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INTRODUCTION: Outsourcing is a commonly occurring organizational activity, but one associated with negative occupational safety outcomes. Improving the management of safety in workplaces where contractors are employed is vital, but under-researched in the service sectors. The aims of this paper were to investigate both the practices and challenges of safety management in outsourced facility management (FM), an important global service sector. METHOD: Twenty-three semi-structured interviews were conducted with clients and contractors in three different FM outsourcing arrangements between large corporations in the UK. Data were thematically coded against frameworks derived from existing literature to identify deployed safety management practices and reveal challenges associated with safety management in these outsourced relationships. RESULTS: Safety management practices in outsourced FM conformed to known practices clustering into four previously identified categories (planning, selecting, on-site working, and checking). A fifth category (reviewing) was not observed. Operating across national boundaries, applying national contracts locally, working with mandated KPIs, and contract specifications all created new challenges for safety management not previously reported. Other known challenges associated with economic pressure and disorganization were observed. CONCLUSION: Safety management practices observed in safety critical industries also apply in FM. However, the challenges of safety management in these three cases included regulatory failures that have not been routinely identified in other empirical studies of safety in outsourcing arrangements. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Adopting widely accepted safety management practices support safer working in outsourced FM and encourage cross-sector learning. New challenges for safety management noted here encourage consideration of unintended consequences of contract terms and conditions, require corporate agreement on how to ensure safety compliance when working transnationally, and a review of decision-making and processes and procedures to enable effective and safe working locally.

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INTRODUCTION: Industry 4.0 has brought new paradigms to businesses based on high levels of automation and interconnectivity and the use of technologies. This new context has an impact on the work environment and workers. Nevertheless, these impacts are still inconclusive and controversial, requiring new investigative perspectives. This study aimed to investigate the requirements sought, the risk factors identified, and the adverse effects on workers caused by the characteristics of I4.0. METHOD: The methodology was based on a systematic literature review utilizing the PRISMA protocol, and 30 articles were found eligible. A descriptive and bibliometric analysis of these studies was performed. RESULTS: The results identified the main topics that emerged and have implications for workers' Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) and divided them into categories. The requirements are related mainly to cognitive, organizational, and technological demands. The most significant risk factors generated were associated with the psychosocial ones, but organizational, technological, and occupational factors were also identified. The adverse effects cited were categorized as psychic, cognitive, physical, and organizational; stress was the most cited effect. An explanatory theoretical model of interaction was proposed to represent the pathway of causal relations between the requirements and risk factors for the effects caused by I4.0. CONCLUSIONS AND PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: This review has found just how complex the relationships between the principles of Industry 4.0 are (e.g., requirements, risk factors, and effects) and the human factors. It also suggests a pathway for how these relationships occur, bridging the gap left by the limited studies focused on connecting these topics. These results can help organizational managers understand the impacts of I4.0 on workers' safety and health.

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INTRODUCTION: Australia's remote health sector has chronic understaffing issues and serves an isolated, culturally diverse population with a high burden of disease. Workplace health and safety (WHS) impacts the wellbeing and sustainability of the remote health workforce. Additionally, poor WHS contributes to burnout, high turnover of staff and reduced quality of care. The issue of poor WHS in Australian very remote primary health clinics was highlighted by the murder of remote area nurse (RAN) Gayle Woodford in 2016. Following her death, a national call for change led by peak bodies and Gayle's family resulted in the development of many WHS recommendations and strategies for the remote health sector. However, it is unclear whether they have been implemented. The aim of this study is to identify which WHS recommendations have been implemented, from the perspective of RANs. METHODS: A cross-sectional online survey of 173 RANs was conducted during December 2020 and January 2021. The survey was open to all RANs who had worked in a very remote (MM 7 of the Modified Monash (MM) Model) primary health clinic in Australia more recently than January 2019. A convenience sampling approach was used. The survey tool was developed by the project team using a combination of validated tools and remote-specific workplace safety recommendations. Broad recommendations, such as having a safe clinic building, safe staff accommodation, local orientation, and 'never alone' policy, were broken down into specific safety criteria. These criteria were used to generate workplace safety scores to quantify how well each recommendation had been met, and clustered into the following domains: preparation of staff, safe work environment and safe work practices. Descriptive statistics were used and the safety scores between different states and territories were also compared. RESULTS: Overall, the average national workplace safety score was 53% (standard deviation (SD) 19.8%) of recommendations met in participants' most recent workplace, with median 38.5% (interquartile range (IQR) 15.4-61.5%) of staff preparation recommendations, median 59.4% (IQR 43.8-78.1%) of safe work environment recommendations, and median 50.0% (IQR 30.0-66.7%) of safe work practices recommendations met. Within domains, some recommendations had greater uptake than others, and the safety scores of different states/territories also varied. Significant variation was found between the Northern Territory (57.5%, SD 18.7%) and Queensland (41.7%, SD 16.7%) (p<0.01), and between South Australia (74.5%, IQR 35.9%) and Queensland (p<0.05). Last, many RANs were still expected to attend after-hours call-outs on their own, with only 64.1% (n=107/167) of participants reporting a 'never alone' policy or process in their workplace. CONCLUSION: The evidence from this study revealed that some recommended safety strategies had been implemented, but significant gaps remained around staff preparation, fatigue management and infrastructure safety. Ongoing poor WHS likely contributes to the persistently high turnover of RANs, negatively affecting the quality and continuity of health care in remote communities. Variation in safety scores between regions warns of a fragmentation of approaches to WHS within the remote health sector, despite the almost identical WHS legislation in different states/territories. These gaps highlight the need to establish and enforce a national minimum standard of workplace safety in the remote health sector.

