State of the Art: The Context of Psychosocial Factors at Work in the Asia Pacific?

Abstract

The Asia Pacific is a rapidly growing region with a diverse range of countries, both developing and developed. Across the region there are significant cultural variations and different work practices, creating a range of challenges for those charged with the management of workplace health. This book addresses an important gap, by focusing on research in the Asia-Pacific region that explores psychosocial work environment issues that have a significant influence on worker health and productivity. Most research concerning psychosocial factors at work is from Europe or North America and the generalizability of the research and practical implications is not clear. Consequently, managers, occupational health and safety personnel, human resource professionals, occupational health psychology practitioners, and public health professionals in the Asia Pacific have relied on an evidence basis with largely untested validity. This book extends the work of the first edition, “Psychosocial Factors at Work in the Asia Pacific,” applies and tests new and emerging theories, provides insights into different workplace issues pertinent to the Asia Pacific, and practical insights into the management of psychosocial factors in the workplace.

Introduction

Work is good for health, but poor working conditions can result in health erosion. As expounded in the (2008) Seoul Declaration on Safety and Health at Work, access to safe and healthy workplaces is a fundamental human right. However, large discrepancies are found in relation to worker health status and exposures to workplace risk factors between and within countries across the Asia Pacific.

This is the second book on psychosocial factors at work in the Asia Pacific. It builds on the content from the first book, Psychosocial Factors at Work in the Asia Pacific (Dollard et al. 2014). The aim of both books is to address a gap in the knowledge about psychosocial factors at work particularly in the Asia Pacific. This large and economically diverse region has a wide range of working conditions, from very good to very poor along with high levels of job insecurity. Despite the region being the most populous, most research in the field has been undertaken in areas outside the region. Prior research suggests that, for example, in the area of occupational health psychology, only 10 % of the global knowledge published in English emerges from the Asia Pacific (Kang et al. 2008). A major challenge across a range of occupational and health-related disciplinary research approaches (e.g., occupational health psychology, occupational behavioral medicine, public health and occupational health and safety) is to produce knowledge that is relevant and practical, within and across national contexts. Both books are intended to help build a knowledge platform for the region, and this second edition particularly focuses on practical applications.

Psychosocial hazard and risk factors at work refer to those aspects of work organizations that are of human design and construction, with the potential to cause psychological or physical harm. Often, these factors also involve human relations. Psychosocial hazard and risk factors include the organization and management of work, the social and relational aspects of work, and job design (Cox and Griffiths 2005). Psychosocial risk factors at work, such as poor organizational climate, work pressure, job insecurity, bullying, violence, and work stress in general, are increasingly recognized as threats to workers’ psychological and physical health and safety, as well as to organizational performance and productivity (Commission on Social Determinants of Health 2008).

A lack of awareness and understanding of the relationship between the work environment and worker psychosocial wellbeing has hampered the development of policy and occupational health services for work-related psychosocial health in nonindustrialized countries (Houtman et al. 2007). In 2010, experts from the Asia-Pacific region met in Darwin, Australia, and agreed that a much greater cooperative effort was needed to build a stronger evidence base to address the issues and contribute to global and local knowledge development, and policies and practice in the region. The first book was a first step to take stock of knowledge, produce new knowledge, and publish material in a common language to increase awareness of psychosocial factors at work in the Asia Pacific. This second book builds on this project, extending the range of psychosocial risks under investigation, and has a particular focus on practical examples of interventions and actions being undertaken in the region to address issues relating to psychosocial factors at work in the Asia Pacific.

The Asia-Pacific Region

For the purpose of this book and the researchers involved in the various projects, the Asia-Pacific region has been defined as follows. We have integrated regions specified by the International Labor Organization (ILO) (2014) and the World Health Organization (WHO) (2014). We combined the ILO Asia and Pacific Region classification with the WHO Western Pacific Region, and the WHO South-East Asia Region. These groupings are defined as the Asia-Pacific region. In addition, Taiwan has been added as an area of significance (see Table 1.1). Figure 1.1 features the significant areas (Christensen 2014).

Table 1.1 Areas of the Asia Pacific

Fig. 1.1

Map of the Asia-Pacific region

The Asia-Pacific region is very diverse, culturally, ethnically, religiously, and economically, and combines some of the richest countries as well as two-thirds of the world’s poor (ILO 2014). The Asia Pacific combines advanced industrialized economies (e.g., Japan, Australia), with emerging or newly industrialized (e.g., India, China) and developing economies (e.g., Vietnam). The regulatory frameworks are very different across the regions (see Chaps. 2, 3, 4, 5, and 10) and the subsequent management of psychosocial factors in the workplace varies too (Chaps. 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, and 17).

