Works Initiative News | Worker Wellness & Career Opportunities

Wellness & Well-being Highlights July 16

Wellness & Well-being Highlights

for the

Week of July 16, 2023

This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog consists of topics from how well the new Suicide Prevention & Mental Health Crisis Lifeline (988) is working one year on to the dangers of using Kratom for pain relief to how work-related trauma negatively impacts organizations. Today, I wish to shed some light on the issue of how the WSJ recently broke an article pertaining to telecommunication workers and their decades long exposure to lead via the cables they worked with on a daily basis. Once again, we see big corporations not only ignoring the health & welfare of their workers in the field but their customers as well. With respect to the latter, the lead from these cables, etc. leaches into the environments where we live, work, and play. The science is clear: Lead is especially harmful to children! These children are those telecommunications companies’ future customers. Labor unions for years have fought to ensure safer workplaces. And, for the most part, have held firms to higher standards by balancing safer productivity with reasonable profits. However, the case herein goes beyond the workplace. At the very least, it should raise questions about the societal harm of unfettered capitalism! It was “people at the top” who made these poor decisions…and, yet, because our supreme court treats corporations as people, the only people who will seemingly pay will be those who unknowingly and/or unwillingly are/were exposed to this toxic metal.

Sources: https://www.wsj.com/articles/lead-cables-exposure-workers-ca6d67f0?reflink=integratedwebview_share

https://www.wsj.com/articles/att-verizon-lead-cables-telecom-5e329f9?mod=Searchresults_pos6&page=1

988…One year later (1)

988…One year later (2)

NYPD & Mental Illness Hotline?

Wall Street & MH

Students’ podcast on MH

More Americans seeking MH care

Teens / Girls / Depression & Suicide

Your morning routine & Depression

Update: PTSD

Opioids settlements: So far, so little

Opioids: Post Civil War

Crypto & Fentanyl

Opioid ODs / STL / Black Men

WI / Opioids / Harm Reduction

When crack was king

Kratom’s dangers

Biden’s plan for Xylazine

Pet Vets & Xylazine

Plans for Work-Life Balance

Getting rid of Menopause?

Mindfulness & Vacationing

Workouts & Vacations

OTC Birth Control Pill

BIPOC MH Tool Kit

Trauma in Organizations

Farmworkers / Heat / Safety

Telecom Workers & Lead Poisoning

FL & Public Unions

States & Average Salaries

Wellness & Well-being Highlights July 10

Wellness & Well-being Highlights

for the

Week of July 10, 2023

This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog consists of topics from how the concept worker wellness is gaining importance in the C-Suite to how the >50-year War on Drugs has cost Americans a lot in terms of lives and funding with scant results to the news of the first female professional athlete being diagnosed with the brain disease, CTE…which, currently, can only be determined postmortem. Today, I wish to shed some light on the issue of how good intentions can often have unintended consequences. More specifically, there is an ongoing heated debate in the US as to whether or not our public health systems should support harm reduction efforts. Harm reduction has more recently become a popular term as it relates to measures to safely assist people experiencing OUD (opioid use disorder) avoid becoming “dope sick” w/o fear of judgment and/or discrimination. These measures may include providing clean needles; free Narcan, tests strips, condoms; wound care; supervised use space; and/or counseling. Recent research has shown that compassionate care is a strategy that can improve the lives of those who misuse drugs while patterns of drug overdoses and deaths have followed major busts in several areas. With respect to the latter, why? Experts suggest that by destabilizing the illegal drug ecosystem in a given area, users seek their supply from less reliable sources (i.e., product with greater potency, laced with Xylazine, etc.) or go without drugs for a short period which can alter one’s tolerance when returning to use. As I have written before in this blog, policies on paper may look great but rarely ferret out issues much beyond first order consequences.

Let’s face it, this nation has:

a workforce shortage
over 2 million adults with OUD

Right or wrong, we cannot arrest our way out of the opioids crisis. Maybe it is time to stop penalizing those with a disease and begin helping them become productive members of society!

