BACKGROUND: The disorder known as burnout develops as a reaction to the damaging impacts of workplace stress. When occupational stress is poorly managed, it can result in burnout, which has a detrimental impact on workers\' performance and emotional and physical well-being. Those who work in the helping profession are the most vulnerable. Pharmacy practitioners are among the most vulnerable groups in the healthcare industry.

BACKGROUND: Chronic noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) account for major disability and premature mortality worldwide, with low- and middle-income countries being disproportionately burdened. Given the negative impact of NCDs on employee performance and work productivity, there is a rising need for stakeholders to identify effective workplace solutions that can improve employee health outcomes. As the workplace becomes more dispersed post pandemic, digital behavioral coaching offers a scalable, personalized, and cost-effective method of managing chronic disease risk factors among employees.
OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to retrospectively evaluate the impact of a digital behavioral coaching program on year-to-year changes in employee health status in a cohort of Indonesian employees.
METHODS: This retrospective real-world exploratory analysis of secondary health data followed 774 employees of an Indonesian company who completed company-sponsored health screenings between 2021 and 2022 and were given access to Naluri (Naluri Hidup Sdn Bhd), a holistic digital therapeutics platform offering digital behavioral health coaching and self-help tools. Participants were retrospectively classified as those who received active coaching (n=177), passive coaching (n=108), and no coaching (n=489). Linear mixed-effects models were used to evaluate the year-to-year changes in health outcomes across the 3 employee groups, with post hoc analyses evaluating within-group differences between the 2 time points and between-group differences at follow-up.
RESULTS: Significant time×group interaction effects were detected for body weight, BMI, hemoglobin A1c, low-density lipoprotein, total cholesterol, and systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Post hoc pairwise comparisons revealed significant improvements in hemoglobin A1c (mean difference [Mdiff]=-0.14, P=.008), high-density lipoprotein (Mdiff=+2.14, P<.001), and total cholesterol (Mdiff=-11.45, P<.001) for employees in the Active Coaching group between 2021 and 2022, with the other 2 groups reporting deteriorations in multiple health outcomes throughout the 2 time points. At follow-up, those who received active coaching between 2021 and 2022 reported significantly lower body weight (P<.001), BMI (P=.001), low-density lipoprotein (P=.045), and total cholesterol (P<.001) than the No Coaching group.
CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates real-world outcomes and implications supporting the use of workplace digital behavioral coaching in improving employee health status. Given the rising burden of NCDs in the Southeast Asian region, our findings underscore the role that workplace digital health interventions can play in preventing and managing chronic disease risk factors.

Sedentary behaviour (SB) is associated with an increased risk of metabolic issues (negative effects on diabetes, fasting glucose, fasting insulin, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and waist circumference), cardiovascular diseases, increased risk of all-cause mortality and accelerated ageing of skeletal muscle power. The research on SB is relatively new, with much evidence regarding its negative health effects gathered within the last decade. Office workers exhibit pronounced sedentary habits, with studies indicating they can spend up to 82% of their working day sitting. To address this issue, workplaces are responsible for promoting physical activity and minimising SB among employees. In this context, one potential strategy for reducing SB and its associated risks could be implementing active breaks (ABs). ABs are defined as brief, structured periods of physical activity or exercise. This quasi-experimental pilot study aims to implement workplace ABs programme aimed at interrupting SB among the University of Bologna (Italy) workers, and it will include both intervention and control groups. The intervention group will participate in an 8-week ABs programme. The findings from this study could establish a robust basis for future large-scale research on the effectiveness of ABs interventions in workplace settings.

