Work intensity and work modification amid implementation of anti-epidemic activities

Introduction. Assessment of work intensity (WI) is challenged by several methodical complications. It may involve certain underestimation of an actual hazard category of working conditions and fails to consider work modification.

Materials and methods. The study relies on using analytical, sociological, and statistical methods. To test the selected approach, a sample was created from workers with mostly mental work (n=137, 77% females). Their average age was 43.9±8.0 years; average work experience was 14.5±3.7 years.

Results. In this article, we suggest certain approaches to assessing WI. They include self-assessment of a factor using a specifically designed questionnaire; they clarify indicators that describe WI; when assessing working conditions, they rely on matrices of interrelated indicators. This procedure makes it possible to estimate levels of individual components and create an integral WI profile as well as identify contributions made by various intensity types to its overall structure. When testing the procedure, we established workers with mostly mental work to tend to have harmful working conditions as per WI factor (the hazard category 3.1 in 24.8% of the cases; 3.2, 56.9% of the cases; and the hazard category 3.3 in 17.5% of the cases). Mental (28.6±6.1%) and sensory (24.0±7.0%) loads are limiting components. Amid implementation of anti-epidemic activities, work regime was established as the most sensitive WI component (its contribution grew from 11.1±6.0 to 16.0±5.7%, p<0.05). Working conditions moved to a higher hazard category for 35.8% workers.

Limitations. Assessment of working conditions uses threshold values introduced more than 30 years ago and can be adjusted for the existing employment conditions. The testing was accomplished on a rather small sample, which was biased as per gender and included workers with different occupations and positions.

Conclusion. The suggested approaches offer wider opportunities to assess working conditions as per WI with respect to some occupations. This may substantiate a list of indicators that should be regulated by the existing sanitary legislation. Investigation of possible modification of factors during the pandemic makes it possible to describe eligibility of anti-epidemic activities without any deterioration of working conditions.

Compliance with ethical standards. The study was approved by the local Ethics Committee of the Rospotrebnadzor’s Federal Scientific Center for Medical and Preventive Health Risk Management Technologies.

Contribution:
Shur P.Z., Alekseev V.B. — the study concept, text editing, approval of the ultimate version of the article;
Lir D.N. — the study concept and design, data collection and interpretation, writing the text and the abstract, responsibility for the integrity of all the parts of the article;
Barg А.О. — development of the questionnaire;
Vindokurov I.V., Khrushcheva Е.V. — data processing and analysis.
All authors are responsible for the integrity of all parts of the manuscript and approval of the manuscript final version.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgement. The study had no sponsorship.

Received: August 30, 2023 / Accepted: September 26, 2023 / Published: November 20, 2023