Unions and other worker advocates have always organized to protect the health and lives of workers. While we need to continue to address the physical hazards in the work environment to prevent accidents, injuries, and exposures to toxins and infectious diseases, we now also know how important it is that we address work-related psychosocial stressors (sources of stress at work or “psychosocial hazards”), such as high job demands/workload, long work hours, low job control, low supervisor support, work-family conflict, bullying, harassment, discrimination and low rewards.

Research studies document that when we experience stressors like these at work, over a long period of time, the chronic stress that results takes a toll on our bodies and minds. The stress we experience is not just in our heads but in our bodies as well and it is caused by the policies, practices and demands in the workplace. Eventually, chronic exposure to work stressors can lead to burnout and depression, as well as high blood pressure and heart disease.

The HWS is just one tool in a toolbox for learning about work, communicating with workers/members and creating conditions for changes in the workplace. Membership meetings, workshops, interviews or focus groups can also be used to collect important information about issues at the workplace. The HWS can be used along with all these other tools. 

After a group completes the HWS, an automated report of the results is generated and sent to a designated representative. This report identifies harmful working conditions (psychosocial hazards) and can serve as a basis for discussion with workers/members about problems in the workplace. It can be presented during a membership meeting or a  workshop, in an Executive Board meeting, or as part of a health and safety or labor-management committee meeting. 

The Healthy Work Campaign (HWC) provides tools and various strategies and resources showing examples of organizations (including labor unions and worker centers) that have successfully organized to change and reduce work stressors. These interventions aim to improve workload/staffing and reduce bullying, work-family conflict, poor job security, and low supervisor support.

The HWC has also identified existing evidence-based guidelines (e.g., see the Healthy Workplace Participatory Program) for how to establish work groups/committees to address healthy work that include workers/members and other representatives. The intent of these work groups is to come up with ideas, or to design programs or policies that can address issues related to reducing work stressors. Workers have front-line knowledge of these issues and are often situated in the best location in an organization to problem solve. True worker participation in decision-making is also an important tool to enhance health and well-being.

*These items do not represent all or the exact wording of HWS questions.