Work and worker health in the post-pandemic world: a public health perspective

Susan E Peters, PhD; Jack T Dennerlein, ProfPhD; Gregory R Wagner, ProfMD; Glorian Sorensen, ProfPhD

The Lancet Public Health (Feb 2022)

Work and worker health in the post-pandemic world: a public health perspective

Susan E Peters, PhD,
Jack T Dennerlein, ProfPhD,
Gregory R Wagner, ProfMD,
Glorian Sorensen, ProfPhD

Affiliations

Susan E Peters, PhD: Center for Work, Health, and Well-being, Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA; Correspondence to: Dr Susan E Peters, Center for Work, Health, and Well-Being, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA
Jack T Dennerlein, ProfPhD: Center for Work, Health, and Well-being, Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA; Bouvé College of Health Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA
Gregory R Wagner, ProfMD: Center for Work, Health, and Well-being, Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
Glorian Sorensen, ProfPhD: Center for Work, Health, and Well-being, Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA; Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 7, no. 2
pp. e188 – e194

Abstract

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Summary: The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of work in shaping population health and wellbeing. This Viewpoint applies a multilevel systems framework to assist in understanding the diverse and complex interactions of forces affecting worker health and wellbeing, and how trending changes in employment and working conditions have been accelerated by the pandemic. Government agencies concerned with population health and wellbeing, and economic activity must expand their capacity to monitor, evaluate, and respond to these trends. In addition, integrated enterprise and workplace-based approaches that consider the interactions among these multidimensional drivers will build organisation and worker resilience to navigate the continual changes in work and worker safety, health, and wellbeing in a post-pandemic world.

Published in The Lancet Public Health

ISSN: 2468-2667 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Medicine: Public aspects of medicine
Website: http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/issue/current

About the journal