Association between teleworking frequency and work functioning impairment: a nationwide cross-sectional study of Japanese full-time employees

Objective: We examined the impact of teleworking frequency, including influencing factors and work functioning impairment. Methods: This online cross-sectional study was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire among 27,036 full-time Japanese workers. We used the Work Functioning Impairment Scale to measure work functioning impairment and performed multilevel logistic regression analysis. Results: We observed higher odds for work functioning impairment among employees who teleworked 4 or more days a week compared with those almost never teleworked: odds ratio (OR) 1.18, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.07-1.3. After adjusting for influencing factors (teleworking preference, changes in working time, and commuting time), there was no significant association between teleworking frequency and work functioning impairment (OR 0.93, 95% CI 0.82-1.05). Conclusions: Frequent telework may cause work functioning impairment; this can be explained by the impact of influencing factors.

Work functioning among young adults: the role of mental health problems from childhood to young adulthood

ObjectivesMental health problems (MHPs) during childhood and adolescence are negatively associated with having a paid job in young adulthood. Yet, little is known about how young adults function at work, that is, do they experience difficulties in meeting their job demands given their health state. This longitudinal study aims to examine the impact of MHPs from childhood to young adulthood on young adults’ work functioning (WF).MethodsData were used from 1004 participants in the TRacking Adolescents’ Individual Lives Survey, a Dutch prospective cohort study with 18-year follow-up. MHP trajectories, including 11, 13.5, 16, 19, 22 and 26 age points, were identified using growth mixture models. WF was assessed at age 29 with the Work Role Functioning Questionnaire 2.0 (WRFQ). Regression analyses were conducted to examine the association between MHP trajectories and WF.ResultsYoung adults with high-stable trajectories of internalising and externalising problems reported lower WF (mean WRFQ scores of 70.5 and 70.7, respectively) than those with low-stable trajectories (78.4 and 77.2), that is, they experience difficulties in meeting the work demands for more than one work day per full-time work week. Young adults with moderate-stable or decreasing MHP trajectories reported lower WF scores compared with those with low-stable trajectories.ConclusionsBoth persistent high and elevated levels of MHPs from childhood to young adulthood are associated with lower WF scores in young adulthood compared with low-level MHPs. Occupational healthcare professionals should support young workers with a history of MHPs to optimise their work functioning.

Relationship between support for workers with illness and work functioning impairment in Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic

Objective: This study examined the relationship between support for workers with illness and work functioning impairment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: An internet survey was conducted on December, 2020. We included 22,388 subjects for analysis. A question was used to determine whether subjects need support from their company to continue working in their current health condition. The odds ratios (ORs) of relation between work functioning impairment and necessary of support for sick workers were estimated using multilevel logistic regression analysis. Results: The OR of work functioning impairment among sick workers not receiving support was 5.61 (95% confidence interval (CI) 5.19-6.06, p<0.001) and those receiving support was 1.82 (95% CI 1.64-2.03, p<0.001) compared to healthy workers. Conclusions: This study suggests that providing support to workers with illness may improve their work functioning impairment.

Common Symptoms of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury and Work Functioning of Active-Duty Service Members with a History of Deployment

This study used data from the Military Health System Data Repository to examine the association between mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBI) and work functioning such as work duty limitations, hospital emergency room visits and inpatient admissions for active-duty service members (ADSMs). Further, this study assessed the role that common symptoms of mTBI play in work functioning. Multivariate results showed that having a mTBI diagnosis is not a major factor that results in being “released with work duty limitations”. However, findings from these regression models also showed that the interaction of mTBI with cognitive and linguistic symptoms resulted in odds of 3.63 (CI: 1.40–9.36, p < 0.01) for being “released with work duty limitations” and odds of 4.98 (CI: 1.16–21.39, p < 0.05) for having any emergency department visits compared to those with no diagnosis of mTBI and none of these symptoms. Additionally, the interaction of mTBI with sleep disturbance and chronic pain showed odds of 2.72 (CI: 1.31–5.65, p < 0.01) and odds of 11.56 (CI: 2.65–50.44, p < 0.01) for being “released with work duty limitations” compared to those with no diagnosis of TBI and none of these symptoms, respectively. Further research is needed to investigate the association between mTBI and duration of time off work to provide a comprehensive understanding of the effect of mTBI on work functioning in the Military Health System.