Job design is important in the development of effective preventative strategies to reduce psychosocial hazards and risk in the workplace (see Chap. 7). However, in countries with high levels of job insecurity, having a poorly designed job is better than no job. For economically advanced countries such as Australia, New Zealand, and Japan, discussion about the role of job design and the importance of reducing psychosocial hazards is made possible through the much higher levels of job security, although this is not uniform across all sectors.

Psychosocial Factors at Work

In the previous book, new learning emerged about the issues of psychosocial factors at work. The importance of culturally specific tools was explored which found the need to consider the adaptation of tools and methods to ensure accurate data is collected in this area.

The kinds of issues facing the Asia-Pacific workplaces in developed economies (e.g., Japan, Australia) are common in some respects to other areas of the world. A powerful force shaping the nature of work in the Asia Pacific is globalization (Dollard 2007). Taking into account macro or external factors (e.g., national politics, national policies, income inequality, employment conditions), organizational and individual factors is of key importance to the management of psychosocial factors at work (see Fig. 1.2). As an example, Chap. 2 in this book provides a comprehensive coverage of an important external factor, regulatory frameworks, and explores these in a range of countries and provides a background to where the next steps might be in risk management of the psychosocial work environment in the Asia Pacific.

Fig. 1.2

Multilevel model of psychosocial factors at work

As was presented in the previous book (Dollard et al. 2014), challenges which the Asia Pacific face are numerous and linked to neoliberal policies which have stimulated global trade, freed up markets, and increased competition. For developed economies in the Asia Pacific, this has led to changing labor markets (e.g., unstable labor markets, job insecurity, and precarious contracts), new forms of production (e.g. lean production), and in turn work intensification, long working hours, increased workload, work pressure, and poor work-life balance (Van den Bossche et al. 2006). Organizations have adapted by downsizing and restructuring to flatter structures to improve flexibility and competitiveness (Kawakami 2000). We extend exploration of these issues and interventions in this book.

Asia-Pacific Academy for Psychosocial Factors at Work

Asia-Pacific Academy for Psychosocial Factors at Work was established in 2012 following a series of expert meetings across the Asia-Pacific region. The overarching aim of the Academy is to bring together academics, practitioners, and policy makers from the Asia-Pacific region and beyond, and contribute to better working arrangements in the region. The academy provides a forum to discuss psychosocial factors at work, to share and generate knowledge, to deliver education and training, to build greater networks, and to foster opportunities to prevent work injury. The academy is multidisciplinary in outlook.

The executive comprises:

• Foundation President-elect Professor Maureen Dollard and Area Representative of Australia

• Vice President, Professor Rusli Bin Nordin, and Area Representative of Malaysia

• Vice President, Associate Professor Akihito Shimazu, and Area Representative of Japan

• Executive Officer, Tessa Bailey, Australia

• Chair Research and Development, Dr. Michelle Tuckey, Australia

• Chair Education and Training, Professor Rusli Bin Nordin, Malaysia

• Conference Chair, Assistant Professor Sara Arphorn, Area Representative, Thailand

• Membership Officer Professor Paula Brough, Australia

• External Relations Officer, Mikaela Owen, Australia

• Publications officer, Wes McTernan, Australia

• Finance Director, Annabelle Neal, Australia

• Area Representative, Professor Jeong-Ho Chae, South Korea

• Area Representative, Associate Professor Junming Dai, China

• Area Representative, Dr. Pham Minh Khuê, Vietnam

• Area Representative, Dr. Yawen Cheng, Taiwan

There is also an International Advisory Committee comprising Professor Norito Kawakami, Japan; Professor Christian Dormann, Germany; and Dr. Loic Lerouge, France.

In April 2014, the Academy was invited to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with The European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology (EAOHP), on scientific and professional collaboration in the field of occupational health psychology (signed in London on the 16th April 2014 at the European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology conference). The MOU includes collaboration for the promotion and development of occupational health psychology at national, international and global levels within the limits of their missions, strategies, competencies, and resources. We very much look forward to this working with the EAOHP to achieve better work conditions for people in the Asia Pacific (Fig. 1.3).

