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Total Worker Health ® and Small Business Employee Perceptions of Health Climate, Safety Climate, and Well-Being during COVID-19

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  • Carol E. Brown

    (Center for Health, Work & Environment, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus, 13001 E. 17th Pl., 3rd Floor, Mail Stop B119, Aurora, CO 80045, USA)

  • Lynn Dexter

    (Center for Health, Work & Environment, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus, 13001 E. 17th Pl., 3rd Floor, Mail Stop B119, Aurora, CO 80045, USA)

  • Natalie V. Schwatka

    (Center for Health, Work & Environment, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus, 13001 E. 17th Pl., 3rd Floor, Mail Stop B119, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
    Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus, 13001 E. 17th Pl., 3rd Floor, Mail Stop B119, Aurora, CO 80045, USA)

  • Miranda Dally

    (Center for Health, Work & Environment, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus, 13001 E. 17th Pl., 3rd Floor, Mail Stop B119, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
    Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus, 13001 E. 17th Pl., 3rd Floor, Mail Stop B119, Aurora, CO 80045, USA)

  • Liliana Tenney

    (Center for Health, Work & Environment, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus, 13001 E. 17th Pl., 3rd Floor, Mail Stop B119, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
    Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus, 13001 E. 17th Pl., 3rd Floor, Mail Stop B119, Aurora, CO 80045, USA)

  • Erin Shore

    (Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Public Health, University of North Carolina, 135 Dauer Drive, 2101 McGavran-Greenberg Hall, CB #7435, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7435, USA)

  • Lee S. Newman

    (Center for Health, Work & Environment, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus, 13001 E. 17th Pl., 3rd Floor, Mail Stop B119, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
    Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus, 13001 E. 17th Pl., 3rd Floor, Mail Stop B119, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
    Department of Epidemiology, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus, 13001 E. 17th Pl., 3rd Floor, Mail Stop B119, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
    Division of Pulmonary Sciences and Critical Care Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus, 13001 E. 17th Pl., 3rd Floor, Mail Stop B119, Aurora, CO 80045, USA)

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic created workplace challenges for employee safety and health, especially in small enterprises. We used linear mixed-effects regression to examine changes in health climate, safety climate, and worker well-being, prior to the pandemic and at two timepoints during it. We also examined whether employees at organizations that had received a TWH leadership development intervention prior to COVID-19 would better maintain pre-pandemic perceptions of climates and well-being. The final study cohort consisted of 261 employees from 31 organizations. No differences were observed in mean outcome scores between the leadership intervention groups at any of the survey timepoints. We combined intervention groups to examine the difference across timepoints. Perceptions of health and safety climates remained stable across all timepoints. However, employee well-being scores declined between the pre-pandemic period and subsequent COVID-19 timepoints. These findings suggest that while small organizations continued to be viewed as supporting employees’ health and safety over the course of the pandemic, well-being scores declined, indicating that other factors contributed to decreased well-being. The findings from this study have implications for small business leaders as they navigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the health, safety, and well-being on their organizations and employees.

Suggested Citation

  • Carol E. Brown & Lynn Dexter & Natalie V. Schwatka & Miranda Dally & Liliana Tenney & Erin Shore & Lee S. Newman, 2021. "Total Worker Health ® and Small Business Employee Perceptions of Health Climate, Safety Climate, and Well-Being during COVID-19," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(18), pages 1-15, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:18:p:9702-:d:635863
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Robert W. Fairlie, 2020. "The Impact of Covid-19 on Small Business Owners: The First Three Months after Social-Distancing Restrictions," CESifo Working Paper Series 8581, CESifo.
    2. Natalie V. Schwatka & Miranda Dally & Liliana Tenney & Erin Shore & Carol E. Brown & Lee S. Newman, 2020. "Total Worker Health Leadership and Business Strategies Are Related to Safety and Health Climates in Small Business," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(6), pages 1-14, March.
    3. Gabriele Giorgi & Luigi Isaia Lecca & Federico Alessio & Georgia Libera Finstad & Giorgia Bondanini & Lucrezia Ginevra Lulli & Giulio Arcangeli & Nicola Mucci, 2020. "COVID-19-Related Mental Health Effects in the Workplace: A Narrative Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(21), pages 1-22, October.
    4. André Spicer, 2020. "Organizational Culture and COVID‐19," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(8), pages 1737-1740, December.
    5. Robert Fairlie, 2020. "The impact of COVID‐19 on small business owners: Evidence from the first three months after widespread social‐distancing restrictions," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(4), pages 727-740, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Achim Siegel & Aileen C. Hoge & Anna T. Ehmann & Peter Martus & Monika A. Rieger, 2021. "Attitudes of Company Executives toward a Comprehensive Workplace Health Management—Results of an Exploratory Cross-Sectional Study in Germany," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-20, October.
    2. Sara L. Tamers & Jessica M. K. Streit & Casey Chosewood, 2022. "Promising Occupational Safety, Health, and Well-Being Approaches to Explore the Future of Work in the USA: An Editorial," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-7, February.

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