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Bakgrund: Arbetsmiljön på akutmottagningen är komplex och ständigt föränderlig. Sjuksköterskan förväntas hantera ett högt inflöde av patienter med varierande omvårdnadsbehov och allvarlighetsgrad. I takt med en allt högre arbetsbelastning, överbelagda sjukhus, långa väntetider och sjuksköterskebrist är det angeläget att tydliggöra hur sjuksköterskans arbetsmiljö på akutmottagningen ser ut och vad det har betydelse för patientsäkerheten. Syfte: Studiens syfte var att sammanställa forskning om sjuksköterskans arbetsmiljö på akutmottagningen med särskilt fokus på patientsäkerhet. Metod: Studien genomfördes som en beskrivande litteraturstudie baserad på 14 vetenskapliga artiklar. Artiklarna söktes i Pubmed och Cinahl samt via sekundär sökning. Resultatet: Genom att identifiera och kategorisera mönster och centrala teman i artiklarna kunde bärande aspekter passande syftet sammanställas. Analysen resulterade i två huvudområden: ”Sjuksköterskans arbetsmiljö på akutmottagningen” och ”Arbetsmiljöns betydelse för patientsäkerheten”. I sjuksköterskans arbetsmiljö framträdde sex faktorer som presenteras med underrubrikerna: arbetsbelastning, erfarenhet/kompetens, teamarbete, kommunikation, avbrott/störningar och ledning/organisation. Slutsats: Flera faktorer i sjuksköterskans arbetsmiljö på akutmottagningen har betydelse för patientsäkerheten. Faktorer som hög arbetsbelastning kan ses som både positivt och negativt beroende på sjuksköterskans kompetens, erfarenhet och personlighet. Vidare är tydlig organisatorisk ansvarsfördelning, ett välfungerande teamarbete med rak och riktad kommunikation av betydelse för arbetsmiljön och patientsäkerheten. När patientsäkerheten äventyras är det ofta brister i en eller flera arbetsmiljöfaktorer. Om nämnda faktorer är välfungerande finns förutsättningar för en god arbetsmiljö vilket gynnar vårdkvaliteten samt personalens arbetsglädje. / Abstract: The working environment within emergency care is complex and constantly changing. The nurse is expected to handle high inflows of patients with variety of severity and care needs. In keeping with increasing workload, overcrowded hospitals, long waiting times and lack of nurses it is important to clarify the nurse´s work environment in emergency care and its influence on patients’ safety. Purpose: The purpose of the study was to compile nurse´s working environment research within the emergency department with a particular focus on patient’s safety. Method: The study was conducted as a descriptive literature study based on 14 scientific articles. The articles referenced were searched in Pubmed and Cinahl, as well as via a secondary search. Results: By identifying and categorizing patterns and key themes in the articles, fundamental aspects could be compiled. The analysis resulted in two main areas: “Nurse´s working environment within emergency departments” and “the work environments influence on patients’ safety”. In the nurses working environment, six different influencing factors are described; workload, experience, teamwork, communication, interruptions and organization. Conclusion: Several factors in the nurse's work environment within emergency care are important for patient safety. Factors like high workload can be both positive and negative depending on the nurse's skills, experience and personality. Furthermore, clear organizational allocation of responsibilities, well-functioning teamwork and objective, direct communication is of importance to the work environment and patient safety. There are often shortcomings in one or more work environments where the patient’s safety is compromised. The presence of well - functioning factors in the work environment provide beneficial conditions for quality of patient care and staff satisfaction.

Magister Educationis (Adult Learning and Global Change) - MEd(AL) / This study investigated the attitudes and responses of male employees to the implemention of the Gender Equity Strategy and considered the implementation for the development of a gender education and training intervention. The study investigated the initial resistance to the introduction and implementation of the Gender Equity Strategy at the Polymer Plant by male employees. / South Africa

The present study sought to investigate the effects of a Standard workstation, designed for “average” users, on an anthropometrically diverse sample of computer operators, and to assess whether physical and perceptual responses, as well as performance efficiency were dependent on stature. Further investigation assessed the influence of personalised adjustments to the Standard workstation, based on the anthropometric characteristics of the subjects, as well as the introduction of a custom-designed ‘floating’ wrist support, on subject responses. All subjects (n=30) were tested in each of the three workstations: Standard, Personalised and Wrist Support. For analysis of responses in the Standard workstation, subjects were divided into three groups depending on their stature: Short (<1650mm), Medium (1650mm to 1800mm), Tall (>1800mm). The musculoskeletal responses indicated that Tall subjects were forced to adopt the most awkward general body postures as a result of the low computer screen. However, the low screen allowed for the Short subjects to adopt the most natural general body postures, although levels of muscular activity in the upper trapezius suggest that the muscular load imposed on both Short and Tall subjects was significantly greater than that imposed on the Medium subjects. In addition, the Medium subjects’ perceptions of the Standard workstation dimensions support the fact that this workstation was better suited to users with “average” morphologies. The responses elicited in the Personalised and Wrist Support workstations were improved significantly when compared to the Standard workstation. Joint angles were more natural, upper trapezius EMG was reduced, standard of performance improved and perceptual responses indicated a diminished incidence of body and visual discomfort, as well as greater perceived satisfaction with these workstation dimensions. The improved physical responses suggest a decrease in the risk of developing cumulative trauma disorders. Although subjects were unaccustomed to the wrist support device, this workstation demonstrated a further reduction in the range of wrist angles, as well as a general positive attitude towards the concept.

