Ravalier J M, Fidalgo A R, Morton R, Russell L
CoLA, Bath Spa University, Bath BA29BN, UK.
Department of Psychology, University of East London, London E162RD, UK.
Occup Med (Lond). 2017 Jul 1;67(5):344-349. doi: 10.1093/occmed/kqx043.
Care workers have an important social role which is set to expand with the increasing age of the UK population. However, the majority of care workers are employed on zero-hours contracts.
Firstly, to investigate the relationship between working conditions and employee outcomes such as engagement and general mental well-being in a sample of UK care workers and management. Secondly, to assess whether the use of zero-hours contracts affects employee well-being.
A cross-sectional survey of domiciliary care and care home employees, undertaken using the Management Standards Indicator Tool (MSIT), Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) and General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). T-tests and multivariate linear regression evaluated the differences in scoring between those with differing contractual conditions and job roles, and associations of MSIT scores with UWES and GHQ factors.
Employee understanding of their role and job control were found to be priority areas for improvement in the sample. Similarly, care workers reported greater occupational demands and lower levels of control than management. However, while zero-hours contracts did not significantly influence employee well-being, these employees had greater levels of engagement in their jobs. Despite this, a greater proportion of individuals with zero-hours contracts had scores above accepted mental health cut-offs.
Individual understanding of their role as care workers appears to play an important part in determining engagement and general mental well-being. However, more research is needed on the influence of zero-hours contracts on well-being, particularly in groups with increased likelihood of developing mental health disorders.
护理工作者具有重要的社会角色，且随着英国人口老龄化程度加深，这一角色还将不断扩展。然而，大多数护理工作者受雇于零时工合同。
第一，调查英国护理工作者及管理人员样本中工作条件与员工表现（如敬业度和总体心理健康状况）之间的关系。第二，评估零时工合同的使用是否会影响员工的幸福感。
采用管理标准指标工具（MSIT）、乌得勒支工作投入量表（UWES）和一般健康问卷（GHQ），对上门护理和养老院员工进行横断面调查。t检验和多元线性回归评估了不同合同条件和工作角色的人员在得分上的差异，以及MSIT得分与UWES和GHQ因素之间的关联。
在样本中，员工对自身角色的理解和工作控制权被发现是需要改进的重点领域。同样，护理工作者报告的职业需求比管理人员更大，而控制权更低。然而，虽然零时工合同并未对员工幸福感产生显著影响，但这些员工的工作投入度更高。尽管如此，签订零时工合同的员工中，有更大比例的人得分高于公认的心理健康临界值。
护理工作者对自身角色的个人理解似乎在决定敬业度和总体心理健康状况方面发挥着重要作用。然而，关于零时工合同对幸福感的影响，尤其是对更易患精神健康障碍群体的影响，还需要更多研究。
