employment and working conditions

Question 1

employment and working conditions

Answer 1

contribute to social inequality in health and across generations
- determinants of an individual’s life chances (+ and -)
- positives (earning income, material benefits, source of social integration, and prestige)
- negatives (physical and psychosocial)

Question 2

health-enhancing aspects of work

Answer 2

• employment may enhance the health of workers through a series of mechanisms
• provides a critical link between educational attainment and earned income
• earnings from employment are the major source of financial resources necessary for workers and their families
• access to creative work, job growth, recognition, job satisfaction

Question 3

health-harming exposures at work

Answer 3

physical and environmental risk factors (related to occupation)
- exposure to chemicals, noise, heat and vibration
- strain-related injuries associated with repetitive work
- lack of physical activity due to sedentary positions
- shift duration and schedule (night shift)
- stress and job strain (too little task control and high levels of demand)

Question 4

hazardous occupations

Answer 4

agriculture – forestry, fishing
transportation – tractor-trailer, truck driver, material moving machine operators
construction – construction workers, roofer, iron worker

Question 5

sources of disease, injury, and death

Answer 5

physical demands and exposures, social job stressors, organization of the work setting

Question 6

karasek’s job strain model

Answer 6

job stress/strain arises from the interaction of psychological demands with decision latitude (control/autonomy)
stress - measures stressors in the work environment
job control - measures decision

Question 7

workers at particular risk

Answer 7

some people are at a greater risk for occupational injuries because of their gender, class, or race and ethnicity
- gendered division of labor
- working in the healthcare industry can be a hazard
- lower social class and ethnic minorities

Question 8

why are occupational injuries so persistent?

Answer 8

• some injuries are just inevitable due to the nature of the job
• some are romanticized on TV and in movies
• the disease has a latency period and does not surface until years later
• limited research dedicated to the upstream factors
  the power of industry
• possibly a blatant disregard for awareness and prevention
  lack or worker power
  the government’s role