Iranian Journal of Ergonomics

Introduction: While great efforts have been made to determine the quality of life in hospital staffs, few studies have been conducted to identify the effective factors on the quality of life of these employees. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between workload and quality of life in hospital personnel.

Material and Methods: In this descriptive-analytical study, 200 staffs were selected randomly from two large hospitals of Tehran University of medical sciences (Imam Khomeini and Shariati hospitals). The data collecting tools were three questionnaires including demographic characteristics, quality of life (SF-36), and NASA-TLX workload. SPSS software (version 18.0) was used to analyze the data by descriptive statistics, and Pearson and Spearman correlation tests.

Results: Based on the findings of the study, the mean total scores of the quality of life and the workload were 50±18 and 69.7±13.9, respectively. The results revealed significant reduction in all dimensions of quality of life in nurses compared with laboratory and operating room staffs. Meanwhile the nurses’ workload scores were higher than the two aforementioned groups (p = 0.001). Moreover, there was a significant inverse relationship between workload and quality of life in hospital staffs (P=0.004, r = -.306).

Introduction: In many sensitive and sophisticated workplaces, human errors are very important. Many events occur annually around the world is evidence to confirm error due to the data processing operators. The main goal of this study was to investigate human information processing models and workload demands on human operators, then developing a regression model for this purpose.

Material and Methods: This was a case study. Task analysis of control room members, including shift supervisor, board man, and site man and user instrumentation in this study was investigated. Data collection was performed by interviewing employees using a questionnaire with two parts the first part was the model of human information processing and the second part was workload NASA–TLX and an appendix of opinions existing staffing level and finally task analysis performed using SPSS 16 – SPSS.

Results: There was a correlation between workload and stages of human information processing model such as perception )r=0.65, p<0.01), vocal response (r=0.45, p<0.01) and manual response (r=0.15, p<0.05). Some effective factors on workload were vocal response (β=0.232, p=0.033) and perception (β=0.576, p=0.00). The most important factors in the analysis of anticipation staffing demand were perception (β=2.514, p=0.008), workload (β=1.57, p=0.018) and vocal responses (β=2.428, p=0.01), respectively.

Discussion and Conclusion: Increasing concentration and attention and perception skills using psychological measures including decreasing the workload and stress and holding specialized training courses are necessary.

Introduction: Faculty and staff are the pillars of any university. Any impairment in the function of these elements would undoubtedly decrease the quality of education and training services provided. The present study aimed to assess the relationship between subjective workload and job satisfaction in faculty and staff members of universities of medical sciences and universities affiliated to the Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology.

Materials and Methods: This descriptive-analytical study recruited 164 faculty and staff members. Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire, NASA Task Load Index (NASA TLX), and the Job Description Index (JDI). One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was applied to analyze the data.

Findings: The participants’ workload had no significant effects on their job satisfaction. Faculty members generally had a heavier workload and lower level of job satisfaction compared to staff members. Moreover, faculty of universities of medical sciences had higher workload and lower levels of job satisfaction (14.5% vs. 30.76%) in comparison to faculty of universities affiliated to the Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology. Moreover, 14.5% of the medical faculty members and 30.76% of science faculty members were satisfied with their jobs. Overall, job satisfaction and workload were not significantly related with demographic characteristics and job features of the participants.

Conclusion: Among the various subscales of workload, faculty members reported high levels of subjective pressure, time pressure, and effort. Therefore, further studies are required to identify the causes of such pressures and introduce measures for their reduction or elimination.

Introduction: Improving the quality of work life requires a certain organizational culture that supports creativity, autonomy, accountability, and employee participation. The present study investigated the relationship between organizational culture and employees’ quality of work life.

Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional and correlational study was conducted in 2015. A total of 145 staff members of all deputies of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences were selected. Organizational culture and quality of work life were measured using previously designed self-administered questionnaires. Items of the questionnaires were scared on a Likert scale. Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated to analyze the data. All analyses were performed by SPSS.

Results: A moderate level of organizational culture was detected in this study (mean score = 3.04). Organizational culture and its components had significant positive correlations with quality of work life (r = 0.64; P = 0.001). Linear regression analysis confirmed the significant positive effects of organizational culture on quality of work life.

Conclusion: Based on the findings of the present study, modification of organizational culture and its components is necessary for improving personnel’s quality of work life, job satisfaction, and participation. Development of appropriate organizational culture can ensure higher quality of work life among university staff and enhance the quality and productivity of academic services.

Background: Attention to the workstations of the employees and their quality of work life has become increasingly important due to the increased competition in the organizations. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between the ergonomic situation of the workstations and musculoskeletal disorders with the quality of work life and demographic variables in the administrative staff of the Tehran Municipality. 
Methods: The present study was a descriptive and analytical one. The statistical population included a total of 600 persons, working in one of the regions in the Tehran Municipality. Of the 600 staff, a total of 255 were selected as the available sample group. The instruments consisted of the questionnaires, including the individual and occupational information, the Nordic questionnaire, the Walton Quality of work life, and the checklist of the ergonomic indices of the working environment for the administrative staff. In order to analyze the data, Student’s t-test and multiple regression analysis were used.
Results: In this study, the majority of the samples were females (56.9%) with a mean age of 33 years. A significant positive relationship was observed between all the ergonomic indices and the quality of work life. Significant correlations among the parameters such as age, education, sleeping at night, psychological conditions, musculoskeletal disorders of the neck, shoulder, and foot were observed simultaneously with the quality of work life. The quality of work life of an employee could be predicted through the musculoskeletal disorders and demographic variables but could not be predicted by the ergonomic indicators. 
Conclusion: In this study, a relationship existed between the ergonomic condition of the workstations and musculoskeletal disorders with the quality of work life and demographic variables. Therefore, the physical condition and the quality of the work life of the employees would be positively affected by the improvement of the ergonomic condition of the workstations. 

Background and Objectives: Psychosocial factors are among the factors affecting employee productivity. Since few studies have been done in this field, this study was conducted to investigate the relationship between psychosocial factors regarding productivity.
Methods: This cross-sectional and descriptive-analytical study was conducted in 2020 among 105 employees of a food distribution company in Ahvaz. Data collection tools included demographic information questionnaire, Copenhagen Psychosocial Factors Questionnaire (COPSOQ) and Goldsmith Hershey Productivity Questionnaire. Independent t-test, one-way analysis of variance and Pearson correlation coefficient were used to investigate the relationship between variables.
Results: The results showed that there was no significant relationship between any of the demographic variables with the score of psychosocial factors and productivity (P> 0.05). Psychosocial factor 2 has a negative and significant relationship with the average score of productivity, ability, role clarity, organizational support, motivation, feedback and credibility. And psychosocial factor 4 has a negative and significant relationship with motivation. The mean score of psychosocial factors, factor 1 and 3 showed a positive and significant relationship with the mean score of productivity, ability, role clarity, organizational support, motivation, feedback and credibility.
Conclusion: Considering the role of psychosocial factors on employee' productivity, it is necessary to consider organizational interventions in order to control effective psychosocial factors. More attention to psychosocial factors in the workplace can play an effective role in the efficiency and productivity of employees and the organization.