Satisfaction with Work

Blended working, a term we recently introduced, combines on-site and off-site working, enabled by the utilization of information and communications technologies (ICTs) that provides workers with almost constant access to job-relevant information and coworkers. In this commentary, we respond to three articles on blended work that appeared in the October 2016 issue of Work, Aging and Retirement. We agree that both characteristics of the worker and characteristics of the organization determine the effectiveness of blended working to the employability of older workers, retirement timing, and bridge employment. We conclude that blended work practices may suit any worker at any career stage and at the final stages of workers' career in particular.

Workplace violence is a serious phenomenon involving the health care settings, and presents challenges to management. Literature indicates that the majority of nurses experience some form of violence during their working lives. Managing workplace violence presents a problem which stems from lack of consistency among those perceiving and defining it. The consequences can be devastating, since it affects nurses' morale, decreases job satisfaction and altered job performance. The present multidisciplinary study aims at investigating the phenomenon of workplace violence among nurses and its association to their job satisfaction. The main results are that about three quarters of the subjects experienced violence in the workplace, verbal abuse and psychological/emotional stressing acts are highly perceived by the subjects to define violence, and that the later one is the most frequent type experienced by nurses. Clients and their relatives, as well as the administrative staff are the most significant perpetrators. The most precipitating factors are violating privacy, inadequacy of available nurses, equipment supplies, and treatments, as well as visits from outside the hospital. Nurses who experienced workplace violence reported their dissatisfaction. About half of them did not like their work, and had the tendency to leave due to violence. Presently, more than quarter of the sample is searching for a career other than nursing.

Jeanne Rey est l'auteure ! Un interview réalisé par Jeanne Rey, de Solène Gouilhers et moi-même au sujet de la satisfaction au travail des sages-femmes sur la base de nos ethnographies respectives réalisées en Suisse romande dans le cadre de nos thèse doctorale.
Les conditions de travail et notamment la surcharge de travail sont mentionnés comme des facteurs interférant avec la satisfaction, ainsi que le découpage des soins. La continuité apparaît comme une circonstance protectrice, de même que la sensation d'avoir une utilité pour les familles.

ÖZET
Ülkemiz ekonomisi hızla gelişmektedir. Bu gelişim sırasında istihdam edilmek üzere nitelikli teknik ve mesleki eleman ihtiyacı her geçen gün daha da artmaktadır. Teknik ve mesleki eleman yetiştirme açısından Meslek Yüksekokulları çok önemli bir konumdadır. Ancak son yıllara kadar MYO'lara verilmesi gereken önem üniversiteler tarafından gösterilememiştir. Bu nedenle MYO akademik personeline zaman zaman aşırı bir yük binmekte bu durum akademik personelin yıpranmasına ve iş tatmin düzeylerinin azalmasına neden olmaktadır. İş tatminsizliği yaşayan ve tükenmişlik düzeyi artan akademik personelin eğitim-öğretim hizmetini yerine getirirken göstereceği performans çok düşük seviyelerde kalabilmekte bu da nitelikli teknik ve mesleki eleman yetiştirme konusunda aksamalara yol açmaktadır. Bu noktadan hareketle çalışmada, MYO'lardaki akademik personelin mevcut tükenmişlik ve iş tatmin düzeylerinin, bunları etkileyen faktörlerin ve alınması gereken önlemlerin belirlenmesi amaçlanmaktadır. Çalışmada MYO'larda çalışan akademik personelin iş tatmini ve tükenmişlik düzeyleri incelenmeye çalışılmıştır. Veriler anket yöntemi kullanılarak elde edilmiştir. Anket üç kısımdan oluşmaktadır; ilk kısımda demografik özelliklerle ilgili bilgiler toplanmaya çalışılmıştır, ikinci kısımda tükenmişliğin ölçülmesi amacıyla Maslach Tükenmişlik Envanteri kullanılmış, üçüncü kısımda ise iş tatmininin ölçülmesi amacıyla Minnesota Đş Tatmini Ölçeği kullanılmıştır. Araştırmanın örneklemi Doğu Karadeniz'de bulunan MYO'larda görev yapan akademik personelden oluşturulmuştur. Verilerin analiz edilmesinde, farklı özellikler bakımından gruplandırılan akademik personelin iş tatmini ve tükenmişlik düzeyleri arasındaki farkları varyans analizi kullanılarak incelenmiştir. Ayrıca iş tatmininin tükenmişlik boyutları üzerindeki etkisini belirlemek için de regresyon analizi kullanılmıştır. Araştırma sonuçları daha kaliteli teknik ve mesleki eleman yetiştirmek amacıyla MYO akademik personelinin tükenmişliğini ve iş tatminini etkileyen faktörlerin ortaya konulmasına ve sonuçta akademik personelin verim ve kalitesini artırabilecek stratejilerin belirlenmesine yardımcı olacaktır.

Employees, many of whom are not native English speakers, perform the majority of work on large US dairy farms. Although management of employees is a critical role of dairy owners and managers, factors that improve employee engagement and retention are not well known. Objectives were to (1) identify key dairy farm employee management issues based on employee perceptions, (2) evaluate strengths and weaknesses of farms based on employee responses, (3) investigate differences between Latino and English-speaking employees , and (4) investigate differences in perception between employers and employees. Employees from 12 US dairy farms (each with a minimum of 10 employees) were interviewed by phone following a questionnaire provided. Employees provided their responses to 21 Likert scale questions and 8 open-ended questions. There was a wide range in employee turnover among farms (<10 to >100%). Latino employees had much shorter tenure and were more often employed in milking and livestock care than English-speaking employees. Employee perceptions differed among farms regarding whether they would recommend their farm as a place to work, teamwork within the dairy, whether rules were fairly applied, availability of tools and equipment, clear lines of supervision, and recognition for good work in the previous 15 d. Latino employees (n = 91) were more positive in many of these measures than their English-speaking counterparts (n = 77) but less often provided ideas to their employer on how to improve the business. Employers, surveyed on how they thought their employees would answer, underestimated employee responses on several questions, particularly the interest of employees in learning about dairy. When asked to cite 3 goals of the operation, there were differences among owners, managers, and employees. Although employees rated their commitment to the farm and their interest in learning as high, based on turnover, there was an obvious disparity between reality and ideal employee management. Consequently, employers should act on identified management shortfalls to improve employee retention.