Artificial intelligence and the work-health interface: A research agenda for a technologically transforming world of work.

The labor market is undergoing a rapid artificial intelligence (AI) revolution. There is currently limited empirical scholarship that focuses on how AI adoption affects employment opportunities and work environments in ways that shape worker health, safety, well-being and equity. In this article, we present an agenda to guide research examining the implications of AI on the intersection between work and health. To build the agenda, a full day meeting was organized and attended by 50 participants including researchers from diverse disciplines and applied stakeholders. Facilitated meeting discussions aimed to set research priorities related to workplace AI applications and its impact on the health of workers, including critical research questions, methodological approaches, data needs, and resource requirements. Discussions also aimed to identify groups of workers and working contexts that may benefit from AI adoption as well as those that may be disadvantaged by AI. Discussions were synthesized into four research agenda areas: (1) examining the impact of stronger AI on human workers; (2) advancing responsible and healthy AI; (3) informing AI policy for worker health, safety, well-being, and equitable employment; and (4) understanding and addressing worker and employer knowledge needs regarding AI applications. The agenda provides a roadmap for researchers to build a critical evidence base on the impact of AI on workers and workplaces, and will ensure that worker health, safety, well-being, and equity are at the forefront of workplace AI system design and adoption.

The Employment Quality of Persons with Disabilities: Findings from a National Survey.

PURPOSE: Labour market integration is a widely accepted strategy for promoting the social and economic inclusion of persons with disabilities. But what kinds of jobs do persons with disabilities obtain following their integration into the labour market? In this study, we use a novel survey of workers to describe and compare the employment quality of persons with and without disabilities in Canada. METHODS: We administered an online, cross-sectional survey to a heterogeneous sample of workers in Canada (n = 2,794). We collected data on sixteen different employment conditions (e.g., temporary contract, job security, flexible work schedule, job lock, skill match, training opportunities, and union membership). We used latent class cluster analysis to construct a novel typology of employment quality describing four distinct 'types' of employment: standard, portfolio, instrumental, and precarious. We examined associations between disability status, disability type, and employment quality. RESULTS: Persons with disabilities reported consistently lower employment quality than their counterparts without disabilities. Persons with disabilities were nearly twice as likely to report low-quality employment in the form of either instrumental (i.e., secure but trapped) or precarious (i.e., insecure and unrewarding) employment. This gap in employment quality was particularly pronounced for those who reported living with both a physical and mental/cognitive condition. CONCLUSION: There are widespread inequalities in the employment quality of persons with and without disabilities in Canada. Policies and programs aiming to improve the labour market situation of persons with disabilities should emphasize the importance of high-quality employment as a key facet of social and economic inclusion.

Government policies on job satisfaction of radiographers in tertiary hospitals, Gauteng.

Background: The National Department of Health has different operational policies to monitor the performance of its employees and to reward them accordingly. These policies could have a direct bearing on job satisfaction and career advancement for radiographers employed by the public sector, as there are previous reports that show that these policies affect the job satisfaction of other healthcare professionals negatively. Aim: The aim of the study was to explore the influence of government policies on the job satisfaction of radiographers employed by public tertiary hospitals in the Gauteng province. Setting: The study was conducted in two public tertiary hospitals in the Gauteng province. Methods: The study used a primary exploratory qualitative research design, with a purposive sampling technique. Data were collected through individual and focus group interviews. The researcher recorded and transcribed the interviews. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Results: Three government policies had a negative impact on job satisfaction for radiographers. These were the Occupational Specific Dispensation (OSD), the Performance Management and Development System (PMDS) and the Employment Equity Act (EEA). The failure to effectively implement these policies also had a negative bearing on career pathing. Conclusion: The implementation and structure of these three government policies have resulted in job dissatisfaction amongst radiographers employed by public tertiary hospitals and reduced the structure of career pathing. Contribution: The study highlighted three government policies that negatively affect job satisfaction in Gauteng.

Hearing disability and employment: a population-based analysis using the 2017 Canadian survey on disability.

Purpose: The objectives of this study were to determine the effects of hearing disability on employment rates; examine how various factors are associated with employment; and identify workplace accommodations available to persons with hearing disabilities in Canada.Material and methods: A population-based analysis was done using the data collected through the 2017 Canadian Survey on Disability (CSD), representing 6 million (n = 6 246 640) Canadians. A subset of the complete dataset was created focusing on individuals with a hearing disability (n = 1 334 520). Weighted descriptive and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed.Results: In 2017, the employment rates for working-age adults with a hearing disability were 55%. Excellent general health status (OR: 3.37; 95% CI: 2.29-4.96) and daily use of the internet (OR: 2.70; 95% CI: 1.78-4.10) had the highest positive effect on the employment rates. The top three needed but least available accommodations were communication aids (16%), technical aids (19%), and accessible parking/elevator (21%).Conclusion: Employment rates for persons with a hearing disability are lower than the general population in Canada. Employment outcomes are closely associated with one's general health and digital skills. Lack of certain workplace accommodations may disadvantage individuals with a hearing disability in their employment.Implications for RehabilitationPeople with severe hearing disabilities and those with additional disabilities may need additional and more rigorous services and supports to achieve competitive employment.It is important for the government to improve efforts toward inclusive education and develop strategies that promote digital literacy for job seekers with hearing disabilities.Officials concerned with implementing employment equity policies in Canada should focus on finding strategies that enable employees to have supportive conversations with their employers regarding disability disclosure and obtaining required accommodations.