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BACKGROUND: Quality clinical environments are crucial in bridging the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical skills. This study explored the mediating role of academic burnout in relation to workplace bullying experience, stress hardiness, and occupational identity among nursing students during clinical practice. METHOD: In this cross-sectional study, an online questionnaire was administered to fourth-year nursing students from four universities. Data were collected in March 2023 and analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent t test, one-way analysis of variance, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and PROCESS Macro Model 4. RESULTS: In the final sample (N = 202), the correlates of occupational identity were stress hardiness and academic burnout; workplace bullying was not statistically significant. Academic burnout completely and partially mediated the relationship between workplace bullying and occupational identity and between stress hardiness and occupational identity, respectively. CONCLUSION: To strengthen nursing students' occupational identity, active attention and management are required to prevent academic burnout and improve stress hardiness. [J Nurs Educ. 2024;63(9):604-612.].

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Background: Unprofessional behaviour in healthcare systems can negatively impact staff well-being, patient safety and organisational costs. Unprofessional behaviour encompasses a range of behaviours, including incivility, microaggressions, harassment and bullying. Despite efforts to combat unprofessional behaviour in healthcare settings, it remains prevalent. Interventions to reduce unprofessional behaviour in health care have been conducted - but how and why they may work is unclear. Given the complexity of the issue, a realist review methodology is an ideal approach to examining unprofessional behaviour in healthcare systems. Aim: To improve context-specific understanding of how, why and in what circumstances unprofessional behaviours between staff in acute healthcare settings occur and evidence of strategies implemented to mitigate, manage and prevent them. Methods: Realist synthesis methodology consistent with realist and meta-narrative evidence syntheses: evolving standards reporting guidelines. Data sources: Literature sources for building initial theories were identified from the original proposal and from informal searches of various websites. For theory refinement, we conducted systematic and purposive searches for peer-reviewed literature on databases such as EMBASE, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature and MEDLINE databases as well as for grey literature. Searches were conducted iteratively from November 2021 to December 2022. Results: Initial theory-building drew on 38 sources. Searches resulted in 2878 titles and abstracts. In total, 148 sources were included in the review. Terminology and definitions used for unprofessional behaviours were inconsistent. This may present issues for policy and practice when trying to identify and address unprofessional behaviour. Contributors of unprofessional behaviour can be categorised into four areas: (1) workplace disempowerment, (2) organisational uncertainty, confusion and stress, (3) (lack of) social cohesion and (4) enablement of harmful cultures that tolerate unprofessional behaviours. Those at most risk of experiencing unprofessional behaviour are staff from a minoritised background. We identified 42 interventions in the literature to address unprofessional behaviour. These spanned five types: (1) single session (i.e. one-off), (2) multiple sessions, (3) single or multiple sessions combined with other actions (e.g. training session plus a code of conduct), (4) professional accountability and reporting interventions and (5) structured culture-change interventions. We identified 42 reports of interventions, with none conducted in the United Kingdom. Of these, 29 interventions were evaluated, with the majority (n = 23) reporting some measure of effectiveness. Interventions drew on 13 types of behaviour-change strategy designed to, for example: change social norms, improve awareness of unprofessional behaviour, or redesign the workplace. Interventions were impacted by 12 key dynamics, including focusing on individuals, lack of trust in management and non-existent logic models. Conclusions: Workplace disempowerment and organisational barriers are primary contributors to unprofessional behaviour. However, interventions predominantly focus on individual education or training without addressing systemic, organisational issues. Effectiveness of interventions to improve staff well-being or patient safety is uncertain. We provide 12 key dynamics and 15 implementation principles to guide organisations. Future work: Interventions need to: (1) be tested in a United Kingdom context, (2) draw on behavioural science principles and (3) target systemic, organisational issues. Limitations: This review focuses on interpersonal staff-to-staff unprofessional behaviour, in acute healthcare settings only and does not include non-intervention literature outside the United Kingdom or outside of health care. Study registration: This study was prospectively registered on PROSPERO CRD42021255490. The record is available from: www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42021255490. Funding: This award was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Health and Social Care Delivery Research programme (NIHR award ref: NIHR131606) and is published in full in Health and Social Care Delivery Research; Vol. 12, No. 25. See the NIHR Funding and Awards website for further award information.