Perceptions of social and work functioning are related to social anxiety and executive function in autistic adults

Autistic adults report concerns with social skills and unemployment. Despite anxiety and difficulty with executive cognitive skills being associated with autism, no studies to date have investigated relationships between anxiety or executive cognition with social and work functioning. This study aimed to investigate the associations between perceived social anxiety, perceived and objective executive function, and perceived social and work functioning in a sample of autistic people. A total of 62 participants completed self-report questionnaires of social anxiety (via the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale), mental health (via the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale), executive cognition (via the Behaviour Rating Inventory of Executive Function) and perceived social and work functioning (the Work and Social Adjustment Scale), and a smaller subset ( n = 36–40) completed performance-based executive function tasks (Trail Making Task and Rapid Visual Processing Task). Participants who reported having more social anxiety and more difficulty with executive cognition also perceived themselves as having poorer social and work functioning. Performance-based executive function was not related to social or work functioning. Our results suggest that perceived social anxiety and executive cognition are both areas that have potential to be targeted to investigate whether they improve social and vocational outcomes for autistic people. Lay abstract Many autistic adults have trouble in social situations and at work. Researchers do not know exactly why autistic people might find it difficult in these environments, and no studies to date have looked the way anxiety or other cognitive processes might affect autistic peoples’ ability to socialise and succeed in getting and keeping jobs. Anxiety (how much you worry) and difficulty with getting stuff done or switching attention (known as executive function) can be concerns for autistic people and may contribute to social and work difficulties. This study looked at the relationships between the way autistic people perceived their anxiety and executive functioning and their ability to socialise and work. Sixty-two autistic participants completed questionnaires related to their ability to socialise and work, their social anxiety and their executive function. We found that participants who thought that they had poorer ability to work also found themselves to have more difficulties with executive function and they were more socially anxious. Our results showed that how autistic participants perceived their social anxiety and executive function were important in their perception of their social skills and work ability. This study supports the idea that anxiety and executive function could be targeted in interventions to support autistic people and their social and work outcomes.

“Hey everyone, look at me helping you!”: A contingency view of the relationship between exhibitionism and peer-oriented helping behaviors

This research investigates how an understudied personal resource (exhibitionism) might positively connect with peer-oriented helping behavior, as well as how this connection might be invigorated by four pertinent contextual resources: two resources that speak to beliefs about fair organizational treatment (informational justice and procedural justice) and two resources that capture how employees feel about their work functioning (job satisfaction and organizational commitment). Two-wave survey data collected among banking sector employees reveal that their desire to be the center of attention is associated with an enhanced propensity to extend help to other organizational peers, voluntarily. This process also is more likely when employees (1) believe that organizational authorities provide them with sufficient information, (2) perceive organizational procedures as fair, (3) feel happy with their current job situation, and (4) experience a strong emotional bond with their employer. JEL Classification: M50

Association between the physical work environment and work functioning impairment while working from home under the COVID-19 pandemic in Japanese workers

Objective: This study examined the relationship between the physical work environment and work functioning impairment while working from home in the context of rapid changes associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This cross-sectional study of internet monitors was conducted between December 22 and 26, 2020. Of a total of 33,302 participants, 5,760 who worked from home at least 1 day a month, excluding those who met the exclusion criteria, were included in the analysis. A binary subjective assessment of the physical work environment while working from home was used as an exposure factor. We examined 9 items related to the physical work environment, including level of illuminance and use of suitable desks and chairs, traditionally recommended for health and safety management when working at a desk. The number of non-conformities to 7 items was also used as an exposure factor. The presence of severe work functioning impairment was measured using the Work Functioning impairment Scale (WFun), a self-reported outcome measure of the degree of work functioning impairment. Odds ratios of severe work functioning impairment were estimated using mixed-effects logistic regression analysis with the prefecture of residence as a random effect. Results: Multivariate analysis showed that the odds ratio of severe work functioning impairment was significantly higher among those who indicated "No" to all recommended items except for "I work at a desk/chair for office use." The highest odds ratio of work functioning impairment was associated with a "No" response to "There is enough light to do my work" (aOR: 2.02, 95%CI: 1.73-2.35, p<0.01). Our results also suggest the presence of a dose-response relationship between the number of non-conformities to recommendations for work environments while working from home and work functioning impairment. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that it is important for both companies and individual workers to create a work environment that prevents negative health outcomes and improves productivity while working from home.

Association between the course of hypnotics treatment for insomnia and work functioning impairment in Japanese workers

Study objectives This cross-sectional study analyzed the effect of treatment with hypnotics for sleep disorders, particularly insomnia, on daytime work functioning by phase of treatment in Japanese workers. Methods Subjects were respondents (n = 36,375) to a questionnaire survey conducted in 2015 to assess work functioning impairment in 15 companies in Japan. The questionnaire results were analyzed together with the respondents’ healthcare data extracted from public health insurance claims. Work functioning impairment was measured using the Work Functioning Impairment Scale (WFun). The status of treatment for insomnia was determined using data on diseases and prescribed drugs extracted from health insurance claims from the past 16 months. The odds ratio of severe work functioning impairment according to on-treatment duration and off-treatment duration was estimated using logistic regression analysis. Results The risk of severe work functioning impairment was significantly higher in subjects with insomnia who were being treated with hypnotics for 1 month or longer compared to non-insomnia subjects. This increased risk tended to be reduced with longer on-treatment duration. For subjects who had previously received hypnotics treatment for insomnia, the risk of severe work functioning impairment was significantly increased in all subgroups stratified by time from discontinuation of the prescription. This increased risk tended to be reduced with longer off-treatment duration. Conclusions Workers who are or were receiving hypnotics to treat insomnia may have a higher risk of daytime functioning impairment. Those with protracted insomnia require careful assessment of the risks and benefits of prescription hypnotics.