Abstract
Work has become increasingly technologically driven and fast paced, with long work hours, new/emerging hazards, and rising health care costs. Threats to worker safety, health, and well-being including non-traditional work arrangements and practices, precarious work, uncertain hazardous exposures, and work organization issues, such as heavy workloads, design of work, uneven work hours, and difficult interpersonal relationships among workers and managers are apparent. Furthermore, the relationship between personal health risk factors and workplace risks and exposures has drawn increased attention and concern. As employer economic pressures continue to build, it is anticipated that ethical dilemmas for practitioners will become increasingly complex. A review of relevant Total Worker Health® (TWH) literature, related ethical constructs and competencies, an examination of codes of ethics for occupational safety and health and health promotion/education disciplines was conducted. A case study for TWH utilizing an ethical decision-making model for the analysis of key ethical issues and solutions was completed. TWH approaches to protecting safety, promoting health, and advancing well-being are increasingly being adopted. These approaches can reveal ethical dilemmas, and ethical constructs are needed to guide decision-making. A core set of proposed ethical competencies for TWH professionals are identified as a transdisciplinary framework to support workplace ethical culture.
Highlights
There have been dramatic changes in the nature of work over the recent decades
Health professionals including those in occupational safety and health, health education, and health promotion will find guidance for ethical decision-making in their respective codes of ethics
As the Total Worker Health® (TWH) approach continues to be adopted in workplaces, it will be important for all disciplines to support a shared set of values and understand each other’s responsibilities and professional standards as they relate to ethical decision-making
Summary
There have been dramatic changes in the nature of work over the recent decades. Work has become increasingly technologically driven and fast-paced, with goods production and service provision more likely to span cycles of twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Traditional occupational safety and health protection programs have primarily concentrated on ensuring that work is safe and that workers are protected from the harms that directly arise from work Building on this foundation, TWH supports a thorough understanding of factors that contribute to worker safety, health, and well-being, including hazards that arise from work and those that develop outside of work [6]. As the practice of occupational safety and health expands beyond the traditional responsibilities for safety and health protection and worksite health promotion programs move beyond a primary focus on behavior change, professional practice will increasingly engage a TWH approach This includes, for many, moving into uncharted territory for finding the balance between employer interests and worker well-being. Focused ethical decision-making in total worker health is essential as this practice grows
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