For this study, we asked: how, why and in what situations can unprofessional behaviour between healthcare staff working in acute care (usually hospitals) be reduced, managed and prevented? We wanted to research how people understand unprofessional behaviour, explore the circumstances leading to unprofessional behaviour and understand how existing approaches to addressing unprofessional behaviour worked (or did not work) across staff groups and acute healthcare organisations. We used a literature review method called a 'realist review', which differs from other review methods. A realist review focuses on understanding not only if interventions work but how and why they work, and for whom. This allowed us to analyse a wider range of relevant international literature ­ not only academic papers. We found 148 sources, which were relevant either because they described unprofessional behaviour or because they provided information on how to address unprofessional behaviour. Definitions of unprofessional behaviour varied, making it difficult to settle on one description. For example, unprofessional behaviour may involve incivility, bullying, harassment and/or microaggressions. We examined what might contribute to unprofessional behaviour and identified factors including uncertainty in the working environment. We found no United Kingdom-based interventions and only one from the United States of America that sought to reduce unprofessional behaviour towards minority groups. Strategies often tried to encourage staff to speak up, provide ways to report unprofessional behaviour or set social standards of behaviour. We also identified factors that may make it challenging for organisations to successfully select, implement and evaluate an intervention to address unprofessional behaviour. We recommend a system-wide approach to addressing unprofessional behaviour, including assessing the context and then implementing multiple approaches over a long time (rather than just once), because they are likely to have greater impact on changing culture. We are producing an implementation guide to support this process. Interventions need to enhance staff ability to feel safe at work, work effectively and support those more likely to experience unprofessional behaviour.

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Conflict is a ubiquitous, but potentially destructive, feature of social life. In the current research, we argue that intellectual humility-the awareness of one's intellectual fallibility-plays an important role in promoting constructive responses and decreasing destructive responses to conflict in different contexts. In Study 1, we examine the role of intellectual humility in interpersonal conflicts with friends and family members. In Study 2, we extend this finding to workplace conflicts. In both studies we find that intellectual humility predicts more constructive and less destructive responses to conflict. This work extends the burgeoning literature on the benefits of intellectual humility by demonstrating its association with responses that help defuse conflictual encounters.

