Job Characteristics Associated With Self-Rated Fair or Poor Health Among U.S. Workers

Abstract

Occupation, lack of paid sick leave, and multiple psychosocial factors were associated with fair/poor health among U.S. workers at the population level in 2010. Public health professionals and employers should consider these factors when developing interventions to improve worker health.

Decline in the rate of occupational injuries and illnesses following the implementation of a paid sick leave law in Connecticut

“…The RRs for the change in rates of occupational injuries and illnesses varied greatly among the detailed service occupations affected by the law, which may suggest that the impact of paid sick leave on occupational injuries and illnesses is differential with respect to the occupation. These findings are consistent with previous research which has shown occupational injuries and illnesses to be associated with a wide range of health outcomes including occupational injuries …”

“…Previous research has demonstrated an association between paid sick leave and a number of health indicators. In nationally representative surveys, workers with paid sick leave have been found to have a lower risk of all‐cause mortality, fewer emergency department visits, and lower prevalence of psychological distress and self‐rated fair or poor health . The study examining all‐cause mortality found that the risk of mortality was lowest for heart disease and unintentional injuries .…”

Research Methodologies for Total Worker Health ®

“…In addition to screeners, questions, and checklists about the presence or absence of specific outcomes (such as injuries or disease diagnosis and treatment), investigators should consider the benefits and challenges of brief, simple measures (a single question to measure self-rated safety and health, 66 for instance) and more broad measures (multiple questions used to measure a single construct, 67 eg), which collect deeper data but may be more costly and time-consuming to administer and more complicated to analyze. Relevant resources to aid in this process and guide intervention efforts are available on the NIOSH TWH website and elsewhere.…”

Does paid vacation leave protect against depression among working Americans? A national longitudinal fixed effects analysis

“…Moreover, analogous to the gender differences observed in the present study, in other studies the associations between vacations and stress and mental health as well as between long working hours and depression have been shown to be stronger among women and among mothers (7,46,47). Difficulty in combining work and family responsibilities has also been linked to worse self-rated health (48). Previous studies have demonstrated that women are at a higher risk of a lifetime history of major depression and a higher risk of a 12-month Lack of paid vacation leave and depression history of major depression compared to men (49).…”