Fig. 1.3

Signing the MOU, April 16th 2014; Professor Sergio Iavicoli, President, European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology; Professor Maureen Dollard, President, Asia-Pacific Academy for Psychosocial Factors at Work; Professor Stavroula Leka, Chair European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology Conference London

The Academy also has a relationship with ICBM (International Society of Behavioral Medicine), whereby Professor Norito Kawakami is a past president. In 2014, their official journal, the International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, convened a special issue on behavioral medicine in the Asia Pacific. Guest editors were Akihito Shimazu, Akizumi Tsutsumi, and Kazuhiro Yoshiuch.

The Academy has organized six international expert workshops held consecutively in Australia, Malaysia, Japan, Thailand, Australia, and Korea. These have been highly successful in coordinating and organizing efforts to understand and address psychosocial factors at work in the Asia Pacific. Many of the plans formulated in the meetings have been implemented with great success. They include:

• 1. A Special Issue of the International Journal of Stress Management titled Theory and Methods to Prevent and Manage Occupational Stress: Innovations From and Around the Globe published in the first journal’s issue of 2014, and edited by Professor Paula Brough, Professor Maureen Dollard, and Dr. Michelle Tuckey;

• 2. A successful Australian Research Council grant between the University of South Australia (Professor Dollard and Dr. Tuckey) and the University of Malaya (Dr. Awang Idris). Titled The dynamic interplay of physical and psychosocial safety in frontline healthcare workplaces in Australia and Malaysia, the grant has initiated international collaborative research arrangements on psychosocial factors at work.

• 3. The book, Psychosocial Factors at Work in the Asia Pacific, Dordrecht, The Netherlands; Springer International Publishing, edited by Maureen Dollard, Akihito Shimazu, Rusli Bin Nordin, Paula Brough, and Michelle Tuckey.

• 4. A second book (this volume), Psychosocial Factors at Work in the Asia Pacific: From theory to practice edited by Akihito Shimazu, Rusli Bin Nordin, Maureen Dollard, and Jodi Oakman.

History of the Academy and Coordination in the Asia Pacific

In this section, we briefly recap activities until 2013 (these are elaborated in the first book), and then outline the activities of the Academy since then. Coordinated efforts for dialogue on psychosocial factors at work in the Asia Pacific began in 2010 (8–9 July) when an expert meeting was convened in Darwin by Professor Maureen Dollard and Dr. Michelle Tuckey and Professor Paula Brough, from Australia. Twenty-one experts from Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Japan, and Germany, including industry regulators, policy makers, and academics from a range of disciplines met for two days to discuss psychosocial factors at work in the Asia Pacific.

The Second Asia-Pacific Expert Workshop on Psychosocial Factors at Work was held in Johor Bahru, Malaysia on 7–8 July 2011, hosted by Professor Rusli Bin Nordin and Ms Cindy Biding Ahin, from the Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine & Health Sciences, Clinical School Johor Bahru at Monash University Malaysia. Twenty-eight delegates from Australia, Japan, and different parts of Malaysia including Sabah and Sarawak attended the workshop.

The Third Expert Workshop on Psychosocial Factors at Work in the Asia Pacific was held at the University of Tokyo. It was chaired by Associate Professor Akihito Shimazu, and was attended by 46 participants. A major outcome of the meeting was the official launch of the Asia-Pacific Academy for Psychosocial Factors at Work on 3 August, 2012.

The Fourth Expert Workshop on Psychosocial Factors at Work in the Asia Pacific was held in Phra Nakhon Sri Ayutthaya Province, Thailand, on 28–29 November 2013, convened by Assistant Professor Sara Arphorn. It was hosted by the cooperation of Thai academic institutions: the Research Center for Informal Workers, Department of Occupational Health and Safety, Faculty of Public Health, Mahidol University and the Rajamagala University of Technology, Suan Dusit Rajabhat University, Suansaranrom Psychiatric Hospital, and Naresuan University. The goals of the workshop were successfully achieved by bringing together academics from the Asia-Pacific region and beyond to discuss psychosocial factors at work and establish expert networking. The workshop welcomed 35 participants from 6 countries: Japan, Australia, China, France, Malaysia, and Thailand. The program included a special lecture on participatory action-oriented training for the prevention of psychosocial risks at work in different sectors. The lecture consisted of a talk by Dr. Kazutaka Kogi, the President of ICOH, the achievement report from Prof. Dr. Maureen Dollard, 2 focus group forums on Education and Training and Research and Practice and 22 oral presentations. All participants experienced Thai Massage on the last day of workshop. The workshop ended with good atmosphere of friends for better working arrangements in the region.

