Sean Tucker

Work-related injury underreporting among young workers: prevalence, gender differences, and explanations for underreporting.

INTRODUCTION Although notifying an employer of a lost-time work-related injury is a legal requirement in many jurisdictions, employees frequently do not report such injuries. METHOD Based on data from 21,345 young part-time Canadian workers (55% male), we found that 21% of respondents had experienced at least one lost-time injury, with about half reporting the injury to an employer and a doctor. RESULTS Respondents provided 10 reasons for avoiding reporting lost-time injuries, with perceived low severity of the injury, negative reactions of others, and ambiguity about whether work caused the injury as the most common ones. Additional analysis of these categories revealed that young males cited concern about their self-identity as a reason for not reporting an injury more often than young females did. We discuss the findings in terms of implications for management practice (i.e., educating young workers about accurate injury reporting) and public policy. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Targeted campaigns should be developed for young workers, especially young male workers, who are less likely to report injuries than young female workers, to understand the importance of and to encourage injury reporting.

Young worker safety behaviors: Development and validation of measures

We conducted four studies to develop and validate measures of workplace safety-related behaviors relevant to young workers. The conceptual basis for this set of measures is a range of behavioral responses to deteriorating conditions (e.g., exit, voice, and loyalty, Hirschman, 1970; exit, voice, loyalty/patience, and neglect, Rusbult et al., 1982). In Study 1, items were generated by young workers (n=39) who participated in focus groups. The representativeness of these items was judged in Study 2 by a separate sample of young workers (n=79). In Study 3, we found support for five factors using exploratory factor analysis with a sample of young workers (n=266). Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted in Study 4 using a separate sample (n=282) and this supported the five-factor model. Self-report data on these participants and other-report (co-worker) data on a sub-sample (n=26) of the same participants provided additional support for the validity of the scales. Overall, these studies support the validity and reliability of this set of safety-related behaviors: intentions to quit an unsafe job (exit), speaking out about safety concerns (voice), adapting to a dangerous job hoping that safety conditions improve (patience), deliberately letting safety conditions worsen (neglect), and following safety policies (compliance). This set is useful for evaluating safety interventions aimed at young workers and studying safety-related behavior in a vulnerable work population.

Transitions that matter: life course differences in the employment of adults with arthritis

Abstract Purpose: To understand the similarities and differences in the employment participation of people living with arthritis across the life course. Method: Focus groups and interviews were conducted with young (ages 18–34 years, n = 7), middle-aged (ages 35–54 years, n = 13) and older adults (>55 years, n = 25) with arthritis. Participants were asked about the impact of arthritis on employment, experiences with health-related changes, career progression and social role involvement. A modified grounded theory approach was used to inductively analyze the data. Results: Young adults indicated the school-to-work transition as being influential in their employment and described the need to direct their time and energy toward finding work that accommodated health and met career aspirations. Middle-aged adults described how the transition from good health to an arthritis diagnosis disrupted involvement in diverse social roles. However, they often downplayed the impact of arthritis on employment. Older adults described the work-to-retirement transition and their decline in physical functioning as contributing to changing involvement in the labor market. Conclusion: Transitions related to health, career progression and social role involvement shaped employment experiences, and represent opportunities for future research and practice that is tailored to life course issues. Implications for rehabilitation Little is known about the work experiences of young- and middle-aged adults with arthritis and how they compare to their older counterparts. Life course theory offers an important framework for research and practice by providing a perspective to enhance our understanding of how employment participation differs across phases of life. Salient and diverse changes related to health, career and social role involvement were identified at each life phase and shaped employment. Rehabilitation practitioners should pay special attention to a client’s age, life phase and work history as a strategy to enhance the delivery of interventions that promote work participation.

Supporting arthritis and employment across the life course: A qualitative study

To examine the need for and availability and use of formal and informal workplace resources and to uncover differences across the life course in adults with arthritis.