EHS Wellness News
The Hazards of Daylight Saving Time
Many Americans will lose an hour of sleep on March 14, the first day of daylight saving time, when clocks are set ahead one hour at 2 a.m. local standard time – making it harder to wake up, causing difficulty in staying alert and increasing the chance of car crashes...
OSHA: Stay Safe While Shoveling Snow
While spring might be just around the corner, it’s still early to put away the snow shovel and sidewalk salt. A recent spate of snowstorms in the northeastern United States prompted OSHA to remind workers, employers and the general public of the hazards associated with snow removal and recovery work...
Prevent Blindness America Launches Vision Benefits Initiative
Prevent Blindness America has launched Sight Saved, a Web-based initiative designed to educate employers about the importance of providing vision benefits to their employees and to encourage workers to schedule regular, comprehensive exams and wear proper eyewear to enhance and protect their vision...
Study Highlights Need for Substance Abuse Treatment Among Workers Without Health Insurance
An estimated 3 million full-time workers in America without health insurance needed substance use treatment in the past year, according to a national survey conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)...
More Flexibility at Work Boosts Employee Health
A new evidence review suggests that giving employees more flexibility in their work schedules is likely to boost their health through reduced blood pressure and stress. But interventions that are motivated or dictated by the needs of the employer, such as cutting hours, either have no effect on employee health or make it worse...
Depressed Workers Have Decreased Productivity Despite Treatment Efforts
Employees with depression have higher costs related to short-term disability and absenteeism – even after receiving antidepressant therapy, reports a study in the February Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine...
New Report Address Work-Life Conflict Across Income Levels
On Jan. 25, the Center for American Progress and the Center for WorkLife Law at the UC Hastings College of the Law released a new report that analyzes the struggle millions of American families face in attempting to balance work and life responsibilities...
Leadership: The Type A Characteristic that Lowers Work Stress
According to a study appearing in the January issue of Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, most characteristics of the Type A personality are linked to increased work stress, but one exception can help reduce stress – leadership...
30 Minutes to Better Health in 2010
Adding 30 minutes of daily physical activity should top your list of New Year’s resolutions for a healthier 2010...
H1N1: Spreading the Message
As EHS professionals, what steps should you take to deal with the H1N1 virus, and what should you be doing to plan for future pandemics...
Stress Reduces Productivity in Depressed Workers
A new study suggests that psychological stress at the office – or wherever people earn their paychecks – can make it more difficult for depressed workers to perform their jobs and be productive...
Five Ways to Weather Winter Workouts
Winter weather doesn’t have to derail your exercise routine. As you adjust to darker days, colder temperatures and slippery surfaces, however, it’s important to be mindful of safety issues that come with the territory of winter workouts...
Health Promotion Program Helps Reduce Risks for Truck Drivers
A program incorporating Web-based education and other approaches can help reduce the high health and safety risks faced by truck drivers, according to a study in the November Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (JOEM)...
Top 10 Tips for Staying Healthy During the Holidays
The holidays are here, which means family, friends, parties – and germs. This year, in light of the H1N1 outbreak, many fear that the most wonderful time of the year will end up being the unhealthiest, too...
Smokers Worldwide Support Workplace Smoking Bans
A new study shows the majority of smokers worldwide support smoking bans in the workplace...
Global Survey Shows Businesses Turn to Wellness Programs to Improve Productivity
According to a recent global survey, improving productivity by keeping employees healthy and working is emerging as the top business objective for employer-sponsored wellness programs around the world – except in the United States, where reducing health care cost increases continues to be the top goal, and Asia, where the most important objective is improving work force morale...
Going Green and Fighting Toxins at Home and at Work
A nurse with environmental health experience spoke to EHS Today about minimizing contact with everyday toxins and taking steps to create greener workplaces...
Despite Flu Fears, Job Interviewees Should Still Shake Hands
According to a University of Iowa business professor, the H1N1 flu pandemic is not necessarily a reason to avoid shaking hands during a job interview...
Study: Physicians Working Overnight Not Linked to Significantly Increased Risk of Complications
Attending surgeons and obstetricians/gynecologists who worked nighttime hours did not have a significantly greater rate of complications for procedures performed the next day, but having fewer than 6 hours of opportunity for sleep between procedures was associated with an increased rate of surgical complications, according to a study in the Oct. 14 issue of JAMA...
Survey: Employees Want Coworkers with Flu to Stay at Home
Ninety-one percent of Americans said they want their coworkers to remain at home if they are infected with the H1N1 flu virus, according to a national survey released Oct. 20 by Mansfield Communications...
Nurses to Strike to Protest Hospital Swine Flu Safety Gaps
Some 16,000 registered nurses at 39 hospitals at three Catholic hospital chains in California and Nevada will join a 1-day strike and picket October 30 to protest poor readiness by many hospitals to confront the H1N1 pandemic, the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (CNA/NNOC) announced...
OSHA Prepares to Release Compliance Directive for H1N1-Related Inspections
To ensure the protection of frontline health care and emergency medical workers at high risk of infection with H1N1 virus, OSHA soon will issue a compliance directive to ensure uniform procedures when conducting inspections to identify and minimize or eliminate high to very high risk occupational exposures to the H1N1 influenza virus...
Study: Working After Retirement May Lead to Better Health
Retirees who transition from full-time work into a temporary or part-time job experience fewer major diseases and are able to function better day-to-day than people who stop working altogether, according to a national study...
Preventing Flu Outbreaks in Health Care Workers: Surgical Masks vs. N95 Respirators
Surgical masks appear to be no worse than, and nearly as effective as, N95 respirators in preventing influenza in health care workers, according to a study released by the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA)...
U.S. Fire Administrator Urges H1N1 Vaccinations for Emergency Responders
With the first deliveries of the H1N1 vaccine already underway, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is joining with the United States Fire Administration (USFA) in recommending that firefighters who provide emergency medical services (EMS) and EMS workers receive the H1N1 vaccination as soon as it becomes available in their local jurisdiction...
