Early online

  • Frequencies of manual hazardous tasks and related workload in kilograms performed by Registered Nurses and Healthcare Assistants working in Residential Aged Care Facilities (2024-03-15)
    Joerg Kussmaul Kathy Peri Michal Boyd

    Working in Residential Aged Care Facilities (RACFs) is associated with high physical and mental workload for Registered Nurses (RNs) and Healthcare Assistants (HCAs). In particular, workplace-related injuries often accompany manual hazardous tasks that include lifting, holding, carrying, pushing, and pulling. This research aimed to investigate the frequency of manual hazardous tasks and respective physical workloads in kilograms conducted by RNs and HCAs according to shifts and RACF providers to demonstrate the risk level for workplace-related injuries and overloading of the human musculoskeletal system.


    Our research showed that RNs implemented 10 high-risk nursing actions and moved 546 kilograms of weight, whereas HCAs experienced a physical workload of 1,175 kilograms and 18 manual hazardous tasks per shift. HCAs are exposed to a 53 per cent higher physical workload and implement 80 per cent more manual hazardous tasks than RNs per shift. The most intense work demand for RNs was during the night shift, while for HCAs, it was the morning shift.

  • Finding and using reliable “grey literature”: A commentary (2024-10-23)
    Chris Peace

    If a health and safety practitioner aspires to be regarded as a professional, they need to be or become “critical consumers” of research, including grey literature that can inform a risk assessment or decision. However, some free-to-access grey literature may be of variable reliability. As part of a continuing research project, some sources of grey literature believed to be reliable are identified and criteria are suggested to enable judgement of reliability of grey literature. A downloadable set of bibliographic records of some grey literature is described that will help search for potentially relevant, reliable documents.

  • Health and Wellbeing Effects of Working from Home: An Overview of Systematic Reviews (2025-02-25)
    Roya Gorjifard Steve J Bowe Stephen Blumenfeld Christopher Peace Joanne O Crawford

    Working from home (WFH) or teleworking using information technology (IT) has enabled employees to work flexibly away from their employer’s location, part-time or full-time; a practice known as hybrid working. Although few publications have systematically reviewed the effects of WFH on the health and wellbeing of teleworkers, no overview has been published of the collective state of knowledge. This paper addresses that research gap. We reviewed eight systematic reviews published between 2011 and 2022, focusing on knowledge workers who worked in an office or other locations using IT for communication. We developed a comprehensive framework by employing the Job Demand Resource theory (JD-R) in our narrative synthesis for reviewing and theorising WFH/hybrid working. Our findings identified resources that improved productivity and demands that affected health and wellbeing by reduced job satisfaction and increased work and emotional exhaustion. The framework suggests WFH/hybrid working as a model with its resources and demands. Our findings contribute to the advancement of theoretical knowledge and would also enable informed policies, practices, and decisions about hybrid working with an evidence-based framework. It has practical implications for developing the health and wellbeing of hybrid workers and insight for future research.