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BACKGROUND: Ensuring a sufficient, appropriately qualified health workforce is of global concern. Understanding the attributes that employers seek is critical in recruitment, retention, and educational design. In physiotherapy, there is a dearth of evidence on desirable attributes that employers seek from early-career physiotherapists. This study directly addresses this gap. The aims of this study were to identify the characteristics of the jobs advertised for early-career physiotherapists in Australia; determine which attributes were most desired when employing an early-career physiotherapist; and identify if there were differences in the attributes required based upon workplace location. METHODS: New graduate and early-career physiotherapy job advertisements were collected for six months from 1st October 2020 until 31st March 2021 from SEEK.com.au, a large online employment marketplace that operates across ten countries in the Asia Pacific and Latin America. Job advertisements needed to specify new graduate or early-career physiotherapist eligibility and be located within Australia. Data extraction were completed using QuestionPro®. The Modified Monash Model was used to classify rurality of job location. Job advertisements were analysed descriptively and using content analysis to identify attributes. RESULTS: The search yielded 578 job advertisements with the greatest number collected in October 2020 (25.3%). Of the advertisements, 428 (74.0%) were in metropolitan locations (Modified Monash 1), 47 (8.1%) were in regional (Modified Monash 2), 99 (17.1%) were in rural locations (Modified Monash 3-5), and 4 (0.8%) were in remote locations (Modified Monash 6-7). Most roles were in private practice (63.3%) or aged care (21.7%). The top five attributes requested by employers were client focus, communication and interpersonal skills, team player, willingness to learn, and being able to build rapport, relationships, and networks. Academic results, resilience, and empathy were the least requested attributes. Differences in requested employability attributes increased with rurality. CONCLUSIONS: This study addresses the current knowledge about attributes sought by employers for early-career physiotherapists. The most prevalent attributes requested were client focus and communication and interpersonal skills. This exploration of attributes can help to better prepare graduates for their first roles, align expectations, and increase understanding of priorities for entry level university programs, as well as identify priorities for support during transition to practice. Desired attributes should be clearly defined by employers in recruitment and retention processes.

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Objective: To measure and compare the difference of personal attenuation rating (PAR) of the workers wearing foam earplugs before and after the training, and to evaluate the effect of ear protector wearing training on the noise protection. Methods: In February 2023, 94 workers exposed to noise in a machinery manufacturing factory were selected as subjects. The production noise in the workplace was measured and subjects were trained to wear earplugs. The PAR values of wearing 3M 1110 foam test earplugs were measured and recorded before and after the training by using the fit testing of hearing protection device. The differences between the actual PAR values with nominal values and the noise attenuation values in related standards were compared, and the protective effect of hearing protection device before and after training was evaluated. Results: The average age of the subjects was (36.76±11.48) years old, the average length of service was (16.34±11.64) years, and the average exposure time to noise was (15.67±11.64) years. The noise detection results of the subjects' posts were ranged from 80.1 to 94.3 dB (A). The results of subjects wore 3M 1110 foam test earplugs for fit testing showed that the binaural PAR value after training was (19.3±6.4) dB (A), which was significantly higher than that before training (11.1±7.4) dB (A) (t=13.31, P<0.001). After training, 11 people (11.70%) could reach the corrected noise reduction value (NRR value), 26 people (27.66%) could reach the standard of single noise reduction value (SNR value) ×0.6, and 84 people (89.36%) could reach the standard of (NRR-7) /2. The under protection rate of hearing protectors after training (7.45%) was significantly lower than that before training (45.74%), and the difference of different protection levels before and after training was statistically significant (χ(2)=40.83, P<0.001) . Conclusion: It is suggested that enterprises should use the fit testing instead of nominal value estimation to evaluate the noise reduction effect of hearing protection device. Special training on the selection and use of hearing protection device should be strengthened, so as to ensure that workers wear them correctly and improve the protective effect of hearing protection device.

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Objective: To establish a method for the determination of eight N-nitrosamines (N-nitrosodimethylamine, N-nitrosodimethylamine, N-nitrosomethylmethylamine, N-nitrosodibutylamine, N-nitrosopropylamine, N-nitrosomorpholine, N-nitrosodianiline and N-nitrosopiperidine) in the air of workplace by gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) . Methods: From January to August 2023, eight N-nitrosamines in the air of workplace were collected by ThermoSorb/N column, eluted with 4 ml methanol-dichloromethane (1∶1 volume ratio), separated by VF-624 ms capillary column, detected by multiple reaction monitoring mode and quantified by external standard method. The detection limit and precision of the method were also analyzed. Results: The linear range of the method for the determination of eight N-nitrosamines was 1.0-20.0 µg/L, the correlation coefficient was 0.9993-0.9999, the detection limit was 0.051-0.132 µg/L, and the minimum quantitative concentration was 0.030-0.078 µg/m(3) (calculated by collecting 22.5 L of air sample and eluting with 4.0 ml stripping liquid). The within-run precisions were 2.05%-6.89% and the between-run precisions were 2.41%-8.26%. The desorption rates were 67.20%-102.60%. The sample can be kept at least 7 days at 4 ℃. Conclusion: GC-MS/MS method for the determination of eight N-nitrosamines in workplace air has high sensitivity and good precision, and can accurately determine the content of eight N-nitrosamines in workplace air.

