Organisational work conditions

Question 1

Physical and psychological work conditions

Answer 1

I

Question 2

Physical: The Hawthorne Studies

Answer 2

-Wikstrom & Bendix
-phenomenon in which behaviour is changing simply because it is being investigated
-Wikstrom & Bendix challenge the conclusions that were drawn in the original studies
Khan and greenwood:

Question 3

The original study

Answer 3

1924, Illinois
managers working with MIT and Harvard
examined the effects on productivity of lighting changes and work structure changes such as working hours and break times
- first study (light) shows that lighting doesn’t affect productivity as long as it is sufficient to get the job done
-a lot of disadvantages in these studies

Question 4

Psychological: Bullying at work

Answer 4

-Einarsen
-bullying is defined as hostile and violent behaviour, either physical or non-physical directed at one or more colleagues or subordinates
-humiliation, offence, distress
-key factor: power
-difference between superior or co-worker bullying

Question 5

Zapf 5 types of bullying

Answer 5

-social isolation
-physical violence or threats of physical violence
-verbal threats including criticism and humiliation
-work-related bullying such as changing tasks or making them harder to perform
-personal attacks or attacks on private life by ridicule, gossip or insulting remarks

Question 6

4 stages of bullying

Answer 6

1. aggressive behaviour
2. bullying
3. stigmatisation
4. severe trauma

Question 7

2 broad areas of bullying causes

Answer 7

individual or personality factors of the victim and of the bully

psycho-social or situational factors

Question 8

situational factors which may promote bullying

Answer 8

deficiencies in work design
deficiencies in leadership behaviour
socially exposed position of the victim
low morale in the department

Question 9

Open plan offices

Answer 9

Oldham & Brass
-field study, longitudinal: 8 weeks before, 9 weeks after, 18 weeks after
-control group: 5 staff members
-76 full participants
-the questionnaire measured: work satisfaction, interpersonal satisfaction, internal work motivation

Question 10

Results conclusions

Answer 10

-internal motivation and satisfaction with work colleagues decreased
-control group showed no change
-workers revealed that they felt like in a ‘fishbowl’
-difficult to form friendships
-a supervisor commented that it was difficult to provide feedback to a worker without going to private rooms

Question 11

Temporal conditions of work environment

Answer 11

II

Question 12

Shiftwork: Rapid rotation shifts

Answer 12

frequent shift changes
Metropolitan rota: 2 day, 2 afternoon, 2 night, 2 days off
Continental rota: 2 day, 2 twilight, 3 night, 2days off, 2 day, 3 twilight, 2 night, 3 days off

Question 13

Shiftwork: Slow rotation shifts

Answer 13

infrequent changes
e.g working day shifts for several weeks then night shifts several weeks

Question 14

The effects of shiftwork on health

Answer 14

Knutsson
-no relationship between shiftwork and longevity

Question 15

Specific disorders and conditions

Answer 15

Gastrointestinal disease
Cardiovascular disease
Cancer (no conclusive evidence)
Diabetes and other metabolic disturbances
Pregnancy problems
Exacerbation of existing disorders

Question 16

Shiftwork and accidents

Answer 16

Gold et al
878 registered nurses
mean age 33.9
June-september 1986
Questionnaire: quality of sleep, use of alcohol, use of prescription or non-prescription medication, sleeping aids, times when they have nodded off at work and from and to work; accidents, errors, near-misses, injuries due to concentration problems

Question 17

Results

Answer 17

rotators and night shifts experienced less sleep (used anchor sleep concept)
92% of day shift exp. anchor sleep but only 6.3% of night shifts and rotators
… overall worse for night and rotators

Question 18

Health and safety

Answer 18

III

Question 19

Accidents at work: errors and accidents in operator-machine systems

Answer 19

-Three mile island power plant 1979
development of human factors experts who ensure that designs of machines also reflect the limitations of human cognition

Question 20

Resulting accidents at work

Answer 20

Fox et al
token economy rewards workers for not having accidents or injuries for a specific amount of time
costs of accidents dropped 90%

Question 21

Safety promotion campaigns

Answer 21

Cowpe
The aim of this study was to test the effectiveness of an
advertising campaign warning people about chip-pan
fires
This can be understood as a quasi-experiment
effectiveness: 12% reduction