Associations between workers' health,and non-standard hours and insecurity: the case of home care workers in Ontario,Canada |
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Authors: | Isik U. Zeytinoglu Margaret Denton Jennifer Plenderleith James Chowhan |
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Affiliation: | 1. DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canadazeytino@mcmaster.ca;3. Department of Health, Aging and Society, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada;4. DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada |
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Abstract: | This article examines associations between home care workers' health, and non-standard hours and insecurity. Health refers to symptoms of stress and musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), non-standard hours refer to part-time and casual hours, and insecurity refers to job and employability insecurity. Data come from our 2002 survey of 532 home care workers (nurses, therapists and personal support workers) in a medium-sized city in Ontario, Canada. Path analysis regression results for the conceptual model show that (1) part-time and casual hours and job insecurity are positively and significantly associated with symptoms of stress, (2) the associations between part-time and casual hours and MSDs are mediated by symptoms of stress, and (3) job and employability insecurity are directly associated with MSDs. Results provide evidence that non-standard hours and insecurity must be addressed in order to improve home care workers' health. We show the detrimental effects of non-standard hours and insecurity on workers' health, and the results have implications for employers, human resource managers, trade unionists and government policy-makers. |
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Keywords: | employability insecurity home care job insecurity musculoskeletal disorders non-standard hours symptoms of stress |
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