The Abysmal Organization of Work and Work Safety Culture Experienced by North Carolina Latinx Women in Farmworker Families

Abstract

The occupational health of immigrant workers in the United States is a major concern. This analysis describes two domains, organization of work and work safety culture, important to the occupational health of Latinx women in farmworker families. Sixty-seven Latinx women in North Carolina farmworker families completed a baseline and five follow-up questionnaires in 2019 through 2021. Fifty-nine of the women were employed in the year prior to the Follow-Up 5 Questionnaire. These women experienced an abysmal organization of work and work safety culture. They experienced significant job churn, with most changing employment several times during the 18-month period. Most of their jobs were seasonal, paid less than $10.00 per hour, piece-rate, and almost all without benefits. The women’s jobs had little skill variety (mean 1.5) or decision latitude (mean 1.1), but had high psychological demands (mean 2.0). Work safety climate was very low (mean 13.7), with 76.3% of women noting that their supervisors were “only interested in doing the job fast and cheaply” rather than safely. Women employed as farmworkers versus those in other jobs had few differences. Further research and intervention are needed on the organization of work and work safety culture of Latinx women manual workers.

The Influence of Organizational Aspects of the U.S. Agricultural Industry and Socioeconomic and Political Conditions on Farmworkers’ COVID-19 Workplace Safety

“…Consistent with political economy of health theory, these findings show that organizational roles that exist to serve institutional capitalistic aims are incompatible with occupational health [12]. Studies in the past have emphasized the impacts of harmful managerial practices, supervisory control, and workplace hierarchies on the health of farmworkers [62,63,65]. Several studies suggest that providing supervisors with knowledge about safety, labor policies, and worker rights can improve workplace safety for farmworkers [66].…”