Nonrelocatable Occupations at Increased Risk During Pandemics: United States, 2018

Details

• Personal Author:
  Baker MG
• Description:
  Objectives. To characterize which occupations in the United States could likely work from home during a pandemic such as COVID-19. Methods. I merged 2018 US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) national employment and wage data with measures ranking the importance of computer use at work and the importance of working with or performing for the public from the BLS O*NET survey. Results. Approximately 25% (35.6 million) of US workers are employed in occupations (such as technology, administrative, financial, and engineering) that could be done from home; the remaining 75% work in occupations (including health care, manufacturing, retail, and food services) that are challenging to do from home. Conclusions. Most US workers are employed in occupations that cannot be done at home, putting 108.4 million workers at increased risk for adverse health outcomes related to working during a pandemic. These workers tend to be lower paid. The stress experienced by lower-income groups, coupled with job insecurity, could result in a large burden of mental health disorders in the United States in addition to increased cases of COVID-19 from workplace transmission. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Communicable Diseases Computers Economics Mental Health Nervous System Occupational Health Public Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Stress, Psychological Surveys And Questionnaires Viral Diseases Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Disease Control Disease Transmission Employee Health Employees Health Surveys Humans Infection Control Infectious Diseases Job Stress Mental Health Mental Stress Occupations Professional Workers Public Health Risk Factors Statistical Analysis Technical Personnel Viral Diseases Work Environment Worker Health Workers

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• ISSN:
  0090-0036
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 10 ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  110
• Issue:
  8
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20060115
• Citation:
  Am J Public Health 2020 Aug; 110(8):1126-1132
• Contact Point Address:
  Marissa G. Baker, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, 4225 Roosevelt Way NE, Ste 100, Seattle, WA 98105
• Email:
  bakermg@uw.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2020
• Performing Organization:
  University of Washington
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Public Health
• End Date:
  20250630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:970ba9bdae193cdae31e80ec43e5853fb4dd9c92d2334c8d304f6f08aeb61ba2021ab24dc7e1f5b6b083fa82010d81445bf898ad583556a5ddfd93a1d5718100
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/224129/cdc_224129_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 849.80 KB ]