Effects of a Total Worker Health® leadership intervention on employee well-being and functional impairment.

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 582-598
Author(s):  
Leslie B. Hammer ◽  
Jacquelyn M. Brady ◽  
Rebecca M. Brossoit ◽  
Cynthia D. Mohr ◽  
Todd E. Bodner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Impairment ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Worker Health ◽  
Leadership Intervention ◽  
Total Worker Health

The social value of Participatory Ergonomics from a practitioner’s perspective

2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 919-923
Author(s):  
Kátia M. Costa-Black ◽  
Chris Arteberry
Keyword(s):  
Human Performance ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Participatory Approach ◽  
Performance Outcomes ◽  
Participatory Ergonomics ◽  
Worker Health ◽  
Healthy Working ◽  
The Social ◽  
Health And Well Being ◽  
Total Worker Health

Ergonomics applies a set of ambitious frameworks and robust body of evidence for integrating different practices to optimize worker health and well-being. One recognized framework is the participatory approach, which delves into sociotechnical workplace actions – developed from the ground up – to achieve improved human performance outcomes and acceptability across the organization. Much of what is known about the value of participatory ergonomics centers on return-on-investment analyses related to injury prevention. Outside this spectrum, little has been discussed. This paper imparts how a participatory approach can lead to various positive impacts beyond financial gains, mainly by focusing on continuous improvements at the management systems level and on proactively motivating people and organizations to embrace healthy working conditions and behaviors. Issues such as the social-ethical value of involving workers in work design and return-to-work solutions are discussed to illustrate the holistic value of participatory ergonomics in the context of Total Worker Health.

scholarly journals Ethics and Total Worker Health®: Constructs for Ethical Decision-Making and Competencies for Professional Practice

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (19) ◽  
pp. 10030
Author(s):  
Bonnie Rogers ◽  
Anita L. Schill
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Ethical Decision ◽  
Ethical Decision Making ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Ethical Dilemmas ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Work Hours ◽  
Worker Safety ◽  
Worker Health ◽  
Total Worker Health

Work has become increasingly technologically driven and fast paced, with long work hours, new/emerging hazards, and rising health care costs. Threats to worker safety, health, and well-being including non-traditional work arrangements and practices, precarious work, uncertain hazardous exposures, and work organization issues, such as heavy workloads, design of work, uneven work hours, and difficult interpersonal relationships among workers and managers are apparent. Furthermore, the relationship between personal health risk factors and workplace risks and exposures has drawn increased attention and concern. As employer economic pressures continue to build, it is anticipated that ethical dilemmas for practitioners will become increasingly complex. A review of relevant Total Worker Health (TWH) literature, related ethical constructs and competencies, an examination of codes of ethics for occupational safety and health and health promotion/education disciplines was conducted. A case study for TWH utilizing an ethical decision-making model for the analysis of key ethical issues and solutions was completed. TWH approaches to protecting safety, promoting health, and advancing well-being are increasingly being adopted. These approaches can reveal ethical dilemmas, and ethical constructs are needed to guide decision-making. A core set of proposed ethical competencies for TWH professionals are identified as a transdisciplinary framework to support workplace ethical culture.

scholarly journals Toward an Expanded Focus for Occupational Safety and Health: A Commentary

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (24) ◽  
pp. 4946 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul A. Schulte ◽  
George Delclos ◽  
Sarah A. Felknor ◽  
L. Casey Chosewood
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Safety ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Occupational Safety And Health ◽  
New Professionals ◽  
Holistic View ◽  
Worker Health ◽  
Safety And Health ◽  
The World ◽  
Health Concept ◽  
Total Worker Health

Powerful and ongoing changes in how people work, the workforce, and the workplace require a more holistic view of each of these. We argue that an expanded focus for occupational safety and health (OSH) is necessary to prepare for and respond rapidly to future changes in the world of work that will certainly challenge traditional OSH systems. The WHO Model for Action, various European efforts at well-being, and the Total Worker Health concept provide a foundation for addressing changes in the world of work. However, a paradigm expansion to include the recognition of worker and workforce well-being as an important outcome of OSH will be needed. It will also be vital to stimulate transdisciplinary efforts and find innovative ways to attract and train students into OSH professions as the paradigm expands. This will require active marketing of the OSH field as vibrant career choice, as a profession filled with meaningful, engaging responsibilities, and as a well-placed investment for industry and society. An expanded paradigm will result in the need for new disciplines and specialties in OSH, which may be useful in new market efforts to attract new professionals. Ultimately, to achieve worker and workforce well-being we must consider how to implement this expanded focus.

