Best Practices in Creating Healthy Workplaces

Center for Health, Work & Environment: A Center of Excellence for Total Worker Health

November 13, 2021November 12, 2021

The purpose of the Center for Health, Work & Environment (CHWE) Center of Excellence in Total Worker Health (TWH) is to advance the overall safety, health, and well-being of workers through transdisciplinary research, effective interventions, outreach and communications, education/training, and rigorous evaluation that inform improvements in all of the above. CHWE addresses the need for research on Total Worker Health intervention strategies, focusing on the large number of workers and workplaces at highest risk of occupational fatality, injury, and illness. Specifically, CHWE research will build on the team?s experience in creating innovative TWH interventions and practical outreach tools for small businesses, the education industry, and other high-risk sectors such as agriculture.

Quantifying Sick Leave Among Those Who Work Primarily Outside of the Home During 2020

November 12, 2021November 12, 2021

The 2020 Summer and Fall Styles surveys asked whether currently employed adult respondents who reported working outside the home were able to take sick leave from work. We measured sick leave availability among respondents working outside the home in both surveys by total population and the subset of those diagnosed with COVID-19. Between Summer and Fall 2020, the proportion of people working outside of the home with access to paid sick leave decreased significantly.

Using workers’ compensation systems to improve workplace safety and health

November 13, 2021November 12, 2021

The mission of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Center for Workers’ Compensation Studies (CWCS) is to maximize the use of workers’ compensation (WC) claims data and systems to improve workplace safety and health through partnerships. This poster presentation will describe recent and ongoing CWCS surveillance and research studies to achieve several key goals (see https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/workercomp/cwcs/publications.html).

NIOSH Chronic Disease Prevention Program: Expanding Partnerships to Prevent Occupational Disease

November 13, 2021November 12, 2021

This presentation provides information on the mission and function of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health?s (NIOSH?s) Cancer, Reproductive, Cardiovascular and Other Chronic Disease Prevention Program (CRC). The poster will describe current research priorities related to reducing and preventing occupational chronic diseases including cancer, cardiovascular disease, renal diseases, and neurological diseases as well as adverse reproductive outcomes. Collaboration with researchers, labor unions, professional and trade associations, and others is critical to the CRC and this poster will help to promote partnerships external to NIOSH.

Work, Stress, and Construction Industry’s Health: Pandemic squeeze on already fragile workforce

November 13, 2021November 12, 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the nation?s drug overdose epidemic with both forces significantly impacting the safety, health, and well-being of the construction workforce. Our program is engaged in developing strategies to stem the tide of overdose deaths and help the rising numbers of construction workers suffering from opioid misuse disorder and poor mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings informed a suite of communication and training interventions, communicating the big picture and systemic issues to construction decision-makers who can change conditions for the workforce. We are also reaching out to the people most affected, those who are struggling with mental health and substance misuse disorder.

Oregon Healthy Workforce Center, a NIOSH Total Worker Health Center of Excellence

November 13, 2021November 12, 2021

The poster abstract is a description of the Oregon Healthy Workforce Center, a NIOSH Total Worker Health Center of Excellence.

Healthier Workforce Center of the Midwest

November 13, 2021November 12, 2021

The vision of the Healthier Workforce Center of the Midwest is to create a safe, healthy, and productive workforce through basic and applied research, participatory approaches, and theory driven education and translation activities. The HWC is a collaboration which includes the University of Iowa, Washington University in St. Louis, the University of Kansas Medical Center, WorkWell KS, and two NIOSH Total Worker Health? Affiliates (the Nebraska Safety Council and the St. Louis Area Business Health Coalition).

Robotics Safety and Health Research at the NIOSH Center for Occupational Robotics Research

November 12, 2021November 12, 2021

Extensive research has been conducted by NIOSH and others on the safety of robots since they were first introduced to workplaces more than 40 years ago. However, this research focused on traditional robots that were isolated from human workers using guards, cages, or other controls. As robots have become more advanced, interactions with humans have become more common, and new ways of assessing and controlling the hazards associated with a robotic workplace are needed. The Center for Occupational Robotics Research (CORR) was established in 2017 as a virtual center within the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to work in partnership with other federal agencies, academic researchers, employers, and others to conduct research and disseminate guidance on the safety and health concerns of working around robots.

Support network resources: the ecological perspective of a discussion group to promote well-being at work among teachers

November 13, 2021November 12, 2021

If social support is one of the most frequently mentioned factors in order to promote well-being among teachers (Chi et al., 2014; Liu et al., 2016), only a few further develop this concept and its attributes in this context. Hence, we have led a qualitative research to study social support in a collective activity designed and conducted to promote the well-being of teachers. Eight second language teachers participated in this qualitative multi-case study. They were working in a Greater Montreal high school and they were participating to a discussion group created and led to promote their well-being at work. Eight sessions of two hours were led by their workplace. This study adds to our understanding of how social support is linked to well-being and provides guidelines for developing good practices that can be implemented in a school context.

Healthy Workplace Design for Hybrid Work Arrangements

November 13, 2021November 12, 2021

COVID-19 has taught us a great deal about employees? basic needs and the importance of addressing these needs during and after COVID. A ?hybrid? work arrangement has emerged as the strategic choice for businesses to address employees? concerns about returning to the workplace and maintaining their autonomy regarding when and where they work. This study evaluates the degree to which workplace designs under a hybrid work arrangement promote employee health, well-being, and productivity, and offers recommendations for improvement.