BACKGROUND: Australia\'s remote health sector has chronic understaffing issues and serves an isolated, culturally diverse population with a high burden of disease. Workplace health and safety (WHS) impacts the wellbeing and sustainability of the remote health workforce. Additionally, poor WHS contributes to burnout, high turnover of staff and reduced quality of care. The issue of poor WHS in Australian very remote primary health clinics was highlighted by the murder of remote area nurse (RAN) Gayle Woodford in 2016. Following her death, a national call for change led by peak bodies and Gayle\'s family resulted in the development of many WHS recommendations and strategies for the remote health sector. However, it is unclear whether they have been implemented. The aim of this study is to identify which WHS recommendations have been implemented, from the perspective of RANs.
METHODS: A cross-sectional online survey of 173 RANs was conducted during December 2020 and January 2021. The survey was open to all RANs who had worked in a very remote (MM 7 of the Modified Monash (MM) Model) primary health clinic in Australia more recently than January 2019. A convenience sampling approach was used. The survey tool was developed by the project team using a combination of validated tools and remote-specific workplace safety recommendations. Broad recommendations, such as having a safe clinic building, safe staff accommodation, local orientation, and \'never alone\' policy, were broken down into specific safety criteria. These criteria were used to generate workplace safety scores to quantify how well each recommendation had been met, and clustered into the following domains: preparation of staff, safe work environment and safe work practices. Descriptive statistics were used and the safety scores between different states and territories were also compared.
RESULTS: Overall, the average national workplace safety score was 53% (standard deviation (SD) 19.8%) of recommendations met in participants\' most recent workplace, with median 38.5% (interquartile range (IQR) 15.4-61.5%) of staff preparation recommendations, median 59.4% (IQR 43.8-78.1%) of safe work environment recommendations, and median 50.0% (IQR 30.0-66.7%) of safe work practices recommendations met. Within domains, some recommendations had greater uptake than others, and the safety scores of different states/territories also varied. Significant variation was found between the Northern Territory (57.5%, SD 18.7%) and Queensland (41.7%, SD 16.7%) (p<0.01), and between South Australia (74.5%, IQR 35.9%) and Queensland (p<0.05). Last, many RANs were still expected to attend after-hours call-outs on their own, with only 64.1% (n=107/167) of participants reporting a \'never alone\' policy or process in their workplace.
CONCLUSIONS: The evidence from this study revealed that some recommended safety strategies had been implemented, but significant gaps remained around staff preparation, fatigue management and infrastructure safety. Ongoing poor WHS likely contributes to the persistently high turnover of RANs, negatively affecting the quality and continuity of health care in remote communities. Variation in safety scores between regions warns of a fragmentation of approaches to WHS within the remote health sector, despite the almost identical WHS legislation in different states/territories. These gaps highlight the need to establish and enforce a national minimum standard of workplace safety in the remote health sector.

BACKGROUND: Workforce health is one of the primary and challenging issues, especially in industrialized countries. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the ability to predict accident-proneness among Saveh Industry workers in Iran, based on an extended Health Belief Model, that included the construct of spiritual health.
METHODS: This descriptive-analytical study was conducted in 2022 on 384 workers in Saveh, Iran. The study aimed to explore relationships between accident proneness behavior, spiritual health, and health beliefs. The accident-proneness questionnaire consisted of two parts: the first part included demographic questions, and the second part comprised 9 sections covering personality traits, workplace harmful factors, miscellaneous factors, musculoskeletal disorders, safety culture, safety attitudes, job stress, organization interest, and degree of risk-taking. The Health Belief Model included 31 questions, while spiritual health was measured with the 20-question Paloutzian and Ellison questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS version 26 software.
RESULTS: In terms of accident proneness, 229 (59.6%), exhibited high levels, 148 (38.5%) had medium levels, and 7 (1.8%) showed low levels of accident-proneness. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed that in the first model, variables of perceived self-efficacy, vulnerability, and severity independently predicted workers accident proneness, explaining a total of 43% of variance in accident proneness behavior. In the second step, perceived self-efficacy (β = 34%), perceived sensitivity (β = 27%), spiritual health (β = 16%), and perceived severity (β = 12%) were included, respectively, which explained a total of 46% of the variance of accident-prone behavior of workers.
CONCLUSIONS: Given the high rate of accident proneness observed in this study, there is a critical need for policymakers and health planners to design policies aimed at mitigating the risks associated with occupational accidents. Furthermore, the findings highlight the potential of integrating spiritual health into the Health Belief Model, as a conceptual framework for planning effective intervention programs to enhance workplace safety.

