The aim of this scoping review was to provide an overview and classification of existing studies on strategies and measures to reduce the workload of nuclear industry main control room operators and emergency response organization personnel to support their wellbeing and functional capacity during crises. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) statement guidelines were followed. All the 49 studies included involved main control room operators. No studies were found on emergency response organizations. Forty studies addressed technical systems, interfaces and/or algorithms, 11 addressed guides, procedures and protocols, and three addressed training as workload management measures. Yet, only 11 studies evaluated the workload empirically. In conclusion, a large number of studies on technically oriented support measures, protocols and procedures was found. The empirical evidence on the effects of workload management measures was scarce. Further research is needed to truly evaluate the effects of these workload management strategies and measures on employees’ workload, wellbeing, and functional capacity. Also, more research is needed on other measures such as management models, working hour arrangements, and social and psychological support measures. Further, the workload management of emergency response organization personnel should also be studied.

We investigated the implementation of safe work practices for preventing low back pain (LBP) among care workers (CWs) to ascertain the interrelationships between appropriate device use and the frequency of working postures/movements that cause LBP. This cross-sectional study used an anonymous, self-administered questionnaire of CW team leaders (one per facility) working at long-term care facilities in Japan. Data on bed-height adjustment, the use of devices for repositioning in bed and bed- and wheelchair-transfer assistance, and the frequency of awkward postures/movements were cross-tabulated and analyzed using Haberman’s residuals. Among the LBP prevention measures adopted by the facilities, 79.1%, 61.6%, and 30.9% involved bed-height adjustment, the use of repositioning/transferring devices, and the use of mechanical lifts, respectively. However, only 12.8% of the facilities had thorough bed-height adjustments, and 79.5% and 86.5% repositioned residents on the bed without assistive devices or transferred residents between the bed and wheelchair without assistive devices, respectively. Facilities that enforce bed-height adjustment and device use had fewer incidences of awkward posture/movement than those that did not. Our study revealed a discrepancy between the facility’s policy and the implementation of LBP prevention measures. Additionally, bed-height adjustment and device use were related to reduced working postures/movements that cause LBP.

After the report of 17 patients with occupational cholangiocarcinoma caused by long-term exposure to high concentrations of 1,2-dichloropropane and/or dichloromethane in a printing company in Osaka in 2014, additional five patients were diagnosed to have such cholangiocarcinoma. Cholangiocarcinoma was detected during regular health examination or follow-up for liver dysfunction in four of the five patients. Nearly all five patients presented with clinicopathological findings such as an elevated γ-glutamyl transpeptidase activity at the diagnosis, regional dilatation of intrahepatic bile ducts without tumor-induced obstruction, chronic bile duct injury, and precancerous/early cancerous lesions (biliary intraepithelial neoplasia and intraductal papillary neoplasm of the bile duct) at various sites of the bile duct. These findings were similar to those of the previous 17 patients. In total, cholangiocarcinoma developed in 22 of 95 workers exposed to 1,2-dichloropropane in the printing company. Of 22 patients with cholangiocarcinoma, 18 patients were members of 19 high exposure workers (≥1,500 ppm-yr). These findings strengthen further the theory that 1,2-dichloropropane causes occupational cholangiocarcinoma. Regular health examination of workers exposed to 1,2-dichloropropane and/or dichloromethane is necessary to detect such cholangiocarcinoma because the potential of the carcinogenesis risk persists over the long term.

School bullying victimization may deteriorate job satisfaction as well as life satisfaction. This study assessed the effects of school bullying on job satisfaction in middle-age. We used data collected in 1965 (when the participants were aged 7 years), 1969 (11 years), and 2008 (50 years), from a 50 year prospective study of the 1958 British Birth Cohort. Bullying victimization was rated via parental interviews when the participants were 7 and 11 years of age. A combined variable of bullying victimization (never, occasionally, and frequently) at these two ages was used. A self-reported questionnaire was administered to assess job satisfaction. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses, adjusted for possible confounders, were conducted to clarify the association between school bullying and job satisfaction later in life. Of 4,879 middle-aged workers, 43% (occasionally bullied: 28%; frequently bullied: 15%) reported bullying-related victimization. No significant association was identified between school bullying and job satisfaction when job satisfaction was treated as a continuous variable; however, frequent bullying was significantly negatively associated with job satisfaction when job satisfaction was treated as a binary variable. Experiences of school bullying were more strongly reflected in life satisfaction than in job satisfaction. Future studies should examine the mechanism of this relationship.

