Steven L Sauter

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Work‐related psychosocial hazards are on the verge of surpassing many other occupational hazards in their contribution to ill‐health, injury, disability, direct and indirect costs, and impact on business and national productivity. The risks associated with exposure to psychosocial hazards at work are compounded by the increasing background prevalen...

Objective: This article describes development of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Worker Well-being Questionnaire (WellBQ). Methods: The NIOSH WellBQ was developed through literature reviews and expert panel recommendations. We drew from a representative sample of the civilian, noninstitutionalized, U.S. working...

Objective: Investigate associations between occupational injury to parents and the psychological well-being of their children. Methods: We used multiple logistic regression to examine effects of occupational injury to parents on measures of psychological well-being among their children using National Health Interview Survey data from 2012 throug...

Objective: This article describes the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health's (NIOSH) development of a conceptual framework for worker well-being. While well-being research is growing, there is a need to translate theoretical concepts into practical models for measurement and action. Methods: Multidisciplinary literature reviews...

Occupational health psychology (OHP), as it is known today, is preceded by over a century of inquiry in psychology, sociology, philosophy, and other disciplines regarding the conditions of work and the welfare of workers, organizations, and society. This diverse body of research is richly detailed in reports on the history of OHP. Less represented...

Over the last decades significant developments in the economic, political, technological, and social landscape have contributed to changes in the nature of work and the way by which people work. Moreover, significant demographic and social changes have had an impact on working conditions contributing to the emergence of new risks for health at work...

Background Research has infrequently looked beyond the injured worker when gauging the burden of occupational injury.Objectives We explored the relationship between occupational injury and musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) among family members of injured workers.Data and Methods We used 2005 and 2006 Truven Health Analytics databases, which contain...

Review relationships between work-life stress and health behaviors to advance understanding of pathways between occupational and individual risk factors and health and safety outcomes. A background on the Total Worker Health concept is provided, and a review of research on the relationship between work-life stress and health behaviors is presented....

I welcome readers to the second issue of the Newsletter of the Society for Occupational Health Psychology. The newsletter staff (Kizzy Parks, Joe Hurrell, Janet-Barnes-Farrell, Kim Davies-Schrils, Leslie Golay, and I) or-ganized this issue such that it would go to press before the Work, Stress, and Health 2008 conference. Bob Sinclair, the incoming...

This study expanded previous NIOSH-IRS research examining the effects of rest breaks and stretching exercises on symptoms and performance in data-entry workers. All workers spent 4 weeks with conventional breaks (two 15 min breaks per day) and 4 weeks with supplementary breaks (two 15 min breaks plus four 5 min breaks per day). One-half were assign...

Background There are relatively few studies of large national databases that contain information on working hours and health. The current study involved an analysis of data from a quality of work life (QWL) module developed for the 2002 General Social Survey. This module collected work and health data from a representative sample of the U.S. popula...

BackgroundA significant and growing number of people work long hours. Research examining impacts is limited, but raises concerns about risks to the worker, the family, the employer, and the community. The purpose of this report, which is authored by the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) Long Work Hours Team, is to motivate and guide futu...

The first Japanese National Institute of Industrial Health (NIIH) and US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (US NIOSH) symposium was held on March 22, 2006, at the Cincinnati Taft Laboratories of US NIOSH, and was hosted by the Organizational Science and Human Factors Branch (OSHFB), Division of Applied Research and Technology (D...

The present study used longitudinal data from an alternative keyboard intervention study to test pathways between physical, work organization/psychosocial, stress and musculoskeletal symptom factors postulated by Sauter and Swanson in their ecological model of musculoskeletal disorders in office work. Data on work organization, stress and musculosk...

Limited research is available on the acting (work characteristics) and experienced (perceived stress) workload of nurses. The relationship between risk and protective characteristics of work-related factors and the prevalence of musculoskletal symptoms in different body regions is also unclear. The study was a cross-sectional design with 97 female...

