Resources
U-POWER is excited to announce several forthcoming resources dedicated to supporting healthy, safe, and equitable work! Watch this page in 2024 for new links to materials we've been developing in the early years of the center.
Call it rudeness, disrespect, or any number of things, but incivility at work is an age-old problem. Incivility can take the shape of many different forms that range from outright unpleasantness (shouting, demeaning remarks) to non-engagement (refusing to respond to emails, not inviting someone to meetings). What’s more, with rising demands and workloads, a more diverse workforce, and new modes of communication, incivility may even be on the rise. U-POWER has developed a toolkit for managers who are seeing some of these troubling dynamics on their team.
U-POWER is excited to announce the Fall 2024 release of our online, asynchronous certificate program designed for health professionals, workers, and everyone interested in learning more about what we need to consider for a future of safe, healthy, and equitable work. The certificate begins with a short exploration of work as a social determinant of health and what we mean by worker rights, and then invites learners to consider who should be responsible for worker health and safety and how occupational health professionals think about their jobs. The second half of the certificate offers in-depth learning about the Total Worker Health® approach, how and why we tell certain stories about work, and what everyone can do to advocate for and create change.
Community health workers (CHWs) are a vital and growing section of the healthcare workforce who are dedicated to serving their communities, reducing health inequities, and advocating for better healthcare and service policies. However, the profession is still unknown to many, especially would-be employers of CHWs. For this toolkit (forthcoming Summer 2024), U-POWER researchers collaborated with a team of CHWs to develop a toolkit for establishing equitable relationships with employers. The toolkit is filled with information and advice for navigating this relationship, from introducing the unique CHW skillset to employers to negotiation tips for CHWs new to the market.
Activities
U-POWER hosts a monthly Lunch & Learn dedicated to sharing and amplifying research that focuses on key elements of worker well-being and work equity. Some months, these take the form of an introductory webinar to a concept that helps us understand the forces that shape working conditions in the U.S., while others consist of updates from researchers or organizations/individuals dedicated to achieving safe, healthy, and equitable work for all.
What do we mean by power, and how can power be measured? How can I move from a theory to the use of real-world data? U-POWER's quarterly workshop series gathers researchers from diffferent disciplines to discuss how they incorporate ideas of power along the research process. Faculty and student researchers both are invited to share questions, thoughts, and ideas for bringing power into occupational health research.