The role of occupational and demographic factors in relation to work engagement in Polish sample of employees : initial study

Purpose: The aim of the present study is to analyze the differences in work engagement in terms of occupational groups (teachers, nurses, physicians, policemen, telesales operators, blue collar workers, employing in accounting/finance, sales representatives, welfare services/rehabilitation, office workers in public sector, and bank and IT employees), job position (managerial and non-managerial), age, and gender in Polish sample of employees. Methodology: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted among 3186 employees representing different occupational groups. The measure was the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-9) by Schaufeli and Bakker (2003). To examine differences in work engagement in terms of occupational group and age, one-way ANOVA and post-hoc tests (Tukey's HSD) were conducted. Differences in work engagement concerning job position and gender were performed using independent samples t tests. Findings: The findings indicated that employees differ in work engagement depending on studied factors. In terms of occupational group, the most engaged are sales representatives, welfare services/rehabilitation, and teachers, and least engaged - telesales operators and blue collar workers. Older employees (+50) appeared to be more engaged than youngers, as well managers in comparison to non-managers. While women reported higher level of absorption and dedication than men, but no gender differences were observed in regard to vigor. Implications: Results show that occupational factors, as profession and job position, as well demographic ones should not be ignored in relation to work engagement. Managers, in order to increase engagement among their subordinates should pay special attention to some groups of employees in terms of age, gender, and the occupation. Originality/value: The current study extends previous research by examining occupational and demographic differences in the level of work engagement. To the best of author's knowledge this is the first examination of this type conducted in such large sample among Polish employees

Work-related factors and age as determinants of three burnout dimensions among Polish hospital nurses

The aim of the current study was to investigate which of the examined work-related factors was regarded as the most demanded and stimulating in nurses’ job, and which of the age-related factors were the predictors of the three burnout dimensions: emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization (DP), and reduced personal accomplishment (rPA). This study was structured as a cross-sectional project, and the data were gathered using ananonymous questionnaires in 4 hospitals in Poland. The sample consisted of 237 nurses. According to the nurses studied, the most strained factors in their job were low salaries and current bad situation of the Polish health service, and the most stimulating– working in the pleasant atmosphere and patients’ satisfaction. The highest score of emotional exhaustion and reduced personal accomplishment were characteristic of nurses above 40 years of age. Burnout syndrome was predicted by socio-organization environment requirements (EE, DP), sensory and mental task requirements (EE), organizational conditions (EE, rPA), job control (DP), social/communication condition (DP, rPA), and age (EE)

Perception of work environment among women and men : workload and autonomy in relation to job engagement

This article refers to the phenomenon of employee engagement as one of the key aspects of contemporary human resources management. The concept of professional engagement is a multi-dimensional approach relating to the positively understood effects of work, welfare of on employee, and optimization of the organization and its environment. Job engagement is believed to be strongly related to such processes as introduction of change in organizations, quality and performance issues, customer satisfaction or health, and effectiveness of people and organizations. Following the widely recognized in occupational health psychology model of Karasek (1979) and its further expansions, the authors of this article look upon work engagement as a subjective, psychological state of employees that emerges in certain circumstances, namely a “healthy” work environment. Following Karasek’s thinking it was hypothesised that perception of managable workload and sufficient autonomy will lead to the most required effects, such as higher levels of job engagement and its positive consequences. Thus, the specific purpose of this article is to investigate the way employees perceive their work environment in terms of workload and job autonomy in relation to job engagement. The empirical research was conducted from the perspective of the analysis of professional activity depending on the gender of respondents, limitations of social roles and the situation of women in Poland. The authors of the article conducted a questionnaire survey on a sample of 748 economically active persons, both women and men. The analyses showed statistically significantly higher levels of all three examined dimensions of job engagement (i.e. absorption, dedication, vigour) in women compared to men, together with a lower level of control (professional autonomy) declared by women. Control was a clear predictor of work engagement, to a similar extent in both men and women. In contrast, the relationship of workload with absorption, dedication and vigour proved to be variable and dependent on gender

Próba oceny wpływu leczenia infliximabem na sprawność ruchową chorych z reumatoidalnym zapaleniem stawów : badania wstępne

