A pilot study on psychosocial factors and perceptions of organizational health among a sample of U.S. waste workers

TL;DR

This pilot study explores psychosocial factors and perceptions of organizational health among U.S. waste workers.

Contribution

It is the first study to assess attitudes and psychosocial factors related to organizational health in this occupational group.

Findings

Most waste workers reported high decision authority and job satisfaction.

Perceptions of support for health beyond occupational safety were lower.

Traditional occupational hazards remain a priority, with less attention to social determinants of health.

Abstract

Solid waste workers encounter a number of occupational hazards that are likely to induce stress. Thus, there are likely to be psychosocial factors that also contribute to their overall perceptions of organizational health. However, attitudes regarding the aforementioned among solid waste workers’ have not been assessed. This descriptive, cross-sectional pilot study operationalized the INPUTS Survey to determine workers’ perceptions of organizational health and other psychosocial factors of work. Percentage and mean responses to each INPUTS domain are presented in accordance with their survey manual. Pearson’s chi-squared tests were run on count data; Fisher’s exact tests were run for count data with fewer than five samples. ANOVAs were run on the continuous items. Due to a relatively low sample size (N = 68), two-sided p values < 0.1 were considered statistically significant. Most solid waste worker participants reported high decision authority, that they perceived their management to prioritize workplace health and safety, and had high job satisfaction. However, perceptions of support for health outside of the realm of occupational safety and health was lower. Addressing traditional occupational health hazards continues to take precedence in this industry, with less of a focus on how the social determinants of health may impact workplace health.

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