The nature of work has changed in the past 30 years but we do not know what these changes have meant for worker job stress. In this chapter we compare data from three surveys of the quality of work life from 1972 to 2002. At the most general level, work today is less stressful than it was in 1972. Workers report fewer job demands, more decision lat...

This chapter examines aggression at work perpetrated by individual insiders by bringing together streams of research that have often been examined separately. A comparison of the similarities and differences of aggression toward individuals, such as verbal abuse or physical attack, and aggression toward organizations, such as embezzlement or work s...

Changes taking place in the modern workplace, such as more flexible and lean production technologies, flatter management structures, and nontraditional employment practices fundamentally alter work organization factors and raise concerns about potentially negative influences on worker health and safety. These changes raise concerns about adverse ef...

The article provides a United States (US) perspective on emergent issues in work stress and current efforts to reduce stress at work. Workers continue to report relatively high levels of stress and national estimates indicate that in excess of one third of US workers report that their jobs are “often” or “always” stressful. Job stress associated wi...

Recent trends in the organization of work have raised concerns about their implications for safety and health in the workplace. Capacity for monitoring of these trends from an occupational safety and health perspective (also known as hazard surveillance) varies considerably across countries and regions. This forum article discusses current practice...

While research has suggested that interventions targeted at occupational stress (job stress) factors may improve clinical and work outcomes related to work-related musculoskeletal disorders, the emerging hypotheses relating occupational stress to work-related upper extremity disorders (WRUEDs) are not particularly well known among occupational heal...

This study examined the effects of supplementary rest breaks on musculoskeletal discomfort, eyestrain, mood, and performance in data-entry workers. Two rest break schedules were compared in a within-subjects design. Workers alternated between a 'conventional' and a 'supplementary' schedule in 4-week intervals. The conventional schedule contained a...

Asserts that although much is known about the relation between work and stress, present worklife conditions and their trends are often regarded as inevitable, which restricts action to various therapies offered to individual workers. This article discusses some of the recent actions taken by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health...

Asserts that although much is known about the relation between work and stress, present worklife conditions and their trends are often regarded as inevitable, which restricts action to various therapies offered to individual workers. This article discusses some of the recent actions taken by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health...

There is growing concern that rapidly changing patterns of work organization and employment pose risk for occupational illness and injury. In the present article, we assert that these changes create new needs and opportunities for research and practice by psychologists in the area of work organization and health. We begin with an historical overvie...

Rapidly changing conditions of work and employment have brought the topic of work organization and health to the forefront of concern in occupational safety and health. This article begins with a historical overview of psychology's contribution to the occupational safety and health field. It then argues that the changing work environment creates ne...

Rapidly changing conditions of work and employment have brought the topic of work organization and health to the forefront of concern in occupational safety and health. This article begins with a historical overview of psychology's contribution to the occupational safety and health field. It then argues that the changing work environment creates ne...

The purpose of this study was to investigate work climate factors and structural job aspects as predictors of workplace violence, with particular attention to the relative influence of both sets of factors. Telephone survey data collected by a large midwestern insurance company were analyzed. Interviewers asked 598 full-time workers about their wor...

Concerns have arisen that the keyboard is a causal factor in the development of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMDs) among video display terminal (VDT) operators. A number of alternative keyboard designs have been developed with altered geometry in an effort to improve comfort in keyboard operation. However, few data are available to subs...

Behavioral research and surveillance activities are conducted across the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This article highlights activities in 4 program areas: violence against women, tuberculosis elimination, HIV prevention, and occupational health. The unique constraints and opportunities of each organization and program focus h...

Behavioral research and surveillance activities are conducted across the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This article highlights activities in 4 program areas: violence against women, tuberculosis elimination, HIV prevention, and occupational health. The unique constraints and opportunities of each organization and program focus h...

