Work

Work can influence health in many ways, including through links both with health care insurance and with physically hazardous exposures in the workplace.  Accumulating evidence also reveals, however, that psychosocial characteristics of the work environment – such as the extent to which a worker has control over her or his work –appear to be very important as well

Resources

  • Beyond Health Care: New Directions to a Healthier America

    This Commission report, Beyond Health Care: New Directions to a Healthier America, describes the Commission's work and provides recommendations for moving forward to ensure all Americans have an opportunity to lead healthier lives.

    See the Report

  • Denver: Where You Live Matters

    In the Denver metropolitan area, life expectancy can vary by more than five years depending on where you live. Promising workplace programs in Colorado—designed to protect and promote workers’ health—are striving to decrease these gaps and increase people’s chances of living healthier and longer lives.

  • Issue Brief: Work and Health

    Our work affects our health in many ways – and our health affects our work. This issue brief examines how work influences our health, not only by exposing us to physical conditions that have health effects, but also by providing a setting where healthy activities and behaviors can be promoted.

    PDF

  • Life Expectancy: Where You Live Matters

    In Wake County, home to the state capital of Raleigh, N.C., the average life expectancy is 78.1 years. In Robeson County--just three counties away--life expectancy is 6.6 years less. But early childhood development programs in North Carolina are increasing the chances of living longer and healthier lives.

More Resources

Perspectives

  • Stories

    April Manzanares

    When Wal-Mart rolled out its Personal Sustainability Project in 2006, it presented its employees with a challenge: What’s the one change you would make in your life to make the world a better place? April Manzanares, a Wal-Mart people manager in Broomfield, Colo., knew the answer right away. She wanted to be healthier. Meet April Manzanares

     

    Andrea Silva

    At Centura Health at Home in Denver, Andrea Silva resolved a struggle that many new mothers face – returning to work while continuing to provide nutritious breast milk for her baby. Meet Andrea Silva

     

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  • Leadership Blog

    Guest Post: Asking the Right Questions About Prevention

    by Robert J. Gould and Corinne G. Husten, Partnership for Prevention
    July 01, 2009

    When the answer is that living longer is a problem, you know you’re asking the wrong question. The Congressional Budget Office recently issued a memo identifying areas where Congress could save money in a health reform bill. When it came to disease prevention and health promotion, the logic in its response was troubling. Read More

    Prevention Matters: Stopping Sickness Before it Starts

    by David R. Williams, Ph.D., Staff Director
    June 04, 2009

    When Prevention Matters, the blog for Partnership for Prevention, asked that I write a guest post about the Commission’s recommendations, I gladly accepted the opportunity. Read More

    Losing Your Job May be Hazardous to Your Health

    by David R. Williams, Ph.D., Staff Director
    May 13, 2009

    On Friday, the Labor Department announced that the U.S. unemployment rate hit 8.9 percent in April – the highest level since September 1983. For Americans struggling to make their mortgage payments or searching for work, the financial impact is clear. What may be overlooked, however, is the effect of losing a job on a person’s health. Read More

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News and Events

  • New York Times: Getting Healthy, With a Little Help From the Boss

    May 22, 2009

    Get ready to get well. Boss’s orders. Once upon a time, corporations offered generous health benefits as a way to woo employees into their ranks. Now, most companies have turned from amorous suitors into stern parents — shifting more costs, and more responsibilities, to their employees. Read More

  • TIME: More Companies Are Paying Workers to Stay Healthy

    May 21, 2009

    If you're like most people, you probably have a mile-long to-do list that includes items such as "Get blood pressure and cholesterol checked" and "Start walking 20 minutes per day." Who knows when you'll get around to all that? But if your employer offered to pay you cold, hard cash for taking better care of yourself, you'd probably start right now. Read More

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