Employment Precarity and Increased Risk of Hazardous Occupational Exposures Among Residents of High Socioeconomic Hardship Neighborhoods

Abstract

Background While there is evidence that workers in nonstandard employment arrangements are disproportionately exposed to recognized occupational hazards, existing studies have not comprehensively examined associations between employment precarity and exposure to occupational hazards for these workers in the USA. The aim of this study was to examine relationships between employment precarity and occupational hazards in two contiguous high socio-economic hardship neighborhoods in Chicago. Methods Using a community-based participatory research approach, community researchers administered a community-developed survey to 489 residents of Greater Lawndale who reported current or recent employment in a job that met at least one characteristic of precarious employment (e.g. unpredictable schedule, insecure work, no living wage/benefits). Employment precarity was calculated using a modified version of the Employment Precarity Index (EPI) developed by the Poverty and Employment Precarity in Southern Ontario group. We modeled the association between employment precarity and occupational exposures using logistic regression models. Results We identified a high prevalence of precarious employment in this sample, as well as a high prevalence of self-reported exposure to recognized occupational hazards. Increases in relative employment precarity were significantly associated with self-reported exposure to chemical and biological hazards, physical hazards, and slip, trip, strike, fall, trap or crush hazards at work. Conclusions Results highlight the importance of using community research approaches and robust measures of employment characteristics, such as the EPI, to evaluate associations between employment precarity and hazardous exposures. These results suggest that variability in employment situations and resultant relative employment precarity are important predictors of exposure to recognized occupational hazards. Findings also suggest that health inequities observed among precariously employed workers may be partly explained by increased risk for exposure to occupational hazards, which has implications for community health and should be investigated in future longitudinal research.

Health Equity and Worker Justice in Temporary Staffing: The Illinois Case

“…Community researchers, trained by academic co-investigators, conducted a crosssectional survey of 479 community residents from all parts of the neighborhood who self-identified as being precariously employed [24]. Of the 464 individuals who responded to the question about employment through temporary staffing companies in the prior 12 months, 190 (40.9%) reported that at least some of their paid hours came from temp agencies; 139 (30%) worked either most or all of their paid hours through temp staffing.…”

“…One staffing company had six amputations, four of the whole arm or whole hand and two of legs [11]. Precarious workers in the Greater Lawndale study, described in the section above, reported a high prevalence of exposure to chemical, physical, ergonomic, and traumatic injuries, though identifying those who were currently employed through temp staffing was impossible to distinguish [24].…”