Showing papers on "Workforce published in 2020"

Is returning to work during the COVID-19 pandemic stressful? A study on immediate mental health status and psychoneuroimmunity prevention measures of Chinese workforce.

Abstract: This study aimed to quantify the immediate psychological effects and psychoneuroimmunity prevention measures of a workforce returning to work during the COVID-19 epidemic. Workforce returning to work was invited to complete an online questionnaire regarding their attitude toward the COVID-19 epidemic and return-to-work along with psychological parameters including the Impact of Event Scale-Revised, Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale- 21 (DASS-21) and Insomnia Severity Index (ISI). Psychoneuroimmunity prevention measures include precautions at personal and organization levels. From 673 valid questionnaires, we found that 10.8% of respondents met the diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after returning to work. The respondents reported a low prevalence of anxiety (3.8%), depression (3.7%), stress (1.5%) and insomnia (2.3%). There were no significant differences in the severity of psychiatric symptoms between workers/technicians and executives/managers. >95% reported psychoneuroimmunity prevention measures including good ventilation in the workplace and wore a face mask as protective. Factors that were associated with the severity of psychiatric symptoms in the workforce were marital status, presence of physical symptom, poor physical health and viewing return to work as a health hazard (p < 0.05). In contrast, personal psychoneuroimmunity prevention measures including hand hygiene and wearing face masks as well as organizational measures including significant improvement of workplace hygiene and concerns from the company were associated with less severe psychiatric symptoms (p < 0.05). Contrary to expectations, returning to work had not caused a high level of psychiatric symptoms in the workforce. The low prevalence of psychiatric symptoms could be due to confidence instilled by psychoneuroimmunity prevention measures before the resumption of work. Our findings would provide information for other countries during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Surgery in COVID-19 patients: operational directives.

Abstract: The current COVID-19 pandemic underlines the importance of a mindful utilization of financial and human resources. Preserving resources and manpower is paramount in healthcare. It is important to ensure the ability of surgeons and specialized professionals to function through the pandemic. A conscious effort should be made to minimize infection in this sector. A high mortality rate within this group would be detrimental.This manuscript is the result of a collaboration between the major Italian surgical and anesthesiologic societies: ACOI, SIC, SICUT, SICO, SICG, SIFIPAC, SICE, and SIAARTI. We aim to describe recommended clinical pathways for COVID-19-positive patients requiring acute non-deferrable surgical care. All hospitals should organize dedicated protocols and workforce training as part of the effort to face the current pandemic.

Impact of school closures for COVID-19 on the US health-care workforce and net mortality: a modelling study.

Abstract: Summary Background The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is leading to social (physical) distancing policies worldwide, including in the USA. Some of the first actions taken by governments are the closing of schools. The evidence that mandatory school closures reduce the number of cases and, ultimately, mortality comes from experience with influenza or from models that do not include the effect of school closure on the health-care labour force. The potential benefits from school closures need to be weighed against costs of health-care worker absenteeism associated with additional child-care obligations. In this study, we aimed to measure child-care obligations for US health-care workers arising from school closures when these are used as a social distancing measure. We then assessed how important the contribution of health-care workers would have to be in reducing mortality for their absenteeism due to child-care obligations to undo the benefits of school closures in reducing the number of cases. Methods For this modelling analysis, we used data from the monthly releases of the US Current Population Survey to characterise the family structure and probable within-household child-care options of US health-care workers. We accounted for the occupation within the health-care sector, state, and household structure to identify the segments of the health-care workforce that are most exposed to child-care obligations from school closures. We used these estimates to identify the critical level at which the importance of health-care labour supply in increasing the survival probability of a patient with COVID-19 would undo the benefits of school closures and ultimately increase cumulative mortality. Findings Between January, 2018, and January, 2020, the US Current Population Survey included information on more than 3·1 million individuals across 1·3 million households. We found that the US health-care sector has some of the highest child-care obligations in the USA, with 28·8% (95% CI 28·5–29·1) of the health-care workforce needing to provide care for children aged 3–12 years. Assuming non-working adults or a sibling aged 13 years or older can provide child care, 15·0% (14·8–15·2) of the health-care workforce would still be in need of child care during a school closure. We observed substantial variation within the health-care system. We estimated that, combined with reasonable parameters for COVID-19 such as a 15·0% case reduction from school closings and 2·0% baseline mortality rate, a 15·0% decrease in the health-care labour force would need to decrease the survival probability per percent health-care worker lost by 17·6% for a school closure to increase cumulative mortality. Our model estimates that if the infection mortality rate of COVID-19 increases from 2·00% to 2·35% when the health-care workforce declines by 15·0%, school closures could lead to a greater number of deaths than they prevent. Interpretation School closures come with many trade-offs, and can create unintended child-care obligations. Our results suggest that the potential contagion prevention from school closures needs to be carefully weighted with the potential loss of health-care workers from the standpoint of reducing cumulative mortality due to COVID-19, in the absence of mitigating measures. Funding None.

