Empirical study – Work, Stress, and Health

An Expanded Conceptual Model for Research on Work, Safety, Health, and Well-being

November 13, 2021November 12, 2021

The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Center for Work, Health, & Well-being is a NIOSH Total Worker Health? Center of Excellence. Its mission is to protect and promote the safety, health, and well-being of workers through integrated workplace policies, programs, and practices that foster safe and healthy conditions of work. Building on its systems-level conceptual model centered on the conditions of work, the Center has expanded this model to include employment & labor patterns and the social/political/economic environment. The Center?s three unifying themes, informed by our conceptual model, provide a framework for setting priorities to ensure that our research and dissemination efforts make a difference in improving the conditions of work.

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.

Working on the railroad during COVID-19: A case study analysis on employee perceptions of safety culture

November 13, 2021November 12, 2021

This mixed-methods case study analysis investigates employees? perceptions of their organization?s COVID-19 response, and seeks to examine how these perceptions relate to the organization?s safety culture. Qualitative and quantitative archival survey data collected from one large freight-carrying railroad with sites across the U.S. was utilized to conduct analyses. The top five themes extracted from a bottom-up qualitative analysis of employees? open-ended responses about their organization?s COVID-19 response are presented and discussed (n = 196). Initial quantitative analyses that examine these responses in relation to employees? perceptions of their organization?s safety culture suggest that an organization?s existing safety culture may relate to its handling of the pandemic; a finding that bolsters existing literature on the many benefits of a strong organizational safety culture. Additional analyses are currently being conducted to further explore how the top five themes that emerged from open-ended comments relate to more-specific indicators of safety culture. In this way, we may be able to more finely-tune the practical implications of this work.

Stigma and sources of help-seeking for mental health challenges among firefighters

November 13, 2021November 12, 2021

The purpose of the current study was to investigate how stigma related to sources of help-seeking among firefighters. Over 2,000 firefighters across the United States and Canada completed an anonymous online survey including questions about stigma regarding mental health care and sources of help-seeking. Firefighters who reported stigma would prevent them from using behavioral health services were less likely to report that they would seek help from Department or Union EAP/MAP services, coworkers, and officers.

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.

Continuous multimodal assessment of physiological stress responses among nurses in relation to incidents of workplace violence: A feasibility study guided by Total Worker Health principles

November 12, 2021November 12, 2021

A primary objective of the present study is to demonstrate the feasibility of a protocol for detailed and continuous assessment of physiological signals among nurses using a wearable physiological sensor system along with event-contingent experience sampling of critical incidents. Twelve registered nurses (N=12) in a university hospital emergency department wore noninvasive wearable sensors continuously for seven consecutive days and logged the occurrence of workplace violence incidents. The ability to objectively quantify stress responses over the course of the workday could serve as a valuable tool in planning Total Worker Health? interventions.

Applying a Healthy Work Design Perspective to Understand Hospitality Employee’s Public Ratings of their Organization

November 13, 2021November 12, 2021

It is important to promote positive quality of work life for employees, particularly in industries with challenges for employee health and safety. The present study uses Indeed.com Work Happiness Scores as an indicator of healthy work design for Central Florida Hotels. Results highlight the importance of promoting positive psychosocial work features for employees through healthy work design.

Work-Nonwork Interface and Health Behaviors

November 13, 2021November 12, 2021

In keeping with the calls to expand both types of life domain conflict and health behaviors examined, the current study examined the relationship between work-family-school conflict and participation in multiple health behaviors among employed students, and the moderating effects of individual-level traits and organizational characteristics. Using a daily diary design with self-report surveys and objective actigraph data, we found work-family-school conflict was associated with participation in multiple health behaviors on the daily level. Individual traits, such as time management skills, proactive personality, and coping, moderated the relationships between work-family-school conflict and both exercise and sleep. Organizational characteristics, such as workplace health climate, family supportive supervisor behaviors, moderated the relationship between work-family-school conflict and exercise. The current study provides theoretical and practical implications, and allows the groundwork for future intervention-based research.

Age Discrimination at Work: National Survey Data on Prevalence and Associations with Health and Well-Being, 2002-2018

November 13, 2021November 12, 2021

As the workforce ages, interest has grown regarding the prevalence and possible impact of age discrimination at work. This study presents an analysis of data from a national survey in the United States in which worker-reported age discrimination was measured over a 16-year period. Findings indicated that the prevalence of workplace age discrimination remained fairly stable during this period, and that the experience of age discrimination was a significant predictor of several quality of work life measures.