INP4004

11. OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY, OHP

Occupational Health Psychology, OHP

Concerned with employee health, safety, and well-being

Interdisciplinary field

I/O psychology

Clinical psychology

Ergonomics

Public health

Is both a scientific and applied field

New emerging field of study

Development

American Psychological Association (APA)

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

(NIOSH)

Founding of Journal of Occupational Health Psychology

Awarding training grants to universities

PHYSICAL CONDITIONS

Infectious disease

AIDS

Hepatitis B

Loud noise

Physical assaults

Fatal

Cab drivers

Convenience store clerks

Nonfatal

Direct care medical personnel

Nurses

Repetitive actions

Temperature extremes

Toxic substances

WORK SCHEDULES

Night shifts

Long breaks of several days helpful, Barton 1995

Long shifts

Can cause fatigue and health problems

Long work weeks

48 hours per week magic number

Leads to heart disease if nonvoluntary

(Sparks & Cooper, 1997, Journal of Occupational and

Organizational Psychology)

European Council rule on hours

11 hours off every 24

48 total per week

Flexible schedules

Helps with absence

OCCUPATIONAL STRESS

Job stressors

Role ambiguity

Role conflict

Workload

Lack of control

Responsibility

Interpersonal conflict

Job specific

Patient death for nurses

Physical danger for firefighters

Job strains

Emotional—anxiety, anger

Behavioral—counterproductive, smoking

Physical—cortisol, heart disease

Psychological—emotional, job dissatisfaction

Demand/Control Model

Control buffers negative effects of stressors

Widely believed but research support inconclusive

ACCIDENTS

Leading cause of death in US for under 38 years old

1999 5.7 million workplace injuries in the U.S.

Estimated cost of work accidents: $131.2 billion in 2000, US

Relatively few fatalities at work compared to nonwork

Motor vehicle most common

Agriculture and mining most dangerous in US

Manufacturing safest in US, due to regulation by OSHA

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Causes

Employee stress

Employee personality

Inadequate safety training

Poor safety climate

Prevention

Human factors approach: design of equipment

Goal setting (pizza deliverers, Ludwig & Geller, 1997,

Journal of Applied Psychology)

Incentive systems for safe behavior

Management support for safe behavior

Training in safe procedures