Affiliation:
1. Texas A&M University
2. University of Michigan–Ann Arbor
Abstract
Abstract
Background: Solid waste workers encounter a number of occupational hazards that are likely to induce stress. Thus, there are likely to be psychosocial factors that also contribute to their overall perceptions of health. However, attitudes regarding solid waste workers’ psychosocial environment and perceptions of organizational health have not been assessed.
Methods: This cross-sectional pilot study operationalized the INPUTS™ Survey was to determine workers’ perceptions of organizational health and other psychosocial factors of work. Percentage and mean responses to each INPUTS™ domain are presented in accordance with their survey manual. Pearson’s chi-squared tests were run on count data; Fisher’s exact tests were run for count data with less than five samples. ANOVAs were run on the continuous items. Due to a relatively low sample size (N = 68), two-sided p-values <0.1 were considered statistically significant.
Results: Most solid waste worker participants reported high decision authority, that they perceived their management to prioritize workplace health and safety and had high job satisfaction. However, perceptions of support for health outside of the realm of occupational safety and health was lower.
Conclusions: Addressing traditional occupational health hazards continues to take precedence in this industry, with less of a focus on how the social determinants of health may impact workplace health.
Publisher
Research Square Platform LLC