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BMC Health Services Research
Published in: BMC Health Services Research 1/2017

Open Access 01-12-2017 | Research article

Health and safety matters! Associations between organizational practices and personal support workers’ life and work stress in Ontario, Canada

Authors: Isik U. Zeytinoglu, Margaret Denton, Catherine Brookman, Sharon Davies, Firat K. Sayin

Published in: BMC Health Services Research | Issue 1/2017

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Abstract

Background

The home and community care sector is one of the fastest growing sectors globally and most prominently in mature industrialized countries. Personal support workers (PSWs) are the largest occupational group in the sector. This paper focuses on the emotional health of PSWs working in the home and community care sector in Ontario, Canada. The purpose of this paper is to present evidence on the associations between PSWs’ life and work stress and organizational practices of full-time and guaranteed hours, and PSWs’ perceptions of support at work and preference for hours.

Methods

Data come from our 2015 survey of 1543 PSWs. Dependent variables are life and work stress. Independent variables are: objective organizational practices of full-time and guaranteed hours, and subjective organizational practices of perceived support at work, and preferred hours of work. Descriptive statistics, correlations and ordinary least square regression analyses with collinearity tests are conducted.

Results

Organizational practices of employing PSWs in full-time or guaranteed hours are not associated with their life and work stress. However, those who perceive support from their organizations are also the ones reporting lower life and work stress. In addition, those PSWs perceiving support from their supervisor report lower work stress. PSWs would like to work in their preferred hours, and those who prefer to work more hours report lower life and work stress, and conversely, those who prefer to work less hours report life and work stress.

Conclusion

For PSWs in home and community care, perceived support from their organizations and supervisors, and employment in preferred hours are important factors related to their life and work stress.
Footnotes
1
This number is a composite derived from information collected from a variety of sources, including reports on long-term care facilities, employer and association websites and relevant studies. Three factors may affect its accuracy. 1) The number of PSWs hired privately, making total employment potentially higher. 2) Some individuals who perform the same core tasks as many PSWs may work under other job titles and, therefore, not identify with the occupational group. This would reduce the reported size of the workforce. 3) Some employers record full-time equivalent (FTE) positions rather than full-time staff. This potentially inflates their ‘head-count’ where, for example, a single PSW could pick up double shifts for one or more employers.
 
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Metadata
Title
Health and safety matters! Associations between organizational practices and personal support workers’ life and work stress in Ontario, Canada
Authors
Isik U. Zeytinoglu
Margaret Denton
Catherine Brookman
Sharon Davies
Firat K. Sayin
Publication date
01-12-2017
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Health Services Research / Issue 1/2017
Electronic ISSN: 1472-6963
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-017-2355-4

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