TY - JOUR
T1 - The Impact of COVID-19 on Transit Workers
T2 - Perceptions of Employer Responses and Associations with Health Factors
AU - Rice, Sean P.M.
AU - Greenspan, Leah S.
AU - Bauer, Talya N.
AU - Rimby, Jarred
AU - Bodner, Todd E.
AU - Olson, Ryan
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Occupational Hygiene Society.
PY - 2022/4/1
Y1 - 2022/4/1
N2 - COVID-19 has had a substantial impact on transit workers' lives, especially among public-facing vehicle operators. The current project examined relationships between workers' knowledge and perceptions of their employer's COVID-19 safety responses, job attitudes, and health. We surveyed transit workers (N = 174) between July and August 2020 and followed up 3 months later. Fifty-seven workers responded to the follow-up survey. Surveys addressed workers' knowledge and perceptions of their employer implementing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-recommended COVID-19 safety responses, COVID-19 risk perceptions, job attitudes, and health factors. Employees reported knowledge of their employer implementing ~8 of 12 CDC-recommended responses. The most reported response was informational poster placements; the least reported was designating a point-person for COVID-19 concerns. Significant associations were found between knowledge of employer safety responses and lower COVID-19 risk perceptions, better job attitudes, and greater mental and global health. Operators (i.e. public-facing workers) reported worse perceptions of employer responses, and higher COVID-19 risk perceptions, work stress, and turnover intentions, compared with non-operators. A time-lagged panel model found that COVID-19 risk perceptions significantly mediated the relationship between public-facing work status and follow-up depression, anxiety, stress, and global health. Results reveal opportunities for transit authorities to broaden and better communicate their responses to emergent occupational safety and health crises.
AB - COVID-19 has had a substantial impact on transit workers' lives, especially among public-facing vehicle operators. The current project examined relationships between workers' knowledge and perceptions of their employer's COVID-19 safety responses, job attitudes, and health. We surveyed transit workers (N = 174) between July and August 2020 and followed up 3 months later. Fifty-seven workers responded to the follow-up survey. Surveys addressed workers' knowledge and perceptions of their employer implementing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-recommended COVID-19 safety responses, COVID-19 risk perceptions, job attitudes, and health factors. Employees reported knowledge of their employer implementing ~8 of 12 CDC-recommended responses. The most reported response was informational poster placements; the least reported was designating a point-person for COVID-19 concerns. Significant associations were found between knowledge of employer safety responses and lower COVID-19 risk perceptions, better job attitudes, and greater mental and global health. Operators (i.e. public-facing workers) reported worse perceptions of employer responses, and higher COVID-19 risk perceptions, work stress, and turnover intentions, compared with non-operators. A time-lagged panel model found that COVID-19 risk perceptions significantly mediated the relationship between public-facing work status and follow-up depression, anxiety, stress, and global health. Results reveal opportunities for transit authorities to broaden and better communicate their responses to emergent occupational safety and health crises.
KW - COVID-19 risk perceptions
KW - employer COVID-19 safety practices
KW - occupational safety and health
KW - safety communication
KW - transit workers
KW - transportation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85126490222&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85126490222&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/annweh/wxab080
DO - 10.1093/annweh/wxab080
M3 - Article
C2 - 34623393
AN - SCOPUS:85126490222
SN - 2398-7308
VL - 66
SP - 334
EP - 347
JO - Annals of Work Exposures and Health
JF - Annals of Work Exposures and Health
IS - 3
ER -