COVID-19's impact on the hospitality workforce - new crisis or amplification of the norm?

Abstract: Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to highlight the immediate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the hospitality workforce in situ between mid-April and June 2020. Design/methodology/approach: This is a viewpoint paper that brings together a variety of sources and intelligence relating the impacts on hospitality work of the COVID-19 pandemic at three levels: macro (global, policy, government), meso (organisational) and micro (employee). It questions whether the situations faced by hospitality workers as a result of the pandemic are seed-change different from the precarious lives they normally lead or just a (loud) amplification of the “normal”. Findings: In light of the fluid environment relating to COVID-19, conclusions are tentative and question whether hospitality stakeholders, particularly consumers, governments and the industry itself, will emerge from the pandemic with changed attitudes to hospitality work and hospitality workers. Practical implications: This raises questions about hospitality work for key stakeholders to address in the future, some of which are systemic in terms of how precarious labour forces, critical to the global economy are to be considered by policy makers, organisations in a re-emerging competitive market for talent and for those who chose (or not) to work in hospitality. Social implications: This paper contributes to ongoing debates about precarious work and the extent to which such practices are institutionalised and adopts an “amplification model” that may have value in futures-orientated analysis about hospitality and tourism. Originality/value: This paper is wholly original and a reflection on the COVID-19 crisis. It provides a point of wider reference with regard to responses to crises and their impact on employment in hospitality, highlighting how ongoing change, fluidity and uncertainty serve to magnify and exacerbate the precarious nature of work in the industry.

Battle Buddies: Rapid Deployment of a Psychological Resilience Intervention for Health Care Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Abstract: The outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and its rapid global spread have created unprecedented challenges to health care systems. Significant and sustained efforts have focused on mobilization of personal protective equipment, intensive care beds, and medical equipment, while substantially less attention has focused on preserving the psychological health of the medical workforce tasked with addressing the challenges of the pandemic. And yet, similar to battlefield conditions, health care workers are being confronted with ongoing uncertainty about resources, capacities, and risks; as well as exposure to suffering, death, and threats to their own safety. These conditions are engendering high levels of fear and anxiety in the short term, and place individuals at risk for persistent stress exposure syndromes, subclinical mental health symptoms, and professional burnout in the long term. Given the potentially wide-ranging mental health impact of COVID-19, protecting health care workers from adverse psychological effects of the pandemic is critical. Therefore, we present an overview of the potential psychological stress responses to the COVID-19 crisis in medical providers and describe preemptive resilience-promoting strategies at the organizational and personal level. We then describe a rapidly deployable Psychological Resilience Intervention founded on a peer support model (Battle Buddies) developed by the United States Army. This intervention-the product of a multidisciplinary collaboration between the Departments of Anesthesiology and Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at the University of Minnesota Medical Center-also incorporates evidence-informed "stress inoculation" methods developed for managing psychological stress exposure in providers deployed to disasters. Our multilevel, resource-efficient, and scalable approach places 2 key tools directly in the hands of providers: (1) a peer support Battle Buddy; and (2) a designated mental health consultant who can facilitate training in stress inoculation methods, provide additional support, or coordinate referral for external professional consultation. In parallel, we have instituted a voluntary research data-collection component that will enable us to evaluate the intervention's effectiveness while also identifying the most salient resilience factors for future iterations. It is our hope that these elements will provide guidance to other organizations seeking to protect the well-being of their medical workforce during the pandemic. Given the remarkable adaptability of human beings, we believe that, by promoting resilience, our diverse health care workforce can emerge from this monumental challenge with new skills, closer relationships, and greater confidence in the power of community.

