142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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315372
Occupational Psychosocial Hazards of the Emerging U.S. Green Collar Workforce

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Wednesday, November 19, 2014 : 1:00 PM - 1:15 PM

Cristina A. Fernandez, MSEd , Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL
Alberto Caban-Martinez, PhD, DO, MPH, CPH , Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL
William G. Le Blanc, PhD , Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL
Lora E. Fleming, MD, PhD , Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL
Manuel Cifuentes, MD, ScD , School of Health and Environment - Department of Work Environment, University of Massachusetts - Lowell, Lowell, MA
Charles Chen, BS , Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, 1120 N.W. 14th Street, 10th Floor
David J. Lee, PhD , Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL
Background: The evolution of a new workforce can usher new and even change existing physical and psychosocial workplace exposures. The greening of the U.S. economy has created “green collar” jobs that involve protecting wildlife/ecosystems, reducing pollution/waste, and/or reducing energy usage and lowering carbon emissions. Little is known of the occupational psychosocial exposures of this relatively new workforce. The purpose of the current study is to compare select psychosocial workplace stressors (i.e., work-life imbalance, job insecurity, and workplace harassment) in green versus non-green collar workers.

Methods: Study participant demographic data and psychosocial exposure information were obtained from the nationally representative 2010 National Health Interview Survey Occupational Supplement (NHIS) and further linked to the Occupational Information Network Database (O*NET) to obtain green collar status. Multivariable logistic regression models were employed to predict job insecurity, work-life imbalance, and workplace harassment in green collar versus non-green collar jobs.

Results: After controlling for gender, age, race, ethnicity, educational attainment, and self-reported quality of life, green collar workers  (n=2,599), relative to non-green collar workers (n=11,198), were significantly more likely to report job insecurity (odds ratio=1.16; 95% confidence interval=1.04-1.30) and work-life imbalance (1.18; 1.03-1.35), but less likely to experience workplace harassment (0.79; 0.64-0.98).

Conclusions: As the psychosocial work environment is linked to several acute and chronic poor health outcomes, early identification of these risk factors is recommended for documenting the changing work environment and developing policies to promote optimal health at work in this new and rapidly expanding sector of the U.S. workforce.

Learning Areas:

Epidemiology
Occupational health and safety
Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Compare work-life imbalance, job insecurity, and workplace harassment in green versus non-green collar (i.e., traditional) workers.

Keyword(s): Occupational Health and Safety, Workplace

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am an occupational health researcher and epidemiologist.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.