The Fifth meeting took place in Adelaide, South Australia as part of the International Congress of the International Commission on Occupational Health: Work, Organizational, and Psychosocial Factors (ICOH-WOPS), 17–19 September 2014, Adelaide Convention Center. The conference committee was as follows: Conference Chair, Prof. Maureen Dollard; Scientific Committee Chair, Dr Michelle Tuckey; Organizing Committee Chair, Ms Tessa Bailey; Social Committee Chair, Prof Tony Winefield; Social Committee Member, Annabelle Neal; Social Committee Member and Media Support, Wesley McTernan; Finance, Mirela Garaplija; Chloe Lidiard, Marketing; Committee Member, Sharron Skelly; and Committee Member, Karen O’Brien.

The conference explored a number of themes including: Psychosocial factors at work and their relationship with productivity and health; Psychosocial research in developing countries; Integrative and interdisciplinary approaches; Prevention and interventions for workers at risk; ‘Hot topics’ such as workplace bullying, sickness absence, aging workforce; Organizational factors that promote wellbeing; Managing workers with chronic health disorders and mental health issues; Focus on industries/occupations at risk, e.g., health workers; Worker health: From research to practice.

The ICOH-WOPS conference featured three preconference workshops for attendees as described below:

• Longitudinal designs by Prof. Christian Dormann (Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Mainz, Germany) and Professor Dieter Zapf (Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University, Frankfurt, Germany). This workshop aimed to contribute to the use of statistical methodology in the field of occupational health psychology by providing a brief overview of reasons for and types of longitudinal designs.

• Theory development in work stress research: A meta-theoretical approach by Prof. Jan de Jonge (Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands). This workshop aimed to analyze and evaluate theoretical models in the area of work stress from a meta-theoretical perspective.

• Precarious employment: Understanding an emerging social determinant of health by Prof. Joan Benach (Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona, Spain).

The conference also featured keynote presentations by:

• Professor Robert Karasek (University of Massachusetts Lowell, USA), From the Demand/Control Model to a Feasible Economy of Innovative and Healthy Work.

• Professor Norito Kawakami (University of Tokyo, Japan), Mainstreaming positive mental health among workers: A new evidence-based approach?

• Professor Stavroula Leka, (University of Nottingham, United Kingdom), Are current policy and practice frameworks appropriate to tackle psychosocial risks and promote mental health in the workplace?

• Professor Sharon Parker (University of Western Australia, Australia), Designing Work That Works: Future Directions for Job Design Research and Practice.

And a State of the Art Address by:

• Associate Professor Joan Benach (Pompeu Fabra University, Spain), Health Inequities: solutions for our Worst Public Health Epidemic.

More information on each of the keynote presenters as well as the abstracts for each talk can be viewed at http://www.unisa.edu.au/Research/Asia-Pacific-Center-for-Work-Health-Safety/International-Congress-for-Occupational-Health-and-Work-Organization-and-Psychosocial-Factors11/Keynote-Presentations/.

A standout feature of the conference was Burning Questions. Members of the audience asked preprepared questions of an expert audience comprising:

• Prof. Michael Quinlan, School of Organization and Management, University of New South Wales, Australia (Labour relations Australia)

• Sandra Dann, Director, Working Women’s Centre, South Australia, Australia (Women at work, bullying)

• Mr. Michael Borowick, Assistant Secretary, Australian Council of Trade Unions (Industrial relations)

• Prof. Maureen Dollard, University of South Australia, Chair

• Prof. Akinori Nakata, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan (Public Health, Asia Pacific)

• Prof. Stavroula Leka, Professor of Work, Health and Policy, Director, Center for Organizational Health and Development, University of Nottingham, UK (International policy, Europe)

• Prof. Peter Schnall, Professor of Medicine, Director, Center for Social Epidemiology, University of California, Irvine, US (Cardiovascular disease and work stress) (Fig. 1.4)

  Fig. 1.4

  

  The International Congress of the International Commission on Occupational Health: Work, Organizational, and Psychosocial Factors (ICOH-WOPS), 17–19 September 2014, Adelaide Convention Centre

The conference program also featured oral presentations, symposia, and poster presentations from 187 contributing authors. Awards were given for the best student oral paper, and the best student poster. This year’s winners were:

Best student oral paper award: Irene Niks (Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands), with her coauthors Jan De Jonge, Josette Gevers, and Irene Houtman for the paper entitled DISCovery: evaluating tailored work-oriented interventions in hospital care.

