Objectives: This study aimed to analyze and categorize the actual situation of employment consultation and support according to consultation times or employment status at the Consultation Support Center of the National Cancer Center Hospital of Japan. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the patient backgrounds, consultation contents, and the number of employment consultation cases conducted at the Consultation Support Center of the National Cancer Center Hospital during a 6-month period from May to December 2018. Results: During the study period, 117 patients (male: female = 46:71) visited the Consultation Support Center. The median age of patients was 48 years old. The most common primary cancer site was the breast in 28 patients followed by the lung in 16 patients, and then gynecologic cancer in 10 patients. The most common cancer treatment was chemotherapy in 53 patients (45.3%), and 12 patients (10.2%) were recurrent patients. Fifty-two patients were in regular employment, 24 were unemployed, 17 were of unknown employment status, 16 were in non-regular employment, and 8 were classified/categorized as other. In terms of working status, 40 were on leave, 35 were working, 15 were seeking work, 8 were unemployed, and 19 were categorized as other. The median number of consultations was 1 (1,11). The content of consultations was the social security system in 44 cases (37.6%) job seeking in 24 cases (20.5%), how to inform the workplace in 14 cases (12%), and workplace environment adjustment in 13 cases (11.1%). Conclusions: We conducted a survey on the actual status of employment consultation in a cancer center hospital. The majority of consultations were completed in one session. In terms of the content of consultations, there was a high need for consultations on the social security system and job seeking. Further study is needed on the characteristics of employment consultations according to employment status and other attributes.

Objectives: COVID-19 has led to an increased use of online consultations in occupational health. We examined experience, satisfaction, and difficulties with online consultations during the first year after the COVID-19 pandemic by surveying a sample of workers. Methods: An online survey was conducted in March 2021 among full-time employees of an online panel survey (E-COCO-J: The Employee Cohort Study on the COVID-19 Pandemic in Japan). Respondents were asked to report whether they had online or face-to-face consultations with occupational health professionals in the past year, their level of satisfaction, and their difficulties and problems related to the online consultations. Results: Of the 1,153 respondents, 1,102 (excluding those who were unemployed or on leave) were included in the analysis. Fifty respondents had had online consultations in the past year and 57 had face-to-face consultations. The proportion of respondents who reported satisfaction with online consultations was high (more than 70%) for general health, follow-ups, and guidance consultations, among others. However, the proportion of satisfaction with online occupational consultations was low (less than 40%) for employees who worked long hours, or took leave or returned to work. Over 30% of the respondents indicated that the difficulties with online consultations were due to incongruence with their expectations (“I preferred a face-to-face consultation instead of an online one”), quality of communication (“I did not feel like I was able to consult sufficiently”), and concerns about confidentiality (“I was worried that someone could hear our conversation”). Conclusion: The experience of online consultations was similar to that of face-to-face consultations. Satisfaction with online occupational consultations for those who worked long hours and those who took leave or returned to work was low. In the online consultation for occupational health, the occupational health professional may be required to judge its suitability depending on type of the consultation and take necessary consideration and measures to maintain the quality of the online consultation.

Objectives: Reports of workers’ casualties include occupational low back pain (LBP), accounting for approximately 60% of compensable occupational disease. While LBP has become an important safety and health problem, the occurrence of occupational LBP has not been analyzed recently. This study aimed to evaluate the occurrence of occupational LBP in reports of workers’ casualties between 2018 and 2019. Methods: The study included 10,208 cases of occupational LBP (2018, n = 5,043; 2019, n = 5,165). Data on the location and date of industrial accidents, as well as type and size of business, age, sex, and leave period of the victims were tabulated. Results: The number of occupational LBP cases was the highest in the health and hygiene industry (31.3%), followed by the commercial, manufacturing, and transportation industries. In the health and hygiene industry, social welfare facilities were listed in 24.3% of the total cases, and many caregivers suffered from LBP. Occupational LBP cases were less in cold regions and few during the cold period between November and January. Several occupational LBP cases occurred on Mondays following a holiday, and approximately 40% occurred between 9 a.m. and 12 a.m. Occupational LBP was frequently reported in workplaces with a volume of 10–49 workers, such as social welfare facilities in terms of business type. In terms of work-related accident victims per 100,000 workers, women were slightly more prone to LBP than men, and most of them were in their 20s and 30s. Approximately 60% of the leave period taken by victims was 2 weeks maximum. Conclusions: Occupational LBP was experienced by most workers in workplaces with at least 10–49 workers, such as social welfare facilities, between 2018 and 2019. In addition, LBP was more common in women than in men. Most workers with LBP take a leave period of 2 weeks. Suitable measures should be taken to prevent occurrences of occupational LBP.

Objectives: Although companies are required to implement countermeasures against workplace harassment, their effectiveness has not been verified. Therefore, in this study, we compared employees’ awareness of the primary preventive measures or organizational climate and the prevalence of harassment in each company. Methods: A total of 68 companies in Japan (with a total of approximately 20,000 employees) were targeted. Harassment countermeasures were measured using seven items. Power (11 items), sexual (7 items), maternity (2 items), paternity (2 items), care (1 item), and gender harassment (1 item) were measured. Organizational climate was measured using 10 items comprising subcategories, such as civility, psychological safety, and role clarity. The percentage of employee recognition of anti-harassment measures and organizational climate was divided into three groups (high, medium, and low), and the prevalence of each type of harassment and employees’ recognition of changes in the workplace were compared using the Kruskal-Wallis test or ANOVA. Results: In companies where more than 70% of the employees were aware that their company had implemented questionnaire surveys to ascertain the working environment, by displaying posters or providing training along with the establishment of a group-wide general and a compliance consultation service, the prevalence of power and sexual harassment was lower than in companies with lower awareness. However, no difference in the prevalence of power harassment by the employee recognition level could be confirmed with the dissemination of messages by top management, establishment of rules through employment regulations, and the establishment of a consultation service in the company. Regarding organizational climate, the incidence of power and sexual harassment was lower in companies where more than 80% of employees perceived high levels of civility, psychological safety, and role clarity. In addition, the higher the percentage of employees who were aware of the harassment prevention measures implemented by the company, the higher the percentage of employees who felt favorable changes in themselves, their surroundings, and their workplace. Discussion and Conclusion: The harassment rate tended to be lower in companies where more employees were aware of the implementation of anti-harassment measures. The fact that the rate of harassment was lower in companies where there was role clarity and many employees felt psychologically safe suggests that measures focusing on the organizational climate may also be effective in preventing harassment.