State of the world's nursing 2020: investing in education, jobs and leadership

Abstract: Nurses are critical to deliver on the promise of 'leaving no one behind' and the global effort to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). They make a central contribution to national and global targets related to a range of health priorities, including universal health coverage, mental health and noncommunicable diseases, emergency preparedness and response, patient safety, and the delivery of integrated, people-centred care. No global health agenda can be realized without concerted and sustained efforts to maximize the contributions of the nursing workforce and their roles within interprofessional health teams. To do so requires policy interventions that enable them to have maximum impact and effectiveness by optimizing nurses' scope and leadership, alongside accelerated investment in their education, skills and jobs. This report, developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) in partnership with the International Council of Nurses and the global Nursing Now campaign, and with the support of governments and wider partners, provides a compelling case on the value of the nursing workforce globally. The report reveals much to celebrate about the nursing workforce. Opportunities for advanced nursing education and enhanced professional roles, including at the policy level, can drive improvements in population health. At the same time, we continue to see vast inequities in the distribution of nurses around the world which we must address.

Attending to the Emotional Well-Being of the Health Care Workforce in a New York City Health System During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has placed an enormous strain on health care workers, and its potential impact has implications for the physical and emotional well-being of the workforce. As hospital systems run well over capacity, facing possible shortages of critical care medical resources and personal protective equipment as well as clinician deaths, the psychological stressors necessitate a strong well-being support model for staff. At the Mount Sinai Health System (MSHS) in New York City, health care workers have been heroically providing frontline care to COVID-19 patients while facing their own appropriate fears for their personal safety in the setting of contagion. This moral obligation cannot be burdened by unacceptable risks; the health system's full support is required to address the needs of its workforce.In this Invited Commentary, the authors describe how an MSHS Employee, Faculty, and Trainee Crisis Support Task Force-created in early March 2020 and composed of behavioral health, human resources, and well-being leaders from across the health system-used a rapid needs assessment model to capture the concerns of the workforce related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The task force identified 3 priority areas central to promoting and maintaining the well-being of the entire MSHS workforce during the pandemic: meeting basic daily needs; enhancing communications for delivery of current, reliable, and reassuring messages; and developing robust psychosocial and mental health support options. Using a work group strategy, the task force operationalized the rollout of support initiatives for each priority area. Attending to the emotional well-being of health care workers has emerged as a central element in the MSHS COVID-19 response, which continues to be committed to the physical and emotional needs of a workforce that courageously faces this crisis.

Perceptions and experiences of healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK

Abstract: Objective The COVID-19 pandemic has set unprecedented demand on the healthcare workforce around the world. The UK has been one of the most affected countries in Europe. The aim of this study was to explore the perceptions and experiences of healthcare workers (HCWs) in relation to COVID-19 and care delivery models implemented to deal with the pandemic in the UK. Methods The study was designed as a rapid appraisal combining: (1) a review of UK healthcare policies (n=35 policies), (2) mass media and social media analysis of front-line staff experiences and perceptions (n=101 newspaper articles, n=1 46 000 posts) and (3) in-depth (telephone) interviews with front-line staff (n=30 interviews). The findings from all streams were analysed using framework analysis. Results Limited personal protective equipment (PPE) and lack of routine testing created anxiety and distress and had a tangible impact on the workforce. When PPE was available, incorrect size and overheating complicated routine work. Lack of training for redeployed staff and the failure to consider the skills of redeployed staff for new areas were identified as problems. Positive aspects of daily work reported by HCWs included solidarity between colleagues, the establishment of well-being support structures and feeling valued by society. Conclusion Our study highlighted the importance of taking into consideration the experiences and concerns of front-line staff during a pandemic. Staff working in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic advocated clear and consistent guidelines, streamlined testing of HCWs, administration of PPE and acknowledgement of the effects of PPE on routine practice.