Bakgrund: Intensivvårdssjuksköterskor upplever intensivvårdsavdelningen som en stressfylld arbetsplats. Patienterna är svårt sjuka och akuta situationer kan hastigt uppstå. Miljön är högteknologisk och har stundvis ett högt tempo. Tidigare stressforskning har visat att en ökad stressnivå har en negativ inverkan på hälsan. Stresshantering utgår ifrån problemfokuserade – eller känslofokuserade copingstrategier. Syfte: Att beskriva de faktorer som stressar intensivvårdssjuksköterskor, samt hur de upplever och hanterar denna stress. Metod: En kvalitativ ansats med fokusgruppsintervjuer. Fem intensivvårdssjuksköterskor deltog. Intervjun var ostrukturerad med två öppna frågor. Materialet analyserades med hjälp av kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultat: Tre huvudkategorier och tio subkategorier framkom. Huvudkategorierna bestod av; Upplevda stressorer, Känslor och upplevelser av stress och Förmåga att hantera stress. Under intervjun framkom att stress framkallades under vissa arbetssituationer och i viss arbetsmiljö. Detta väckte känslor av frustration och maktlöshet hos intensivvårdssjuksköterskorna. Intensivvårdssjuksköterskorna använde en rad olika copingstrategier såsom till exempel att söka stöd samt planera och organisera sitt arbete, för att hantera stressfulla situationer. Slutsats: Det framkomna resultatet visade att intensivvårdssjuksköterskorna upplevde känslan av att varken räcka till eller kunna påverka sin arbetssituation. Detta ledde i sin tur till frustration och stress hos intensivvårdssjuksköterskorna. Trots detta fanns en hög nivå av trivsel. För att hantera den uppkomna stressen valde intensivvårdssjuksköterskorna att söka stöd hos varandra som den främsta copingstrategin Klinisk betydelse: Framkommen kunskap ur denna uppsats kan vara av betydelse för yrkesverksamma intensivvårdssjuksköterskor och deras arbetsmiljö. Även chefer kan ha användning av denna kunskap för att kunna organisera och ge intensivvårdssjuksköterskor stöd. / Background: Intensive care nurses perceive the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) as a stressful workplace. Patients are critically ill and emergency situations can occur quickly. The environment is high-tech and occasionally a high tempo. Previous stress research has shown that increased levels of stress have a negative impact on health. Stress management is based on problem-focused - or emotion-focused coping strategies. The Aim: To describe the factors that stress critical care nurses, and how they experience and cope with this stress. Method: A qualitative approach with focus group interviews. Five critical care nurses participated. The interview was unstructured with two open questions. The material was analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Results: Three main categories and ten subcategories emerged. The main categories consisted of: Perceived stressors, feelings and experiences of stress and ability to handle stress. During the interview revealed that stress was induced in certain work situations and in particular working environment. This caused feelings of frustration and powerlessness in ICU nurses. Critical care nurses used a variety of coping strategies such as seeking support and plan and organize their work, to cope with stressful situations. Conclusion: It originated results showed that intensive care nurses experienced the feeling of not enough or able to influence their work situation. This in turn led to frustration and stress among critical care nurses. Although this was a high level of comfort. To cope with the present stress chose critical care nurses to seek support from each other as the primary coping strategy Clinical significance: Arrived knowledge from this study may be important for professional’s intensive care nurses and their work environment. Although managers could use this knowledge to organize and provide critical care nurses support.

Please read the abstract in the section 00front of this document / Dissertation (MSc (Interior Merchandise Management))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Consumer Science / unrestricted

In recent years, there has been increasing concern that gender bias has prevented women from advancing as rapidly and as frequently as men into management positions. Although the number of women managers has increased, they may experience difficulty moving into upper management positions. The purpose of our research was to study employee gender perception of key variables of women and the positions held in high technology companies. In this research, phenomenological research method was chosen, because the aim of it is to determine what the experience means for the people who have experienced it. Based on the collected data, answers and experiences, structural analysis was done in order to find out the major phenomena of gender perceptions. A number of variables uncover the perception of aspects of policy and gender and barriers that may affect female employees' opportunities for advancement. Using a sample of 30 full-time employees from Company A, the results indicated that position held was significantly different for male and female employees. The results also indicated that neither male nor female employees appeared to notice the apparent perceptions apparently as a glass ceiling within their company and the Implications discussed and recommendations provided. With reference to the Empirical research, this paper increases the knowledge about women’s career development and provides recommendations how to deal with it. It is also expected that this thesis will be helpful to all women who are in the labour market for their career development and advancement.

