Ergoecology Factors Influencing Healthy and Sustainable Workplace in Healthcare Organisation

Albi Thomas, Suresh Ma (), Ateekh Ur Rehman () and Shanthi Muthuswamy
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Albi Thomas: Amrita School of Business, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Coimbatore 641 112, India
Suresh Ma: Amrita School of Business, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Coimbatore 641 112, India
Ateekh Ur Rehman: Department of Industrial Engineering, College of Engineering, King Saud University, Riyadh 11421, Saudi Arabia
Shanthi Muthuswamy: Department of Engineering Technology, College of Engineering & Engineering Technology, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL 60115, USA

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 20, 1-17

Abstract: Ergoecology in sustainable healthcare refers to incorporating the aspects of ergonomics, which emphasises tailoring the healthy workplace to the abilities and constraints of healthcare employees, and ecological considerations, which consider the overall environmental impact of healthcare activities. The purpose of this study is to identify ergoecology factors influencing healthy and sustainable workplaces in the context of healthcare organisations and to develop a conceptual model. Literature review and opinions of healthcare experts have opted to identify the factors influencing ergoecology in healthcare organisations. The identified factors were face-validated by the healthcare experts. Scheduled interviews and closed-ended questionnaires were employed to collect data for this research. This research employed total interpretive structural modelling (TISM) and matrix multiplication applied to classification (MICMAC) analysis. TISM methodology is utilised to better comprehend how the components interact with one another, and why. MICMAC analysis is employed to prioritise factors and categorise these factors into four categories: driving factors, autonomous factors, dependent factors, and linkage factors. It is observed that analysis of surroundings and the adoption of ecological and ergonomic measures have strong driving power, but weak dependence. These factors are key factors and are termed as independent factors of ergoecology in healthcare for a healthy and sustainable workplace. The structural model and methodological approach are employed in a healthcare organisation; this approach can be extended to different industries in the future. This study helps to understand the concept of ergoecology and the influencing factors for ergoecology in the context of healthcare organisations. Ergoecology concept not only benefits the environment and the health of healthcare employees but also boosts productivity within the healthcare industry. In this study, the total interpretive structural modelling and matrix multiplication applied to classification analysis for healthcare is proposed as an innovative approach to address the ergo-ecology concept in the context of healthcare for a healthy and sustainable workplace to improve productivity within the healthcare industry.

Keywords: ergoecology; sustainable healthcare; hospitals; green operations; productivity; healthy workplace; work organisation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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