Work unit characteristics predict work ability & wellbeing
OHS Alert (subscription service) (https://www.ohsalert.com.au/) - 26.11.2024
Workers with flexible arrangements and other strong psychosocial resources at the "work unit level" are far more likely than others to maintain optimal work ability, even when major changes occur, a study spanning the COVID-19 pandemic suggests.
The researchers say their findings from before, during and after the pandemic provide a "unique viewpoint" on how the work unit characteristics of job strain, team climate and organisational justice contribute to resilience in workplaces during crises.
Their study included an analysis of surveys of nearly 55,000 public sector workers in Finland from 2016 to 2022, and identified three work ability trajectories: suboptimal work ability decreasing over time (12 per cent of participants); relatively consistent good work ability (73 per cent); and consistent optimal work ability (15 per cent).
Led by Associate Professor Johanna Kausto from the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, the researchers say their results show that most employees maintained good work ability despite pandemic-related changes to the work environment.
They say the workers who did experience a suboptimal work ability trajectory tended to work in workplace units or teams characterised by high job strain, poor team climate and low organisational justice.
Workers from this "least favourable work ability trajectory" were also most likely to have had their teams reorganised during the pandemic, and to have had few opportunities to work from home.
Preserving workability – an individual worker's ability to perform work tasks physically, mentally and socially – is an " essential part of work wellbeing and organisational success", the researchers say.
"Factors influencing work ability can be diverse, such as health, skills, working conditions and the work environment," they say.
"Work ability-related issues may involve healthcare, working conditions, balancing work and family life, and professional development."
To maintain or improve workers' workability, employers often employ methods like providing safe working conditions, healthcare services, vocational support and flexible work.
The researchers say their study aimed to explore whether working in a work unit characterised by high psychosocial resources and low levels of risk factors prior to the pandemic maintained workers' work ability throughout the health crisis.
The factors they looked at included:
Organisational justice – whether the employer treated workers fairly and had processes "designed to hear the concerns of all employees affected by decisions, collect accurate information necessary for making decisions and allow requests for clarification or additional information about those decisions", and whether workers felt they were treated with dignity and respect and received clear information about procedures and decisions;
Team climate – whether work was characterised by "focusing on clear and realistic objectives to which the team members are committed", participative and non-threatening interaction between team members, commitment to high standards of performance, and supporting innovation by, for example, cooperation around developing and applying new ideas; and
Job strain – the combination of different levels of job demands and control.
The study found the work unit factors that workers experienced before COVID-19 were interrelated, with work units with a strong team climate also having higher organisational justice.
"Work units with high job strain had poorer team climate and lower organisational justice," the researchers say.
"This study contributes to identifying factors that predispose to adverse development of work ability in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic," they say.
Trajectories of work ability and associated work unit characteristics from pre-COVID to post-COVID pandemic period. Johanna Kausto, et al, Finland, Occupational and Environmental Medicine, published online November 2024, doi: 10.1136/oemed-2024-109475.