Best student poster award: Yuya Shimojo (Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan), with his coauthors Kyouko Asakura, Miho Sato, Ikue Watanabe for the poster entitled, Relationships between work-family organizational culture, organizational commitment, and intention to stay in Japanese registered nurses.

The proposal for this current book was developed at the Adelaide meeting.

The 6th meeting took place in South Korea in 2015. On May 30 2015, members of the Korean Society of Occupational Stress (KSOS) and APA-PFW met for a joint conference in city of Seoul (Campus of Seoul National University, College of Nursing) with the theme of Suicide at work and psychosocial health management. Twenty-six experts from 4 countries, Australia, Japan, Malaysia, and Korea participated. Prof. Mina Ha (President of KSOS, Dankook University, Korea) and Prof. Jungsun Park (Advisor of KSOS, Daegu Catholic University) gave the welcoming address speeches. Prof. Maureen Dollard gave opening remarks and an achievement report on the APA-PFW. The morning joint conference session was moderated by Dr. Sarven McLinton (University of South Australia) and the 6 orals and 3 posters were presented, which covered a broad scope of psychosocial factors at work and its management including topics such as “The roles of personal resource of job satisfaction,” “The effect of psychosocial safety climate on workers’ emotion,” “Impact of job demand,” “The effects of proximity on work and home relationships,” and “Workholism versus work engagement.”

A special lecture, “Recommendations for individual participant data (IPD) meta-analyses on work stressors and health outcomes: comments on IPD-Work Consortium papers” by Prof. Bongkyoo Choi (University of California, Irvine) was presented with a hot discussion ensuing. At the afternoon conference, two keynote presentations were given: “Towards healthy employees in a healthy organization: From a perspective of work engagement”” by Prof. Akihoto Shimazu (University of Tokyo), and “The integration of the assessment of mental health among workers into the management” by Prof. Jong-Min Woo (Inje University).

It was a day filled with excellent presentations in both English and Korean. There was also time for discussions about actions for the Academy with many excellent outcomes. As an exercise to help foster collaboration between present parties, groups were assembled and discussed the possibility of a training program (accredited by the APA-PFW) for psychosocial safety across the Asia Pacific. Current region-specific programs exist, and therefore a more universal program was proposed.

During discussion, members pooled their knowledge and proposed a strategy for program development and deployment. The following is a brief synthesis of these ideas. Identifying key steps for any training development programs that are undertaken by a collaboration of academy members and colleagues were recommended as follows: (1) Create a program steering committee; (2) Identify target audience; (3) Identify the essence of pre-existing programs; (4) Critique current programs; (5) Tool selection and development; and 6) Trainers to deliver program.

Best poster presentation award was given to “The implementation of mental health care program for the unemployed: from its development to evaluation” by Miho Takahashi from University of Tokyo.

Also at the workshop it was suggested that a database of skills to be created for those members and colleagues willing to collaborate on projects. The database has since been created by Dr Sarven McLinton and can be accessed via: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1A4Goi2MnFZo9S_zLZ1Lhi5YQTtTn0COCpm01wlrudnY/edit?usp=sharing.

We welcome members and colleagues to use this information as a reference point for seeking partners in the Asia Pacific to collaborate with ongoing projects, papers, and presentations.

The 7th meeting will take place in October 2016 in Shanghai China, hosted by Professor Junming Dai.

The Current Book

This second book builds on the issues raised in the first book and provides further discussion of psychosocial factors at work in the Asia Pacific. It has a particular focus on practical approaches to developing and then managing health workplaces, to improve the psychosocial working conditions.

The book is presented in 6 parts:

• I. Introduction

• II. Policy and practice frameworks in the Asia Pacific and beyond

• III. Psychosocial factors at work in the Asia Pacific

• IV. Practical approaches toward developing healthy workplaces and workers

• V. Practical approaches to the management of psychosocial risk

• VI. Conclusions

We are delighted that experts have contributed their knowledge and expertise for this book project. We have continued our ethos of encouraging authors for their region to work together to produce the chapter, some for the first time, others building on collaborations developed in the first book. This book aims to increase research capacity in the region, so authors were invited to contribute based on knowledge of their joint interests. The book features inputs from 46 academics, 44 from 7 countries across the Asia Pacific.