Wstęp: W patogenezie reumatoidalnego zapalenia stawów (RZS) ważną rolę odgrywa czynnik martwicy guzów alfa (TNFa). Lekiem neutralizującym biologiczną aktywność TNFa jest infliximab (Remicade) Celem pracy było określenie dynamiki zmian sprawności ruchowej pacjentów chorych na RZS w trakcie leczenia infliximabem. Metodyka: Infliximab podawano w dawkach 3 mg/kg w postaci 2 godzinnego wlewu dożylnego przez 14 tygodni; początkowo stosowano infuzje co 2 tygodnie, następnie co 4 tygodnie. Grupę badawczą stanowiło 8 kobiet ze średnio zaawansowanym, lub zaawansowanym RZS (IIo i IIIo gr wg Steinbrockera) leczonych na Oddziale Reumatologii Szpitala im J Dietla w Krakowie. Średnia wartość CRP w surowicy tych chorych wynosiła 3,15 mg%, a OB 55,5 po 1 godz. Zakres ruchów badano za pomocą Mechanical Joint Score (MJS), oceniając ruchomość w stawach rąk, nadgarstkowych, oraz w stawach łokciowych, barkowych, biodrowych, kolanowych i skokowych. Oceniano siłę chwytu rąk przy pomocy mankietu do pomiaru ciśnień, oraz nasilenie procesu zapalnego, ból i sztywność stawów używając kwestionariuszy Western Ontario Mc Master University Index (WOMAC) oraz Rheumatoid Arthritis Disease Activity Index (RADAI). Wyniki: Już po pierwszych 2 tygodniach leczenia nastąpiła istotna statystycznie poprawa sprawności ruchowej w stawach mierzona za pomocą MJS, oraz jakości życia mierzona kwestionariuszami RADAI i WOMAC. Wyraźnie zmniejszyły się dolegliwości bólowe i znaczącej poprawie uległa siła chwytu rąk. Zaobserwowano normalizację wartości CRP i OB. Największą poprawę wszystkich parametrów zaobserwowano po pierwszym wlewie infliximabu. W ciągu kolejnych tygodni poprawa postępowała znacznie wolniej. W 14 tygodniu leczenia stwierdzono wyraźne zaostrzenie procesu chorobowego, związane prawdopodobnie z dłuższym odstępem pomiędzy kolejnymi dawkami leku, nie osiągające jednak nasilenia takiego jak przed rozpoczęciem leczenia.Introduction: Tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFa) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Infliximab (Remicade) is an agent with neutralising effects on the TNFa biological activity. The aim of the study was to assess the dynamics of changes in motor function of patients with RA during infliximab treatment. Methods: Infliximab was administered at doses of 3 mg/kg in a 2-hour intravenous infusion for 14 weeks; initially, the infusions were given every 2 weeks, subsequently every 4 weeks. Eight women at moderately advanced or advanced stages of RA (stages IIş and IIIş according to Steinbrocker Staging System) hospitalised in the Rheumatology Ward of the Józef Dietl Hospital in Cracow were enrolled in the study. Mean serum CRP level in these patients was 3.15 mg%, and the 1-hour sedimentation rate was 55.5. The range of motion was evaluated using the Mechanical Joint Score (MJS) via mobility assessment in the joints of the hands, wrists, and in the elbow, shoulder, hip, knee and ankle joints. Grasp force of the hands was assessed by means of a sphygmomanometer cuff, and the intensity of the inflammatory process, pain and joint stiffness using the questionnaires Western Ontario Mc Master University Index (WOMAC) and Rheumatoid Arthritis Disease Activity Index (RADAI). Results: Statistically significant improvement in the motor function of the joints assessed using MJS and in the quality of life measured by means of RADAI and WOMAC occurred as early as after 2 weeks of the therapy. Pain was markedly alleviated and the grasp force of the hands significantly improved. Normalisation of the CRP concentration and the sedimentaion rate was observed. The most pronounced improvement of all parameters was demonstrated after the first infliximab infusion. During the subsequent weeks, the improvement was significantly slower. In the 14th week of treatment, a marked exacerbation of the disease, yet not exceeding the pre-treatment intensity, was noted, likely due to the increased interval between the successive doses of the preparation. Conclusions: Administration of infliximab in patients with RA induces a quick and significant improvement in patients’ motor function; however, beneficial effects of this agent were attenuated during the subsequent phases of infliximab therapy. This effect may have been caused by the reduction of administration frequency of the preparation (initially every 2 weeks, then every 4 weeks). Therapy-associated occurrence of infliximab-neutralising antibodies resulting in a reduced efficacy of the treatment with this agent cannot be excluded either

Pandemic risk: doesn’t it really matter? Foreign direct investment after COVID-19

