvenser som udbrændthed, man har talt om 'emotional labor' og følelsesmæssig dissonans, og i en stressteoretisk sammenhæng har man set på forekomster af stress og følelsesmæssig nedslidning. I denne artikel undersøges belastninger hidrørende fra klientarbejde som sagsbehandler og deres betydning for udbrændthed og følelsesmæssig nedslidning på baggrund af en empirisk undersøgelse af knap 900 kommunalt ansatte sagsbehandlere

Qualified and Unqualified (N-R C) mental health nursing staff - minor differences in sources of stress and burnout. A European multi-centre study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Unqualified/non-registered caregivers (N-R Cs) will continue to play important roles in the mental health services. This study compares levels of burnout and sources of stress among qualified and N-R Cs working in acute mental health care.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A total of 196 nursing staff - 124 qualified staff (mainly nurses) and 72 N-R Cs with a variety of different educational backgrounds - working in acute wards or community mental teams from 5 European countries filled out the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), the Mental Health Professional Scale (MHPSS) and the Psychosocial Work Environment and Stress Questionnaire (PWSQ).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>(a) The univariate differences were generally small and restricted to a few variables. Only Social relations (N-R Cs being less satisfied) at Work demands (nurses reporting higher demands) were different at the .05 level. (b) The absolute scores both groups was highest on variables that measured feelings of not being able to influence a work situation characterised by great demands and insufficient resources. Routines and educational programs for dealing with stress should be available on a routine basis. (c) Multivariate analyses identified three extreme groups: (i) a small group dominated by unqualified staff with high depersonalization, (ii) a large group that was low on depersonalisation and high on work demands with a majority of qualified staff, and (iii) a small N-R C-dominated group (low depersonalization, low work demands) with high scores on professional self-doubt. In contrast to (ii) the small and N-R C-dominated groups in (i) and (iii) reflected mainly centre-dependent problems.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The differences in burnout and sources of stress between the two groups were generally small. With the exception of high work demands the main differences between the two groups appeared to be centre-dependent. High work demands characterized primarily qualified staff. The main implication of the study is that no special measures addressed towards N-R Cs in general with regard to stress and burnout seem necessary. The results also suggest that centre-specific problems may cause more stress among N-R Cs compared to the qualified staff (e.g. professional self-doubt).</p

Dominant culture and bullying : personal accounts of workers in Malaysia

Workplace bullying has been termed the cancer of the workplace; it is a widespread and often intractable problem. Internationally, a wealth of research has examined the prevalence of workplace bullying and its negative effects. This research base and the scientific definition of workplace bullying are, however, based on Western perspectives and supported by theories, models, and research studies conducted in Western cultures. The differences in cultural perspectives of Western and Eastern countries mean that workplace bullying may not be understood in the same way across different cultural groups, particularly when cultures differ along the Individualism-Collectivism dimension. Given that Malaysia is an Eastern country with a number of ethnic groups, a more comprehensive understanding of workplace bullying in the Malaysian context is important. Through a case study comprising in-depth qualitative interviews with 20 employees from different organisations in Malaysia, this chapter reveals six lay beliefs of workplace bullying and 19 lay beliefs about bullying behaviors. The study also found that the 12 bullying behaviors are work related while the other seven are personal-nature bullying behaviors. These results emphasize the influence of culture on how bullying is perceived within the Malaysian context, and the importance of understanding lay representations of workplace bullying from the Eastern context that apparent across nation. Based on the interviews, a general definition of workplace bullying from Malaysian employees' perspectives is presented and developed. The chapter concludes with implications for understanding bullying as an important psychosocial hazard at work and recommendations for future research and practice across the Asia Pacific region