Content

Part I: Introduction

Each chapter introduces the issue, outlines its importance, and provides an overview of relevant theoretical perspectives to psychosocial factors at work in a range of countries across the region. The specific intent is to place the issue in the context of the Asia Pacific. Case studies, proposed guidelines, and examples of interventions are used to highlight the specific issues in the Asia Pacific. Each chapter then provides a discussion on the overall findings and concludes with highlights and future directions in research, policy, and practice for the region.

Part II: Policy and Practice Frameworks in the Asia Pacific and Beyond

In the second part of this book, three chapters are presented which examine policy and recommendations for the management of psychosocial factors at work. Chapter 2 by Leka and Jain reviews international policy and practice initiatives for the management of psychosocial risks and the promotion of mental health in the workplace. It provides a relevant institutional framework including international organizations, regional institutions, stakeholder associations, networks, and professional bodies. Regulatory and nonbinding policy approaches are outlined which are applicable at the international level. Examples of good practice in terms of practical tools are presented from several countries before an overall evaluation is offered on the current state of the art and whether the right balance has been achieved in policy and practice in this area.

Chapter 3 by Tsutsumi and Shimazu focused on preventive measures for workplace mental health and the development of guidelines for the primary prevention for mental health at work. These guidelines were developed following a systematic review of primary prevention measures for occupational mental health and a consensus meeting by experts and practitioners in the occupational health field. These guidelines for primary prevention for mental health at work consider three preventive strategies—workplace improvement, self-care training, and supervisor training. The guidelines proposed take into account different levels of research evidence, and are considered as recommendations for those charged with managing psychosocial factors in the workplace.

Insights from the Asia Pacific are provided in Chap. 4 from Bailey, Cheng, Idris, and Arphorn, where policy and practice were discussed in a focus group with representatives from Australia, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Thailand. Differences in regulatory approaches were discussed, and in some countries, policy in the area of psychosocial factors at work was very limited, suggesting the need for translation of evidence into policy.

Focusing specifically on South Korea, Chap. 5 by Park, introduces how work-related cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and job stress are handled in South Korea and presents the statistics, guidelines, and policies related to these issues and describes strategies to prevent and manage them. South Korea lags behind other developed countries in the development of guidelines for occupational safety and health, but nevertheless has made some progress in terms of reducing work-related cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, but not job stress.

Part III: Psychosocial Factors at Work in the Asia Pacific

In Chap. 6, Yulita, Idris, and Dollard present a systematic narrative review of a facet-specific climate for psychosocial safety (psychosocial safety climate [PSC]) that has been featured in the literature. PSC refers to policies, practices, and procedures for the protection of workers’ psychological health and safety (Dollard and Bakker 2010, p. 580). The review considered PSC in terms of its history, role, impact, and research trend. Thirteen peer-reviewed journal articles qualified for the review. For comparative purposes, the review also considered 75 other peer-reviewed journal articles on safety-related work climates [safety climate (n = 59), psychological safety climate (n = 16)], published from 1980 to 2016. The researchers identify the specificity of outcome related to PSC (e.g., physical health, psychological health, work motivation, work conditions). They also consider the main theorization of the PSC, whether as an antecedent, mediator, or moderator of work stress processes. To obtain a greater understanding of PSC and its future role in workers’ psychological health and work outcomes, the chapter considers some future challenges such as the simultaneous use of multiple climates, multilevel modeling, research time lags, advanced research designs, and data analysis tools.

In Chap. 7, Parker and Zhang highlight the importance of designing work in the contemporary work context of uncertainty and complexity. Much research shows that good work design has positive outcomes for individuals and organizations. Their chapter provides a state of the art review on the development of work design theory and research, especially providing a brief overview of two popular work design perspectives: designing motivating work; and, designing safe and healthy work. However, the primary goal of the chapter is to identify some important future research directions due to the remarkable changes in the nature of workplace and workforce.

The issue of workplace violence is increasingly recognized as an important occupational health issue. Despite this, empirical studies on workplace violence are limited in Taiwan. Chapter 8 is an investigation by Cheng and Pien into the workplace violence problem and policy debates concerning workplace violence in Taiwan. The chapter presents empirical findings on the workplace violence distributions, trends, antecedents, and associated health risks, based on large-scale survey data of the general working population, in 2010 (N = 17,286) and 2013 (N = 18,030). They investigate four types of violence: physical violence, verbal violence, psychological violence, and sexual harassment. In particular, they pay attention to workplace violence exposures by gender and occupation. In an innovative approach, they go further and contextualize workplace violence in terms of prevailing climate (neighborhood-level workplace violence), and estimate its effects on mental health using multilevel analyses. They finalize the chapter by considering improvements in workplace violence measures, study designs to investigate the casual mechanisms of workplace violence, and health consequences of the strategies for effective prevention of workplace violence.

