Workplace injury or “part of the job”?: Towards a gendered understanding of injuries and complaints among young workers

Breslin, F. Curtis; Polzer, Jessica; MacEachen, Ellen; Morrongiello, Barbara A.; Shannon, Harry S.

doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2006.10.024

Cited by 110 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…It has been argued that younger age, lower educational attainment, newness in the host country, and language barriers, which are more prevalent among certain groups of racialized workers, can limit access to good-quality jobs (Chui 2003;Baklid 2004;McKay, Craw, and Chopra 2006;Smith, Chen, and Mustard 2009). These factors may also influence exposure within jobs by limiting knowledge on health and safety, impeding understanding and communication of information, underlying unsafe attitudes and behaviors toward risks, and constraining agency (McKay, Craw, and Chopra 2006;Premji, Messing, and Lippel 2008;Oh and Shin 2003;Breslin et al 2007). However, differences in human capital may not fully explain disparities in labor market experiences.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Racialized and gendered disparities in occupational exposures among Chinese and white workers in Toronto

Premji

Lewchuk

2013

Ethnicity & Health

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Racialized and gendered disparities in occupational exposures among Chinese and white workers in Toronto

Premji

Lewchuk

2013

Ethnicity & Health

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“…Furthermore, even when they are aware of their workplace rights, some young workers are unsure of the formal mechanisms and grievance procedures they can use when their rights are violated (McDonald et al 2007). Indeed, young workers often treat workplace injuries as 'part of the job', partly because they are unaware of the procedures for complaining and also because they believe they do not have the capacity to change their working circumstances (Breslin et al 2007). This is particularly concerning because young workers constitute most of the risk group for experiencing workplace injuries and harm, including sexual harassment (Smiljanic 2004;AHRC 2012).…”

Section: Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Voicing their complaints? The silence of students working in retail and hospitality and sexual harassment from customers

Good

Cooper

2014

Labour & Industry: a journal of the social and economic rel

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This article examines how employees respond to sexual harassment from customers in the workplace. Employing a qualitative method to facilitate a rich understanding, this study uses exploratory interviews with university students working in retail and hospitality in Australia to examine their experiences of customer-perpetrated harassment, the constraints they face in exercising 'employee voice', factors that structure and perpetuate 'employee silence', and the actions that employees take in this situation. Preliminary findings indicate that the employees face difficulty responding to customer-perpetrated sexual harassment due to the constraints of contextual factors, including working conditions, social norms, and the nature of sexual harassment as a workplace problem. While silence is the norm, some employees use informal voice, which has a limited impact because of the power differentials between employees and managers. Other employees use informal coping strategies, which this article coins as 'buffering'. This research is important for understanding the experience of vulnerable employees and for providing insight into potential barriers to eliminate sexual harassment from customers in the workplace.

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“…Each vulnerability has characteristics that add unique barriers to the worker’s occupational safety and health (OSH). For example, a non-native worker may fear deportation for reporting unsafe conditions [Flynn et al, 2015] and younger workers may accept work injuries as “part of the job” because of their inexperience and lack of job control [Breslin et al, 2007]. OSH vulnerability may also intensify existing barriers to safety that are common for all workers, such as lack of training in small businesses due to financial constraints [Cunningham et al, 2014].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Differences in safety training among smaller and larger construction firms with non-native workers: Evidence of overlapping vulnerabilities

et al. 2018

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Collaborative efforts between the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) led to a report focusing on overlapping occupational vulnerabilities, specifically small construction businesses employing young, non-native workers. Following the report, an online survey was conducted by ASSE with construction business representatives focusing on training experiences of non-native workers. Results were grouped by business size (50 or fewer employees or more than 50 employees). Smaller businesses were less likely to employ a supervisor who speaks the same language as immigrant workers (p < .001). Non-native workers in small businesses received fewer hours of both initial safety training (p = .005) and monthly ongoing safety training (p = .042). Immigrant workers in smaller businesses were less likely to receive every type of safety training identified in the survey (including pre-work safety orientation [p < .001], job-specific training [p < .001], OSHA 10-hour training [p = .001], and federal/state required training [p < .001]). The results highlight some of the challenges a vulnerable worker population faces in a small business, and can be used to better focus intervention efforts. Among businesses represented in this sample, there are deflcits in the amount, frequency, and format of workplace safety and health training provided to non-native workers in smaller construction businesses compared to those in larger businesses. The types of training conducted for non-native workers in small business were less likely to take into account the language and literacy issues faced by these workers. The findings suggest the need for a targeted approach in providing occupational safety and health training to non-native workers employed by smaller construction businesses.

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Workplace injury or “part of the job”?: Towards a gendered understanding of injuries and complaints among young workers

Cited by 110 publications

References 26 publications

Racialized and gendered disparities in occupational exposures among Chinese and white workers in Toronto

Racialized and gendered disparities in occupational exposures among Chinese and white workers in Toronto

Voicing their complaints? The silence of students working in retail and hospitality and sexual harassment from customers

Differences in safety training among smaller and larger construction firms with non-native workers: Evidence of overlapping vulnerabilities

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