January 2, 2025
New UW research assesses the harm of workplace psychosocial hazards
New research from University of Washington School of Public Health examined the severity of occupational psychosocial hazards on U.S. workers while highlighting the underlying sociodemographic disparities that harm racially and ethnically minority workers to a greater extent.
The research was published in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine, leading to the creation of a publicly accessible database that provides insight to how these psychosocial hazards are present across occupations and sociodemographic groups.
Researchers looked at 19 psychosocial hazards, divided into the following three categories: job demand and control exposures, social environment exposures and work schedule and wage exposures. Data from the study found that half of all U.S. workers are exposed to at least three psychosocial hazards in their workplace that could negatively impact their health.
Marissa Baker, assistant professor of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences and the paper’s senior author, emphasized the significance of health equity in the workplace and how occupational segregation tends to create the health disparities seen in workers from less privileged backgrounds.