An Exploratory Case Study of How Remote Employees Experience Workplace Engagement

In the last 10 years, the number of remote workers has increased by 80%. Remote workers are more productive than their traditional in-office colleagues, cheaper to maintain for the organization because of the major decrease in overheard costs, and drastically increase organizational leaders\u27 hiring options. The problem was that over half of the nation\u27s disengaged employees work remotely, contributing significantly to associated annual costs of employee disengagement to businesses of upwards of $550 billion. The purpose of this exploratory case study, using a critical incident technique, was to create a taxonomy of responses to the incidents that are critical for maintaining, strengthening, or eroding the workplace engagement of 14 remote workers nationwide. The data collection method included in-depth interview questions, open and selective coding, and thematic analysis from the data provided by the 14 participants. The 9-step analysis process, triangulation, and member checking consisted of structure and credibility of the findings. The taxonomy derived from this study that strengthens and maintains the engagement of remote workers is directly related to the primary theme of connectedness and organizational culture; the taxonomy derived from this study that erodes workplace engagement is directly related to the secondary themes of organizational fit and disconnectedness. The findings suggested that remote workers experience strengthened and sustained levels of workplace engagement more when working environments where they have a personal connection to the organization\u27s mission and vision and where they feel the work culture is familial. The taxonomy derived from this research could provide organizational leaders with techniques to engage and inspire the talent of remote workers to create positive and sustainable social chang

Work-related correlates of occupational sitting in a diverse sample of employees in Midwest metropolitan cities

The worksite serves as an ideal setting to reduce sedentary time. Yet little research has focused on occupational sitting, and few have considered factors beyond the personal or socio-demographic level. The current study i) examined variation in occupational sitting across different occupations, ii) explored whether worksite level factors (e.g., employer size, worksite supports and policies) may be associated with occupational sitting. Between 2012 and 2013, participants residing in four Missouri metropolitan areas were interviewed via telephone and provided information on socio-demographic characteristics, schedule flexibility, occupation, work related factors, and worksite supports and policies. Occupational sitting was self-reported (daily minutes spent sitting at work), and dichotomized. Occupation-stratified analyses were conducted to identify correlates of occupational sitting using multiple logistic regressions. A total of 1668 participants provided completed data. Those employed in business and office/administrative support spent more daily occupational sitting time (median 330 min) compared to service and blue collar employees (median 30 min). Few worksite supports and policies were sitting specific, yet factors such as having a full-time job, larger employer size, schedule flexibility, and stair prompt signage were associated with occupational sitting. For example, larger employer size was associated with higher occupational sitting in health care, education/professional, and service occupations. Work-related factors, worksite supports and policies are associated with occupational sitting. The pattern of association varies among different occupation groups. This exploratory work adds to the body of research on worksite level correlates of occupational sitting. This may provide information on priority venues for targeting highly sedentary occupation groups

Symptoms of Overtraining in Resistance Exercise: International Cross-Sectional Survey

Purpose: To provide details on the nature and symptomatic profile of training maladaptation in competitive resistance-based athletes to examine whether there are symptoms that may be used as prognostic indicators of overtraining. Identifying prognostic tools to assess for training maladaptation is essential for avoiding severe overtraining conditions. Methods: A Web-based survey was distributed to a cross-sectional convenience sample of competitive athletes involved in sports with a significant resistance-training component. The 46-item anonymous survey was distributed via industry experts and social media from July to August 2019. Results: The final sample included 605 responses (completion rate: 84%). About 71% of the respondents indicated that they had previously experienced an unexplained decrease in performance. Among those, the majority reported a performance decrement lasting 1 wk to 1 mo (43.8%). General feelings of fatigue were the most frequent self-reported symptom of maladaptation. Acute training maladaptation, lasting 4 mo) were training to muscle failure. Conclusion: The results from this study support the multifactorial nature of training maladaptation. The multidimensional nature of fatigue and individual variability in symptomatic responses precludes definitive prognostic symptoms or differential diagnostic factors of functional/nonfunctional overreaching or the overtraining syndrome in resistance exercise

Stellar Population Models and Individual Element Abundances I: Sensitivity of Stellar Evolution Models

Integrated light from distant galaxies is often compared to stellar population models via the equivalent widths of spectral features--spectral indices--whose strengths rely on the abundances of one or more elements. Such comparisons hinge not only on the overall metal abundance but also on relative abundances. Studies have examined the influence of individual elements on synthetic spectra but little has been done to address similar issues in the stellar evolution models that underlie most stellar population models. Stellar evolution models will primarily be influenced by changes in opacities. In order to explore this issue in detail, twelve sets of stellar evolution tracks and isochrones have been created at constant heavy element mass fraction Z that self-consistently account for varying heavy element mixtures. These sets include scaled-solar, alpha-enhanced, and individual cases where the elements C, N, O, Ne, Mg, Si, S, Ca, Ti, and Fe have been enhanced above their scaled-solar values. The variations that arise between scaled-solar and the other cases are examined with respect to the H-R diagram and main sequence lifetimes.Comment: 33 pages, 13 figures, accepted to Ap

Repair of a wide sternal cleft in a young female

AbstractSternal clefts are rare congenital malformations of the anterior chest wall. Surgical correction is typically recommended as early as possible due to the compliance and growth potential of the infant sternum. Several operative techniques have been employed with great success. However, there is a paucity of data regarding repair in large clefts refractory to standard reparative techniques. We report the successful surgical repair in a 15-month-old female with an excessively large, superior sternal cleft