The impact of working from home during COVID-19 on work and life domains: an exploratory study on Hong Kong

Abstract: The pandemic sweeping the world, COVID-19, has rendered a large proportion of the workforce unable to commute to work, as to mitigate the spread of the virus. This has resulted in both employers an...

The health of healthcare professionals coping with the Covid-19 pandemic.

Abstract: This work aims to systematize a set of scientific evidence presented in international papers that identify the main problems affecting health professionals directly involved in coping with the COVID-19 pandemic and point out actions and strategies for the protection and healthcare of these professionals. The risk of infection is the main issue and has led to absence from work, illness, death, and intense psychological distress, expressed in generalized anxiety and sleep disorders, fear of becoming ill and infecting colleagues and relatives. In the Brazilian reality, this work revives the analysis of the chronic problems affecting health workers, resulting from the underfinancing of the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS), the sector's spending freeze, the deterioration of services and workforce's insecurity, and points out the acute challenges of work management and staff training, given the expanded hospital bed infrastructure and reorganization of the work process in primary care to face the pandemic, emphasizing the necessary measures for the protection and promotion of the physical and mental health of health professionals and workers.

The Experiences of Primary Healthcare Nurses During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Australia.

Abstract: PURPOSE: The COVID-19 pandemic has presented an international health crisis of a scope not seen in our lifetime. While much attention has been paid to health workers in critical care and acute areas, nurses working outside of hospitals are also significantly affected. This study sought to investigate the experience of nurses working in Australian primary healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, it sought to understand the implications on their employment status, role, and access to personal protective equipment. DESIGN AND METHODS: Nurses employed in primary healthcare across Australia were invited to participate in a cross-sectional online survey through social media and professional organizations. The survey tool was composed of demographics, and of questions about the nurses' employment, work role, and access to personal protective equipment. FINDINGS: Of the 637 responses received, nearly half (43.7%) reported a decrease in hours and threatened or actual loss of employment. While most respondents felt that they had sufficient knowledge about COVID-19, they expressed concern about work-related risks to themselves and their family. Most respondents described never or only sometimes having sufficient personal protective equipment in their workplace. Just over half of respondents (54.8%) felt well supported by their employer. A third of respondents (34%) perceived that care provided in their workplace was significantly or slightly worse than before the pandemic. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study of primary healthcare nurses' experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study findings highlighted a concerning level of insecurity around primary healthcare nursing employment, as well as issues with the availability of personal protective equipment for these nurses. The perception that the pandemic has resulted in reduced quality of care needs further exploration to ensure that those with chronic conditions are supported to maintain and promote health. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Understanding the implications of COVID-19 on the primary healthcare nursing workforce is vital to ensure staff retention and care quality. Ensuring that the community remains healthy and supported at home is vital to both reduce the burden on the health system and reduce secondary mortality.

Covid-19: India imposes lockdown for 21 days and cases rise.

Abstract: The Indian government has announced a countrywide lockdown for three weeks starting at midnight on 24 March to slow the spread of covid-19 as the number of people testing positive in the country reached 563. Although most of these people had contact with travellers returning from countries affected by covid-19, a few had no such link, suggesting that community transmission may have begun in some Indian states. Prime minister Narendra Modi announced that all government offices would be shut for 21 days, except essential services such as the fire service, police, and hospitals. Several experts have welcomed the move, although it could result in food shortages and hurt those in the unorganised workforce. Gagandeep Kang, executive director of Faridabad’s Translational Health Sciences and Technology Institute, wrote on Twitter that the lockdown was the “right move, just in time.” But she cautioned that it wouldn’t contain covid-19, but would buy …

Emergency Restructuring of a General Surgery Residency Program During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic: The University of Washington Experience.