BACKGROUND: Industry 4.0 has brought new paradigms to businesses based on high levels of automation and interconnectivity and the use of technologies. This new context has an impact on the work environment and workers. Nevertheless, these impacts are still inconclusive and controversial, requiring new investigative perspectives. This study aimed to investigate the requirements sought, the risk factors identified, and the adverse effects on workers caused by the characteristics of I4.0.
METHODS: The methodology was based on a systematic literature review utilizing the PRISMA protocol, and 30 articles were found eligible. A descriptive and bibliometric analysis of these studies was performed.
RESULTS: The results identified the main topics that emerged and have implications for workers\' Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) and divided them into categories. The requirements are related mainly to cognitive, organizational, and technological demands. The most significant risk factors generated were associated with the psychosocial ones, but organizational, technological, and occupational factors were also identified. The adverse effects cited were categorized as psychic, cognitive, physical, and organizational; stress was the most cited effect. An explanatory theoretical model of interaction was proposed to represent the pathway of causal relations between the requirements and risk factors for the effects caused by I4.0.
CONCLUSIONS: This review has found just how complex the relationships between the principles of Industry 4.0 are (e.g., requirements, risk factors, and effects) and the human factors. It also suggests a pathway for how these relationships occur, bridging the gap left by the limited studies focused on connecting these topics. These results can help organizational managers understand the impacts of I4.0 on workers\' safety and health.

BACKGROUND: Outsourcing is a commonly occurring organizational activity, but one associated with negative occupational safety outcomes. Improving the management of safety in workplaces where contractors are employed is vital, but under-researched in the service sectors. The aims of this paper were to investigate both the practices and challenges of safety management in outsourced facility management (FM), an important global service sector.
METHODS: Twenty-three semi-structured interviews were conducted with clients and contractors in three different FM outsourcing arrangements between large corporations in the UK. Data were thematically coded against frameworks derived from existing literature to identify deployed safety management practices and reveal challenges associated with safety management in these outsourced relationships.
RESULTS: Safety management practices in outsourced FM conformed to known practices clustering into four previously identified categories (planning, selecting, on-site working, and checking). A fifth category (reviewing) was not observed. Operating across national boundaries, applying national contracts locally, working with mandated KPIs, and contract specifications all created new challenges for safety management not previously reported. Other known challenges associated with economic pressure and disorganization were observed.
CONCLUSIONS: Safety management practices observed in safety critical industries also apply in FM. However, the challenges of safety management in these three cases included regulatory failures that have not been routinely identified in other empirical studies of safety in outsourcing arrangements.
CONCLUSIONS: Adopting widely accepted safety management practices support safer working in outsourced FM and encourage cross-sector learning. New challenges for safety management noted here encourage consideration of unintended consequences of contract terms and conditions, require corporate agreement on how to ensure safety compliance when working transnationally, and a review of decision-making and processes and procedures to enable effective and safe working locally.