A Feminist Intervention That Hurt Women: Biological Differences, Ergonomics, and Occupational Health: Une intervention féministe qui a nui aux femmes: différences biologiques, égalité, ergonomie et santé au travail.

The University of Québec in Montréal has agreements with trade unions providing access to university resources. Researchers involved in this program worked in partnership with union women's and health and safety committees for more than twenty years. Not all studies succeeded in improving women's working conditions. One joint project involved observational studies of tasks done by health-care workers, complemented by interviews and questionnaires. We found that task assignments, movements, postures, and work-related musculoskeletal disorders varied by gender/sex and made recommendations for change. However, issues of pay equity, spending on health care, and contracting-out of "ancillary work" were salient. Researchers learned that in the absence of changes in power relationships in the workplace, women may be disadvantaged by denial as well as by exaggeration of female-male differences. Men may also be at risk when their gender is invisible. We suggest some feminist approaches to workplace solutions and some pathways for research. Résumé L'Université du Québec à Montréal a signé avec des centrales syndicales des ententes leur donnant un accès à des ressources universitaires. Des chercheures ont travaillé en partenariat avec des comités syndicaux de condition des femmes et de santé-sécurité au travail pendant plus de 25 ans, mais ce ne sont pas toutes les études qui ont abouti à des améliorations. Un projet concernait des observations du travail d'employé.e.s du secteur de la santé, dont les tâches, mouvements, et postures variaient selon le genre/sexe. Nous avons recommandé des transformations, mais des enjeux d'équité salariale, de coûts et de sous-traitance y ont fait obstacle. Les chercheures ont appris qu'en l'absence de transformation des rapports de pouvoir au travail, le déni des différences hommes-femmes, autant que leur exagération, peut désavantager les travailleuses (et les travailleurs). Nous suggérons des approches féministes aux solutions pour le milieu de travail, ainsi que des pistes de recherche.

The Relationship Between Employment Equity Perceptions and Psychological Ownership in a South African Mining House: The Role of Ethnicity.

Psychological ownership is a cognitive-affective construct based on individuals' feelings of possessiveness towards and of being psychologically tied/attached to objects that are material (e.g. tools or work) and immaterial (e.g. ideas or workspace) in nature. Research suggests that psychological ownership could be influenced by various individual, organisational and contextual factors. The South African Employment Equity Act, which was implemented to grant equitable opportunities to previously disadvantaged employees, could be a significant contextual factor affecting psychological ownership, due to perceptions associated with inequality. Ethnicity may also act as a moderator for the relationship between perceptions of employment equity and psychological ownership. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between employment equity perceptions and psychological ownership and to explore whether ethnicity plays a moderating role in the relationship. A cross-sectional survey design was employed with a purposeful sample of 202 respondents employed in a large South African mining house. Pearson product-moment correlations and structural equation modelling confirmed that employment equity perceptions could predict the five components of psychological ownership. However, the results revealed that ethnicity has no moderating effect on the relationship between perceptions of employment equity and the emergence of psychological ownership. By implication, organisations that seek to retain employees targeted through equity initiatives need to find ways to enhance and develop the psychological ownership of these employees. The research contributes new insights into and knowledge of how contextual factors could influence employees' psychological ownership.

Time utilisation trends of supported employment services by persons with mental disability in South Africa.

BACKGROUND: This paper reports on the second phase of a two-phased study that was undertaken to determine the feasibility of supported employment (SE) as a strategy with which to facilitate the employment of persons with disability in competitive work contexts. The study population comprised people with mental disabilities receiving SE in the Western Cape Province, South Africa. OBJECTIVE: To describe the components of SE utilised by persons with mental disability (i.e. psychiatric or intellectual disability) in terms of type and time utilisation patterns over 12 months. METHODS: Criterion sampling, a form of purposive sampling, was used to identify 29 study participants - 19 with intellectual disability and 10 with psychiatric disability. Data collection commenced for each participant when a work placement had been identified and preparation for such ensued. Data was collected prospectively for a period of 12 months. SE service components utilised by participants were captured using a data capture sheet that was developed for this purpose. RESULTS: Time utilisation indicated a steep downwards trend for both cohorts. The decrease in utilisation of SE service components over a period of one year was more pronounced in the psychiatric disability (PD) cohort, who utilized almost half the total SE services in the first month. CONCLUSIONS: SE services can be considered as a viable option for return to work in resource-constrained environments. Providers of SE services will need to modify approaches in order to meet contextual realities.