Sources: https://www.npr.org/2023/07/05/1183172045/fentanyl-drug-busts-overdose-police-dealers-trafficking-indianapolis

First Responders & Suicide Prevention

MH: One Size does not Fit All

Total Worker Health & Jobsite Safety

India’s execs commit to MH

Firms hiring Chief Wellness Officers

Swapping hard hats for safety helmets

+50 War on Drugs

Cannabis & Mental Illness

Narcan on the jobsites!!!

Opioid ODs & Cognitive Abilities

Opioids’ Impact on Rural Workforce

Paramedics approach to repeat opioids ODs

Wellness & Well-being Highlights July 3

Wellness & Well-being Highlights

for the

Week of July 3, 2023

This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog consists of topics from how poverty negatively impacts a child’s brain to the benefits of hypnotherapy to the recent US Supreme Court’s rulings on colleges & affirmative action and student debt relief. Today, I wish to shed some light on the issue of the “graying” of America. This week I include no less than 4 articles touching on aspects of how grandparents’ duties have changed over the past couple of decades. In addition, why some people into their 80s choose to continue to work. Addressing the former, I have made it no secret in this weekly blog the extent of our country’s opioids crisis. One consequence is that more and more grandparents—who once viewed their retirement years as time for worldly travels, rest, and relaxation—are now stepping up to fill in as parents to their grandchildren. Far too many parents in the 25-54 year range have lost their lives to what I referred to as a “pandemic” long before we knew what COVID-19 was. With respect to the latter, on one hand, the instability of global markets, climate change, epidemics, and a lack of defined pension plans in most workplaces in the past 3 decades have been cause for many older Americans not having sufficient funds to live comfortably in retirement. Thus, finding PT work in retirement is a means of survival vs a need to feed a hobby. While, on the other hand, there are those of us who are able to seek opportunities to contribute. Beyond the ultruism of paying it forward, research suggests that staying active (i.e., consulting, volunteering, etc.) builds/maintains social connections which can help stave off loneliness and early death. With an apparent worker shortage, it seems to make sense for firms to recruit and accommodate retirees to assist in filling in the gaps. To this end, retirees can offer more than institutional knowledge…they can also serve as role models. As my dear friend Dr Doug Swanson recently remarked, “This is the first time in US history that we have 5 generations in the workforce at the same time.” To me, that sounds less like a death knell and more like opportunity knocking!

Sources: https://the1a.org/segments/the-opioid-crisis-is-causing-grandparents-to-become-caregivers-again/

https://www.wsj.com/articles/grandparents-get-their-version-of-parental-leave-825fa88c

https://www.npr.org/2023/06/26/1184268060/what-does-an-older-population-mean-for-the-economy-society-at-large

https://www.sciencefocus.com/the-human-body/social-fitness/amp/

On Social Fitness

Shortage of cancer drugs?

The science of trauma

Impact of Poverty on Children’s Brains

NYC / Homeless / Mental Illness

Is there a link between Marijuana / Schizophrenia / Young Men?

How to unwind w/o alcohol

On teachers & family leave

Help for vulnerable Moms in TX

Overview: EMDR Therapy

What to know about Ketamine

Dopamine & Your Brain

Stop treating back pain w/ Opioids

Good Sighs

Mental Imaging

Gen Z & MH

Coping w/ Grief: Kids

Wellness & Well-being Highlights June 26

Wellness & Well-being Highlights

for the

Week of June 26, 2023

This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog consists of topics from how changes in states’ marijuana policies are posing problems for management to a focus on keeping working teens safe to how yoga can improve your sleep. Today, I wish to shed some light on the issue of work-related stress. The MO AFL-CIO established the MWI’s Worker Wellness Program in an effort to help reduce this very matter. As noted in the report from Canada herein, heavy workloads and the inability to find work-life balance are suspected culprits…even more so for women! Since COVID, many workers have been doing more with less: less staff, less support. As such, stress becomes more common. When “bad” stress consumes our lives (inside and outside of work) we find it difficult to not always be in the “on” mode. As a result, it may be time to step back before you burnout and consider taking a mental health day. Meanwhile, we also need to building and maintaining strong social networks. In so doing, we must learn the importance of forgiving ourselves and others. Experts suggest that this ability to forgive improves the physical and mental health of those around us.

