Understanding and improving hotel housekeeper safety and health: a series of NIOSH research studies

Details

• Personal Author:
  Streit, Jessica M. K.
• Description:
  According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly 1 million maids and housekeeping cleaners currently work in the United States (Bureau of Labor Statistics [BLS], 2013a). Almost half are employed in the traveler accommodations industry, which "provid[es] short-term lodging in facilities known as hotels, motor hotels, resort hotels, and motels" (US Census Bureau, 2012). Hotel housekeepers (hereinafter housekeepers) make beds, restock linens, dust, vacuum, and perform cleaning duties as assigned in guest rooms and other areas of the hotel establishment. While housekeeping is only 1 of 226 unique occupations in traveler accommodations, housekeepers account for the largest proportion--approximately 25%--of all the industry's workers (BLS, 2013a). Most housekeepers are female (89%) and self-identify with an ethnic minority group (44% Hispanic or Latina, 22% other minority; BLS, 2014). Seminal studies demonstrate that work-related bodily pain and injuries are significant problems. Very high proportions (77% to 91%) of housekeepers self-report pain--primarily in their lower backs, upper backs, and shoulders-attributed, at least in part, to their workloads and work tasks (Krause, Scherzer, & Rugulies, 2005;Lee & Krause, 2002; Scherzer, Rugulies, & Krause, 2005; UNITE HERE!, 2006). In 2010, housekeepers had the highest reporting rates of all workers for overall injuries (7.9 per 100) and musculoskeletal disorders (3.2 per 100), and Hispanic/Latina housekeepers were 1.75 times as likely as their white counterparts to be injured on the job (Buchanan, et al., 2010). Analyses of Workers Compensation data from a subset of unionized hotels revealed housekeepers' annual claims cost upwards of $4.7 million (Frumin et al., 2006). [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Household Work Musculoskeletal Diseases Musculoskeletal System Occupational Health Race Factors Safety Women
• Keywords:
  Back Injuries Back Pain Housekeeping Personnel Humans Injuries MSD Musculoskeletal System Disorders Racial Factors Upper Extremities Workers Compensation
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Newsletter
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DART - Division of Applied Research and Technology
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  7-8
• Volume:
  13
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20047737
• Citation:
  Newsl Soc Occup Health Psychol 2015 Mar; 13:7-8
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2015
• NORA Priority Area:
  Services
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  Newsletter of the Society for Occupational Health Psychology
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:e4eb8132f40f2f05a78e6b943dfe047d6071c29c1d6adaa13caf863a3b0458c6a373bcbb5377752ffa477bbfc2f9c92def3d4ea851237ce382508e8622814af5
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/202734/cdc_202734_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 264.29 KB ]