scholarly journals Generalizability of Total Worker Health® Online Training for Young Workers

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 577 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashamsa Aryal ◽  
Megan Parish ◽  
Diane Rohlman
Keyword(s):  
Work Organization ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Young Workers ◽  
Workplace Health ◽  
Worker Health ◽  
Safety And Health ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
And Control ◽  
Total Worker Health

Young workers (under 25-years-old) are at risk of workplace injuries due to inexperience, high-risk health behaviors, and a lack of knowledge about workplace hazards. Training based on Total Worker Health® (TWH) principles can improve their knowledge of and ability to identify hazards associated with work organization and environment. In this study, we assessed changes to knowledge and behavior following an online safety and health training between two groups by collecting information on the demographic characteristics, knowledge, and self-reported behaviors of workplace health and safety at three different points in time. The participants’ age ranged from 15 to 24 years. Age adjusted results exhibited a significant increase in knowledge immediately after completing the training, although knowledge decreased in both groups in the follow-up. Amazon Marketplace Mechanical Turk (MTurk) participants demonstrated a greater increase in knowledge, with a significantly higher score compared to the baseline, indicating retention of knowledge three months after completing the training. The majority of participants in both groups reported that they liked the Promoting U through Safety and Health (PUSH) training for improving health and safety and that the training should be provided before starting a job. Participants also said that the training was interactive, informative and humorous. The participants reported that the PUSH training prepared them to identify and control hazards in their workplace and to communicate well with the supervisors and coworkers about their rights. Training programs based on TWH improves the safety, health and well-being of young workers.

A mixed-method approach to tailor the implementation of a participatory Total Worker Health® program

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanne Nobrega ◽  
Cesar Morocho ◽  
Michelle M. Robertson ◽  
Alicia Kurowski ◽  
Serena Rice ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Method ◽  
Research Team ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Organizational Readiness ◽  
Worker Safety ◽  
Feedback Report ◽  
Readiness Assessment ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Worker Health ◽  
Total Worker Health

PurposeTotal Worker Health® (TWH) programs, which represent a holistic approach for advancing worker safety, health and well-being, require an employer to adapt programmatic coordination and employee involvement in program design and delivery. Organizational readiness for such measures requires competencies in leadership, communication, subject expertise and worker participation. In the absence of documented methods for TWH readiness assessment, the authors developed a process to prospectively identify implementation facilitators and barriers that may be used to strengthen organizational competencies and optimize the organizational “fit” in advance.Design/methodology/approachThe mixed-method baseline assessment instruments comprised an online organizational readiness survey and a key leader interview; these were administered with key organizational and labor leaders in five US healthcare facilities. Findings about organizational resources, skills available and potential implementation barriers were summarized in a stakeholder feedback report and used to strengthen readiness and tailor implementation to the organizational context.FindingsThe research team was able to leverage organizational strengths such as leaders' commitment and willingness to address nontraditional safety topics to establish new worker-led design teams. Information about program barriers (staff time and communication) enabled the research team to respond with proactive tailoring strategies such as training on participant roles, extending team recruitment time and providing program communication tools and coaching.Originality/valueA new method has been developed for prospective organizational readiness assessment to implement a participatory TWH program. The authors illustrate its ability to identify relevant organizational features to guide institutional preparation and tailor program implementation.

Building Capacity for Integrated Occupational Safety, Health, and Well-Being Initiatives Using Guidelines for Total Worker Health® Approaches

2021 ◽  
Vol Publish Ahead of Print ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolaas P. Pronk ◽  
Deborah L. McLellan ◽  
Jack T. Dennerlein ◽  
Paul Anderson ◽  
Melissa Karapanos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Safety ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Building Capacity ◽  
Worker Health ◽  
Health And Well Being ◽  
Total Worker Health

scholarly journals Advancing Well-Being Through Total Worker Health®

2017 ◽  
Vol 65 (4) ◽  
pp. 158-163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anita L. Schill
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
Health Hazards ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Worker Health ◽  
Illness Prevention ◽  
Safety And Health ◽  
Paradigm Shifting ◽  
Health And Well Being ◽  
Total Worker Health