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The wide use of crystalline silicon solar cells in the field of new energy is an important boost for China to achieve the environmental protection goal as soon as possible. However, the production and manufacturing processes of these cells give rise to various occupational hazards at workplace, thus posing health risks to workers. This review provided an overview of production processes of crystalline silicon solar cells, the characteristics of occupational health hazards (productive dust; physical factors, productive toxicant) and proposed occupational protection suggestions.

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Background: A major workforce inadequacy and the change in skill demanded have been observed due to the digital transformation. This study aims to identify the digital skills demanded by employers, focusing on exploring the skills gaps among the graduates that impact graduate employability. Methods: A cross sectional online survey was conducted among the companies registered with the Malaysian Productivity Corporation (MPC). Demand for digital skills was assessed using descriptive analysis of mean scores of the employers' rating in digital skills at present and in future. A pair sample t-test was performed to explore the existence of skill gaps, by comparing the demand versus competencies of the graduates' digital skills in the workplace. Results: Of the 393 responses collected, 376 responses were used for final analysis. The findings show that the current top three digital skills in demand are "information and data literacy", "problem-solving", and "digital content creation". Whereas the top digital skills for future demand are "problem-solving", "safety", and "communication and collaboration". In addition, the most significant (digital) skill gap is found in "communication and collaboration skills" followed by "problem-solving" and "safety" skills. Conclusions: These findings provide insights into the digital skills demanded by employers in IR 4.0, allowing the practitioners, education service providers and policymakers to do better planning on human capital management and training development. By focusing on identifying the current and future demand for digital skills while exploring the digital skill gaps among the graduates, this study provides insight into the employability skills required by the graduate before entering the job market.

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Background and importance: Healthcare professionals face significant workloads, as their roles are among the most demanding and stressful. Resilience serves as a crucial factor in helping them cope with the challenges encountered in their work environment and effectively manage stress. Assessing the level of resilience among healthcare workers and identifying potential variations across different groups is essential for effective public health management, preventing burnout, and ultimately enhancing patient care. Objective: To assess the resilience of various categories of workers operating within a tertiary care multisite hospital and understanding if there are any differences in resilience, based on their characteristics, the type of department they work in, and personality traits. Design setting and participants: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in January 2024 at EOC, a multi-site tertiary care hospital located in Southern Switzerland. 1,197 hospital workers answered an online survey which included: (1) an ad hoc questionnaire on personal and job characteristics, well-being-related activities, satisfaction level regarding communication, collaboration, support, and training opportunities in the workplace, (2) the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale 10-Item on resilience, and (3) the Big Five Personality Inventory 10-item on personality traits. Outcome measures and analysis: Proportion of resilient and highly resilient individuals within the various categories of workers were analyzed with Bayesian approach and Bayesian robust regression. Main results: Being part of the hospitality staff, working as a doctor, and having a male sex were associated to the highest scores of resilience. Surgery and emergency departments had the highest proportion of highly resilient individuals. Male sex, older age, seniority, higher hierarchical rank, engagement in physical activities, relaxation or mindfulness practices, religiosity, perception of good collaboration, communication, support, and physical activity correlated with higher resilience skills. Conclusion: This cross-sectional study found that physicians and hospitality staff within our multi-site Swiss hospital are more resilient compared to other categories of hospital workers, and among departments, those working in surgery and Emergency Medicine. Enhancing our comprehension of resilience is crucial for more precise management of healthcare systems and the development of employment policies aimed at sustaining the capacity of healthcare systems to serve patients effectively, while also mitigating shortages of healthcare professionals.

