Exploratory Study to Identify Workload Factors that have an Impact on Health and Safety – A Case Study in the Service Sector
The IRSST just published an exploratory study that try to further understanding of workload by examining work activity within a dynamic context involving individuals, their occupational activities and their organizational environment. The IRSST is a CIS Collaborating Centre in Canada.
22 July 2011
The study was financed by the IRSST and did not attempt to document either work overload or underload, but rather to understand the phenomenon on the basis of actual work situations.
To achieve the overarching objective, the researchers pursued three secondary objectives:
- to define the components of workload;
- to identify the factors that have either a direct or an indirect impact on workload; and
- to ensure knowledge transfer to the workplace community.
Given the exploratory nature of this research project, it involved a single case study. However, it fits into a broader process aimed at conceptualizing the workload phenomenon holistically and in all its complexity.
A reference model was developed on the basis of a literature review. It is designed to approach workload through the daily reality experienced by workers, and thus examines it in terms of three main components: prescribed workload (imposed constraints), actual workload (actual restraints) and perceived workload. This preliminary model provides a framework for reflection as well as a reference for analyzing actual workload.
The new types of work organization could have negative impacts on individuals (fatigue, chronic stress, musculoskeletal disorders, etc.) just as on establishments (absenteeism, personnel turnover, etc.), which want to better understand the phenomenon in order to establish appropriate management measures. The scientific literature designates the workload as a common denominator in this case, except that evidence on the conceptualization of this phenomenon is limited and does not take into account its complexity. To define and characterize it according to a systematic approach, the researchers attempted to determine its scope as well as the underlying dynamics and organizational processes. The results of this exploratory and descriptive study will be disseminated in the form of a summary fact sheet explaining the overall phenomenon of workload.
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