1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«The present research note shares our experience of a participatory approach to translational research that was adopted in an interdisciplinary research project on work-family balancing strategies. The main objective of this research note is to provide an example of how translational research was carried out in this kind of community-initiated study, and how this approach can facilitate short-term, concrete applications of the knowledge gained from and with the research partners.» (p. 467)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
«Our study took place in a male-dominated Canadian transportation company and was initiated by a local union seeking to identify ways to improve their members’ work-family balance. […] The ergonomics team conducted open observations of schedule planning/choice periods, which became progressively more targeted on factors influencing workers’ schedule choices such as work constraints, relational dynamics, informal work-family balance strategies deployed and resources facilitating work-family balance. Three ergonomists conducted a total of 303.5 h of direct observations looking at how the workers chose their schedule […]. Observations of work activity allowed us to observe 52 workers (48 men, 4 women) in 12 of the 16 job classifications during mornings, afternoons and evenings. Handwritten notes were taken during observations and short interviews with participants were conducted to verify researchers’ observations after each presence in the field.» (p. 468) Moreover, an «online survey (n = 110) was created to assess employee perceptions of work-family conflict, psychological distress, use of informal strategies, work-family balance satisfaction, and perceptions of sense of community. […] We have chosen to present here the two findings that best convey the impacts of the translational aspects of the research: the schedule choice process and the negotiation of the collective agreement.» (p. 469) La région de provenance des participants n’est pas mentionnée, mais l’étude a été conduite par une équipe de Montréal.

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique
Analyse de contenu

3. Résumé

«Observations of the workers during the schedule bidding process revealed that the possibility of choosing work schedules every six months was used to balance work and family demands and represented a form of control over working time […]. As expected, workers with more seniority, who pick their schedules first, could find schedule options that best matched their family responsibilities, and workers with less seniority, often those with younger children, ended up with whatever was left, i.e. the most unstable schedule options and/or evening or night shifts.» (p. 469) «The second demonstration of the translational effects of this project lies in the support the legal team provided to our partner. Results showed that the collective agreement applicable to the workers in our case study lacked a comprehensive approach to work-family balance, and was silent, for example, on the issue of the employer’s, albeit limited, legal duty to accommodate employees with family responsibilities under human rights legislation.» (p. 470) «A third, less tangible, translational outcome of this partnership relates to progress in acknowledging and addressing work-family issues. Two of the authors have been working with this research site for more than six years, and have observed the shift in the company’s narrative from initially seeing work-family balance as a marginal issue raised by those experiencing the greatest difficulties, to a subject raised more frequently by workers and union delegates.» (p. 471)