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Background: Frailty and sarcopenia are age-related conditions with shared features and are both associated with adverse health outcomes. Relatively little is known about outcomes of these conditions in combination. The aim of this study was to examine the predictive ability of combined frailty and sarcopenia classification on mortality.Methods: Frailty was measured in 716 community-dwelling adults aged ≥65 years from the North West Adelaide Health Study (mean age 74.1(6.1) years, 55.5 % female) using the frailty phenotype (FP) and sarcopenia using the revised consensus definition from the European Working Group on Sarcopenia. Participants were classified as: neither frail nor sarcopenic, frail-only, sarcopenic-only, or both frail and sarcopenic. All participants had a minimum of 10 years of mortality follow-up.Results: We identified 2.8 % of participants as both frail and sarcopenic, 15.5 % as frail-only, and 3.5 % as sarcopenic-only. Classification as both frail and sarcopenic, in a multivariable model, resulted in significantly elevated mortality risk (HR = 3.52, p < .001), which was over three times that of those neither frail nor sarcopenic. Frail-only was also a significant mortality predictor (HR = 2.03, p = .001), while classification as sarcopenic-only was not a significant predictor of mortality (HR = 1.65, p = .141). There was no significant difference in severity of frailty (mean number of characteristics) or grip strength between frail-only and those with both conditions when stratified by sex.Conclusions: Individuals identified as frail would benefit from screening and assessment for sarcopenia, and vice versa for those identified as sarcopenic, as the mortality risk for individuals with these conditions in combination is nearly double that of each separately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why do government employees work long hours, and what are the consequences? Although there is generally little scope for extra pay in return for extra hours in the Australian Public Service (APS), a significant proportion of its employees work long hours. This study draws from the organizational citizenship behavior literature in an attempt to understand why APS employees work extra hours. It uses the 2015 APS Employee Census to examine the APS employees' patterns of working hours and the links between working extra hours and three outcomes: job performance, personal well-being, and intention to leave one's agency. Several organizational factors are found to be positively associated with working extra hours. Many who work extra hours also believe that their job performance is high, but they report poor well-being and are thinking of leaving their agency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 20-minute neighbourhood (20MN) concept seeks to promote healthy and local living through the provision of everyday amenities and services close to home. This study explored if 20MNs benefit workers with long work-related time demands who may have less time to interact with their local neighbourhood. It assessed associations between work and commute hours with frequency and location of food outlet visits, and tested whether neighbourhood type (20MN vs. non-20MN) moderated these associations. Results suggested up-to-full-time (1–38 h/week) and overtime workers (>38 h/week) tend to visit their primary supermarket less often than non-workers (0 h/week). Overtime workers were more likely to frequently visit out-of-home food outlets than non-workers. Up-to-full-time workers were more likely to visit a greater variety of food stores than non-workers if they had a 20MN but not if they had a non-20MN. Compared to non-workers, overtime workers with a non-20MN more frequently visited cafés and used delivery services from supermarkets or meal/recipe box suppliers, but that was not the case for those with a 20MN. Most frequently visited outlets were closer to home for those with a 20MN, suggesting the 20MN concept holds the potential to encourage more local living. • Work and commute hours may impact how workers interact with the food environment. • Workers tend to visit their primary supermarket less often than non-workers. • Overtime workers visit out-of-home food outlets more often than non-workers. • 20-minute neighbourhoods may foster local food purchasing regardless of work hours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents studies related to occupational fatigue, work health and safety (WHS) issues in young workers of Australia. Topics discussed include vulnerability of youth workers to fatigue and sleep loss in the workplace; reporting of fatigue issues related to overtime; insufficient training to young workers related to WHS and stakeholders educating young workers related to fatigue.

Work time in the form of long hours or control over work scheduling (flexibility) dominates much of the debate, and organisational policies and interventions, around sustaining a healthy work—life relationship. In this study we challenge this assumption, and argue instead for the importance of the quantity of work (work overload). Using data collected in a national Australian study, we found that work overload was the strongest predictor of full-time employees' work—life conflict. Work hours, their fit with preferences, and control over work scheduling also demonstrated small to moderate associations with work—life conflict. This study indicates that time—based work—life policies, procedures and interventions are necessary, but not sufficient, for addressing work—life conflict. Effective management of work overload, with its potential to contribute to emotional strain/exhaustion and long work hours, should be considered as a keystone strategy to support a healthy work—life relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australians work comparatively long hours and, in recent years, most of the growth in per capita working hours has come from workers already employed full time. Yet, despite the problems long working hours can cause, this trend has not attracted political attention. Increasingly, the Australian working time regime is a weak regulator of working hours and promotes only limited equality between the working hours of men and women. This article uses responses from the Australian Survey of Social Attitudes 2003 to investigate whether workers' preferences are in accord with regime institutions. We find that people who work long hours are no less inclined than those who work standard hours or part time to see working hours as a choice and they do this despite more often reporting that their work interferes with family life and that employers expect long hours from them. We contend that seeing long working hours as a choice may be the product of the ‘liberal’ working time regime itself. Multivariate analysis of the responses suggest that structural pressures work to strengthen perceptions that there is a problem with long working hours and prompt the belief that long hours are not freely chosen. Implications of these findings tell us something about possible future regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper tests the hypothesis that the level of labour utilization within the firm should be substituted into the Phillips Curve in place of traditional measures of excess demand. Gregory and Smith (1983) proposed overtime hours as a proxy for labour utilization within the firm. For various reasons we prefer the deviation from trend in hours worked. The results support the underlying hypothesis, and add strength to the view that to understand the process of wage inflation at the macro level we must examine the utilization of labour at the micro level of the firm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships amongst the demand for workers, overtime, and inventory investment in the Australian economy. The basic argument of the paper is that these variables are closely related and that this relationship is particularly strong in the short run; the paths by which these variables are adjusted to theft equilibrium or long-run levels are closely related. These assertions are supported by the empirical evidence presented in the paper. It is assumed that the generalized adjustment model provides an adequate representation of the process by which the variables are adjusted to their equilibrium values. The empirical equations which result from this assumption indicate that there are relationships amongst the paths of adjustment of these variables; some of the cross-adjustment coefficients are significantly different from zero. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provides an outlook for the employment and labor market of Australia for 1976-77. Growth of the trend of part-time employment in commerce; Adjusted employment in the industrial sector; Decline in the level of overtime worked in private factories; Manufacturing productivity and demand for labor; Labor force participation rates; Duration of unemployment.

Focuses on the increase of minimum wage rates in Australia. Economic factors influencing wage drift; Use of least squares method to calculate average overtime hours and pay; Effects of centralized wage fixation on wages.

Refutes the suggestion that the cost effectiveness of the pre-anaesthetic clinic system in Australia depends on avoiding overtime payments to anaesthetists at penalty rates. Emphasis on the financial imperative of hospitals; Alternative cost-saving strategy.