The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has developed a new tool for assessing worker well-being, the NIOSH WellBQ, a tool which was designed to be used by any organization to assess the well-being of their workplace.

The Healthier Workforce Center interviewed Chia-Chia Chang, MBA, MPH, Coordinator for Partnership and New Opportunity Development for the NIOSH Total Worker Health® Program, about the freely available NIOSH Worker Well-Being Questionnaire.
Mental Health Awareness Month
Not all disabilities are visible to the eye. Among those that are often non-apparent are mental health conditions.

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), one in five American adults will experience a diagnosable mental health condition in any given year. In addition, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), one in five American adults with mental illness also had a co-occurring substance use disorder (SUD). Recent challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with an increased understanding of the prevalence of mental health conditions, are prompting many employers to consider strategies they can use to support their employees’ mental health.

These strategies are good for employees. They demonstrate your business’s commitment to inclusion and offer workers the support they need to meet their mental health needs. These practices also benefit employers by empowering employees to deliver their best on the job, today and in the years ahead.

EARN’s Mental Health Toolkit is a gateway to background, tools and resources that can help employers learn more about mental health issues and cultivate a welcoming and supportive work environment for employees who may be facing mental health issues or need help for a co-occurring substance use disorder. It also presents an easy-to-follow framework for fostering a mental health-friendly workplace, all built around the “4 A’s”:  Awareness, Accommodations, Assistance and Access. 

Get started here:
Mental Health at Work: What can YOU do?
The Intersection of Work and Wellbeing, for All Workers

As America continues to move through the COVID-19 pandemic, I’m confident we’ll emerge stronger than ever, and one of the main reasons is increased understanding of the need to support each other. By crystalizing the critical link between work and...

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www.whatcanyoudocampaign.org
Bonus Resources & Events
From the time that we are young, we are taught that washing our hands is one of the best ways to prevent the spread of germs. But this simple act is not always executed as frequently as desired…even in health care settings where patient safety may be at risk. In fact, studies show that on average, health care providers wash their hands less than half of the times that they should. And this lapse in hygiene is estimated to contribute to healthcare-associated infections that impact one in every 31 patients on any given day.
 
On this episode of the Be Health Connected podcast, we highlight the efforts of Mercy health system to deploy a new technology to monitor and improve handwashing among health care providers. Here to share their journey and initial results are Kathryn Nelson, System Chief Quality Officer, and Dr. Keith Starke, Senior Vice President & Ex Officio Chief Clinical Officer.