The global working environment has altered dramatically over the last decade, with the workforce now consisting of a diverse assortment of individuals. South Africa, in particular, has had to face major challenges as it adapts to the newly conceived "Rainbow Nation". It has also had to make amends for inequalities bred by the past discrimination and the segregation of Apartheid. Prior to this, businesses in general, were inward-looking in that they did not have to comply with or conform to the changing trends found in the international arena. Suddenly, issues such as Black Economic Empowerment, Affirmative Action, gender, age, faith and preferred sexual orientation have had to be accommodated as the new Employment Equity Act of 1998 was promulgated. Each individual coming into the workplace has his or her own cosmological, ontological and epistemological view, and although this facilitates a positive contribution by individuals with regard to varying ideas, skills, talents and expertise, more often than not, the reality is that the differences that exist within a staff complement often result in conflict. Furthermore, South Africa exhibits deep-rooted, social conflict as a result of the oppression of the apartheid years. Unemployment, poverty, poor education and service deliveries are far from being satisfactorily addressed. Therefore, it is assumed that unmet/frustrated basic human needs, as defined in Abraham Maslow‘s "Hierarchy of Needs", play a role in causing conflict both in the workplace and in society. It was felt that basic human needs, as articulated, had not been researched as a cause of workplace conflict and this research will explore the part that frustrated human needs may play in organisational conflict, alongside diversity conflicts.

Social media is fast becoming an ever-increasingly significant part of the world of business and a phenomenon which cannot be evaded. The advent of social media in the workplace compels organisations to acclimatise to the transformation emanating from employees‟ adoption of these technologies (Hanaki & Casella, 2008). Approximately seventy percent of organisations do not have a social media governance framework in place (Fink et al., 2011). Social media governance in organisations is very disjointed; companies have varying stances as to social media strategy, the risks, benefits and business use of social media (Thompson et al., 2011). The growth of social media and its use in the business environment will see a more standardised approach to social media governance (Thompson et al., 2011). Being at the forefront of technology development in Africa, and in certain areas, globally (Government of the Republic of South Africa, 2012), places added emphasis on IT organisations in South Africa to set the standard as it relates to social media governance. The diversity and depth of the human and technology resources within these organisations, creates an environment conducive to establishing and pioneering sound social media governance structures. The treatise consists of a study on the governance of social media and the successive development of two frameworks; an integrated framework for the governance of social media in the workplace, as well as integrated framework for a social media policy within an IT organisation. These frameworks are empirically evaluated amongst employees, within the context of Information Technology (IT) organisations, in South Africa. Several recommendations are proposed by the author in relation to the adoption of the proposed frameworks.

Compassion fatigue är ett psykiskt och fysiskt tillstånd som utvecklas över tid när sjuksköterskan känner medkänsla och empati för sina patienter, då resultatet visar att stödjande insatser kan hjälpa att förebygga tillståndet hos sjuksköterskor borde detta fenomen lyftas fram. Compassion fatigue kan påverka sjuksköterskans koncentrations- och bedömningsförmåga och resultera i att olika misstag i arbetet begås. Compassion fatigue är ett problem för sjukvården i stort, eftersom tillståndet påverkar omvårdnaden, arbetssituationen samt den enskilda sjuksköterskan negativt. Syftet med litteraturstudien var att belysa compassion fatigue ur ett sjuksköterskeperspektiv, i vilken studiens teoretiska utgångspunkt var Joyce Travelbees interaktionsteori. Studien genomfördes som en allmän litteraturstudie, databassökning gjordes systematiskt med sökord som var relevanta för syftet. Litteraturstudien baserades på tre kvalitativa och åtta kvantitativa artiklar som analyserades och kvalitetsgranskades. Resultatet visade att Bidragande orsaker till compassion fatigue, Upplevelser relaterat till compassion fatigue och Att förebygga compassion fatigue. Med en insikt om att hög arbetsbelastning och en hög stressnivå hos sjuksköterskor kan leda till compassion fatigue går det att arbeta preventivt, vilket är det mest effektiva. Detta skulle bespara både vårdpersonal och patienter lidande och förbättra kvaliteten i omvårdnaden. Vidare forskning skulle kunna ligga till grund för fortsatt förbättringsarbete inom klinisk verksamhet. / Compassion fatigue is a mental and physical condition that develops over time when the nurse feels compassion and empathy for her patients, since the results show that supportive interventions can help prevent the condition, this phenomenon should be emphasized. Compassion fatigue can lead to changes in the nurse's ability to concentrate and judge and result in various mistakes in the work. Compassion fatigue is a major concern for healthcare as the condition adversely affects the nursing, the work situation and the individual nurse. The purpose of the literature study was to emphasize compassion fatigue from a nursing perspective, in which the theoretical starting point of the study was Joyce Travelbee's interaction theory. The study was conducted as a general literature study, database search was done systematically with keywords that were relevant to the aim. The literature study was based on three qualitative and eight quantitative articles that were analyzed and quality-reviewed. The results show Contributing causes of Compassion Fatigue, Experiences Related to Fatigue and Preventing Compassion Fatigue. With an insight that high workload and a high levels of stress in nurses can lead to compassion fatigue, one can work preventively, which is most effective. This would save both healthcare and patients suffering and improving the quality of nursing care. Further research could provide a basis for continued improvement work in clinical operations.