Expanding Our Understanding of the Psychosocial Work Environment (NIOSH)

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http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2008-104/

NIOSH Publication No. 2008-104:

Expanding Our Understanding of the Psychosocial Work Environment: A

Compendium of Discrimination, Harassment, and Work-Family Issues.

February 2008

There is broad recognition that the psychosocial environment at work

can affect physical and mental health as well as organizational

outcomes such as work performance and effectiveness. This has been

the focus of publications, recommendations and conferences developed

by the NORA Organization of Work Team ). Past research across several

disciplines has revealed that gender- and race-related factors such

as values, biases, harassment, discrimination, and lack of support

for work-family balance can affect physical and mental health.

However, these features of the work environment have rarely been

included simultaneously with the study of other workplace conditions.

Thus, knowledge is still very limited about correlations among them,

as well as about potential confounding and interactions. This

document is targeted to occupational safety and health researchers

interested in evaluating the role of discrimination, bias and work-

family issues in occupational injuries and illness. I

t will also be of interest to other health researchers interested in

questions of the impact of workplace discrimination and bias on

health.

To develop this compendium, the researchers at the University of

Massachusetts, Lowell, through a contract with NIOSH, scanned the

formal literature broadly to identify and disseminate information on

measures used by researchers to assess the following domains:

* racism and racial/ethnic prejudice

* sexism and sexual harassment

* gender and racial discrimination

* work-family integration and balance

* support for diversity in the workplace/workforce