Correction: Cost and statistical efficiency of posture assessment by inclinometry and observation, exemplified by paper mill work.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0292261.].

Effectiveness of a Goldilocks Work intervention in childcare workers - A cluster-randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: Poor cardiorespiratory fitness and health is common among childcare workers. We designed the `Goldilocks-games` according to the Goldilocks Work principle to provide high-intensity physical activity for childcare workers. We investigated the effectiveness of this Goldilocks Work intervention in increasing occupational high-intensity physical activity and improving work-related health. METHODS: In a two-arm cluster randomized trial, 16 childcare institutions with 142 workers were randomly allocated to either an 8-week Goldilocks Work intervention or a control group. The primary outcome was occupational time in high-intensity physical activity. Secondary outcomes were occupational time in active physical behaviors, heart rate during sleep, pain, physical exhaustion, energy at work, work productivity, and need for recovery. RESULTS: The intervention was successfully delivered and received. Both groups had a low amount of occupational high-intensity physical activity at baseline, and the intervention group reported playing the games 3.1 [standard deviation (SD) 1.5] times/week for a duration of 112.2 (SD 175.0) min/week. However, the intervention did not increase high-intensity physical activity or the secondary outcomes, except for energy at work, measured on a scale from 0-10, increasing 0.65 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.08-1.21], and need for recovery, measured on a scale from 1-5, decreasing -0.32 (95% CI, -0.54- -0.09). CONCLUSION: The intervention was successfully delivered and received, but did not increase high-intensity physical activity. The intervention group increased their energy at work and decreased their need for recovery, but not the other health-related outcomes. Further research on how to design and implement health-promoting work environment interventions in childcare is needed.

Protocol for an observational study of working conditions and musculoskeletal health in Swedish online retail warehousing from the perspective of sex/gender and place of birth.

European and International sustainable development agendas aim to reduce inequalities in working conditions and work-related health, yet disparate occupational health outcomes are evident between both men and women and domestic- and foreign-born workers. In Sweden, major growth in online retail warehousing has increased occupational opportunities for foreign-born workers. The rapid change has left research lagging on working conditions, i.e., employment conditions, facility design, work organisation, physical and psychosocial work environment conditions, and their effects on worker health. Further, no known studies have considered patterns of inequality related to these factors. The overall aim of this study is to describe working conditions and musculoskeletal health in online retail warehousing, determine the extent to which differences exist related to sex/gender and place of birth (as a proxy for race/ethnicity), and examine factors at the organisational and individual levels to understand why any differences exist. Three online retail warehouses, each employing 50-150 operations workers performing receiving, order picking, order packing and dispatching tasks will be recruited. Warehouses will, to the extent possible, differ in their extent of digital technology use. Employment conditions, facility design (including digital tool use), work organisation, physical and psychosocial work environment conditions and worker health will be assessed by survey, interview and technical measurements. Analysis of quantitative data stratified by sex and place of birth will consider the extent to which inequalities exist. Focus group interviews with operations employees and in-depth interviews with managers, union and health and safety representatives will be conducted to assess how employee working conditions and musculoskeletal health are related to inequality regimes of sex/gender and/or race/ethnicity in organisational processes and practices in online retail warehousing. The study is pre-registered with the Open Science Framework. This study will describe working conditions and health in online retail warehouse workers and consider the extent to which patterns of inequality exist based on sex/gender and place of birth.

Effects of a Participative Workplace Intervention on Work Strategies and Expectations of Availability Among Office-Based Employees With Flexible Work Arrangements.

Occupational ApplicationsWork strategies changed following a participatory workplace intervention among office-based employees with flexible work arrangements (FWA). Also, the intervention likely led to clearer rules and routines for FWA within the work group. As FWA increases, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, it will be important to revise work strategies for both the individual and the work group. The results of this study are relevant in the context of interventions that can support organizations and employees in adopting work strategies promoting good working conditions and health in FWA.

Background Flexible work arrangements (FWA) are common, but knowledge on how to organize flexible work to reduce negative consequences and preserve positive aspects is currently sparse, which hampers organizational initiatives.Purpose This study aimed to determine the extent to which work strategies, work-related use of information and communication technology (ICT) outside regular working hours (i.e., use of laptop, tablet, or smartphone, to handle information and facilitate communication), perceived productivity, expectations of availability, and clarity of expectations about availability, had changed among office-based employees with FWA 2 and 4 months after a participative two-step workplace intervention.Methods An intervention group (n = 97) was compared to a control group working as usual (n = 70). The intervention, initiated and approved by the top management of the organization, included individual education intended to change work strategies, and workshops developing common rules and routines for FWA within the work group.Results Participants were satisfied with the intervention and reported larger changes than the control group in work strategies. No statistically significant effects were found, however, on ICT use, perceived productivity, or expectations of availability.Conclusions This participative workplace intervention was successful in changing employees work strategies but may not be effective in influencing ICT use outside regular working hours, perceived productivity, expectations of availability, or clarity of expectations about availability. The results should be treated with caution due to a possible selection bias of the study population, both for technical reasons and due to the specific occupational context.