Does having control over your work make you less likely to get injured on the
job? Or is workplace safety climate more important to your health? What are
the effects of using your skills on the job? What are the positive and negative
effects of having friendly co-workers? What are the most important factors
in determining exhaustion and persistent pain? How does workplace organization
contribute to overall health? Most of the existing literature on worker
health and safety fails to appreciate the ways in which workers are embedded
in a social context with complex relationships. Often, epidemiologic models
lack a critical approximation of power and control. This book critically examines
the intended and unintended health consequences of worker autonomy,
skill, and social cohesion, drawing from labor process theory and from epidemiologic
models of host, agent/exposure, and environment. It is directed
toward injury prevention researchers, sociologists, behavioral health experts
and industrial management professionals.