Happy Holidays from NIOSH

With the holidays approaching, many workplaces start to slow down as the demands lessen and some workers are able to take time off to be with family and friends. However, other workplaces get busier as people make plans to celebrate the holidays, shop for gifts, and travel more. During this time, many workers might take on extra shifts, longer hours, or more work. Shift workers may swap shifts, office workers may cover for each other on certain days, and essential workers might be “on” for longer hours or responding to the higher demands of a holiday season (i.e. workers in retail, airline travel and ground transportation, food industry and delivery, agriculture, and healthcare, to name a few).

A common thread that can help prepare for a faster pace, keep workers safe on the job, and advance well-being, is collaboration; especially if intentionally baked into the culture of a workplace and helping to create a workplace safety climate. Workplaces that develop strategies to promote communication and collaboration, starting at the leadership level, not only contribute to social connection and worker well-being, but are more likely to be safer and healthier places to work, not to mention more productive, in all seasons.

NIOSH’s Total Worker Health^® and Healthy Work Design and Well-being programs outline elements that contribute to worker well-being. In fact, NIOSH defines Total Worker Health (TWH) as policies, programs, and practices that integrate protection from work-related safety and health hazards with the promotion of injury and illness prevention efforts to advance worker well-being. TWH builds on this approach through the recognition that work is a social determinant of health; job-related factors such as wages, hours of work, workload and stress levels, interactions with coworkers and supervisors, access to paid leave, and health-promoting workplaces all can have an important impact on the well-being of workers, their families, and their communities.

As the pace of work changes during this season (and throughout the year), we are highlighting some helpful ideas from past Science Blogs, the NIOSH TWH program, the U.S. Surgeon General, and others to support employers and supervisors in fostering collaboration and promote the well-being of all, both on and off the job.

• Help foster a sense of belonging at work; this can look like worker listening sessions, for example.[1]
• Organizational policies that promote diversity, fairness, and accessibility can help support workers being engaged at work.[2]
• Provide training to managers and supervisors on how to be supportive regarding employees’ family and caretaking needs.[3],[1]
• Communicate clearly and regularly with workers, providing optimism and reassurance when warranted.[4]
• Provide assistance to workers who may struggle with stress or mental health issues during the holidays by sharing resources and offering referrals to care when appropriate. [5]

The holiday season and the beginning of the new year are opportunities to connect with neighbors and loved ones, offer service and support to others, re-assess our goals, and make adjustments. This goes for the workplace too. By creating a culture of learning, growth, and support we can all contribute to a workplace that is safer and healthier for everyone – during the holidays and all year long.

A few other resources that may be of interest:

• Keeping Teens Safe and Healthy at Work: It Takes Teamwork! | Blogs | CDC
• Safety Culture in Healthcare Settings | Blogs | CDC
• Worker Well-being Takes Center Stage: Fireside Chat with the U.S. Surgeon General | Blogs | CDC
• Supporting Mental Health in the Workplace | Blogs | CDC
• Total Worker Health Webinar Series

Happy Holidays from NIOSH!

References

[1]National Occupational Research Agenda Healthy Work Design and Well-being Cross-sector Council [2019]. National occupational research agenda for healthy work design and well-being. https://www.cdc.gov/nora/councils/hwd/pdfs/Final-National-Occupational-Research-Agenda-for-HWD_January-2020.pdf.

[2] NIOSH [2019]. Healthy work design and well-being program. Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/programs/hwd/default.html.

[3] Mohr C, Hammer L, Dimoff J, Lee JD, Arpin SN, Umemoto S, Allen S, Brockwood K, Bodner T, Mahoney L, Dretsch M [2023]. How workplaces can reduce employee loneliness: evidence from a military supportive-leadership training intervention. Preprints, https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/8g4sp.

[4] NIOSH [2022]. NIOSH Science Blog: Worker Well-being Takes Center Stage: Fireside Chat with the U.S. Surgeon General.  https://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2022/11/17/twh-symposium2022-3/

[5] NIOSH [2023].NIOSH Science Blog:  Help for the Holidays: Preventing Fatigue, Violence, and Stress in Retail. https://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2023/12/01/holiday-retail-2023/