Influence of work organization and work environment on missed work, productivity, and use of pain medications among construction apprentices

Abstract

Background: Construction is among the most dangerous industries. In addition to traditional hazards for workplace injury and illness, other threats to health and well-being may occur from work organization and work environment factors, including irregular employment, long commutes, long work hours, and employer policies regarding health and safety. These nontraditional hazards may affect work and health outcomes directly, or through effects on health behaviors. The cumulative impacts of both traditional and nontraditional hazards on health-related outcomes among construction workers are largely unknown.Methods: We conducted a survey among apprentice construction workers to identify relationships between work organization and environmental factors with five outcomes of economic relevance to employers: missed work due to work-related injury, missed work due to any pain or injury, self-reported workability, health-related productivity, and use of prescription medications for pain.Results: A total of 963 surveys were completed (response rate 90%) in this young (mean age 28) working cohort. Multivariate Poisson regression models found associations between the outcomes of interest and multiple work factors, including job strain, safety behaviors of coworkers, and mandatory overtime. Univariate analysis showed additional associations, including precarious work, and supervisor support for safety.Conclusions: Findings from this cross-sectional study suggest that work organization and environment factors influence health and work outcomes among young construction trade workers. Future work with longitudinal data will examine the hypothesized paths between work factors, health behaviors, health outcomes, and work outcomes.

Risk of Kidney Injury among Construction Workers Exposed to Heat Stress: A Longitudinal Study from Saudi Arabia

“…Work-related stress, as determined by psychosocial hazards that arise from the way work is performed and managed and a poor social context of work, have been determined to have a negative impact on sleep quality [76][77][78][79][80]. Construction workers experience all forms of work-related stress, particularly those employed in small establishments with limited financial resources and poor work organization that can lead to high job demands and limited implementation of health and safety measures [81][82][83][84].…”

Outcomes measures in current Danish pharmacoepidemiological research: a protocol for a systematic mapping review

“…clinical, workrelated, economic and utilisation, humanistic). The hypothetical categorical overview presented in Table 3, a result of preliminary literature research [36][37][38][39] and conceptualisation, has helped shaping the project idea and served as a starting point for conducting the systematic mapping review. It is important to note that the stated outcome measures cannot necessarily be obtained from Danish registries.…”

Work Organization Factors Associated with Health and Work Outcomes among Apprentice Construction Workers: Comparison between the Residential and Commercial Sectors

“…These factors are well-known in many industries and include rotating schedules for air traffic controllers [3], long shifts for healthcare [4], mandatory overtime for critical care and public service providers [5,6], and low job autonomy in domestic and food service workers [7,8]. Construction operations incorporate many work organization factors and restrictions on workers that have previously been associated with negative health outcomes [9,10]. However, the construction industry has other factors that contribute to worker health concerns.…”

“…While these health behaviors have traditionally been considered unrelated to work and outside the scope of workplace safety and health programs, there is growing evidence that these health behaviors are driven in part by modifiable work organization and work environment factors [19]. We previously studied a cohort of apprentice carpenters and floor layers to examine associations between work organization and environment factors on work and health outcomes of relevance to employers, including missed work due to work-related injury, missed work due to any pain or injury, health-related work ability and productivity, and use of prescription medications for pain [9]. This study found associations between these outcomes and multiple work factors, including job strain, safety behaviors of coworkers, and overtime policies, suggesting that work organization and environment factors influence health and work outcomes among young construction trade workers.…”