Hazardous Work Environments and Safety – Page 2

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.

NIOSH Center for Maritime Safety and Health Studies

November 13, 2021November 12, 2021

Industries and occupations that are the focus of the Center for Maritime Safety and Health Studies specialty program include shipyards, marine terminals, marine transportation, commercial fishing, aquaculture, seafood processing and commercial diving. Maritime workers are engaged in highly varied and diverse work settings and are exposed to a complex mixture of health hazards. Stress and its adverse short-term and long-term safety and health consequences are known to occur in many maritime industries and occupations, but it is not well recognized or characterized, nor adequately researched or addressed. The objective of this presentation is to highlight occupations and industries within the Maritime Specialty program where exposure to fatigue and stress are of concern.

NIOSH Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing Program: Work, Stress, and Health

November 13, 2021November 12, 2021

The NIOSH Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing Program (AgFF) provides leadership and coordination between intra- and extramural efforts nationwide to prevent work-related injuries and illnesses among the nation?s agricultural, forestry, and fishing workers (AgFF). AgFF workers are exposed to high-risk, unpredictable environments, as well as long hours and shift work. Likewise, the majority of AgFF workers are in non-standard work arrangements, and unlike many sectors, most AgFF workers are specifically exempted in many regulatory policies regarding minimum wage, overtime, maximum hours per shift, child labor, and health and safety enforcement. This poster will highlight the NIOSH AgFF Program?s recent and future research, training, and outreach initiatives related to mental health and stress, sleep deprivation and fatigue, aging, workplace violence, non-standard work arrangements, and health equity in order to improve the overall health of all AgFF workers.

Scheduling, Well-Being, and (Not) Feeling Valued: Science and Practice Work Together to Address Advanced Practice Clinicians’ Needs

November 12, 2021November 12, 2021

We examined emergency medicine (EM) Advanced Practice Providers? (APCs) perceptions of their schedules, value to the organization, and their well-being, as experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. A mixed-methods approach was utilized to longitudinally collect qualitative and quantitative data, in addition to demographics. Preliminary findings indicate that 78% of APCs did not feel valued by their organization, in part due to scheduling changes, and shed light on the preferred schedules of EM APCs. As a result, the EM leadership team changed EM APCs? schedules to better fit their preferences and convey that they are valued members of the team.

Increasing Safety of Construction Workers Through Robots: An Organizational Change Management Perspective

November 13, 2021November 12, 2021

The construction industry is slow to reform and change is often met with many barriers, even if the change includes clear safety advantages and potentially lifesaving measures (Fernie et al., 2006). Our research aims to develop a deeper understanding of (1) frontline workers? preparedness to work effectively and efficiently with robots on future construction sites and (2) the barriers and facilitators that organizational leadership has identified through their experiences on the construction site. To develop a deeper understanding of the specific challenges faced by the industry, we will hold interviews with a minimum of 20 frontline workers and members of organizational leadership. Data collection is underway and set to complete over the summer.

Understanding Work-Related Stress among Medicolegal Death Professionals: Results of a Thematic Qualitative Analysis

November 13, 2021November 12, 2021

Medicolegal death investigators (MDIs) are routinely exposed to stressful and traumatic events, which impacts their own wellbeing and their ability to efficiently complete their investigations, collaborate within the criminal justice system, and interact with families of decedents. Yet relatively little is known about how stress and trauma impact these professionals and how to improve their wellbeing. We conducted a national survey of MDIs to address this gap; this poster focuses on the findings of a qualitative analysis of responses to an open-ended question on this survey. Results highlight the impact of organizational stressors (e.g., lack of management support, inadequate pay and resources); implications for research and practice are discussed.

The price of pain: Pain as an explanatory mechanism for the relationship between physical job demands and intentions to turnover

November 13, 2021November 12, 2021

Our presentation conceptualizes pain as an explanatory mechanism for the relationship between physical job demands and intentions to turnover (ITO), using the fear-avoidance (FA) model as the theoretical framework. Data from a multi-wave study on work capacity and aging, which included 360 participants recruited from five manufacturing organizations in the northeastern U.S., were analyzed using the SPSS PROCESS macro (model 4) to estimate direct and indirect effects, while controlling for various covariates. Our results indicated that high physical job demands were significantly related to increased perceptions of pain; high perceptions of pain and high physical job demands were significantly related to higher ITO; and the relationship between physical job demands and ITO was partially mediated by perceptions of pain. Collectively, these results indicate that ITO is a potential outcome of physical job demands, and that pain may partially explain this relationship. As such, in order to reduce instances of ITO, research as well as organizations that require employees to engage in physically demanding work should focus on uncovering interventions that may reduce an employee?s associated experience of pain.

Emotional exhaustion in healthcare workers: The importance of organizational leadership and safety

November 13, 2021November 12, 2021

In this study conducted in a mixed population of non-clinical and clinical healthcare staff, we examined the association of emotional exhaustion-a dimension of burnout-with understudied work environment exposures including organizational-level policies and practices as well as job-level hazardous work conditions, using a novel mediation analysis approach proposed by Valerie and VanderWeele. We found that job safety, emotional labor, psychological demands, physical demands, job strain, assault and negative acts (bullying) were positively associated with emotional exhaustion while organizational support for safety was negatively associated. Job hazards served as both mediator and moderator in the association between organizational support for safety and emotional exhaustion. These findings suggest that policies for organizational commitment to employee safety should be efficiently applied to ensure reduction of job hazards in order to improve burnout. Future longitudinal studies are needed to further examine this association.