This panel session, scheduled for the SIOP Annual Conference on April 19, 2024, explores the concept of "home-like workplaces" and its implications for employee well-being, work-life balance, and organizational practices. The session brings together experts to discuss the benefits and potential drawbacks of blurring the lines between work and home environments.
Key points of discussion:
The definition and characteristics of home-like workplaces, which offer benefits, amenities, and designs that blur the distinction between work and non-work domains. The dilemma posed by home-...
This chapter presents an updated framework for Integral Organizational Wellness (IOW), expanding on previous versions to address complex workplace pressures and new stressors.
Key components of the framework include: Eleven themes of organizational well-being, categorized into Assessment, Awareness, Action, Applications, and Attractive State Competencies for Occupational Health Psychologists (OHPs) related to each theme Roles and competencies of internal well-being practitioners and allies Potential business partners and their impact on organizational wellness The influence of...
Workspaces are designed every day across the nation, whether through remodeling or new construction. Typically, the design and construction of workspaces are led by architects and construction firms, often with minimal input from the actual occupants (e.g., workers). However, when architects and designers collaborate with Total Worker Health (TWH) professionals, they can integrate health and well-being considerations from the beginning of the design process. This presentation showcases a new building project where health, safety, and well-...
Work spaces are created everyday across the nation, either by remodel or new build. Typically, the design and construction of work spaces are conceptualized and executed almost exclusively by architect and construction firms, with little input from the future occupants (e.g., workers). This doesn’t have to be the scenario occupants are faced with when architects and designers collaborate with TWH professionals on work space design. This presentation describes a new building project where health and well-being considerations were introduced at the very...
The world of work is changing and creating challenges and opportunities for the employment inclusion of young people with disabilities. In this article, the perceptions held by young adults with disabilities regarding participation in the future of work are examined.
Design/methodology/approach
One-on-one interviews were conducted with Canadian young adults (ages 18–36 years) living with a disability. Participants were asked about their thoughts regarding the impact of the changing nature of work on their labor market involvement and career aspirations. A thematic analysis...
The digital transformation of the economy is characterized by the rapid advancement and wide-spread workplace application of digital technologies. Our study aimed to unpack how the digital transformation of the economy contributes to challenges and opportunities for the sustainable employment and health of persons living with disabilities.
Methods
One-on-one semi-structured interviews with policy makers, disability employment service providers and...
A library on campus recently advertised their new standing-height workstations with a catchy sign proclaiming that “sitting is the new sugar.” The word is out: sitting is bad for us; worse, even, than the sugars and fats we have long vilified, and more harmful than cigarettes. Recent studies have linked prolonged sedentary time with obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, back pain, and psychological distress. Simply put, sitting is killing us. Sedentary behavior researcher Travis Saunders cautions that, “all things being equal (body weight, physical activity levels, smoking,...
This white paper summarizes the novel methodology and preliminary findings of two focus groups the Center for Healthy Workplaces conducted in Fall 2016 to understand how undergraduate students, members of Generation Z, define seven drivers of need satisfaction—comfort, connection, equity, flexibility, privacy, predictability, and safety—and envision workplaces that support these qualities. In each focus group, participants were assigned to a single driver and worked individually and in teams to define the driver in their own words and then brainstorm, using words and images,...
Neuroscientists have comprehensively assessed how design can support creative thinking, most often in studies that detail the effects of a single physical factor. Creativity-linked design elements that have been identified include colour (surface and light), visual complexity, plants in view, natural light, visible wood grain, aesthetic factors, soundscapes, comfortable environmental control, audio and visual distractions, ceiling height, opportunities for movement, access to needed tools/task support, nonverbal messages sent by a space, and chance for...
We ask the question: "Which in-workplace technologies actually support employee health and well-being in concrete and impactful ways, and which technology does not?” We focus on how technology can support health and well-being in general and in particular, reduce the likelihood of employee burnout. Our assessment based on criteria derived from studies showing that basic human need satisfaction underlies health, well-being, and productivity (Maslach & Banks, 2017; Deci & Ryan, 2000; Ayoko & Ashkanasy, 2020) and can build resilience to burnout (Maslach & Leiter, in...