In Chap. 9, Oakman, Maakip, and Keegel address the issue of psychosocial hazards in the development of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). They consider the question about whether workplace factors vary by sociocultural factors and consider the context of office workers in Malaysia and Australia. MSDs are considered to be a major occupational health problem contributing significantly to absenteeism, disability, and loss of productivity. The majority of studies related to MSDs have been conducted in developed countries such as Australia, and it is proposed that contributing factors linked with MSDs development might function differently in developing countries like Malaysia, as a result of sociocultural differences.

A key issue in the development of MSDs is the contribution of psychosocial factors; however, this is not reflected in current management practices, which tend to focus predominately on physical factors. Malaysia and Australia have very different societal structures, which influence the way work is organized and the expectations employees have at their workplaces. Therefore, it is plausible that the contribution of workplace factors to MSDs development might differ. The researchers use a survey tool to assess a range of workplace and personal factors, including work-life balance, job satisfaction, physical hazards, coping strategies, and psychosocial hazards. Analysis was undertaken to assess relevant predictors for each population and then a comparison undertaken to identify key differences between the populations. Despite similarities in the prevalence of musculoskeletal discomfort in both the Australian and Malaysian populations, differences were identified in the relative contribution of factors. The chapter also discusses the results from a qualitative study of female Malaysian office workers who were asked about their coping strategies for persistent musculoskeletal pain.

Chapter 10 covers the area of PSC; Afsharian, Zadow, and Dollard investigate the concept from two different cultural perspectives in the Asia Pacific: Iranian and Australian healthcare contexts. PSC may be conceptualized as the organizational practices, policies, and procedures for the protection of workers’ psychological health and safety. To date, PSC theory has not been investigated at the boundaries of the Asia Pacific. For the first time, these investigators examined PSC as a theoretical construct in Iran, a developing country in the heart of the Middle East. The PSC-12 scale was translated into Farsi and administered among 33 work groups in an Iranian hospital (n = 257) then compared with a sample of Australian hospital employees (n = 239, across 21 work groups). The researchers explore how PSC behaves as a group level phenomenon cross culturally, how PSC levels and job design factors vary by country, how PSC as a group level phenomenon relates to job design, psychological health and work outcomes.

Part IV: Practical Approaches Toward Developing Healthy Workplaces and Workers

In Chap. 11, Potter, Fattori, and Dollard critically review eleven psychosocial risk management tools (e.g., the Canadian Implementation Guide (Standard), the UK HSE Management Standards) that are publicly available from the European Union, Canada and Australia for organizations, offering practical guidelines for organizations to readily adopt in order to decrease the impact of psychosocial risks (WHO 2010) and addresses the WHO’s Global Plan of Action (GPA) on Worker Health (2008–2017) (WHO 2013). The main objective is, therefore, twofold: (1) to provide a resource that identifies and critically evaluates existing psychosocial risk management toolkits, and therefore enables organizations to determine the most suitable tool for their needs; and (2) to facilitate the distribution and transference of knowledge on these accessible organizational resources to all world regions, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region. Thus, this critical review aims to address an objective of the GPA, and responds to an appeal to identify, collect, and disseminate tools (and resources) for the evaluation and improvement of personal health resources and global psychosocial work environments (WHO 2007).

In Chap. 12, Inoue and colleagues examine the reliability and construct validity of a new version of the Brief Job Stress Questionnaire (New BJSQ), which measures an extended set of psychosocial factors at work by adding new scales/items to the current version of the BJSQ. Additional scales/items were extensively collected from theoretical models of job stress and similar questionnaires in several countries. Scales/items were field-tested and refined through a pilot internet survey. Finally, an 84-item standard version questionnaire, a 63-item recommended set, and a 23-item short version (141, 120, and 80 items in total when combined with the current 57-item BJSQ) were developed. In Japan, the number of workers with mental health problems is increasing and thus primary prevention of mental health problems is a high priority for both employers and employees. Previous studies have shown that “assessing and improving work environment” effectively reduces mental health problems (Semmer 2006); thus, the BJSQ and Job Stress Assessment Diagram (JSAD) have been developed with an aim to assess and improve the Japanese working environment. The BJSQ and JSAD have been widely used in research and practice in the field of mental health in the Japanese workplace (e.g., Kobayashi et al. 2008; Umanodan et al. 2009).