Abstract: Seattle, Washington, is an epicenter of the coronavirus disease 2019 epidemic in the United States. In response, the Division of General Surgery at the University of Washington Department of Surgery in Seattle has designed and implemented an emergency restructuring of the facility's general surgery resident care teams in an attempt to optimize workforce well-being, comply with physical distancing requirements, and continue excellent patient care. This article introduces a unique approach to general surgery resident allocation by dividing patient care into separate inpatient care, operating care, and clinic care teams. Separate teams made up of all resident levels will work in each setting for a 1-week period. By creating this emergency structure, we have limited the number of surgery residents with direct patient contact and have created teams working in isolation from one another to optimize physical distancing while still performing required work. This also provides a resident reserve without exposure to the virus, theoretically flattening the curve among our general surgery resident cohort. Surgical resident team restructuring is critical during a pandemic to optimize patient care and ensure the well-being and vitality of the resident workforce while ensuring the entire workforce is not compromised.

Innovations in Teaching and Learning: Exploring the Perceptions of the Education Sector on the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR)

Abstract: Business operations are undergoing drastic changes due to the disruptive effects of technology innovations; however, there is insufficient knowledge regarding the acceptability and consequences of the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) in the education sector. Using the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), this study explores the readiness of the education sector for 4IR. We adopted face-to-face semi-structured interviews to explore the views of 33 key stakeholders in the education sector, to understand the readiness and acceptability of 4IR in the sector. Findings show that the education sector, especially in Africa, is unprepared for 4IR, although there are indications for opportunities to harness the potential of the much-anticipated 4IR. Moreover, our study demonstrates a mutual symbiotic relationship between the education sector and technology innovations. The findings show that 4IR can facilitate students’ learning experience and transforms the workplace, although there is a need to assess the learning environment, to understand the facilitators and barriers to 4IR diffusion. The findings indicate the opportunity for the education sector to harness the innovations associated with 4IR through research and teaching to enhance learners’ experience; however, this may require a significant improvement in education curricula, as well as investments. The findings contribute to the theory and practice of technology in education and the limited literature on 4IR in the education sector, particularly in Africa.

The Role of Medical Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Abstract: In this essay, the authors discuss potential clinical roles for medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic that would benefit patient care and potentially help to prevent workforce shortages.

Managing Resident Workforce and Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evolving Strategies and Lessons Learned

Abstract: Background The novel coronavirus and associated Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is rapidly spreading throughout the world, with robust growth in the United States. Its drastic impact on the global population and international health care is swift, evolving, and unpredictable. The effects on orthopaedic surgery departments are predominantly indirect, with widespread cessation of all nonessential orthopaedic care. Although this is vital to the system-sustaining measures of isolation and resource reallocation, there is profound detriment to orthopaedic training programs. Methods In the face of new pressures on the finite timeline on an orthopaedic residency, the Emory University School of Medicine Department of Orthopaedics has devised a 5-pronged strategy based on the following: (1) patient and provider safety, (2) uninterrupted necessary care, (3) system sustainability, (4) adaptability, and (5) preservation of vital leadership structures. Results Our 5 tenants support a 2-team system, whereby the residents are divided into cycling "active-duty" and "working remotely" factions. In observation of the potential incubation period of viral symptoms, phase transitions occur every 2 weeks with strict adherence to team assignments. Intrateam redundancy can accommodate potential illness to ensure a stable unit of able residents. Active duty residents participate in in-person surgical encounters and virtual ambulatory encounters, whereas remotely working residents participate in daily video-conferenced faculty-lead, case-based didactics and pursue academic investigation, grant writing, and quality improvement projects. To sustain this, faculty and administrative 2-team systems are also in place to protect the leadership and decision-making components of the department. Conclusions The novel coronavirus has decimated the United States healthcare system, with an unpredictable duration, magnitude, and variability. As collateral damage, orthopaedic residencies are faced with new challenges to provide care and educate residents in the face of safety, resource redistribution, and erosion of classic learning opportunities. Our adaptive approach aims to be a generalizable tactic to optimize our current landscape.

Experiences of Home Health Care Workers in New York City During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic: A Qualitative Analysis.

