Employment and Working Conditions Overview

Employment and Working Conditions

• Underlying premises include unemployment, underemployment, stressful work, and unsafe work.
• Control and less stress are important considerations.
• Unemployment negatively affects physical, mental, and social health.
• Work conditions severely impact an employee's health and well-being.

Unpaid Work

• Sandwich generation provides for children and elderly parents.

Employment and Working Conditions (General)

• High unemployment and economic instability contribute to significant mental health problems and negatively impact the physical health of individuals, families, and communities.

Emotional Abuse in the Workplace

• Despair and serious illness are symptoms.
• Emotional abuse is a "silent epidemic".

Manitoba Blue Cross: Employee Assistance Program

• A private, not-for-profit health insurance provider in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
• Provides employee assistance programs (EAPs) to employees and their families in navigating emotional, financial, legal, child, and elder care needs.

EAP Updater: Emotional Abuse in the Workplace

• This presentation updates the EAP program about emotional abuse in the workplace.

Emotional Abuse in the Workplace: Potential Solution: Control Theory

• The document provides a two-process model of perceived control, developed by Fred Rothbaum, John R. Weisz, and Samuel S. Snyder.

Emotional Abuse in the Workplace Potential Solutions: Primary Control

Emotional Abuse in the Workplace Potential Solutions: Secondary Control (4 Types)

• The presentation includes four types of secondary control: predictive, illusory, vicarious, and interpretive.

EAP Updater: Mobbing

• Mobbing is a behavior exhibited by coworkers, superiors, or subordinates.
• It involves attacking a colleague's dignity, integrity, and competence.
• Mobbing extends over weeks, months, or years.

Bullying/Mobbing

• Bullying is defined as repeated, malicious, verbal mistreatment driven by the desire to control.
• Mobbing is a group or collective action aimed at suppressing or humiliating a target.

Mobbing (How it starts)

• Typically begins with an escalating conflict.
• Driven by scapegoat mentality, personal animosities, fear, and jealousy.

Mobbing (Why it happens)

• Ignored, tolerated, and misinterpreted.
• Not identified clearly as distinct from sexual harassment or discrimination.
• Victims are often exhausted and unable to defend themselves.

The Costs of Mobbing/Bullying

• Lost productivity
• Increased healthcare costs
• Added legal costs
• Negative psychosocial implications
• The University of Manitoba Athletic Council provides anti-bullying programs.

Mobbing/Bullying: What can be done? (Victims)

• Recognize that they are not to blame.
• Weigh their options.
• Be assertive.
• Take control.

Mobbing/Bullying: What can be done? (Managers)

• Watch for early signs of mobbing/bullying.
• Implement a preventive company policy.
• Create a company policy using six steps:
  • 1. Identify the need for a policy.
  • 2. Determine the policy content and goals.
  • 3. Gain support from leadership and legal.
  • 4. Carefully craft your policy.
  • 5. Communicate the changes.
  • 6. Monitor and update the policy.

The Impact of Shift and Night Work on Health

• Shift work, particularly night work, negatively impacts health.
• Disturbances in circadian rhythms, sleep/wake cycles, and work performance.
• Interferences with relationships, health, and family.
• Potential for gastrointestinal, neuropsychiatric, and cardiovascular issues.
• Specifically affects women's health due to hormonal and reproductive functions.
• Tolerance to shift work depends on many variables (age, personality, work/family, load and conditions).
• Many factors influence how workers tolerate shift work and schedule differences.

Shift/night work affects Four Spheres of Life

• Biological, Working, Social, and Physical health factors need consideration.

Coping strategies adopted in night shifts

• Various coping mechanisms are utilized.
• Common methods include: Coffee/tea, smoking, walking around, washing face, chewing Gutka, etc.

Tolerance to Shift Work Is Influenced By

• Individual characteristics (personal traits)
• Family situation
• Social conditions
• Working conditions
• Shift-work schedules

Tolerance to Shift Work Is Influenced By Shift-work Schedules

Shift Work and Negative Work-to-Family Spillover

• This study examined connections amongst wage earners with families.
• Identified a strong, positive correlation between shift work and negative work-to-family spillover.
• Factors influencing spillover may include:
  • Work hours.
  • Preference for fewer working hours.
  • Supervisory support.
  • A family-supportive job culture.

Study Findings

• Findings point towards strong correlation between rotating shifts and negative work-life spillover, family-friendly culture, hours of work and supervisor support.

Homelessness

• Absolute homelessness: Individuals living on the street or those who have lost their homes in disasters.
• Relative homelessness: Individuals residing in unsuitable dwellings that cannot afford basic standards.
• Visible homelessness: People seen sleeping in public spaces.
• Invisible homelessness: People living in unsafe/unstable housing, like abandoned buildings, cars, or welfare hotels (~80% of the homeless population).

Homelessness Categorized by Cause

• (1) Transitionally Homeless: Job loss, bankruptcy, eviction, divorce, or domestic violence.
• (2) Discharge into Homelessness: Relinquishment from foster care, prison, mental institutions, or hospitals.
• (3) Chronically Homeless: People dealing with long-standing physical or psychological conditions that create consistent circumstances of homelessness. Approximately 20% of the homeless population fall into this category.

Homelessness: What Can Be Done?

• Reduce high school dropout rates.
• Increase post-secondary educational opportunities for the impoverished.
• Validate foreign credentials.
• Provide economic assistance to the working poor.
• Increase accessible/affordable housing.
• Expand the availability of employment insurance.
• The Winnipeg Street Census provides resources and support to homeless communities.