Sources: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/230619/dq230619c-eng.htm?utm_campaign=Headlines_062023_CAN&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua

https://www.everydayhealth.com/emotional-health/signs-you-should-take-a-mental-health-day-and-how-to-do-it/?slot=0&xid=nl_EHNLemohealth_2023-06-19_31834789&utm_source=Newsletters&nl_key=nl_mentalhealth_mooddisorders&utm_medium=email&utm_content=2023-06-19&utm_campaign=Mental_Health_and_Mood_Disorders&utm_term=creativeA&zdee=gAAAAABikG1kcRpju65OYCK7OOXNGPqsAHzj0TznqvuKxOMShKA7dc68seNhy4nsFj67Pyu5gaL7tn3lBuD6s0q5FP0XC2_KARLiqozFs-l0-aoEHEH7qiI%3D

https://www.everydayhealth.com/emotional-health/big-ways-forgiveness-is-good-for-your-health/?slot=0&xid=nl_EHNLemohealth_2023-06-21_31855319&utm_source=Newsletters&nl_key=nl_mentalhealth_mooddisorders&utm_medium=email&utm_content=2023-06-21&utm_campaign=Mental_Health_and_Mood_Disorders&utm_term=creativeA&zdee=gAAAAABikG1kcRpju65OYCK7OOXNGPqsAHzj0TznqvuKxOMShKA7dc68seNhy4nsFj67Pyu5gaL7tn3lBuD6s0q5FP0XC2_KARLiqozFs-l0-aoEHEH7qiI%3D

What’s behind work-related stress?

Jobsite safety matters!

988 awareness lags

Marijuana & Work

Opioids settlement tracker

Missouri fact sheet: Opioids settlement

7 Days in Arkansas

Indonesia / Drug rehab / Slavery

Teen wins award: Suicide prevention

Teen vaping continues

Children / Gun violence / MH

Youth workers & Safety/Well-being

Youth stressors

Kids & Summer boredom

COVID & Rise in MH apps

Screening ALL adults for anxiety?

Vagus nerve & MH

How to be happy?

Grandparents & Happiness

Caring for our elderly

When to take a MH day?

On building resilience

Vets & Yoga

Why Tai Chi?

Yoga & Sleep

Why “forgiveness” matters?

Does Ozempic reduce cravings?

Drugs & Body positivity

Senate targets labor rights

Missouri may penalize teachers

Starbucks & Pride strike

Supreme Court & DEI

Youth tests scores drop

Skills vs Degree

Dechurching

AI tools

AI: Human vs Machine touch

Young adults: Should milestones matter?

Homelessness on the rise

Force + # of hits = CTE

Concussion/CTE prevention protocol

Upcoming webinars, etc.:

Adult MHFA

Youth MHFA

https://www.nccih.nih.gov/training/videolectures/kratom-a-botanical-with-traditional-use-in-asia-to-treat-pain-and-opioid-use-problems

https://www.nccih.nih.gov/training/videolectures/change-your-brain-transform-mind

NOTE: The links provided above are for informational purposes only. None of these serve as a substitute for medical advice one should obtain from his/her own primary care physician and/or mental health professional. Please contact johngaal@moaflcio.org with related questions or comments.

June 26, 2023/by Braxton Payne

Worker Wellness News

Wellness & Well-being Highlights June 19

Wellness & Well-being Highlights

for the

Week of June 19, 2023

This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog consists of topics from Illinois’ top psychiatrist sharing his vision for improving the mental health “system” to how Russia cannot find enough workers due to the exodus related to their invasion of Ukraine…meanwhile, China cannot supply enough jobs for their recent college graduates to how nearly 30% of FATHERS prefer WFH arrangements in order to establish better work-life balance. Today, I wish to shed some light on the issue of peer support in the construction industry. Earlier this past week, STL Public Radio’s “St. Louis on the Air” show provided a full hour coverage on how STL Laborers Locals 42 & 110 are addressing the mental health needs of their members and their dependents. I tip my hat to Don Willey, Diana Marburger, and the Laborers Health & Welfare Trust funds’ trustees for being pioneers in this much-needed space of addiction awareness and suicide prevention. The STL LEAN (Laborers Escaping Addiction Now) model is based on a 24/7/365 program in Massachusetts that has been operating for several years now. My hopes are that other trades and industries design and implement similar programs for their members/workers. In the meantime, let’s also consider how technology may play a part in our outreach efforts.

