Browsing by Author "Mietule, Iveta"

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    Analysis of different preventive measures to improve home office ergonomics - results from study on the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Latvia
    (CBU Research Institute, 2021) Matisāne, Linda; Paegle, Linda; Vanadziņš, Ivars; Linde, Asnate Anna; Rozentāle, Sarmīte; Grīntāle, Ieva; Mietule, Iveta; Lonska, Jeļena; Litavniece, Lienīte; Arbidāne, Iluta; Hájek, Petr; Vít, Ondřej; Institute of Occupational Safety and Environmental Health
    Introduction: Telework, also known as remote work, distance work, telecommuting, was gaining popularity already before the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite benefits, telework can also cause workers' mental and physical health, and forced telework during the COVID-19 pandemic has promoted the onset of these problems. Objectives: The objective of the study was to analyze the management of ergonomics in teleworking workplaces and the association between pain longer than three days and preventive measures provided by employers in Latvia during the 1st emergency restrictions, which were in force between 12 March and 9 June 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Web-survey was used to gather information from respondents – workers. In total, 1006 workers fully filled in the questionnaire in October 2020. Four hundred eighty-three teleworkers of both genders were identified. Results: 35.7% of respondents reported pain longer than three days. The odds of pain were increased in case of lack of all analyzed preventive measures. For those who reported not being provided with a computer and other IT equipment OR for pain was 1.50 (CI 0.95-2.37). Even higher OR was observed in case of not receiving advice on how to arrange an ergonomic workstation (OR= 2.37, CI 1.32-4.25) and not having identified working conditions (OR= 2.61, CI 1.43-4.77). The highest risk was observed if the employer had not provided an office table and office chair (OR=5.46, CI 1.78-16.80). Conclusion: Teleworkers not receiving support from the employer on the arrangement of home offices have an increased risk of having pain for longer than three days. Provision of an office worktable, an office chair, advice on how to arrange an ergonomic workplace and provision of workplace risk assessment are key measures to be taken by the employer to improve home office ergonomics of their workers.
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    Changes in wealth inequality in the modern European-American civilization
    (2023) Čižo, Edmunds; Mietule, Iveta; Kokarevica, Anita; Ostrovska, Inta; Komarova, Vera; Department of Public Health and Epidemiology
    This article aims to analyze changes in wealth inequality in the modern Euro-American civilization (EAC). The research object includes the USA, Western Europe, Latvia, Ukraine, and Russia. A tool for measuring and comparing wealth inequality is through statistical deciles: the top 10% (including the top 1%), the middle 40%, and the bottom 50% of the population. The time points used for diachronic analysis are: 1995 and 2021. The data source is the World Inequality Database. The results of this study show that in different parts of the modern EAC, there are different trends of changes in wealth inequality: from rapid concentrating to deconcentrating. The USA and Russia are vivid examples of similar (rapidly increasing) wealth inequality, with a very strong wealth concentration, although the average per adult national wealth in the USA is 4-5 times higher than in Russia. Latvia and Ukraine represent an intermediate option between Western Europe and the USA/Russia, which differ from each other in the cultural dimensions of Hofstede. The authors see the multipolarity of the modern EAC, split into the original, European, civilization and two peripheral ones – American and Russian, which are similar in terms of wealth inequality in society, but different in cultural values.
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    Resources and capital of different social classes in modern Latvia
    (2022-06-04) Komarova, Vera; Mietule, Iveta; Arbidane, Iluta; Tumalavičius, Vladas; Kokarevica, Anita; Rīga Stradiņš University
    This study aims to analyze the resources and capital of modern Latvia’s social classes located close to the opposite poles of social structure. The article intends to address two research tasks: (1) checking the possibility of identifying social classes in modern Latvia; (2) searching for differences in resources and capital between the identified social classes. The study is based conceptually on the multi-criteria theory of social classes and the conception of ‘ideal types’ as well as on the theory of capital and the innovative resource-based approach. The article presents results of the survey conducted in Latvia (2019, n = 798). Research results show that ‘ideal types’ of the working class and the middle class, identified by two objective (income and education) and one subjective (self-identification) criteria, together form only 9% of modern Latvia’s society. These social classes differ among themselves not so much by the amount of resources as by the amount of capital, meaning that the working class in Latvia is less able to capitalize resources.
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    Transition to the forced telework - a challenge for trade unions identified by the study on working life with COVID-19 in Latvia
    (2022-03-25) Matisāne, Linda; Paegle, Linda; Vanadziņš, Ivars; Rozentāle, Sarmīte; Grīntāle, Ieva; Mietule, Iveta; Lonska, Jeļena; Litavniece, Lienīte; Arbidāne, Iluta; Institute of Occupational Safety and Environmental Health
    BACKGROUND: In general, companies with trade unions perform better in occupational health and safety, therefore, we assume that these companies should have performed better in transition to healthy and safe telework if compared with other companies. OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to assess the role of company trade unions on the implementation of telework arrangements in Latvia during the 1st emergency state in spring 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: A web-based survey based on snowball sampling method and social media advertisements was used to gather information from teleworkers. After data cleaning, answers from 422 teleworkers reporting having (wTU) or not having trade unions (nTU) in their companies were included in the analysis. RESULTS: There was a significantly higher percentage of workers with teleworking experience in companies with no trade unions (37.4% nTU versus 18.1% wTU). More respondents from companies with trade unions reported buying a new computer and headphones which means that more persons had to invest their finances to be able to perform their work. Workers from companies with no trade unions were more often advised on home office ergonomics (21.2% wTU versus 28.1% nTU). The odds of all analyzed health problems (pain, sore eyes, and anxiety) were increased in workers who reported having trade unions. CONCLUSION: Companies with trade unions were less ready for the forced transition to teleworking. These results contradict the traditional understanding of trade unions as a promoting factor for a healthy and safe working environment.
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    Work–Life Balance of the Employed Population During the Emergency Situation of COVID-19 in Latvia
    (2021-08-06) Lonska, Jelena; Mietule, Iveta; Litavniece, Lienite; Arbidane, Iluta; Vanadzins, Ivars; Matisane, Linda; Paegle, Linda; Institute of Occupational Safety and Environmental Health
    All the employees face the challenge of finding the right work–life balance. The ability of employees to deal with the successful combining of work, family responsibilities, and personal life is crucial for both employers and family members of employees. During the COVID-19 emergency situation, many people around the world were forced to work remotely. Initially, there were observed some certain expectations about the possibility of working from home as a positive factor that will promote work–life balance. However, over time, negative tendencies were also revealed, as employees were only one call or message away from the employer, and uncertainty and leisure time with family often created more stress. As many organizations and individuals were not ready for this sudden change, many mistakes were made, which further raised the issue of work–life balance. The aim of the research was to evaluate the flexibility of reconciling work and private life of Latvian employees in various socio-demographic groups during the COVID-19 emergency situation in spring 2020, to investigate how family life influenced employees’ ability to perform work duties, to find out if employees had any additional housework responsibilities and how their workload changed concerning housework amount during the COVID-19 emergency situation. The research is based on the data obtained in the survey of the Latvian employed population, which was conducted within the framework of the Latvian National Research Programme Project “CoLife” in the second half of 2020. As a result, the hypothesis of the research that all groups of employees experienced work–life balance difficulties during the COVID-19 emergency situation has been partially confirmed, i.e., women in the 18–44 age group and respondents with minor children in the household more likely faced difficulties of work–life balance. The scientific research methods that were used in the research are the monographic method, content analysis, survey, data processing with SPSS to determine the mutual independence of the data from the questionnaires.