Together, we can ensure that the conditions of work promote the

health and well-being of workers and communities.

August 2022 Newsletter

The Utah Center for Promotion of Work Equity Research (U-POWER) is pleased to announce the date of our second Spring Community Conference on April 13, 2023!

U-POWER’s Spring Conference is hosted by the Outreach Core (Project Leads Drs. Lisa Gren and Ivette Lopez) and aims to expand a community of practice that shares the concern of changing the conditions of work and advancing Total Worker Health®. U-POWER’s community of practice includes researchers with scientific expertise, practice-based professionals with operational expertise, and community members with local knowledge expertise and the community’s trust. The Spring Conference emphasizes those vital connections with the community and the importance of community-based participatory research.

This year's conference will expand from a half to a full day and will include panels and talks from community stakeholders and U-POWER personnel, as well as breakout sessions and workshops in the afternoon. If you are interested in tabling or presenting a panel or workshop at the conference, please contact Camie Schaefer. 

Registration will open in early 2023, but be sure to save the date on your calendar now! 

This past week on our social media channels, U-POWER has been exploring the effects of work arrangements on Total Worker Health®. Labor regulations, workplace norms, and societal requirements have long been premised on the “standard” work arrangement: “a job that is continuous, full-time, with a direct relationship between employer and employee.” For approximately three-fourths of the American working population, this work arrangement can be described by Dolly Parton’s iconic song “9 to 5”: working eight hours a day, five days a week. But what do work arrangements look like for the rest of the population, and what impact does that have on the health of those workers?

What is non-standard work?

Non-standard work is an umbrella term that includes a number of alternative work arrangements, including precarious, contingent, fissured, gig, and temporary work. Check out the figure below for some of the ways non-standard work can present.

What are the consequences of non-standard work?

For some, non-standard work arrangements are a boon to work-life balance. Temporary or contingent work can offer employees the flexibility to pursue a career change, explore entrepreneurship, pursue creative careers, or provide care to a family member or friend. However, for many others, non-standard work presents a challenge to health and safety. 

One reason is the simple fact that workplace injuries are much more likely to occur when a worker is new on the job and therefore unfamiliar with the risks of a task. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) collated research on some of the industries most likely to employ non-standard work (manufacturing and service) and found that temporary workers have a higher rate of workplace injury. In the industrial-manufacturing sector, which accounts for approximately 37% of all non-standard work arrangements, many of these injuries were severe, including “crushing incidents, lacerations, punctures, and fractures.” 

Other reasons for increased workplace injury and illness among non-standard work arrangements include low levels of social support and reluctance to refuse unsafe work. Workers in non-standard arrangements are also less likely to hold health insurance and have access to retirement plans. Workers with non-standard arrangements tend to feel that their employers are not invested in them, and often miss out on important company announcements and training. And if their employment is insecure, workers are much more likely to take on hazardous tasks or come to work while ill. Insecure work is also associated with isolation, repetitive tasks, and career uncertainty. 

Who is most likely to perform non-standard work?

Non-standard work is often associated with younger workers who are pursuing secondary education, and many of our cultural narratives about non-standard work reflect this belief. If young adults don’t have access to employer-based health insurance, then they’ll likely gain it when moving into their so-called permanent job. While this belief ignores the fact that half of young adults have a chronic health condition, it’s also based on false information. In fact, one study in 2019 found that 57% of people working temporary assignments were aged 35 or older. 

Non-standard work arrangements are inequitably distributed among races, with Black and Hispanic/Latino workers much more likely to staff temporary jobs or online gig work. 

This is especially the case among blue-collar temp workers, where workers are three times as likely to be Black or Latino. This reality exacerbates the income and health disparities experienced by Black, Indigenous, and other people of color. 

August U-POWER Seminar Series: Solutions for a Changing World: Reduction of Hazardous Exposures in Small Businesses through a Community Health Worker Intervention

Join us on August 18^th for a presentation from Dr. Paloma Beamer on her work with community health workers (promotoras) to help relieve the burden of occupational disease among small businesses. Dr. Beamer notes that “more than 50 years after the creation of OSHA, occupational disease is still a leading cause of death in the US with a disproportionate burden experienced by the Latinx population. Small businesses pose a particular risk as they often use hazardous chemicals with less access to health and safety expertise. The COVID-19 pandemic has also served to highlight these disparities and vulnerabilities." All are welcome, but we would like to extend a special invitation to community health workers and those interested in community-engaged research.

This event will be held on August 18, 2022 at 4:00 pm (MST).

Join us at: https://utah.zoom.us/j/96924885406

Passcode: 587188

"Dr. Beamer will provide an overview of a community engaged research collaboration to address these issues through a community health worker intervention. Together they have measured volatile organic compounds in beauty salons and auto shops and designed the intervention components. In response to small business needs during the COVID-19 pandemic they developed a tele-promotora program. They also conducted surveys with small businesses to understand how the pandemic was changing their work practices and their risk perceptions regarding COVID-19, disinfectants, vaccination, and economic insecurities."

U-POWER Spotlight: Incorporating Worksite Interventions in Safety and Health (IWISH)

Approximately 10% of US workers (14.4 million) are exposed to infectious diseases at least once per week, and 18.5% (26.7 million) at least once per month. Essential workers have had to continue working during the COVID-19 pandemic, often at great risk of infection. This burden has disproportionately affected vulnerable groups, with Black, Hispanic, and Native American / Alaskan Native people experiencing higher rates of COVID-19 infection and death compared to White people. 

While COVID-19 continues to disrupt businesses and cause psychosocial stress, illness, and mortality among workers, researchers must prepare for future pandemics of respiratory infectious diseases.

In U-POWER's research project "Incorporating Worksite Interventions in Safety and Health (IWISH)," Principal Investigators Dr. Lisa Gren and Dr. Jeremy Biggs have formed partnerships with different manufacturing companies across Utah to examine how workers can be engaged in the process of making their workplace safe. They will conduct surveys and focus groups with employers, employees, and subject matter experts to find out what controls help limit workplace infections and what makes people feel safe at work. They will work with those companies to implement controls and develop guidelines to be used in other workplaces. 

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Total Worker Health® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Participation by the Utah Center for Promotion of Work Equity Research (U-POWER) does not imply endorsement by HHS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.