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This study examines the association between state laws limiting local control (preemption laws) and local smoke-free policies. We utilized policy data from the American Nonsmokers' Rights Foundation. The primary outcome variable is the presence of a "100% smoke-free policy," across any of 4 indoor settings: workplaces, restaurants, bars, and gaming venues. We employed generalized structural equation modeling to investigate the relationship between state laws pre-empting smoke-free indoor air regulation and local adoption of policies requiring smoke-free air in any public venues, or for specific venues, adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics. Our findings reveal a significant association between state preemption laws and the presence of a local 100% smoke-free indoor policy as of 2023. In states with preemption laws, cities were less likely to have a 100% smoke-free indoor policy at any venue than cities in states without preemption laws (OR = 0.07, 95% CI = 0.05-0.10). When considering specific smoke-free venues, cities in states with preemption laws were less likely to have a 100% smoke-free indoor policy covering workplaces (OR = 0.05, 95% CI = 0.03-0.09), restaurants (OR = 0.04, 95% CI = 0.02-0.07), bars (OR = 0.04, 95% CI = 0.03-0.08), and gaming venues (OR = 0.03, 95% CI = 0.01-0.09) compared to cities in states without preemption laws. Our study suggests that state preemption laws limit local decision-making and the implementation of public health policies focused on tobacco harms.

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Employees' work engagement may vary by work location (office vs. home office), assuming that working at home requires greater self-regulation. Hence, self-leadership may play an important role when employees work at home. The present study investigates whether employees use self-leadership strategies (self-goal setting, self-reward, self-punishment, self-cueing, and visualization of successful performance) more often on home days than on office days. We also examine how these strategies are related to daily work engagement, and whether they are more effective for promoting work engagement depending on the work location. One hundred and one employees completed daily questionnaires on office and home days, resulting in 514 observations. Multilevel analyses revealed that employees reported higher use of self-goal setting, self-reward, and visualization on home days than on office days. Furthermore, we found that applying these strategies was positively related to day-specific work engagement. Nevertheless, self-cueing had no effect and self-punishment was detrimental to work engagement. Moreover, we found no support for the idea that the effectiveness of self-leadership strategies for promoting work engagement depends on the work location. These findings contribute to our understanding of self-leadership strategies promoting work engagement on home and office days.

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OBJECTIVE: In recent years, several international studies have been published, that describe a relationship between country of origin and the occurrence of work-related injury. Since we regularly treat migrant workers in our hospital after work-related injury, we wanted to gain more insight into the characteristics of this group. DESIGN: Descriptive retrospective cohort study. METHOD: Patients were identified from the Dutch Nationwide Trauma Registration (LTR). Patients that were included in the study were admitted and treated in our hospital after a work-related injury from 2017 to 2021. Additional information regarding patient characteristics and outcomes were retrieved from our electronic hospital information system. RESULTS: 14,9% of the 397 patients were found to have an injury with an Injury Severity Score (ISS) of 16 or higher. The most common mechanism of injury was a fall from height (ISS≤15: 26.0%, ISS≥16: 57.6%). In the study population, 15,4% had a non-Dutch origin. The majority consisted of employees with an Eastern European nationality (70,5%), mainly from Poland. Within this group relatively more often patients were encountered that had no valid insurance (14% of patients with an Eastern European origin) or were intoxicated (19% of patients with Eastern European origin). CONCLUSION: A relatively large part of our patient population consisted of migrant workers. We did not observe large differences in mechanism of injury, severity of injury and outcome between native patients and migrant workers. We did observe a relatively high frequency of insurance problems and intoxications among migrant workers.

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The paradigm of Industry 5.0 pushes the transition from the traditional to a novel, smart, digital, and connected industry, where well-being is key to enhance productivity, optimize man-machine interaction and guarantee workers' safety. This work aims to conduct a systematic review of current methodologies for monitoring and analyzing physical and cognitive ergonomics. Three research questions are addressed: (1) which technologies are used to assess the physical and cognitive well-being of workers in the workplace, (2) how the acquired data are processed, and (3) what purpose this well-being is evaluated for. This way, individual factors within the holistic assessment of worker well-being are highlighted, and information is provided synthetically. The analysis was conducted following the PRISMA 2020 statement guidelines. From the sixty-five articles collected, the most adopted (1) technological solutions, (2) parameters, and (3) data analysis and processing were identified. Wearable inertial measurement units and RGB-D cameras are the most prevalent devices used for physical monitoring; in the cognitive ergonomics, and cardiac activity is the most adopted physiological parameter. Furthermore, insights on practical issues and future developments are provided. Future research should focus on developing multi-modal systems that combine these aspects with particular emphasis on their practical application in real industrial settings.

