Biomedical subjects

L Grunberg

Publications and source records attributed to L Grunberg.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2001

Differences in psychological and physical health among layoff survivors: the effect of layoff contact.

This study examined health and well-being among workers who have experienced varying types of contact with layoffs in an organization undergoing downsizing. Using survey data from a large organization employing both white- and blue-collar workers (N = 2,279), the authors argued that there are important differences among surviving workers as a function of their layoff experiences. Having any kind of personal contact with layoffs is found to be associated with less job security, more symptoms of poor health, depression, and eating changes as compared with having no layoff contact. Being laid off and rehired is associated with more work-related injuries and illnesses and missed work days due to such events than is receiving a "warn" notice, indirect contact (i.e., friends or coworkers laid off), or no contact with layoffs. Job security partially mediates the relationship between type of layoff contact experiences and health.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2000

The relationships between alcohol problems and well-being, work attitudes, and performance: are they monotonic?

PURPOSE: Investigators who have examined the relationship between work characteristics and off-the-job alcohol consumption or problems have typically assumed a linear or monotonic relationship (e.g., as work pressures increase, so do alcohol consumption and problems). In the present study, we examine this monotonicity assumption by investigating the nature of the relationships between alcohol problems and multiple demographic, work attitude, well-being, and work performance variables. METHOD: Survey data and data from company records were collected from a large sample of blue- and white-collar employees (N = 2,279). Participation was voluntary, confidential, and compensated with a $20 payment. RESULTS: Evidence for several different types of statistical relationships between alcohol problems and other variables were found through both analyses of variance (ANOVA) and covariance (ANCOVA). There were several variables that were linearly related to alcohol problems. There was also some support for a "threshold" effect where only the most problematic drinkers (2.6% of sample) showed declines on job attitude and general well-being indices. In some cases, those who drank but report no alcohol problems showed significantly more positive job and life attitudes than either those who abstained or those who had relatively more alcohol problems. IMPLICATIONS: We conclude that strict linearly based relationships might not necessarily explain the work-to-drink relationship most effectively.

Adult↗

PubMed1999

Work stress and self-reported alcohol use: the moderating role of escapist reasons for drinking.

This study examines the moderating role of escapist reasons for drinking alcohol in the job stress/self-reported alcohol use and problems relationship. It was hypothesized that higher levels of job stress would be associated with higher levels of self-reported drinking (H1) and drinking problems (H2) only for those who endorsed escapist reasons for drinking. For those who did not hold such beliefs, higher levels of job stress were predicted to be associated with lower self-reported alcohol intake (H3) and problems (H4). Survey data from white- and blue-collar workers employed across all paycodes and positions were collected randomly at a large manufacturing organization (62% response rate). Participants responded to questions concerning work stress, reasons for drinking, alcohol intake, and alcohol problems. Using only nonabstainers with complete data (N = 1,645), results from regression analyses generally supported all hypotheses.

Adult↗

PubMed1995

Work alienation and problem alcohol behavior.

Using a sample of production workers from union, nonunion, producer cooperative, and employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) wood products mills in the Northwest, we test the general proposition that work alienation, defined as low job autonomy, low use of capacities, and lack of participation in decision-making in the workplace, is associated with heavy drinking and negative consequences from drinking. We find that the general proposition is supported, but that the pathways tend to be indirect rather than direct, mediated by feelings of job satisfaction and respondents' beliefs about the utility of drinking as a means of coping.

Adult↗

PubMed1984

Productivity and safety in worker cooperatives and conventional firms.

This paper examines the relationship between productivity and workers' safety in firms characterized by very different types of relations in production. Arguments are developed to explain why worker cooperatives are expected to have higher productivity and lower accident rates than conventional capitalist firms. Workers who own and control their firms are expected to have a greater incentive to be efficient and a greater ability to safeguard their health than workers employed under hierarchical and alienating conditions. The hypotheses are tested by comparing carefully matched conventional and cooperative plywood companies. Preliminary results suggest that while cooperatives may be more productive they are not safer, indicating the limits of the isolated cooperative form in capitalist market economies.

Accident Prevention↗

PubMed1983

The Rh antigen Tar (Rh40) causing haemolytic disease of the newborn.

Haemolytic disease of the newborn (HDN), in the fifth child of an Israeli of Moroccan origin, disclosed anti-Tar in the serum of the mother. This anti-Tar, the second reported example, is the first to cause HDN and was stimulated by previous pregnancies. Tests on blood from the family show that the Tar antigen in this family is associated with a CDe complex which gives rise to a weak expression of the D antigen. A study of 1327 donors in Jerusalem revealed one Tar + propositus.

Coombs Test↗

PubMed1983

The effects of the social relations of production on productivity and workers' safety: an ignored set of relationships.

This paper considers the interrelationships between the social relations of production, workers' safety, and the productivity of labor. The argument is that the social relations of production directly influence the intensity of labor (one facet of labor productivity), which in turn influences the rate of industrial accidents (one aspect of workers' safety). These relationships are illustrated with data from a carefully controlled comparison between two Chrysler plants in Europe in 1976 (Poissy in France and Ryton in England). The data are from internal company sources and are considered very reliable. The data show that Poissy had a higher labor productivity than Ryton, although both made the same car. This is partly accounted for by differences in the intensity of labor at the two plants. The evidence strongly suggests that a key reason for this difference lies in the contrasting nature of the social relations of production at the two plants. Ryton workers were better organized and more militant on the shop floor than were Poissy workers. Finally, it was found that the accident rate was about sixty times higher at Poissy than at Ryton, which provides strong support for the interrelationships proposed.

Accidents, Occupational↗