Abstract: Importance Home health care workers care for community-dwelling adults and play an important role in supporting patients with confirmed and suspected coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) who remain at home. These workers are mostly middle-aged women and racial/ethnic minorities who typically earn low wages. Despite being integral to patient care, these workers are often neglected by the medical community and society at large; thus, developing a health care system capable of addressing the COVID-19 crisis and future pandemics requires a better understanding of the experiences of home health care workers. Objective To understand the experiences of home health care workers caring for patients in New York City during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design, setting, and participants From March to April 2020, a qualitative study with 1-to-1 semistructured interviews of 33 home health care workers in New York City was conducted in partnership with the 1199SEIU Home Care Industry Education Fund, a benefit fund of the 1199 Service Employees International Union United Healthcare Workers East, the largest health care union in the US. Purposeful sampling was used to identify and recruit home health care workers. Main outcomes and measures Audio-recorded interviews were professionally transcribed and analyzed using grounded theory. Major themes and subthemes were identified. Results In total, 33 home health care workers employed by 24 unique home care agencies across the 5 boroughs of New York City participated. Participants had a mean (SD) age of 47.6 (14.0) years, 32 (97%) were women, 21 (64%) were Black participants, and 6 (18%) were Hispanic participants. Five major themes emerged: home health care workers (1) were on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic but felt invisible; (2) reported a heightened risk for virus transmission; (3) received varying amounts of information, supplies, and training from their home care agencies; (4) relied on nonagency alternatives for support, including information and supplies; and (5) were forced to make difficult trade-offs in their work and personal lives. Conclusions and relevance In this qualitative analysis, home health care workers reported providing frontline essential care, often at personal risk, during the COVID-19 pandemic. They experienced challenges that exacerbated the inequities they face as a marginalized workforce. Interventions and policies to better support these frontline health care professionals are urgently needed.

What the COVID-19 pandemic tells us about the need to develop resilience in the nursing workforce.

Abstract: Most research on resilience in healthcare systems such as the NHS is based on organisational crises, such as nurse shortages, an ageing workforce and financial restrictions. However, nursing can learn lessons from the past to consider how to become more resilient, particularly considering the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. This article briefly looks at previous pandemics and disasters that have affected healthcare systems, as well as the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, and considers how nurse leaders can support staff and show organisational resilience during such emergencies. The article also discusses how nurse leaders can develop their own resilience.

Ageing workforce management in manufacturing systems: state of the art and future research agenda

Abstract: The workforce ageing phenomenon is recently affecting most of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member countries, due to a general ageing of their populations and a ...

Saving the frontline health workforce amidst the COVID-19 crisis: Challenges and recommendations.

Abstract: www.jogh.org • doi: 10.7189/jogh.10.010345 1 June 2020 • Vol. 10 No. 1 • 010345 Healthcare workers are toiling countless number of hours since the global outbreak of COVID-19 (caused by the SARS CoV-2 and also known as the novel coronavirus) which has been recently declared as a pandemic by the World Health Organisation [1]. Healthcare systems across developed and developing nations are being put to the ultimate test and are under tremendous pressure to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus and majority of this responsibility is being shouldered by frontline health care workers effortlessly putting their lives on the line in order to do so. Through this article, we attempt to highlight some of the dire challenges currently being faced by frontline health workers and propose certain recommendations to reduce the encumbrance being imposed on them in order to ensure the provision of rapid, well-equipped, efficient health care services.

Human Capital 4.0: a workforce competence typology for Industry 4.0

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is twofold: to raise and address an important change for the human capital in the future of Industry 4.0, and to propose a human-focused perspective for companies underneath the new Industrial Revolution.,The research study follows a state-of-the-art literature review process. The nature of the selected approach enables to cover the extensive aim of the paper with sufficient scientific solidity that should support the understanding of every topic.,This work has presented three relevant aspects for Industry 4.0 and its human labour force: a workforce architecture with new interactions, a term to embrace the human capital of the future and a typology for referencing the required competences for Industry 4.0.,The paper sheds light on an important aspect for the emerging Industrial Revolution, the human force. The result and conclusion sections suggest future implications for academia and the private sector, due to changes at the conceptual and practical levels of human operation in the industry – for example, new structural interactions among employees, additional qualities to human capital and different ways to identify the competences for the workforce.,This is an interdisciplinary study that tries to bring together a modern industrial term, a social focus and a company scenario. From this, it was possible to obtain a new social term, a novel typology of competences and a new company-scenario interaction.