Sources: https://www.constructforstl.org/how-lean-stl-helps-st-louis-laborers-fight-addiction/

https://www.wcbu.org/local-news/2023-06-15/peoria-psychiatrist-outlines-blueprint-for-improving-access-to-mental-health-care-across-illinois

https://www.themoxyvoice.com/moxy-voice/powerful-roundtable-discussion-emphasizes-peer-support-in-the-construction-industry

Dr Lancia’s blueprint for improving MH

How STL Laborers are providing peer support

More on peer support in the construction industry

A game changer: Naloxone

Harm reduction: MOBILE treatment for opioids

Who is fighting the opioids settlement?

Where are the opioids settlement funds???

Reneging on the opioids settlement!

Tranq: Xylazine’s dangers (1)

Tranq: Xylazine’s dangers (2)

Tranq: Xylazine’s dangers (3)

What is Congress doing about Fentanyl’s future?

Is Syria a bigger drug dealer than Mexico?

Wellness & Well-being Highlights June 11

Wellness & Well-being Highlights

for the

Week of June 11, 2023

This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog consists of topics from how the decrease in opium production has impacted the Taliban to how practicing gratitude improves lives beyond the giver and receiver to how retirees need to actively manage their money. Today, I wish to shed some light on the issue of child care in the USA. This week, I have posted links to at least 5 timely articles on this topic. Between the impact of COVID, grandparents living longer and seeking more adventure, and lingering student debt, caretakers (mainly women) are having to make choices that often involve dire consequences…especially for those who are trying to survive at low-wage jobs. If children truly are our future, then we need to collectively propose solutions that ensure all kids have opportunities to learn and grow in safe and loving environments. Research suggests that kids who are not reading at grade level by grade 4, are more than likely to become part of the criminal justice system. A number of European countries addressed this important topic decades ago. Might it be time that we consider their lessons learned?

Sources: https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/25/health/child-care-parenting-explainer-intl/index.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/06/upshot/child-care-biden.html

Drug addiction & prevention info (Multiple Languages)

Ontario requires some businesses to carry Narcan

Narcan: How much is too much?

Opium & Taliban’s feature

Opioid settlement funds: Going forward

Opioid settlement disappointment (1)

Opioid settlement disappointment (2)

Weight loss drugs & Addictions?

Are people w/ SUD being mistreated by medical professionals?

On triggering depression

Signs of childhood depression

Parents’ response to the loss of their daughter

How Social Media is impacting our kids

MH & Career discrimination

Mpox awareness: Summer 2023

The benefits of GRATITUDE

When self-care is no longer self-care

Religion & Health

On long term care insurance

On exhausting your retirement savings

MH & Rural Living

Tick season is here

Newt’s demise

Japan wants foreign workers

The US child care dilemma (1)

The US child care dilemma (2)

The US child care dilemma (3)

Child care & Grandma…Don’t count on it

Child care / Women / COVID rebound

The lifeguard shortage

Teaching others to SWIM

Elie’s Night: Revisited

Animal rights?

Helicopter parents…in the workplace!

RUST in the workplace

Menopause benefits?

Neonatal leave?

Women / Men / Time

The job of attracting & retaining apprentices

Take the PHISHING quiz

The Gay badge of honor

Upcoming webinar:

Queering the farm

NOTE: The links provided above are for informational purposes only. None of these serve as a substitute for medical advice one should obtain from his/her own primary care physician and/or mental health professional. Please contact johngaal@moaflcio.org with related questions or comments.