In Chap. 13, Nordin and Biding review research of Malaysian organizations to examine the role of coping strategies (employee-based) and organizational intervention (organizational-based) in preventing and alleviating psychological distress at work. Since appropriate coping strategies are known to be effective in controlling psychosocial stressors and may be the only measures available in most organizations, organizations are particularly encouraged to promote more coping skills training among their employees as part of their legal and corporate responsibility (OSHA 1994).

In Chap. 14, Imamura and colleagues investigate an innovative way to deliver Cognitive Behavioral Therapy based (CBT-based) treatment that is currently, widely practiced using computerized CBT [CCBT via internet (iCBT)] technology. The authors review and introduce three recent iCBT intervention studies, and discuss the possibility of utilization of iCBT program in the workplace. Reasons for the increasing popularity of iCBT have been the focus of constant attention on improving symptoms or preventing onset of mental disorders. It is proposed that iCBT may be useful for people not able to access face-to-face therapies due to geographical or other challenges.

In Chap. 15, Martin presents findings from a quasi-experimental simulation study which examines how attitudes move toward employees with depression (affective, cognitive and behavioral forms of stigma) are influenced by contextual cues by reflecting an organization’s support for mental health and how these attitudes and context are associated with performance ratings of a depressed employee. There is a high prevalence of depression in working adults (lifetime prevalence estimates are one in five people or greater) (WHO 2009) which presents significant social and economic issues for organizations. Development of strategies for workplaces to utilize in assisting those in management positions to employees with mental health issues is needed.

Part V: Practical Approaches to the Management of Psychosocial Risk

In this section, a range of practical approaches to managing psychosocial factors in the workplace are presented. These interventions are undertaken in Japan, China, and Australia.

In Chap. 16, Moriguchi, Sakuragi, and Ikeda discuss psychosocial factors in small-scale enterprises in Japan and the Asia-Pacific region. In many countries, occupational health service activities for small-scale and micro-scale enterprises are often insufficient as they have limited access to human, economic, and technical resources. The demands of employers in those enterprises in relation to mental health activities and established measures for improving the existing situation in Japan are discussed.

Chapter 17 presents a review of health issues of workers engaged in operations related to the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (NPP)—a mega-earthquake and subsequent tsunami occurred in 11 March 2011, followed by a nuclear accident in northern Japan at the NPP of the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO). A large number of workers were impacted and a range of health issues are described along with the actions taken to solve them. A summary of lessons learned from the experience for the disasters in the future is included.

In Chap. 18 Hu, Schaufeli, and Taris address the effect of a nation-specific stressor on wellbeing by focusing on Guanxi (i.e., human network, connection) in the Chinese workplace. Guanxi has been considered as a product of Confucian values and is inherent in the work ethics of the Chinese people. This chapter describes the conceptual and cross-cultural development of the Job Demands Resource model (Schaufeli and Bakker 2004) proposed in western cultures and how the Chinese interpersonal phenomenon of Guanxi is incorporated.

Finally, in Chap. 19, McTernan, Dollard, Tuckey, and Vandenberg discuss the impacts of remote work on workers and their families in Australian mines. Australia’s vast landscape is abundant in valuable mineral deposits. However, these resources are largely dispersed inland at a great distance from Australia’s coastal urban populations. Although a review of the literature investigating health hazards in the mining industry found quite an extensive range of research published, little research was found specifically investigating psychosocial risks to health. In the chapter, key demands pertinent to remote and nonremote mining workers, the key resources that help workers manage job demands, and the form the job strain manifests are discussed.

Part VI: Conclusion

In the conclusion, a synthesis of the evidence is presented and some insights into challenges and future directions for research, interventions, and policy development are provided.

This book is an exciting contribution to the field and it is For You! If you are working in the field of occupational health and safety, human resource management, occupational health psychology, organizational psychology, or ergonomics, this book will provide valuable insights for your practice.

The specific focus on the Asia Pacific makes it particularly relevant for those working in the region. The chapter provides specific detail on a topic, explains current research and thinking, outlines practical implications, but importantly also provides direction to further research in the related area. It will be a valuable resource for academics, students, and practitioners across the Asia Pacific.

This second book on psychosocial factors in the Asia Pacific is a must to have on your desk for relevant and up to date information of a range of psychosocial issues across the region.