Michela Vignoli

Getting vaccinated or not getting vaccinated? Different reasons for getting vaccinated against seasonal or pandemic influenza.

BackgroundA large number of studies have investigated the motivation behind health care workers (HCWs) taking the influenza vaccine. But with the appearance of pandemic influenza, it became important to better analyse the reasons why workers get vaccinated against seasonal and/or pandemic influenza.MethodsThree main categories of reasons were identified with an Exploratory Factor Analysis. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to verify the existence of differences between three categories of choices (taking of seasonal and pandemic vaccine, only the seasonal vaccine or none). In addition, a multinomial logistic regression analysis was performed to analyse the association between stated intentions and update of seasonal and pandemic vaccine. Questionnaires were returned from 168 HCWs (67.3% women).ResultsThe results showed that age and being well-informed about vaccination topics are the most important variables in determining the choice to take the vaccine.ConclusionsThe results highlight the importance of enhancing education programs to improve awareness among HCWs concerning the benefits of taking the influenza vaccination, with particular attention paid to younger workers.

Solving a methodological challenge in work stress evaluation with the Stress Assessment and Research Toolkit (StART): a study protocol.

BackgroundStress evaluation is a field of strong interest and challenging due to several methodological aspects in the evaluation process. The aim of this study is to propose a study protocol to test a new method (i.e., the Stress Assessment and Research Toolkit) to assess psychosocial risk factors at work.DesignThis method addresses several methodological issues (e.g., subjective vs. objective, qualitative vs quantitative data) by assessing work-related stressors using different kinds of data: i) organisational archival data (organisational indicators sheet); ii) qualitative data (focus group); iii) worker perception (questionnaire); and iv) observational data (observational checklist) using mixed methods research. In addition, it allows positive and negative aspects of work to be considered conjointly, using an approach that considers at the same time job demands and job resources.DiscussionThe integration of these sources of data can reduce the theoretical and methodological bias related to stress research in the work setting, allows researchers and professionals to obtain a reliable description of workers’ stress, providing a more articulate vision of psychosocial risks, and allows a large amount of data to be collected. Finally, the implementation of the method ensures in the long term a primary prevention for psychosocial risk management in that it aims to reduce or modify the intensity, frequency or duration of organisational demands.

The Importance of Context in Screening in Occupational Health Interventions in Organizations: A Mixed Methods Study

In occupational health interventions, there is a debate as to whether standardized or tailored measures should be used to identify which aspects of the psychosocial work environment should be targeted in order to improve employees’ well-being. Using the Job Demands-Resources model, the main aim of the present study is to demonstrate how a mixed methods approach to conducting screening enables the identification of potential context-dependent demands and resources in the workplace, which should to be targeted by the intervention. Specifically, we used a mixed methods exploratory sequential research design. First, we conducted four focus groups (N = 37) in a sample of employees working in grocery stores in Italy. The qualitative results allowed to identify one possible context-specific job demand: the use of a work scheduling IT software, whose implementation resulted in a high rotation between different market’s departments. From the qualitative results, this context-specific demand seemed to be related to workers’ well-being. Thus, in a subsequent questionnaire survey (N = 288), we included this demand together with generic measures of social support and psychological well-being. Results confirmed that this context-specific job demand was related to emotional exhaustion. Furthermore, it was found that social support moderated the relationship between this specific job demand and emotional exhaustion showing among employees whose activities depended on the IT software, employees that perceived higher levels of social support from colleagues experienced lower levels of emotional exhaustion with respect to their colleagues who perceived lower levels of social support. The present study confirms that mixed methods approach is useful in occupational health intervention research and offers a way forward on helping organizations prioritize their intervention activities.

When helpers need help: A case study on the 2012 earthquakes in Italy

BACKGROUND After two strong earthquakes in the Emilia region in Italy, many HCWs had to deal with the psychological consequences of the aftershocks. OBJECTIVE The aims of this case study were a) to describe the psychosocial condition of the HCWs affected by the earthquake; b) to present an intervention immediately after the earthquake on HCWs in a post-disaster situation using a mixed-method approach. METHODS A mixed-method study was conducted collecting qualitative data (during Group Counselling sessions) and quantitative data (through questionnaires). RESULTS The results suggested that the impact of the earthquake was very strong, as more than 80% perceived at least a severe impact event capable of altering their ability to function; most of the thoughts and feelings were related to death and fear. CONCLUSIONS This study adds knowledge about how to plan interventions aiming to help those workers at both individual and organisational level.

Leadership Styles and Self-Efficacy in Determining Transfer Intentions of Safety Training.

