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Archive for category: Worker Wellness News

Work life balance
Worker Wellness News

Wellness & Well-being Highlights October 23

Wellness & Well-being Highlights

for the

Week of October 23, 2023

This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog consists of topics on how the early 1980’s misguided “War on Drugs” has failed generations of US citizens to how aimlessly spending time on your phone (aka doomscrolling) is considered a new 21st century addiction to how matters concerning race and ethnicity have changed over the past 200 years. Today, I wish to shed some light on the importance of YOUR input. I realize we all have limited time to deal with issues that at first may appear to be less urgent/important to one’s immediate wants/needs/desires. Today, if you are connected to the STL construction industry I respectfully ask that you participate in the first survey linked below. And, on any level, if you are involved with construction apprenticeship programs, I kindly ask that you participate in the second survey linked below. Believe me, input from our readers from past surveys has swayed how the construction industry moved forward. Case in point: Consider where we were 7 years ago on topics of mental health, opioids awareness, and suicide prevention vs where we are today. Earlier this past week I spoke with a couple of trusted colleagues/friends. When it comes to the construction industry, we agreed that the time has come to stop talking about DEI and start acting…based on evidence!

 

Sources: https://www.constructforstl.org/survey-benchmarking-construction-culture/

https://research.ifebp.org/s3/App24?utm_campaign=2024%20Apprenticeship%20-%20101923_Reminder&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua

 

Narcan on College Campuses

 

Fentanyl & Failed Policies

 

Opioids Settlement: Another Pharma Files Bankruptcy

 

Unintended use of Opioids Settlement funds?

 

MH / TikTok / Harvard

 

Troubled Teens: Trauma v Therapy

 

Helping Anxious Kids

 

Women / Inflation / MH

 

Gradual Onset Stress

 

Mindset Worker MH: Finances

 

Family Rituals & MH

 

Falling into the Doom Loop

 

Is Doomscrolling the new drug?

 

Inferiority Complex

 

Grief / Food / Community

 

The decline of US healthcare

 

Your max heart rate?

 

Your grip

 

Breathwork v Meditation

 

Myths about Sex

 

Helped, Heard, or Hugged?

 

Sleep & Yoga

 

Ergonomics & Pain Reduction

 

Pregnant Women / Drugs / Jail

 

Mobile V-Lab (Male birth control)

 

Medicare & Enrollment Risks

 

Insurers shortchange MH Parity

 

UAW & Grad Students

 

Prison Guard Strike?

 

Skills- v Degree-based hirings

 

More on Child Labor (1)

 

More on Child Labor (2)

 

Stowaways & Migration

 

More on Race

 

Tips on DEI in Construction

 

Construction’s Default: Diversity not Racism?

 

Workplace harassment: Israel/Hamas

 

What is Leavism?

 

Update: Student Loans

 

Upcoming webinars, etc.:

EBSA Mental Health Parity

 

MHFA: Adult & Youth

 

CALM TTT

 

MH in Construction

 

Construction Culture Survey (Please engage)

International Apprenticeship Survey (Please engage)

 

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.

 

October 23, 2023/by Braxton Payne
https://moworksinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/iStock-697895326.jpg 779 1345 Braxton Payne https://moworksinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/missouri-works-initiative-logo-new-1-300x222.png Braxton Payne2023-10-23 16:29:502024-01-16 17:03:50Wellness & Well-being Highlights October 23
Work life balance
Worker Wellness News

Wellness & Well-being Highlights October 16

Wellness & Well-being Highlights

for the

Week of October 16, 2023

This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog consists of topics on how a US bankruptcy court judge recently wiped $1b of settlement funds owed to the US taxpayers off of a major culprit’s accounting ledger to mental health stigma is still afoot in the workplace (especially the construction industry) in spite of recent efforts by employers to how immigrant labor was exploited during the construction phase of the 2022 Men’s World Cup. Today, I wish to shed some light on the issues of college degrees, careers, and life expectancy. Having spent nearly 40 years in differing roles related to workforce development, I can attest to the fact that to remain significant one must continue to learn. Sadly, for the past +30 years our nation has blindly placed too much emphasis on the “College for All” mantra…upon high school graduation. I would like to suggest that a better approach is college for all when the time is right. Not all 18-year-olds are ready to reap the benefits that college provides. Going to college for the sake of going—because that is what “everybody” does—is a bit misguided. Why? At the 30,000’ level: Student debt has ballooned to $1.7t…$0.5t more than the housing subprime debacle in 2007 that, in an economic sense, brought the world to its knees! At the 30’ level: We all do not learn the same way. I, for one, benefited from going through a US-DOL Registered Apprenticeship Program in Carpentry before ever earning a college degree. This social maturation process allowed me to immediately apply theory to practice that consequently opened career doors in the field, office, and university. To this end, is it any wonder why you now see universities across this nation marketing their degrees’ connections to the workforce? More importantly, employers have recently had an epiphany with regards to basing an increasing amount of their hiring decisions on what someone can do vs what someone may have learned. Furthermore, is it any wonder why you now see an explosion of industry-related micro-credentials (i.e., edX, Coursera, etc.)? Nevertheless, as a nation, we cannot ignore what contemporary research has revealed:

  • “Americans with four-year college degrees are flourishing economically, while those without are struggling;”
  • “Unhealthy behaviors are more common among people without college degrees…;” and
  • “…those without degrees [were] being targeted by the pharmaceutical industry in the first phase of the opioid epidemic.”