Beyond Formal Access: Organizational Context, Working From Home, and Work-Family Conflict of Men and Women in European Workplaces.

Abstract: Working from home has become engraved in modern working life. Although advocated as a solution to combine work with family life, surprisingly little empirical evidence supports that it decreases work-family conflict. In this paper we examine the role of a supportive organizational context in making working from home facilitate the combination of work and family. Specifically, we address to what extent perceptions of managerial support, ideal worker culture, as well as the number of colleagues working from home influence how working from home relates to work-family conflict. By providing insight in the role of the organizational context, we move beyond existing research in its individualistic focus on the experience of the work-family interface. We explicitly address gender differences since women experience more work-family conflict than men. We use a unique, multilevel organizational survey, the European Sustainable Workforce Survey conducted in 259 organizations, 869 teams and 11,011 employees in nine countries (Bulgaria, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom). Results show that an ideal worker culture amplifies the increase in work family conflict due to working from home, but equally for men and women. On the other hand, women are more sensitive to the proportion of colleagues working from home, and the more colleagues are working from home the less conflict they experience.

Rapid Response of an Academic Surgical Department to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Implications for Patients, Surgeons, and the Community.

Abstract: Background As the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues to spread, swift actions and preparation are critical for ensuring the best outcomes for patients and providers. We aim to describe our hospital and Department of Surgery’s experience in preparing for the COVID-19 pandemic and caring for surgical patients during this unprecedented time. Study Design This is a descriptive study outlining the strategy of a single academic health system for addressing the following 4 critical issues facing surgical departments during the COVID-19 pandemic: developing a cohesive leadership team and system for frequent communication throughout the department; ensuring adequate hospital capacity to care for an anticipated influx of COVID-19 patients; safeguarding supplies of blood products and personal protective equipment to protect patients and providers; and preparing for an unstable workforce due to illness and competing personal priorities, such as childcare. Results Through collaborative efforts within the Department of Surgery and hospital, we provided concise and regular communication, reduced operating room volume by 80%, secured a 4-week supply of personal protective equipment, and created reduced staffing protocols with back-up staffing plans. Conclusions By developing an enabling infrastructure, a department can nimbly respond to crises like COVID-19 by promoting trust among colleagues and emphasizing an unwavering commitment to excellent patient care. Sharing principles and practical applications of these changes is important to optimize responses across the country and the world.

Literature Review of Digital Twins Applications in Construction Workforce Safety

Abstract: For many decades, safety has been a challenge in the construction sector. Despite extensive efforts to improve overall safety, the sector’s casualty rate still remains high. In practice, dynamic and complex construction processes may lead to on-site risks and safety plans being overlooked, likely leading to a variety of safety accidents. Nowadays, under the guidance of the digital twins (DT) concept, the advent of state-of-the-art sensing and visualisation technologies has offered the possibility to improve construction health and safety in the workplace. To understand the research advances of these technologies, identify their gaps and challenges, and propose solutions to further advance the industry’s safety, we conducted and report a thorough review on the state-of-the-art technological studies, and elaborate upon the key findings in detail. For instance, despite DT being proven to be effective in improving construction workforce safety, the construction industry has yet to fully exploit and streamline these innovations in practice. Overall, this review provides insights into technological clustering, improvement strategies, as well as workforce safety, which can benefit from formulating effective digital technology paradigms.

Ensuring and Sustaining a Pandemic Workforce.

Abstract: Ensuring and Sustaining a Pandemic Workforce It seems clear that health care delivery organizations, educators, and government leaders all have to be willing to cut through bureaucratic barriers an...