Purpose This study aims to investigate the factors that can influence the transfer process of training in open skills, i.e. non-technical skills (NTS). Specifically, according to the model of the transfer process, the aim of this paper is to analyse the effects of both personal (e.g. self-efficacy) and work environment (e.g. safety leadership styles) antecedents of intention to transfer. Design/methodology/approach A total of 88 workers belonging to two different plants of the same chemical company filled in a questionnaire at the beginning (T1) and at the end (T2) of the training intervention. The majority of the sample was composed of men (95.5 per cent), with the mean age being 45.19 years old, and they had worked in the same company for an average of 17.2 years. Personal (self-efficacy) and organizational (transformational and passive leadership) factors were measured at T1, while intention to transfer was measured at T2. To investigate the combined effect of both personal and environmental characteristics on the transfer process, a moderation analysis was conducted following the Preacher and Hayes approach. Findings Results showed that all the antecedents investigated (except for passive leadership) impacted on the intention to transfer. Furthermore, high levels of self-efficacy combined with higher levels of transformational leadership resulted in higher levels of intention to transfer. Research limitations/implications The sample size is quite small, and effective transfer of NTS has not been measured. Practical implications Results suggest that organizations should focus on fostering self-efficacy of the trainees and transformational leadership of the supervisors so as to facilitate the transfer process of NTS. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study which has considered both individual and contextual characteristics to analyse the transfer process of NTS.

Work addiction and presenteeism: The buffering role of managerial support

The current study examined the mediating effect of presenteeism and moderating effect of managerial support in the relation between workaholism and work-family conflict. A sample of 1065 white-collar employees from an Italian company filled in an online survey and hypotheses were tested using a bootstrapping procedure. Results showed that presenteeism mediated the association between workaholism and work-family conflict. Moreover, the mediating effect of presenteeism was moderated by managerial support: for employees reporting lower levels of support workaholism was stronger related to presenteeism than for those experiencing higher support. Presenteeism, in turn, was related to greater levels of work-family conflict. The present study sheds light into the protective role played by managerial support in preventing workaholic employees from forcing themselves to attend work also when feeling sick. Accordingly, early intervention aimed at buffering the negative association between workaholism and work-family conflict should focus on training managers to develop supportive leadership skills.

Sono presente qui e ora, e sto bene! ? Il ruolo della mindfulness nel Job Demands - Resources Model

L’obiettivo della presente ricerca e quello di investigare il ruolo della mindfulness ? «una consapevolezza che emerge facendo attenzione intenzionalmente, nel momento presente e in modo non giudicante allo schiudersi dell’esperienza momento per momento (Kabat-Zinn, 2003)» ? sul benessere lavorativo, considerandola come risorsa personale nel modello Job Demands - Resources. E stato ipotizzato che la mindfulness moderi l’effetto della richiesta lavorativa di surface acting sull’esaurimento emotivo. Inoltre e stato ipotizzato che la mindfulness possa esercitare un effetto negativo indiretto sull’esaurimento emotivo riducendo la percezione di richiesta di surface acting e un effetto positivo e indiretto sul work engagement, incrementando la percezione di supporto ricevuto da parte dei colleghi e dei superiori. I risultati dello studio, condotto su un campione di 316 persone impiegate in una catena di supermercati, hanno confermato le ipotesi. Sono discusse implicazioni per la ricerca futura. I risultati suggeriscono l’importanza di sviluppare la mindfulness nelle organizzazioni per promuovere il benessere delle persone al lavoro, perche permette loro di fare fronte alle richieste lavorative e di incrementare le risorse lavorative, che a loro volta possono migliorare la motivazione.

The Improvement of Safety Rules by a Participatory Method. a Case Study in a Chemical Company

Safety management in high-risk systems is based on safety rules that have to prescribe human action and interaction and should reduce errors and risks.The present case study want to report an organisational intervention aimed to improve a Safety Work Permits System (SWPS) in a chemical company through the employees’ involvement which daily use this system. SWPS consists in a step-by-step process designed to ensure that hazardous work activities could be performed in a safely way. The organisational intervention comprised 20 focus groups (190 total participants), whose main aim was to work on the current SWPS with the final aim to improve them. Employees with the help of experts analysed the SWPS and suggested improvements on the basis of three main phases: before the SWP filling, during the work activity and after the task accomplishment. Before and after the sessions a questionnaire was administered to participants in order to collect data on their opinions and perceptions about safety procedures. The participants noted some criticism in the SWPS and proposed solutions to enhance the system therefore eliminated the met problems. As well as improving the system we have also shown that workers involvement and active participation has resulted in an increased acceptance of safety rules included in SWPS.