Motivation: This article focuses on a foreign direct investment (FDI), one of the most important areas in the global economy which to a large extent determines the current directions of economic development. The recent pandemic is expected to cause a deep recession in the world economy. Its level, duration and strength in particular countries cannot be predicted. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that the entire world will be affected by it for a longer period of time.Aim: The aim of this article is to present how investors identify pandemic-related threats among FDI risks. Also discussed are investors’ first reactions to the current SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 pandemic, as reflected by forecast revisions of FDI flows.Results: Our studies show that Polish direct investors did not take into account threats such as natural disasters, epidemics or pandemics in their risk assessments. When undertaking FDI, Polish entities focused mainly on assessing the risk of the country in which they were to invest. According to UNCTAD’s study from 2017, global risk sources were identified by multinational companies mostly as geopolitical uncertainties, terrorism and social instability rather than natural disasters (including pandemics). Even though the risk of a pandemic was nearly totally ignored by the respondents of the discussed studies, UNCTAD forecasts the downward pressure on global FDI from –30 to –40% for 2020–2021

Risk perception in practice of Polish MNCs in Kazakhstan during COVID-19 time

Motivation: The COVID-19 pandemic caused a major crisis in global economy. The year 2020 will be remembered in the history of global economy as the year of a massive supply and demand shock, and, consequently, a slump in economic growth in most countries. The effects of the pandemic will be felt to varying degrees by the majority of the world’s economic entities. One such effect is the radical decrease in global foreign direct investment (FDI). It is hard to assess now how heavily the pandemic will influence the long-term FDI trends. The perception of the pandemic risk is, however, likely to heighten. This article deals with foreign direct investment risks, and more specifically, with the pandemic risk seen as one of natural risks in COVID-19-related contexts. Aim: The article aims to identify how the enterprises with Polish capital in Kazakhstan perceive the pandemic risk in comparison with other FDI risks. The authors of this paper were co-investigators on a scientific research project concerning FDI in Kazakhstan as exemplified by the investment intensity of Polish enterprises. The project was carried out from 2019 to 2021, i.e., when the pandemic started and during its course. The research concept was, however, created before there were any signs of the pandemic. Therefore, the research questions regarding FDI risk in Kazakhstan were not to any extent inspired by this occurrence. Nevertheless, the question about the pandemic risk was included in the research tool. Thus, the perception of this risk became the subject of research. The findings of partial research that are presented in this article are original in nature, because the assessments constituting their basis were formulated at a time when Kazakhstan, like other countries around the world, struggled with the pandemic and when its effects were unknown. Results: According to the enterprises with Polish capital in Kazakhstan, the main areas of risk entailed in their operation in this country were, most importantly, the risks of the investment country and global risks. Local currency exchange risk ranked 1st; as many as 70% of respondents said that this risk perception was high. This was followed by global economic events (e.g. depression), performance risks (e.g. product price, transfer risks, the price of capital) and government policy risks (e.g. tax reforms, monetary reforms, price controls, trade restrictions, nationalisation, government regulation, barriers to earnings repatriation). The 5th most distinctly perceived risk by the studied enterprises was global social events risks, including the pandemic risk. 40% of the surveyed entities defined this risk perception as high, and 30% each as medium and small. The fact that the pandemic risk ranked 5th among other FDI risk components in Kazakhstan indicates its great significance to the enterprises operating there at an early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic, i.e., when the level of uncertainty caused by the pandemic in terms of both its economic and its social effects was very high

Work-related factors and age as determinants of three burnout dimensions among Polish hospital nurses

The aim of the current study was to investigate which of the examined work-related factors was regarded as the most demanded and stimulating in nurses’ job, and which of the age--related factors were the predictors of the three burnout dimensions: emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization (DP), and reduced personal accomplishment (rPA). This study was structured as a cross-sectional project, and the data were gathered using ananonymous questionnaires in 4 hospitals in Poland. The sample consisted of 237 nurses. According to the nurses studied, the most strained factors in their job were low salaries and current bad situation of the Polish health service, and the most stimulating– working in the pleasant atmosphere and patients’ satisfaction. The highest score of emotional exhaustion and reduced personal accomplishment were characteristic of nurses above 40 years of age. Burnout syndrome was predicted by socio-organization environment requirements (EE, DP), sensory and mental task requirements (EE), organizational conditions (EE, rPA), job control (DP), social/communication condition (DP, rPA), and age (EE)