The interplay of workplace redesign and public policy in the 21st century.

Details

• Personal Author:
  Hammer LB
• Description:
  Workplace redesign in the 21st Century is eloquently addressed by Lovejoy et al. in this issue of AJPH (p. 1787). The authors discuss the interplay of workplace redesign and public policy and the health and well-being of workers and their families. For example, the trend toward precarious work, where people of color are overrepresented, offers little job security or benefits, discourages organized labor, and continues the proliferation of low wages. At the same time, the US workforce is increasingly diverse, some workplaces are more flexible as a result of the pandemic, the importance of paid leave is being recognized, labor efforts supporting the PRO Act (HR 842; Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2021) are expanding, and there is more emphasis on "green jobs"; all of these provide a potentially optimistic forecast for worker health and well-being. Rapidly developing workplace redesign efforts resulting from the movement toward robotics and artificial intelligence, COVID-19 (e.g., increased hybrid work), and novel public policies on such issues as family and medical leave, safety and health, scheduling notification and work hours, and unionization should be studied to determine their impacts on worker well-being. As Lovejoy et al. and others describe, an expanded view of traditional occupational safety and health is needed, which has demonstrated that in addition to physical hazards at work, many workers face psychosocial hazards. These include aggression from co-workers and supervisors, work-family stress, heightened job demands resulting from workplace intensification, high stress associated with perceived lack of control, low workplace (e.g., supervisor) support, and less meaningful work. The increase in artificial intelligence and robotics, albeit an important tool for reducing occupational injuries, can contribute to workers' psychological stress and job insecurity. Job insecurity leads to economic insecurity, food insecurity, and negative psychological and physical outcomes. Therefore, we need national policies to provide basic health care, family care, shelter, and food assistance to mitigate the impact of these stressors on workers and their families. Nonwork activities and responsibilities and quality of life must be considered in the redesign of work, as the importance of personal relationships and connections to the natural environment to health are becoming increasingly acknowledged. Public health policies inadequately address work and its impact on well-being. For example, only 21% of the US workforce has access to paid family and medical leave through their employer, and currently no national program is in place to support workers needing leave. At this time, nine states, the District of Columbia, and more than 30 cities and municipalities have instituted paid leave laws to support workers. Another example is the Seattle, Washington, Secure Scheduling Ordinance, which is one of the nation's first laws mandating schedule predictability covering hourly workers at large retail and food service establishments. Schedule predictability is important for all workers, but critical for those with multiple caregiving demands or multiple jobs. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Occupational Health Safety Workplace
• Keywords:
  Work environment; Work organization; Policy; TWH; Total Worker Health; Labor relations; Psychosocial factors; Job design; Work schedules; Occupational safety and health
• ISSN:
  0090-0036
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Oregon ; OSHA Region 10
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  111
• Issue:
  10
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20065548
• Citation:
  Am J Public Health 2021 Oct; 111(10):1784-1786
• Contact Point Address:
  Leslie B. Hammer, 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Rd, L606, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239
• Email:
  hammerl@ohsu.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2022
• Performing Organization:
  Oregon Health & Science University, Portland
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20110901
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Public Health
• End Date:
  20260831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:baa67db9fcb37081d8536b516bb2c16d1a8b68e2534c71a394896eb64c686da640e3b5bded44acce9fb1a7e58fde7453b324bb728a4467951be5481b1ee3d73e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/249471/cdc_249471_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 678.65 KB ]