No Worker Is an Island: Physical and Social Isolation at Work in the United States [preprint]

Details

• Journal Article:
  Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
• Personal Author:
  Scott, Kenneth A. ; Achutan, Chandran ; Hill, Ryan D.
• Description:
  Objective: To estimate the prevalence of physically and socially isolated work in the United States, including by detailed occupation. Methods: Cross-sectional study linking O*NET isolated work prevalence estimates with Bureau of Labor Statistics' employment estimates to produce numbers and percentages of physically and socially isolated U.S. workers. Results: Different definitions of physical and social isolation produced a range of prevalence estimates. In 2023, between 6.8 million and 36.1 million U.S. workers were physically isolated (4.0-21.5%; n=167,849,800); and between 2.2 and 9.9 million U.S. workers were socially isolated (1.3-5.9%). Estimates varied by occupation. Conclusion: Physical and social isolation at work are common and likely distinct conditions with unique risks and solutions. However, neither risks nor solutions have been well-characterized. Evaluating isolated-worker-protection practices and scaling effective interventions could improve isolated workers' health and safety.
• Subjects:
  Occupational Health Safety Social Isolation
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Occupational Health; Occupational Accidents; Social Isolation; Cardiovascular Diseases; United States Occupational Safety And Health Administration Cross Sectional Studies; Isolation; Bureau Of Labor Statistics; BLS; Occupational Accidents; Occupations; Epidemiology; Work Arrangements;
• Source:
  J Occup Environ Med 2026 Mar; :[Epub ahead of print]
• ISSN:
  1076-2752
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Colorado ; Ohio ; Washington ; Denver Region [OSHA] ; Chicago Region [OSHA] ; San Francisco Region [OSHA]
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  WSD - Western States Division ; DSI - Division of Science Integration
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  37 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20071220
• Contact Point Address:
  Kenneth A. Scott, PhD, MPH NIOSH Western States Division W 6th Avenue/Kipling Street, Lakewood, CO 80225
• Email:
  kscott4@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2026
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:461f4a2259f1be9bf4a8a6ffb09a02c34707eec64fe567993e6db1f994ad6e0eeadc89f822d6b5626afd8493125ae01dfd0b726b175adf04389c271dcf790adb
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/258699/cdc_258699_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.74 MB ]