This article introduces the special section on the American Psychological Association/National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (APA/NIOSH) collaboration. The section includes an overview statement of National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health research by Linda Rosenstock and 5 competitively peer-reviewed articles submitted t...

This article introduces the special section on the American Psychological Association/National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (APA/NIOSH) collaboration. The section includes an overview statement of National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health research by Linda Rosenstock and 5 competitively peer-reviewed articles submitted t...

The present study tested the hypothesis that performance would improve when the work rhythm of a highly repetitive task was synchronous with a worker's internal physiological rhythms. Experienced office workers (n = 20) used video display terminals (VDTs) to perform a repetitive, self-paced data-entry task in a simulated office environment over a 2...

This chapter analyzes causes and control of health concerns in VDT use. The types of strain most often associated with VDT use are eyestrain and musculoskeletal strain and, to a lesser extent, emotional or psychological strain. Eyestrain in VDT work is usually characterized by sensations of irritation to the eye or eye fatigue. Eyestrain seems to b...

A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the association of upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders and work-related factors among employees using video display terminals at a large metropolitan newspaper. The study included 1050 randomly selected workers from four departments. The workers were asked to complete questionnaires on symptoms,...

Reported job stress in the US workforce is on the increase. Among the causes are downsizing, reorganization, the pressures of global competition, and constantly changing new technology. This edited book of empirical studies presents models for job stress intervention both at the individual level and at the organizational and policy level. "Job St...

This . . . volume investigates the changing structure of work in our society and presents empirical research studies that examine organizational factors that appear to promote or decrease job stress. [The book] is divided into 3 sections covering new developments by which researchers conceptualize risk factors for job stress; emergent stressors i...

The relationship between workplace factors and work-related upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders (UE disorders) was assessed in a cross-sectional study of 533 telecommunication employees utilizing video display terminals (VDTs). Cases of UE disorders were defined using symptom questionnaires and physical examinations. Data on demographics, ind...

This paper presents an evaluation of exercises that have been recommended for the prevention of musculoskeletal discomfort among VDT/office workers. 127 individual exercises were analysed for their suitability for performance in VDT workplaces. Additionally, each exercise was judged in terms of its safety and its compliance with principles of physi...

This study tested the hypothesis that asynchrony between the work rhythm and a worker's internal physiological rhythms may be a source of stress in repetitive computer work. Experienced typists (N=20) entered lines of numeric data using a video display terminal in a simulated office environment. Each day of the 2‐day experiment consisted of six 40‐...

This book is an adapted proceedings of a conference cosponsored by the American Psychological Association and the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety (NIOSH), held on November 15-17, 1990, in Washington, DC. It presents selected introductory remarks, a reprint of the NIOSH "Proposed National Strategies for the Prevention of Leadin...

Index finger tremor accompanying voluntary movement was studied in 19 age-matched control subjects and in 19 grain industry employees chronically exposed to carbon disulfide-based fumigants. Visual judgments of tremor amplitude made by neurologists during clinical examinations equaled the sensitivity of computerized tremor amplitude measurements. T...

Self-report data on musculoskeletal discomfort were collected from several hundred VDT users in two agencies of a state government. Aspects of worker posture and workstation design were objectively assessed for 40 of the VDT users. Multiple regression analyses were used to examine the relationship between these ergonomic variables and musculoskelet...

Tremor was measured from the index finger during low force, position holding in 18 control subjects and 18 battery workers with low level exposure to mercury. All workers were asymptomatic on clinical neurological examination. No differences were found in average tremor amplitudes between the groups, but statistically significant abnormalities in t...

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recognizes psychological disorders as a leading occupational health problem. This document, developed by a NIOSH working group led by the present authors, represents a first attempt to fashion a comprehensive national strategy to protect and promote the psychological health of worker...

The relationship between ergonomic demands and visual system complaints was investigated among video-display-terminal (VDT( operators at two state agencies. Ergonomic factors suspected of posing visual demands were objectively assessed at 40 data-entry workstations. A questionnaire survey was also administered to gather information on somatic disco...