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Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is among prevalent occupational diseases, causing early retirement and disabilities. This paper looks into occupational-related COPD prevention and intervention in the workplace for Industry 4.0-compliant occupation health and safety management. The economic burden and other severe problems caused by COPD are introduced. Subsequently, seminal research in relevant areas is reviewed. The prospects and challenges are introduced and discussed based on critical management approaches. An initial design of an Industry 4.0-compliant occupational COPD prevention system is presented at the end.

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This longitudinal study evaluated the effectiveness of Korea's 2007 employment protection legislation (EPL), aimed at mitigating labor discrimination against non-regular workers (NRW). Specifically, we use the Korean Workplace Panel Survey data from 2005 to 2013 and adopt a difference-in-difference methodology (DD) to explore whether establishment reduces the gap in training opportunities between NRW and regular workers (RW). Results show that compliance with government regulations depends on how business establishments react to the rules and the characteristics of these stakeholders. Overall, the 2007 reform partially improved the training opportunities in NRW. However, this positive outcome was mostly concentrated in companies with affluent resources or stronger bargaining power of NRW. Policymakers should consider in what context the policy works well and what factors may hinder its operation at the policy design stage.

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BACKGROUND: Constant organizational change is the norm in many companies today. At present, evidence on the impact of organizational change on psychosocial risks at work and employee mental health is limited. We investigate organizational change and its association with psychosocial risks and mental health in three consecutive surveys covering 12 years. METHODS: The study was based on data from three cross-sectional waves (2006, 2012, 2018) of the German BIBB/BAuA Employment Survey, comprising 53,295 employees. Four change indicators (i.e., introduction of new software, changes in goods and services produced/provided, downsizing and restructuring), five indicators of psychosocial risks (i.e., time pressure, interruptions, multitasking, working to the limits of capability, and working very quickly) and four mental health indicators (i.e., sleep disturbances, nervousness, tiredness and depressive symptoms) were investigated. We applied Poisson regression analysis to examine associations between organizational change, psychosocial risks, and mental health. RESULTS: According to the pooled analysis of all three waves, the majority of employees reported having experienced at least one organizational change, such as downsizing or restructuring, between 2006 and 2018. Organizational change was negatively associated with psychosocial risks (e.g., working to the limits of one's capability, PR: 1.66; 95% CI: 1.48-1.86) and with employee mental health (PR: 1.82; 95% CI: 1.61-2.04). CONCLUSIONS: Organizational change is omnipresent in the modern economy. Our research suggests that transformation processes in organizations can bear risks to employees' health as psychosocial risks increase. Therefore, companies planning organizational change should accompany such processes with occupational health and safety measures.

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BACKGROUND: Workplace-based assessment (WBA) can facilitate evaluation of operative performance; however, implementation of WBA is sometimes unsuccessful. The American Board of Surgery Entrustable Professional Activities WBA project was launched in July 2023. Some programs will face the challenge of re-implementation of a WBA following previous failures. It is unknown what interventions are most effective for WBA re-implementation. Our goal is to identify barriers and facilitators to re-implementing SIMPL, an operative performance WBA. METHODS: The System for Improving and Measuring Procedural Learning (SIMPL) was implemented at our residency in 2018, but usage rates were low. We interviewed residents and faculty to identify barriers to usage and opportunities for improvement. Residents reported that SIMPL usage declined because of several factors, including a low faculty response rate, while some faculty reported not responding because they were unable to login to the app and because usage was not mandated. We then re-implemented SIMPL using a plan based on Kotter's Model of Change. To evaluate impact, we analyzed rates of SIMPL usage when it was first implemented, as well as before and after the date of re-implementation. RESULTS: In September 2022, we re-implemented SIMPL at our program with measures addressing the identified barriers. We found that, in the six months after re-implementation, an average of 145.8 evaluations were submitted by residents per month, compared with 47 evaluations per month at the start of the original implementation and 5.8 evaluations per month just prior to re-implementation. Faculty completed 60.6% of evaluations and dictated feedback for 59.1% of these evaluations, compared with 69.1% at implementation (44% dictated) and 43% prior to re-implementation (53% dictated). CONCLUSIONS: After identifying barriers to implementation of a WBA, we re-implemented it with significantly higher usage by faculty and residents. Future opportunities exist to implement or re-implement assessment tools within general surgery programs. These opportunities may have a significant impact in the setting of national standardization of workplace-based assessment among general surgery residencies.

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