Workforce

About: Workforce is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 32140 publications have been published within this topic receiving 449850 citations. The topic is also known as: labour force & labor force.

Effectiveness of vocational rehabilitation intervention on the return to work and employment of persons with multiple sclerosis

Abstract: Background Multiple sclerosis is a neurological disease that frequently affects adults of working age, resulting in a range of physical, cognitive and psychosocial deficits that impact on workforce participation. Although, the literature supports vocational rehabilitation (VR) approaches in persons with multiple sclerosis (pwMS), the evidence for its effectiveness is yet to be established. Objectives To evaluate the effectiveness of VR programs compared to alternative programs or care as usual on return to work, workability and employment in pwMS; to evaluate the cost effectiveness of these programs. Search strategy Electronic searches included: Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials "CENTRAL" 2008 issue 3, MEDLINE (PubMed) (1966- 2008), EMBASE (1988- 2008), CINAHL (1982- 2008), PEDro (1990- 2008), the Cochrane Rehabilitation and Related Therapies Field trials Register and the National Health Service National Research Register. Selection criteria Randomized and controlled clinical trials, including before - after controlled trials, that compare VR rehabilitation with alternative intervention such as standard or a lesser form of intervention or waitlist controls. Data collection and analysis Two reviewers selected trials and rated their methodological quality independently. A 'best evidence' synthesis was performed, based on methodological quality. Trials were grouped in terms of type and setting of VR programs. Main results Two trials (one RCT and one CCT) (total 80 participants) met the review criteria. Both trials scored poorly on the methodological quality assessment. There was 'insufficient evidence' for VR programs for (a)'competitive employment', in altering rates of job retention, changes in employment, improvement in rates of re-entry into the labour force; (b) for altering 'work ability' by improving participants' confidence in the accommodation request process, or employability maturity or job seeking activity. No evidence could be assimilated for changes in proportions of persons in supported employment or on disability pensions, nor for cost-effectiveness. Authors' conclusions There was inconclusive evidence to support VR for pwMS. However, the review highlights some of the challenges in providing VR for pwMS. Clinicians need to be aware of vocational issues, and to understand and manage barriers for maintaining employment. Proactive and timely VR programs should incorporate practical solutions to deal with work disability, workplace accommodation and educate employers, and the wider community. Liaison with policy makers is imperative for government initiatives that encourage work focused VR programs. Future research in VR should focus on improving methodological and scientific rigour of clinical trials; on the development of appropriate and valid outcome measures; and on cost effectiveness of VR programs.

Managed Care and the Nurse Workforce

Abstract: Objectives. —To identify recent national trends in the employment and earnings of nursing personnel and determine whether managed care is associated with changes in the employment and wage growth of nursing personnel. Design. —Retrospective analysis of trends in data on employment and earnings of nursing personnel based on monthly US Bureau of the Census Current Population Surveys between 1983 and 1994, and comparison of trends between states with high and low rates of enrollment in health maintenance organizations (HMOs). Population. —Registered nurses (RNs), licensed practical nurses (LPNs), and nurse aides/assistants, orderlies, and attendants (referred to collectively as aides) between the ages of 21 and 64 years. Outcome Measures. —Full- and part-time employment, unemployment, percentage of nursing personnel employed in key sectors of the nurse labor market, and inflation-adjusted hourly wages. Results. —From 1983 through 1994, there was strong overall growth in both RN employment (37%) and inflation-adjusted wages (22%). Beginning in the early 1990s, however, RNs experienced stagnant wages and a small but steady shift toward employment in lower-paying nonhospital settings, particularly in home health care. In states with high HMO enrollment, RN and LPN employment has grown more slowly since 1990, and the shift of RN employment out of the hospital was strongest. For aides and LPNs, the shift out of hospital employment occurred years before that of RNs and at a much greater rate. Since 1990 the employment of aides has grown rapidly in nursing homes and in home health care settings, whereas employment of LPNs has shifted primarily into physician offices and nursing homes. Overall, the movement toward nonhospital employment has had a modest negative impact on wages for all nursing personnel. Conclusions. —Managed care is associated with slower employment growth for RNs in hospitals and a shift toward employment in nonhospital settings, but its effect on earnings has been overshadowed by other forces impacting nurse wages.

Employment, exclusion and ‘merit’ in the Indian IT industry

Abstract: The Indian information technology (IT) industry has been frequently hailed by the media, the state, and industry leaders as a significant new source of high quality and well-paid employment for the educated youth of India. With the recent rapid growth of the industry and expansion in the size of the workforce, the sector already employs more than one million people and is projected to generate many more jobs over the next few years. More important, the IT industry is often represented as providing employment opportunities to wider sections of the population than has been the case for most managerial, professional, and white collar jobs. Industry leaders frequently argue that because of the shortage of technically qualified people, they have had to look far and wide for workers, in the process drawing in many people from non-middle class/ upper caste backgrounds. Linked to this, a common narrative holds that employment does not depend on social connections (influence) or “ascriptive” status (reservations) – unlike in the public sector and “old economy” companies – but is based entirely on “merit”. However, the social reality appears to be somewhat different. In this paper, I present data from a study of the IT workforce in Bangalore and draw on other sources to show that the social profile of IT workers is largely urban, middle class, and high or middle caste. The processes of exclusion that operate in the education system and in the recruitment process to create this relative social homogeneity are delineated. Finally, I discuss the ideology of merit that dominates the industry in the context of the recent debate on reservations. 1

Children and the revolution A time-diary analysis of the impact of motherhood on daily workload

Abstract: Women are increasingly allocating time to the paid workforce, but there has not been a corresponding change by men allocating equivalent time to domestic and caring labour. In the absence of suffic...

Gender discrimination in workforce and its impact on the employees

Abstract: This research paper explores the issue of gender discrimination in workforce and its impact on the satisfaction and motivation, commitment and enthusiasm and stress level of employees. Close ended questionnaire was administered from 526 males and females of lower, middle and higher category employees of public and private health and education departments of Hyderabad and Jamshoro districts. Gender discrimination in workforce was measured through independent samples-t test. The analysis shows that females were discriminated more than males in private organizations. Thus the findings show that females are discriminated more than males in private sector than in public sector. The impact of gender discrimination on satisfaction & motivation, commitment & enthusiasm and stress level was assessed through Pearson product moment correlation co-efficient. The results show that gender discrimination decreases satisfaction & motivation and commitment & enthusiasm level of employees, and increases the stress level in the employees.