BACKGROUND: In 2016, a voluntary National Healthy Food and Drink Policy was released to improve the healthiness of food and drinks for sale in New Zealand health sector organisations. The Policy aims to role model healthy eating and demonstrate commitment to health and well-being of hospital staff and visitors and the general public. This study aimed to understand the experiences of hospital food providers and public health dietitians/staff in implementing the Policy, and identify tools and resources needed to assist with the implementation.
METHODS: A maximum variation purposive sampling strategy (based on a health district\'s population size and food outlet type) was used to recruit participants by email. Video conference or email semi-structured interviews included 15 open-ended questions that focused on awareness, understanding of, and attitudes towards the Policy; level of support received; perceived customer response; tools and resources needed to support implementation; and unintended or unforeseen consequences. Data was analysed using a reflexive thematic analysis approach.
RESULTS: Twelve participants (eight food providers and four public health dietitians/staff) were interviewed; three from small (< 100,000 people), four from medium (100,000-300,000 people) and five from large (> 300,000 people) health districts. There was agreement that hospitals should role model healthy eating for the wider community. Three themes were identified relating to the implementation of the Policy: (1) Complexities of operating food outlets under a healthy food and drink policy in public health sector settings; (2) Adoption, implementation, and monitoring of the Policy as a series of incoherent ad-hoc actions; and (3) Policy is (currently) not achieving the desired impact. Concerns about increased food waste, loss of profits and an uneven playing field between food providers were related to the voluntary nature of the unsupported Policy. Three tools could enable implementation: a digital monitoring tool, a web-based database of compliant products, and customer communication materials.
CONCLUSIONS: Adopting a single, mandatory Policy, provision of funding for implementation actions and supportive tools, and good communication with customers could facilitate implementation. Despite the relatively small sample size and views from only two stakeholder groups, strategies identified are relevant to policy makers, healthcare providers and public health professionals.

BACKGROUND: Ensuring a sufficient, appropriately qualified health workforce is of global concern. Understanding the attributes that employers seek is critical in recruitment, retention, and educational design. In physiotherapy, there is a dearth of evidence on desirable attributes that employers seek from early-career physiotherapists. This study directly addresses this gap. The aims of this study were to identify the characteristics of the jobs advertised for early-career physiotherapists in Australia; determine which attributes were most desired when employing an early-career physiotherapist; and identify if there were differences in the attributes required based upon workplace location.
METHODS: New graduate and early-career physiotherapy job advertisements were collected for six months from 1st October 2020 until 31st March 2021 from SEEK.com.au, a large online employment marketplace that operates across ten countries in the Asia Pacific and Latin America. Job advertisements needed to specify new graduate or early-career physiotherapist eligibility and be located within Australia. Data extraction were completed using QuestionPro®. The Modified Monash Model was used to classify rurality of job location. Job advertisements were analysed descriptively and using content analysis to identify attributes.
RESULTS: The search yielded 578 job advertisements with the greatest number collected in October 2020 (25.3%). Of the advertisements, 428 (74.0%) were in metropolitan locations (Modified Monash 1), 47 (8.1%) were in regional (Modified Monash 2), 99 (17.1%) were in rural locations (Modified Monash 3-5), and 4 (0.8%) were in remote locations (Modified Monash 6-7). Most roles were in private practice (63.3%) or aged care (21.7%). The top five attributes requested by employers were client focus, communication and interpersonal skills, team player, willingness to learn, and being able to build rapport, relationships, and networks. Academic results, resilience, and empathy were the least requested attributes. Differences in requested employability attributes increased with rurality.
CONCLUSIONS: This study addresses the current knowledge about attributes sought by employers for early-career physiotherapists. The most prevalent attributes requested were client focus and communication and interpersonal skills. This exploration of attributes can help to better prepare graduates for their first roles, align expectations, and increase understanding of priorities for entry level university programs, as well as identify priorities for support during transition to practice. Desired attributes should be clearly defined by employers in recruitment and retention processes.

Conflict is a ubiquitous, but potentially destructive, feature of social life. In the current research, we argue that intellectual humility-the awareness of one\'s intellectual fallibility-plays an important role in promoting constructive responses and decreasing destructive responses to conflict in different contexts. In Study 1, we examine the role of intellectual humility in interpersonal conflicts with friends and family members. In Study 2, we extend this finding to workplace conflicts. In both studies we find that intellectual humility predicts more constructive and less destructive responses to conflict. This work extends the burgeoning literature on the benefits of intellectual humility by demonstrating its association with responses that help defuse conflictual encounters.