Total Worker Health® (TWH) is a paradigm-shifting approach to safety, health, and well-being in the workplace. It is defined as policies, programs, and practices that integrate protection from work-related safety and health hazards with promotion of injury and illness prevention efforts to advance worker well-being. The most current TWH concepts are presented, including a description of issues relevant to TWH and introduction of a hierarchy of controls applied to TWH. Total Worker Health advocates for a foundation of safety and health through which work can contribute to higher levels of well-being.

scholarly journals Total Worker Health: A Small Business Leader Perspective

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (11) ◽  
pp. 2416 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janalee Thompson ◽  
Natalie Schwatka ◽  
Liliana Tenney ◽  
Lee Newman
Keyword(s):  
Small Business ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Business Leaders ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Health Safety ◽  
Worker Health ◽  
Small Business Leaders ◽  
Leadership Research ◽  
Total Worker Health

Total Worker Health® (TWH) frameworks call for attention to organizational leadership in the implementation and effectiveness of TWH approaches. It is especially important to study this within in the small business environment where employees face significant health, safety, and well-being concerns and employers face barriers to addressing these concerns. The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of how small business leaders perceive employee health, safety, and well-being in the context of their own actions. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 18 small business senior leaders and used a qualitative coding approach to analyze the transcripts to determine the frequency with which leaders discussed each code. When we asked leaders about their leadership practices for health, safety, and well-being, leaders reflected upon their business (65%), themselves (28%), and their employees (7%). Leaders rarely discussed the ways in which they integrate health, safety, and well-being. The interviews demonstrate that small business leaders care about the health of their employees, but because of the perceived value to their business, not to employees or themselves. Thus, they may lack the knowledge and skills to be successful TWH leaders. The present study supports a need for continued small business TWH leadership research.

scholarly journals Defining ‘Integration’ for Total Worker Health®: A New Proposal

2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (3) ◽  
pp. 223-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Punnett ◽  
Jennifer M Cavallari ◽  
Robert A Henning ◽  
Suzanne Nobrega ◽  
Alicia G Dugan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Promotion ◽  
Occupational Safety ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Occupational Safety And Health ◽  
Worker Safety ◽  
Workplace Health ◽  
Worker Health ◽  
Safety And Health ◽  
Building Program ◽  
Total Worker Health

Abstract The effects of work and the conditions of employment on health behaviors and intermediate health conditions have been demonstrated, to the extent that these relationships should be addressed in efforts to prevent chronic disease. However, conventional health promotion practice generally focuses on personal risk factors and individual behavior change. In an effort to find solutions to the myriad of health challenges faced by the American workforce, the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) established the Total Worker Health® (TWH) program. Originally organized around the paradigm of integrating traditional occupational safety and health protections with workplace health promotion, TWH has evolved to a broader emphasis on workplace programs for enhancing worker safety, health, and well-being. Among the research programs and approaches developed by investigators at NIOSH Centers of Excellence for TWH and elsewhere, definitions of ‘integration’ in workplace interventions vary widely. There is no consensus about which organizational or individual outcomes are the most salient, how much to emphasize organizational contexts of work, or which program elements are necessary in order to qualify as ‘Total Worker Health’. Agreement about the dimensions of integration would facilitate comparison of programs and interventions which are self-defined as TWH, although diverse in content. The specific criteria needed to define integration should be unique to that concept—i.e. distinct from and additive to conventional criteria for predicting or evaluating the success of a workplace health program. We propose a set of four TWH-specific metrics for integrated interventions that address both program content and process: (i) coordination and interaction of workplace programs across domains; (ii) assessment of both work and non-work exposures; (iii) emphasis on interventions to make the workplace more health-promoting; and (iv) participatory engagement of workers in pivotal ways during intervention prioritization and planning to develop self-efficacy in addressing root causes, skill transfer, building program ownership, empowerment, and continuous improvement. Thus we find that integration requires organizational change, both to engage two managerial functions with different goals, legal responsibilities, and (often) internal incentives & resources, and also to orient the organization toward salutogenesis. Examples from research activity within the Center for the Promotion of Health in the New England Workplace illustrate how these criteria have been applied in practice.

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