working conditions

Exploring links between working conditions and obesity in low-wage workers

cmonforton — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 10:46:54 +0000

Exploring links between working conditions and obesity in low-wage workers

It's no secret that the U.S. has a weight problem. Nearly 36% of U.S. adults are obese and another 33% are overweight, with respective body mass indices of 30 or higher and 25 to 29.9. Strategies to address this public health problem rely heavily on individuals' changing their behavior, such as increasing physical activity and reducing calorie intake. These interventions are easier said than done, and may not be making a dent in the U.S. obesity epidemic. A result analysis suggests that by 2030, 51% of the U.S. population will be obese.

A new report explores the potential links between working conditions and individuals' challenges in maintaining a healthy weight. Researchers at UMass Lowell and the University of Connecticut teamed up with worker leaders and staff of MassCOSH and the Boston Workers' Alliance to investigate the experiences of low-wage with respect to eating patterns, physical activity, and their work environment. They conducted eight 90-minute focus groups with a total of 63 low-wage workers. Four individuals participated in longer, in-depth interviews. Twenty-two percent of the participants were employed in restaurant/food service, 21% in healthcare/human services, 17% in construction and 13% in manufacturing; 83% of the participants were Hispanic or Latino; and 65% were female.

Four primary themes emerged from the focus group discussions:

Physically demanding work, such as jobs in construction or hotel housekeeping, and extended work hours, made it difficult to engage in exercise programs or other forms of physical activity. As one worker reported: "I don't have the desire to do exercise after standing 15-16 hours. I just want to eat and sleep."

Psychosocial stressors at work, such as high demands for performance and low control over how the work is organized, creates anxiety and leads to food consumption. One participant explained: "The work that three people used to do is given to one person. That creates more stress and eating more," and another said: "we had too much work so we didn't have time for lunch. I needed the job..sometimes I work 10 or 12 hours...when I got home I ate fast food."

Time pressure and work schedules influence workers' eating patterns. As one worker noted: "Rushing to the next job and wanting something quick...I buy a donut and coffee to help keep me awake."

The food environment at their jobs influence their meal options and eating habits. One participant explained: "I don't have a microwave to heat up my food," and another said: "many factories only have 1 or 2 microwaves even though there are a lot of employees." Worse yet, the participants reported: "there was no place to sit and eat," with another adding: "the 'cafeteria' is in a corner of a dirty and unsanitary room."

Nicole Champagne, Ed.D. of UMass Lowell’s Department of Community Health and Sustainability said

"This report shows what an important impact the conditions of a person’s workplace can have on their health. When we are only looking at individual behaviors, such as diet and exercise habits as a way to improve health, we are missing a big piece of the puzzle.”

The worker participants and researchers offer a host of recommendations to improve working conditions in ways to address the obesity and overweight problem. These include:

Employers supporting daily communications about rest and meal breaks to facilitate healthy meal planning;
Employers providing a clean space for eating with sufficient refrigerators and microwaves for the number of employees;
Policy makers including working conditions as a part of workplace wellness programs;
Worker advocacy groups and unions engaging members in participatory programs to improve their health status;
Insurance companies providing rate reductions for employers who make work environment improvements that affect obesity risk; and
Employers and governments adopting living wage policies to make the lives of low-wage workers less stressful.

Aaron Carroll writing at The Incidental Economist reminded me of a classic Doonesbury cartoon featuring Jane Fonda (actress and workout video star) and a housekeeper.

"Ms. Fonda tells the other woman that she looks worn down and that she should exercise more. The cleaning lady replies that she doesn’t have time for such things. Ms. Fonda than lectures her on the fact that no one is busier than her, as a 'wife, movie star, activist, and entrepreneur,' and that if she can find time to exercise, then anyone can."

"The cleaning lady responds with one of the most insightful retorts I have ever read. She says, 'you’re as busy as you want to be. I’m as busy as I got to be. I hate to break it to you, but there’s a big difference.'"

cmonforton Wed, 11/28/2012 - 05:46

Occupational Health News Roundup

lborkowski — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 15:07:49 +0000

Occupational Health News Roundup

Last month, workers from warehouses run by Walmart contractors NFI and Warestaff walked off the job and marched from Ontario, CA to Los Angeles to draw attention to unsafe working conditions. Now, employees of Walmart itself have walked off the job in several cities. On October 4, Josh Eidelson reported in Salon:

Today, for the first time in Wal-Mart’s 50-year history, workers at multiple stores are out on strike. Minutes ago, dozens of workers at Southern California stores launched a one-day work stoppage in protest of alleged retaliation against their attempts to organize. In a few hours, they’ll join supporters for a mass rally outside a Pico Rivera, Calif., store. This is the latest – and most dramatic – of the recent escalations in the decades-long struggle between organized labor and the largest private employer in the world.

... Wal-Mart is entirely union-free in North America, and has worked aggressively to stay that way. Today’s strike is an outgrowth of a year of organizing by OUR Walmart, an organization of Wal-Mart workers. OUR Walmart is backed by the United Food and Commercial Workers union, but hasn’t sought union recognition from Wal-Mart; its members have campaigned for improvements in their local stores and converged at Wal-Mart’s annual shareholder meeting.

They say their efforts have won some modest improvements, but also inspired a wave of illegal retaliation by the retail giant, which they charge is more concerned with suppressing activism than complying with the law.

Christina Wilkie and Alice Hines report in the Huffington Post about a confidential Walmart memo regarding the strikes, which involved workers from 28 stores in 12 cities:

The memo makes clear that Walmart, the world's largest private employer, views the labor protests as a serious attack, a message that runs contrary to the company's public comments that the strikes are mere "publicity stunts," as Walmart's vice president of communications David Tovar told The Huffington Post Tuesday.

... The majority of the memo is aimed at instructing managers not to violate workers' legal right to engage in concerted activity, or non-union labor organizing. Managers are directed not to “discipline” employees who engage in walkouts, sit-ins or sick-outs.

Legal experts said the confidential memo shows an unprecedented level of caution from a company that has taken harsh stances towards employee attempts to organize in the past.

Meanwhile, a suit filed by temporary workers in the US District Court of Illinois alleges Walmart and two of its staffing agencies violated overtime and minimum-wage laws.

In other news:

New York Times: Celina Alvarez and Rocio Loyola are just two of the food-service workers who are threatened with losing their jobs if they take a day off sick. New York's City Council may require employers to provide paid sick days, a move the Times editorial board supports.

Spiegel Online: Kik, the German discount clothing retailer, has offered payouts of just $1,930 per victim for each of the 259 workers who perished in a fire in a Karachi, Pakistan factory that was producing jeans for Kik stores.

Charleston Gazette: Although the Mine Safety and Health Administration has completed work on a final rule addressing black lung disease in miners, records show the Department of Labor has not yet sent the rule to the White House Office of Management and Budget, which must review it before the final rule can take effect.

NBC Southern California: Jose Melena, a 62-year-old grandfather, was killed by being "essentially cooked to death" in a pressure cooker at the Bumble Bee Tuna processing plant in Santa Fe Springs, California. The company's CEO posted an open letter about Melena's death on the Bumble Bee website, and the company closed the plant for three days in honor of Melena.

Huffington Post Blog: Chipotle Mexican Grill has become the 11th company to sign an agreement with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers' Fair Food Program, which increases farmworker pay and establishes a code of conduct, complaint resolution process, and third-party audit system to examine grower compliance.

lborkowski Wed, 10/24/2012 - 11:07