Suchergebnisse

This study investigated risk perception, well‐being, and organizational commitment among nuclear power plant personnel. The study group, 428 employees from a nuclear power plant, completed a questionnaire which included the same questions as those in previous surveys on risk perception of lay persons and industrial workers. Hazards at work were not seen as a sizable problem by nuclear power plant personnel. The study group estimated the safety of nuclear power plants better and the possibility of a serious nuclear accident as more unlikely than the general public. Compared to employees in other industrial companies, the overall perceived risks at work among plant personnel did not exceed the respective perceptions of the reference groups. Risk‐related attitudes did not explain well‐being among plant personnel, but the relationship between the perceived probability of a serious nuclear accident at work and organizational commitment yielded to a significant correlation: Those plant workers who estimated the likelihood of an accident higher were less committed to the organization.

This study examined to what extent nuclear risk perceptions, organizational commitment (OC), and appraisals of management are associated with each other among nuclear power plant personnel. The sample consisted of 428 nuclear power plant workers who completed a questionnaire at their workplace. Perceived nuclear risk and OC were most closely related to the appraisals of the top management of the organization. As the trust in and satisfaction with the top management increased, perceived nuclear safety and acceptance of the organizational goals and values heightened. This result is discussed in the context of industrial safety management.

Working hours is a ubiquitous exposure given that most adults are employed, and one that is modifiable via legislative change if not always through individual-level choice. According to a recent report from the World Health Organization (WHO) and International Labour Organization (ILO), there is currently sufficient evidence to conclude that long working hours (i.e., >= 55 h per week) elevate the risk of fatal and non-fatal ischaemic heart disease to a clinically meaningful extent. After assessing the data used by the ILO/WHO, we feel that the expert group has not correctly applied their own framework for assessing the strength of the evidence. In the meta-analysis of observational studies in the report, the association between long working hours and incident heart disease appeared stronger in lower quality cohort studies with a high risk of bias (minimally-adjusted hazard ratio 1.20, 95% CI 1.01-1.41, compared to standard 35-40 weekly hours) than in the superior-quality studies with a lower risk of bias for which the estimate was not significantly different from the null (1.08, 95% CI 0.93-1.25). There was also marked effect modification, such that there was no increase in ischaemic heart disease for those working long hours in high socioeconomic status occupations, a finding also reported in analyses of a recent census-based cohort study which was not included in the report. Our meta-analysis of all these studies confirm that the findings are not consistent but differ between subgroups and that the summary age- and sex-adjusted hazard ratio for long working hours in high socioeconomic status occupations does not support excess risk: 0.85, 95% CI 0.63-1.13 (Pinteraction = 0.005, total N = 451,982). For these and other reasons detailed in this commentary, we advance a more cautious interpretation of the existing evidence. The conclusions should be restricted to low socioeconomic status occupations only and more research is still needed to confirm or refute harmfulness and determine clinical relevance. ; Peer reviewed

Purpose. Examine the associations among social support, network heterogeneity, and smoking behavior in a large sample of Finnish female municipal employees. Design. Cross-sectional observational study. Setting. Workplaces in 10 towns in Finland. Measures. Smoking behavior and social support from one's partner, relatives, friends, supervisor, and coworkers was assessed by a questionnaire survey in 2000 to 2001. Analysis. Logistic regression analysis. Subjects. Total of 23,069 female employees (mean age = 45 years). Separate models for heavy smoking (≥ 20 cigarettes per day) were calculated for 4119 current smokers. The association between social support and ex-smoking was examined in 7352 ever-smokers. Results. After adjustment for various confounders, women who reported low heterogeneity of their support network or no support from their partners or relatives were approximately 1.2 times more likely to be smokers compared with their counterparts with high heterogeneity or high support. Low network heterogeneity was also significantly associated with an elevated prevalence of heavy smoking in current smokers (odds ratio [OR] = 1.52; 95% confidence intervals [CI] = 1.06, 2.19) and a lower likelihood of ex-smoking in ever-smokers (OR = 0.74; 95% CI = 0.63, 0.87). The associations were more pronounced among nonmanual vs. manual employees. Conclusion. Our findings suggest an association among network heterogeneity, sources of social support, and smoking in female employees. The preventive impact of these social resources on smoking behavior is stronger among nonmanual female employees.

Increasing levels of non-permanent employment have raised concern about quality of working life in the public sector. This Finnish study examines whether the public sector can be characterized as a 'model employer' with regard to the working conditions and well-being of fixed-term employees. Compared to the private sector, the difference in the physical load between non-permanent and permanent employees is significantly smaller in the public sector. Comparison of psychosocial strain shows a difference in favour of non-permanent employees, particularly among women working in the public sector. The association between type of employment contract and health is similar in both sectors. The equality between permanent and nonpermanent employees gives reason to benchmark the public sector as a model, even if the present findings may be due partly to sectorspecific occupational structures.

Studies have suggested both adverse and protective associations of obesity with depressive symptoms. We examined the contribution of environmental and heritable factors in this association. Participants were same-sex twin pairs from two population-based twin cohort studies, the Older Finnish Twin Cohort (n = 8,215; mean age = 44.1) and the US Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS; n = 1,105; mean age = 45.1). Body mass index (BMI) was calculated from self-reported height and weight. Depressive symptoms were assessed using Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI; Finnish Twin Cohort), and by negative and positive affect scales (MIDUS). In the Finnish Twin Cohort, higher BMI was associated with higher depressive symptoms in monozygotic (MZ) twins (B = 2.01, 95% CI = 1.0, 3.0) and dizygotic (DZ) twins (B = 1.17, 0.5, 1.9) with BMI >22. This association was observed in within-pair analysis in DZ twins (B = 1.47, CI = 0.4, 2.6) but not in within-pair analysis of MZ twins (B = 0.03, CI = -1.9, 2.0). Consistent with the latter result, a bivariate genetic model indicated that the association between higher BMI and higher depressive symptoms was largely mediated by genetic factors. The results of twin-pair analysis and bivariate genetic model were replicated in the MIDUS sample. These findings suggest an association between obesity and higher depressive symptoms, which is largely explained by shared heritable biological mechanisms.