June 14, 2023/by Braxton Payne

Worker Wellness News

Wellness & Well-being Highlights June 4

Wellness & Well-being Highlights

for the

Week of June 4, 2023

This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog consists of topics from how jails across the nation are experiencing an influx of mentally ill “inmates” awaiting competency treatment to advice on how today’s workers are seeking work with meaning to how more high school grads are skipping college. Today, I wish to shed some light on the issue of homelessness in America. Hardly a week goes by where I do not see an increase of panhandlers on street corners in my region. According to the article cited below, California has seen its homeless population grow by 50% in the last 6 years. In fact, this state has about ½ of nation’s unsheltered people (~115k)! Leaders there recognize that the $17b spent on resolving this issue in the past 4 years has NOT worked. Some experts suggest that closing down encampments merely moves the “problem” to other nearby areas. Make no mistake, this is a public health issue; Drugs, crime, sanitation are just a few matters these “host” cities must contend with in this context. More importantly, as a nation that claims to be a world leader, isn’t it time we find more humane ways to assist those in need (i.e., Vets, drug addicts, mentally ill)? Too often, our govt officials seek one-size-fits-all cures. Hopefully, this article will help clarify that simple responses rarely result in lasting solutions that positively impact the people who make up our communities.

Source: https://www.wsj.com/articles/california-homeless-population-oakland-wood-street-encampment-78d42cc3?mod=Searchresults_pos3&page=1

Prisons as psych wards

Sacklers / Opioids lawsuit / Bankruptcy (1)

Sacklers / Opioids lawsuit / Bankruptcy (2)

Sacklers / Opioids lawsuit / Bankruptcy (3)

Opioids / Suboxone / Greed

Opioids solution & African plant

Opioids solution & Tech

Depression & Appetite

Wellness & Well-being Highlights May 28

Wellness & Well-being Highlights

for the

Week of May 28, 2023

This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog consists of topics from why one’s mental health can impact her/his body’s aging to how scientists are applying COVID-related research techniques to help identify drug misuse in communities to the pros and cons of retiring abroad. Today, I wish to shed some light on the issue of industries across the board insisting that OSHA treat the mental health aspects of safety in the workplace with the same level of care that they currently require for the physical aspects of safety. Recently, a major contractor took a stand on this very issue in spite of OSHA’s claim that these hazards “are outside the agency’s purview for providing a safe workplace.” Hopefully, the research about to get underway on psychological safety in the construction industry will help provide additional evidence to move OSHA from a passive stance to an active approach to mental health. Focusing only on the physical aspects of safety is a half-hearted strategy to keeping workers safe. After all, people do not leave their personal baggage at the time clock. What more needs to be considered? It is no secret that: 1) Illegal drug use exists on the job (white- and blue-collar); and 2) Addiction is a brain disease. As May (Mental Health Month) comes to a close, let’s commit to making mental health in the workplace an everyday issue not unlike requiring tool guards, masks, and hearing & eye protection. If our workers truly are our most valuable asset, then why are we waiting to include at least a 1-hour segment addressing these mental health “hazards” in our OSHA-10 and OSHA-30 courses?

Sources: https://www.constructiondive.com/news/suffolk-osha-require-suicide-awareness-training/649667/?:%202023-05-10%20Construction%20Dive%20Newsletter%20%5Bissue:50365%5D

https://www.constructiondive.com/news/researcher-secures-174k-grant-study-psychological-safety-construction/650852/?:%202023-05-23%20Construction%20Dive%20Newsletter%20%5Bissue:50715%5D

Pushing US-DOL’s OSHA to require Suicide Awareness training

New grant awarded to study psychological safety in construction

Getting to know the adolescent brain

Youth promoting MH for the young

Youth / Social Media / Surgeon General / MH (1)

Youth / Social Media / Surgeon General / MH (2)

On MH and the aging of your body

Blacks / Police violence / MH

Wearables & MH

DEA / Opioids license / Failures

Lessons learned from COVID wastewater & Drug overdoses

New Narcan?

Why ALL of us should carry Narcan!

Is OR legalizing psychedelics?

On treating chronic pain

Ozempic: Who pays for weight loss?