Sleepiness is a significant workplace safety hazard and prevalent in shift workers including bus drivers. Several aspects of professional driving can result in shortened sleep and increased sleepiness, which has the potential to result in workplace injuries, incidents and crashes. Caffeine is an effective sleepiness countermeasure; however, private and professional drivers also report using potentially ineffective countermeasures such as sugar. By identifying factors which predict use of specific countermeasures (e.g., sugar, caffeine), educational initiatives could be targeted towards encouraging effective use. A subset of data was analysed from a driver sleepiness survey with London bus drivers (n=1,335). Univariate and multivariate logistic regressions were conducted to determine which factors separately predicted use of sugar (n=238) or caffeine (n=238) as a sleepiness countermeasure. Being female, having higher self-reported sleep quality and waking indexes and actively doing something to stay awake were predictive of sugar use. Age, sleeping pill use and actively doing something to stay awake were the strongest predictors of caffeine. However, many predictors from the univariate analyses were the same for both sugar and caffeine. Although tailored initiatives could be developed, broader education relating to managing sleepiness should be implemented for all bus drivers to encourage effective countermeasure use.

The study aimed to assess the relationship between andropause, or male menopause, and work functioning in aging Japanese male workers. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 561 male employees from two Japanese companies. We measured andropause symptoms using the Aging Male’s Symptoms (AMS) scale, and work functioning impairment using the Work Functioning Impairment Scale (WFun). The data were analyzed using Poisson regression with robust variance to estimate the relationship between andropause severity and work functioning impairment. The findings indicated a significant association between severe symptoms of andropause and increased work functioning impairment among male workers. Higher AMS scores, reflecting more severe symptoms, correlated with greater work functioning impairment, particularly with regard to physical and psychological health issues, such as muscle weakness and depressive symptoms. This study highlights the need for workplace health programs that include middle-aged and older male workers to address and manage symptoms of andropause. Further, it emphasizes the importance of recognizing andropause as a significant health issue that can adversely affect work performance and productivity. Future studies should incorporate the measurement of testosterone to ensure the more accurate assessment of andropause and its impact on work functioning.

This study aimed to clarify the relationship between presenteeism and the level of satisfaction with the work environment in the anime industry. Data from the Animation Producers Survey 2023 were analyzed. A total of 366 laborers were included in this study. Presenteeism was assessed using the Work Functioning Impairment Scale (WFun). The satisfaction levels with eight items were evaluated, including current income level, income stability, working hours, workload, professional content, work relationships, job stability, and prospects for future work and work style. No significant differences were observed in the current income level and working hours, which were not according to the Effort–Reward Imbalance model, whereas those of other items were consistent with the model or the Job Demand–Control–Support model. Providing occupational health services tailored to the industry’s characteristics is necessary for preventing occupational dysfunction among animators.

This paper presents a new conceptual framework, and stepwise approach to populate it, for informing countermeasure development to support fitness-to-drive for professional drivers. Professional drivers are vital to the transport network; however, the job is demanding and drivers are vulnerable to impairments which may impact safe driving. Countermeasures are any action or activity that mitigates the impact or frequency of occurrence of driver impairment. The framework proposes countermeasures to be delivered across three time points: Operational (during shift), Tactical (immediately after shift) and Strategic (outside of on-shift) and at multiple system levels, e.g., driver, manager, enforcement etc. The framework was successfully pilot tested with three different professional driver use cases: autonomous shuttles, taxi, and garbage truck drivers. This structured approach to countermeasure design offers potential to improve driver health and enhance road safety. The work was conducted within PANACEA, an EU project, grant agreement number 953426.

Migrant workers constitute nearly one-third of Saudi Arabia’s population, with a significant portion engaged in low-skilled manual labour. Limited data exists on work-related injuries and the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) among workers. The current cross-sectional survey focused on seven occupational groups, (i.e., auto-repair workers, city cleaners, construction workers, hairdressers, hospital cleaners, poultry factory workers, and restaurant workers) in the Al-Qassim region of Saudi Arabia. The sample of 2,123 workers were predominantly men (85.3%) and from the Indian subcontinent (64.9%). Among the workers, 21.5% reported having one or more work-related injuries, with cuts (27%), slipping/falling (17%), and thermal injuries (9%) being the most common. Compliance with PPE varied across professions, with city cleaners (86.1%) and restaurant workers (85%) being the most compliant. The study highlights a concerning prevalence of injuries and insufficient PPE usage among migrant workers, emphasizing the need to enhance workplace safety.