The behavioral effects of elevated PACO2 were examined to clarify risks due to CO2 retention in diving. In two separate laboratory studies, experienced divers breathed 6% CO2 mixtures under normobaric conditions. Normoxic study: Subjects (n = 8) first breathed air (control); then 6% CO2, 21% O2, balance N2 (exposure); and then air again (postexposu...

Recent students have demonstrated a daily accumulations of eye and musculoskeletal strain in video display terminal (VDT) workers which is not eliminated by the use of high quality workstations or conventional rest break scheduled (Zwahlen et al., 1984; Schleifer and Amick, 1989). These types of observations have prompted calls for limitations on t...

The effects of brief rest pauses on performance and well-being were evaluated for a highly repetitive, data entry task. Experienced data entry operators (N = 20) performed the task in a two-day experiment in a simulated office environment. Each day was divided into six, 40-min work periods. Subjects took a brief rest pause at the workstation (micro...

The effects of social interaction on performance and mood state were investigated for computer-based data entry work. A highly repetitive, screen-based, numeric data entry task was performed in a laboratory environment. Experienced data entry workers (N=16) performed the task under social and nonsocial conditions. Pairs of subjects worked at adjace...

Evidence of injury to the pisiform and dorsal sensory branch of the ulnar nerve in a video display terminal (VDT) operator is presented. The subject has performed data entry work via keyboard for 20 years and has the common habit of resting her wrist against the leading edge of the keyboard. Skin lesions have been observed in other keyboard operato...

A questionnaire survey of 905 clerical and professional VDT users was conducted at two state agencies. The purpose was to evaluate contributions of ergonomic factors, job-task features, and user characteristics to visual and musculoskeletal discomfort, and work performance inefficiency. Stepwise regression analyses were used to identify predictors...

Neurophysiologic, neurobehavioral, and neuropsychologic profiles in 17 grain storage workers, 1 grain inspector, and 4 malting laboratory workers are described. The effects of CS2 toxicity as seen in viscose rayon workers as well as in experimental animals is remarkably similar to the clinical profile of our grain storage workers. CS2 use explains...

The introduction of video display terminals may exacerbate lighting problems already present in the workplace. The sources and characteristics of glare are described. Glare control measures, including the location and design of lighting systems, managing outdoor light and using screen filters and hoods, are reviewed.

Magnitudes and correlates of stress were investigated among 248 office workplace VDT users and 85 nonuser counterparts using field survey and objective physical measurement techniques. Other than a tenuous indication of increased eyestrain and reduced psychological disturbances among users, the two groups were largely undifferentiated on job-attitu...

The clinical and neuropsychiatric features of seven workers from the grain storage industry are described. All were exposed to fumigants, especially carbon disulfide and malathion. Clinical manifestations included cogwheel rigidity, resting and action tremor, peripheral neuropathy, pyramidal tract signs, an EEG pattern of sleep apnea, and character...

The last half decade has witnessed a rapidly accelerating trend toward the application of video display terminal (VDT) technology for information management in the office workplace, and a growing body of scientific and anecdotal data on the implications of VDT use for the well-being of office workers [2,4,6-8,11,15,16]. A striking aspect of the res...

This experiment investigated the problem of quantitative division of labor in group performance in a new way by measuring variations in the extent to which members of a two-person group could control the range of error in feedback control of social tracking. Social tracking is defined as cross-linking of the motor and sensory systems of two individ...

An abstract is not available.

An abstract is not available.

Magnitudes and correlates of stress were investigated among 248 office workplace VDT users and 85 nonuser counterpart using field survey and objective physical measurement technique. Other than a tenuous indication of increased eyestrain and reduced psychological disturbances among users, the two groups were largely undifferentiated on job- attitud...

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1975. Vita. Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 208-216.).