Infants / Sleep / Lullabies

On practicing forgiveness

Art & MH

Hypnotherapy & MH

Ashley Judd on Mom’s suicide

Retiring abroad (1)

Retiring abroad (2)

New kickoff rule = A safer NFL?

On worker shortages & rolling back Child Labor Laws

LA Strippers unionize

US having fewer babies: Impact of Limited Social Mobility & Weak Safety Net

Share of immigrant workforce grows in USA

Surge in youth immigrants reaching the US border

Upcoming webinars, etc.:

Narcan Training

Improving perinatal care

Stretch yoga

Yoga + Dance

Missouri Household Survey: Broadband

NOTE: The links provided above are for informational purposes only. None of these serve as a substitute for medical advice one should obtain from his/her own primary care physician and/or mental health professional. Please contact johngaal@moaflcio.org with related questions or comments.

May 29, 2023/by Braxton Payne

Worker Wellness News

Wellness & Well-being Highlights May 21

Wellness & Well-being Highlights

for the

Week of May 21, 2023

This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog consists of topics from the use of vending machines for Narcan to how “optional” perks from the past are now becoming “essential” for addressing employees’ MH to how recent inflationary pressures are impacting prison inmates. Today, I wish to shed some light on the issue of opening our borders so that qualified foreign workers can obtain gainful employment while filling areas where workforce shortages exist and are persistent. A number of developed countries (including Canada, Japan, and Germany…our allies) have recently tweaked their immigration policies in response to their aging populations (wherein birth rates have severely decreased over the past 3-4 decades). The USA is facing a similar situation but continues to resist a systemic approach to this dilemma. As a baby-boomer, sooner rather than later, I am concerned that not addressing this matter in a holistic manner will result in a lesser quality-of-life for not just me but our nation as a whole. In closing, let’s try to learn lessons from BJC’s foray into attracting nurses from abroad and expand this concept to other sectors of our economy…while trying NOT to kill the goose laying those golden eggs!

Sources: https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-worlds-biggest-economies-cautiously-open-their-doors-to-more-foreign-workers-664c3549

https://www.ksdk.com/video/news/health/faced-with-nursing-shortage-this-st-louis-hospital-is-looking-for-workers-abroad/63-3fe14f9e-ce87-4084-9835-ff936f8e0cde

MAY is Mental Health Awareness Month

Update: Overdose deaths (1)

Update: Overdose deaths (2)

Campaign to expand the MH workforce

Narcan vending machines

A new “War on Drugs”?

Police / Fentanyl / Risks

Teens / Drugs / Guns

On taking a MH day

Benefits of supporting others at work: Men v Women

MH in the workplace: Options v Essential

Warning: Processed meats

Schools & Diabetes

Tik Tok / Teens / Darkness

Dealing w/ Long COVID

Wellness & Well-being Highlights May 14

Wellness & Well-being Highlights

for the

Week of May 14, 2023

This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog consists of topics from the change in COVID-19’s public health emergency status to how teens are being negatively impacted by technology to when it comes to savings, nearly half of today’s baby boomers are ill-prepared. Today, I wish to shed some light on the issue of Child Labor. Last Sunday, CBS ran a 60 Minutes segment on this very topic. Wherein, children under the age of 18 were working the overnight shifts, at numerous slaughterhouses, for an independent contractor. They were cleaning processing equipment with dangerous chemicals around and with dangerous tools. Most of these children were also attending school after their work shifts. Sadly, a few of them have been scarred and several have fallen asleep in their classrooms. Thanks to attentive educators, this packing company and their contractor have been called out. This reminds me of a common saying in airports since 9-11: See something, say something. Profits and capitalism at all costs contradict what unions have worked long and hard to protect: Human Rights, Civil Rights, and Workers’ Rights…for ALL, not just a select few!

Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/government-investigation-into-slaughterhouse-cleaning-company-that-hired-children-60-minutes-transcript-2023-05-07/

US workers & Chronic pain

How fentanyl is devastating the USA

Why Narcan matters

Kroger’s Opioids settlement

Mammograms @ 40

COVID-19 Update