Category: Well-being
Want to Improve the Well-Being of Health Workers? The System Itself Must Change
The pandemic has brought attention to the safety, health, and well-being of workers in healthcare. Recent efforts to address these issues include, the Office of the Surgeon General’s Addressing Health Worker Burnout,(1) an “Advisory on Building a Thriving Health Workforce,” from the National Academy of Medicine’s National Plan for Healthcare Workforce Wellbeing (2) and Read More >
Posted on by 3 CommentsPromoting Partnerships to Explore the Impacts of Technological Change on Work and Well-being
Technology has a longstanding record of impacting work, the workplace, and the workforce. Automation, or finding new ways for tasks to be completed by machines and computers, has been a common industry practice since the 1970s [1]. Historically, the increased automation of routine tasks also increased demand for highly trained and educated people to focus Read More >
Posted on by Leave a commentPre-pandemic Mental Health and Well-being of Healthcare Workers
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare workers faced substantial work-related stress. Most research on the mental health and well-being of healthcare workers has focused on physicians and nurses, with less attention paid to other healthcare occupations. Recent research from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) evaluated the pre-pandemic mental health and well-being Read More >
Posted on by 6 CommentsExploring the Future of Worker Health and Safety in the Post-Pandemic World
COVID-19 has had a profound effect on work. The short-term consequences of the pandemic, including new safety requirements at work, mandatory remote work arrangements, reduced working hours, and even unplanned furloughs or lost jobs, were unexpected and severe for many workers around the world [1-3]. Though the economy is now showing signs of recovery, experts Read More >
Posted on by 3 CommentsMission Possible: Measuring Worker Well-Being
How can we measure worker well-being? Worker well-being is an important occupational health concern, but our current understanding is limited by the lack of a standard way to define and measure this concept. The development of a new tool, the NIOSH Worker Well-Being Questionnaire – or NIOSH WellBQ, may help employers and workers overcome this Read More >
Posted on by 3 CommentsWork and Well-being: The Changing Face of Occupational Safety and Health
There is strong evidence that work, health and well-being are closely and powerfully linked and need to be addressed together. (Dame Carol Black) [1] The conjunctive phrase “…and well-being” is often used in the occupational safety and health (OSH) literature in the context of health and well-being. However, historically, well-being has not been defined, Read More >
Posted on by 70 CommentsThe Role of Organizational Design in the Future of Work
The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted our society and economy. Every day, employers and workers find themselves encountering unforeseen challenges, finding novel ways of working, and adapting to a “new normal.” In a time when much is unknown, one thing is clear: the future of work is already here. As it unfolds, the future of Read More >
Posted on by 6 CommentsRising to the Challenges and Opportunities Presented by the Future of Work: NIOSH Introduces its Future of Work Initiative
The future of work is influenced by many changes to workplace, work, and workforce factors such as organizational design, work arrangements, technological job displacement, artificial intelligence, robotics, technologies, demographics, economic security, and skills. Advances in the future of work offer many opportunities, but they also create challenges for the workplace and work, with consequences for the Read More >
Posted on by Leave a commentAn Expanded Focus for Occupational Safety and Health
Work is changing. Technology, globalization, shifts in demographics, and other economic and political forces create new challenges for workers, employers, and those who work to protect them. In a recent commentary in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health we suggest that the field of occupational safety and health (OSH) must also Read More >
Posted on by 6 CommentsCOVID-19 Stress Among Your Workers? Healthy Work Design and Well-Being Solutions Are Critical
Experiencing an infectious disease outbreak can cause fear, anxiety, and stress.1-5 Along with overwhelming uncertainty and new behavioral ‘norms’ (e.g., cloth face covering or mask wearing, physical distancing), the COVID-19 pandemic has changed how we meet our daily needs, how we socially interact, and whether, how, and where we work.1,3 Millions of workers have lost Read More >
Posted on by 4 CommentsNIOSH Encourages Worker Well-Being Research
NIOSH continues to seek new ways to promote worker well-being research through programs and new initiatives, including the Total Worker Health® and Healthy Work Design and Well-being cross-sector programs. Total Worker Health (TWH) is a holistic approach to worker well-being. By acknowledging work-related risk factors that can impact health, the TWH approach seeks to improve Read More >
Posted on by 2 CommentsU.S. Surgeon General Highlights the Value of Worker Well-Being and the NIOSH Total Worker Health® Approach
In a recent article in Public Health Reports, the U.S. Surgeon General, Vice Admiral (VADM) Jerome Adams, MD, MPH, recognizes the important relationship between employment and health. The article, “The Value of Worker Well-being,” also highlights the efforts of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the NIOSH Office of Total Worker Health®, Read More >
Posted on by 3 CommentsPromoting Worker Well-Being through Maternal and Child Health: Breastfeeding Accommodations in the Workplace
As one of the fastest-growing segments of the U.S. labor force, the contributions of working mothers are vital to a strong economy. Yet working mothers can also struggle to balance their career and work demands with reproductive plans and caregiving. As a holistic approach to worker well-being, Total Worker Health® encourages policies and practices that Read More >
Posted on by 17 CommentsAdvancing Worker Well-being Across the Working Life: NIOSH’s New Center for Productive Aging & Work
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, by 2020, American workers 55 years or older will increase by almost 10 million, or at a rate of 33.5%. In addition, by 2020, most workplaces will have five generations working side by side. An aging workforce means having to think about how workers and organizations address Read More >
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