Public Health

HealthyWorkplaces Manifesto

Cristina Banks, PhD
2014

Many writers acknowledge that in the next decade or so, the U.S. will experience a “health tsunami” (Reich, 2012). Several factors are driving us in that direction: the aging Baby Boomers, the toxic environment, a compromised food supply, the shortage of clean and abundant water, stressful work, growing substance abuse, lack of adequate and universal healthcare, and stagnant and declining wages, among other things.

There appear to be three major approaches to stemming the tide: (1) developing and selling more and different drugs and treatments; (2) making drugs and treatments more...

Within- and between-person changes in work practice and experiences due to COVID-19: Lessons learned from employees working from home, hybrid working, and working at the office

Siw Tone Innstrand, PhD
Marit Christensen, PhD
Cristina Banks, PhD
Karoline Grødal
2022

This study examined changes in work practices and experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic using a mixed-methods approach with panel data collected twice from an insurance company in Norway.

Key findings:

Main reasons for working from home were to maintain social distance, avoid contagion, and protect loved ones. Flexibility and time savings were also motivators. Most employees reported having necessary technical equipment to work from home and wanted more opportunities for home office in the future. Work-family balance and workload were similar across age, gender, and worksites...

Fragmentation in the future of work: A horizon scan examining the impact of the changing nature of work on workers experiencing vulnerability

Arif Jetha
Ali Shamaee
Silvia Bonaccio
Monique A. M. Gignac
Lori B. Tucker
Emile Tompa
Ute Bültmann
Cameron D. Norman
Cristina Banks, PhD
Peter M. Smith
2021

This study uses a horizon scan methodology to examine how changes in the future of work could impact workers experiencing vulnerability. The researchers synthesized diverse sources of evidence to identify nine key trend categories:

Digital transformation of the economy AI/ML-enhanced automation AI-enabled human resource management systems Skill requirements for the future of work Globalization 4.0 Climate change and the green economy Gen Z workers and the work environment Populism and the future of work External shocks accelerating changes (e.g., COVID-19 pandemic)

The study found...

A Policy to Do Better Next Time: Lessons Learned From the COVID‐19 Pandemic

Ed Yelin, PhD
Cristina Banks, PhD
Patti Katz, PhD
2020

This editorial, written in April 2020, reflects on early lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic and proposes policy considerations for future pandemics. The authors, Yelin, Katz, and Banks, highlight several key points:

The importance of early action in implementing shelter-in-place orders to slow disease spread. The need to balance public health concerns with economic impacts when deciding to lift restrictions. The shortcomings of "just-in-time" inventory practices in healthcare, advocating instead for planned redundancy in supplies and infrastructure. The role of the rheumatology...

The New Organizational Template: How to Design Work and Workplaces for Employee Health and Well-Being

Cristina Banks, PhD
2013

This document provides a comprehensive overview of the current state and future directions of workplace health and well-being initiatives.

Key points:
1. The global health crisis, including rising obesity rates, diabetes, and mental health issues, significantly impacts workplace productivity and costs.
2. Current approaches to addressing workplace health issues fall into three categories: preventive interventions, health promotion programs, and mitigation of existing health problems. However, these approaches have shown limited success due to various factors,...

2023 Work, Stress and Health Conference: Interdisciplinary Scoping Review of Literature Relating to Worker Health, Safety, and Well-Being

Cristina Banks, PhD
Alicia LaFrance, MPH, MSW
Ima Varghese Mac, BA
Patricia Iley, BA
Ed Yelin, PhD
2023
The Outreach Core of the California Labor Laboratory (CALL) undertook a scoping review of health, safety, and well-being-related literatures. This scoping review was conducted with the intent of establishing a more extensive Total Worker Health® (TWH) knowledge base from which researchers and practitioners could extend their efforts toward greater integration of TWH principles through a more robust platform of collaboration with their interdisciplinary partners. Hypothesis: Awareness and greater appreciation of the roles other disciplines can play in the development of integrated and holistic...

2019 HWES: Health in All Policies

Linda Rudolph, MD, MPH
Julia Caplan, MPP, MPH
2019
Healthy Work Environments Summit

The Interdisciplinary Center for Healthy Workplaces (ICHW) partnered with University Health Services for the planning and execution of the Healthy Work Environment Summit held at UC Berkeley in June 2019. A total of 120 attendees were welcomed to the event.

Goals of the day included:

Develop a shared understanding of how communities can redesign work environments to foster greater health and wellbeing.

Identify health in all policies (HiAP) and built environment efforts that would have the greatest impact at campus and...