ABSTRACT
Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to investigate managers' experiences of managing work environment and risks during the Covid-19 pandemic and to explore how managers might use these experiences to develop future risk management. Design/methodology/approach: Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 18 Swedish managers at different hierarchical levels working in 11 different organizations. A directed content analysis was carried out, informed by theory on risk management. Finding(s): The results point to the pandemic as a societal crisis which workplaces needed to manage through large means of improvisation. Regular work environment routines were put to the test, and several deficiencies in the work environment and risk management were identified. Organizations that handle occupational safety and risks on a daily basis through established routines were less affected and could easier adjust work environment and risk management, compared to organizations prioritizing the social and organizational work environment, which had to re-prioritize and start paying more attention to the physical work environment and to bring risk management into their daily routines. Originality/value: The study offers an account of how managers in different labor market sectors in Sweden have acted in the midst of the pandemic by handling real-time crises, how these experiences can be used for engaging in retrospective learning and how this may imply changes to their prospective risk management. Copyright © 2022, Cathrine Reineholm, Christian Stahl and Daniel Lundqvist.
ABSTRACT
Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to investigate managers' experiences of managing work environment and risks during the Covid-19 pandemic and to explore how managers might use these experiences to develop future risk management. Design/methodology/approach: Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 18 Swedish managers at different hierarchical levels working in 11 different organizations. A directed content analysis was carried out, informed by theory on risk management. Findings: The results point to the pandemic as a societal crisis which workplaces needed to manage through large means of improvisation. Regular work environment routines were put to the test, and several deficiencies in the work environment and risk management were identified. Organizations that handle occupational safety and risks on a daily basis through established routines were less affected and could easier adjust work environment and risk management, compared to organizations prioritizing the social and organizational work environment, which had to re-prioritize and start paying more attention to the physical work environment and to bring risk management into their daily routines. Originality/value: The study offers an account of how managers in different labor market sectors in Sweden have acted in the midst of the pandemic by handling real-time crises, how these experiences can be used for engaging in retrospective learning and how this may imply changes to their prospective risk management.
ABSTRACT
Rationale: The general purpose of the LIFANA Solution is to support a healthy diet and nutrition through all phases of ageing in elderly people, from active seniors to elderly users and patients in need of daily care. LIFANA provides a personalized meal plan that helps users to prevent undernutrition or overweight. Methods: We planned 3 long-term field trials of 12 months each (Portugal-PT, The Netherlands-NL, Switzerland-CH) to determine the acceptance of the LIFANA solution and its effectiveness regarding the improvement on quality of diet, markers related to health outcomes, well-being, as well as potential effects related to budgeting. The two field trials with free-living subjects are carried out in Portugal (60 subjects) and The Netherlands (2 x 100 subjects), the trial with hospitalized subjects in Switzerland (20 patients). In order to evaluate the effect of the LIFANA solution, a multivariate statistical model (SPSS. vs. 25, IBBM, Chicaco, IL) was developed with participant and time as the fixed factors and with weight, BMI, waist-circumference systolic and diastolic blood pressure as the observed parameters (for PT, also hip-cicumference, waist/hip ratio, body-fat, body-water and fat-mass were included). A p-value of 0.05 was considered significant (2-sided). Results: In 2019, a total of 63 subjects with overweight and obesity started the trial (PT 38, BMI 26.1±3.6 kg/m2, age 68.1±5.5 y;NL 14, BMI 25.5±2.8 kg/m2, age 73.6±6.6 y). However, at the time of abstract submission and because of the COVID-19 crisis, only 7 participants from PT (3 F, 4 M) and 9 participants from the NL (9 F) completed the trial until the second time-point and were finally statistically evaluated. Therefore, each subject acted as his/her own control, comparing baseline vs. month 3 (NL) or month 8 (PT). All variables were normally distributed. While the influence of subject was significant for all outcomes (P<0.035), none of the observed outcomes was significantly influenced by time, neither for PT and the NL alone, and also not when combining both countries and measuring baseline vs. the second time-point. In the combined model, a trend (p=0.064) for a lower diastolic blood pressure was observed, changing from 81 to 76 mmHg. Conclusion: Though only a limited number of subjects were followed longitudinally thus far (n=16), results point out to a possible positive effect of the LIFANA solution on diastolic blood pressure, while not changing the other anthropometric markers or blood pressure. A more sustained Conclusion will be available at the end of the trial. References: LIFANA (Lifelong Food and Nutrition Assistance) is an European research project that is funded by the AAL Programme with financial support from the European Commission and the national funding agencies. Disclosure of Interest: None declared