Need I say more?

 

Sources: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/03/opinion/life-expectancy-college-degree.html?searchResultPosition=2

https://fortune.com/2023/10/11/companies-increasing-skills-gap-based-hiring-over-degrees/amp/

 

Life expectancy & College

 

Jobs linked to Overdoses

 

NY opioids settlement

 

Opioids settlement & “Court-approved” Bankruptcy

 

Immigrants / Overdose Deaths / Action

 

CA & Forced MH Treatment

 

MH stigma in Construction (1)

 

MH stigma in Construction (2)

 

Is MH improving in the workplace?

 

Steps to addressing MH in the workplace

 

Students / MH Crisis / Lack of Professionals

 

MH & Work-Life Balance

 

AI & Empathy

 

AI & Training

 

New study: Genetics & Suicide risks

 

Definition of Insanity

 

Smartphones / Porn / Teens

 

Safe house for women

 

An exercise mindset

 

Caring w/ Accountability

 

Lawyer-less Courtrooms?

 

Safety Boots

 

The Black Belt Brain

 

New Brain Atlas

 

NFL / Retirees / Disability Benefits

 

Suspended: Talks between Actors & Hollywood

 

UAW & Retirement Benefits

 

UAW: Wage comparisons

 

Tesla / Germany / Safety issues

 

The Walgreens Walkout?

 

Kaiser-Perm reaches a new deal

 

A doctors’ union?

 

Child Labor & Chocolate

 

World Cup & Exploiting Labor

 

Hiring: Skills vs Degrees

 

STL Worker Safety?

 

3D printed Housing

 

Upcoming webinars, etc.:

Roundtable: Better Job Site Culture

 

Addressing the Childcare Crisis

 

 

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.

October 16, 2023/by Braxton Payne
https://moworksinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/iStock-697895326.jpg 779 1345 Braxton Payne https://moworksinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/missouri-works-initiative-logo-new-1-300x222.png Braxton Payne2023-10-16 16:08:382024-01-16 17:03:52Wellness & Well-being Highlights October 16
Work life balance
Worker Wellness News

Wellness & Well-being Highlights October 9

Wellness & Well-being Highlights

for the

Week of October 9, 2023

This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog consists of topics on how perceived moderate dangers on the job may pose greater actual threats to your safety to how sexual minorities are reporting worse mental & physical health on construction jobs to how new data suggests that people in the USA w/o a college degree have shorter life spans. Today, I wish to shed some light on the issue of suicide postvention. Most of us are aware of workshops, etc. that address suicide prevention (e.g., Living Works: Start Training) and suicide intervention (e.g., QPR & ASIST Trainings) but few of us are able to cite where one might go to receive help after a loved one dies by suicide. Postvention can take on different forms: Immediate or On-going. Immediate assistance can come in the form of a crisis intervention team (i.e., LOSS: Local Outreach for Suicide Survivors) that helps individuals/families navigate the hours, days, weeks following a suicide. On-going assistance can be in the form of a live or virtual peer support group (i.e., AFSP: Bereavement Support Group) that helps individuals/families navigate the months, years following a suicide of a loved one. The manager’s guide linked below is a good start for those of us in leadership positions. PLEASE take some time in the next few days to review the material contained herein. Years ago, studies revealed that 1 suicide impacts 6 people. More recent data suggests that the number is more likely closer to 130! I serve as living proof that being there for others in their time of need ripples beyond the workplace.

 

Source: https://theactionalliance.org/sites/default/files/managers-guidebook-to-suicide-postvention-web.pdf

 

Developing Healthy Habits

 

Suicide Postvention: A Manager’s Guidebook

 

On Workplace Dangers

 

OSHA / Workers / Heat

 

Minorities / Construction / MH

 

Construction & Happy Workers?

 

Children & Gun Deaths

 

AI & Homelessness

 

Expanding Pharmacists’ scope

 

Are you in need a of Social Worker?

 

Menopause Home Test

 

On Insulin Resistance

 

Evolution / Mammals / Behaviors

 

Dockworkers file for bankruptcy

 

Granite City Steel shutdown

 

Healthcare Workers Strike

 

Update: UAW Strike

 

Florida & Guest Workers

 

Corporate Social Responsibility?

 

On the Teacher Crisis

 

College Degrees & Life Expectancy

 

Older Workers & Student Loans

 

Upcoming webinars, etc.:

Free Narcan

 

QPR Suicide Prevention Training

 

Prepping for the HiSET

 

STL MetroMarket

 

 

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.

 

October 9, 2023/by Braxton Payne
https://moworksinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/iStock-697895326.jpg 779 1345 Braxton Payne https://moworksinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/missouri-works-initiative-logo-new-1-300x222.png Braxton Payne2023-10-09 15:12:242024-01-16 17:03:52Wellness & Well-being Highlights October 9
Work life balance
Worker Wellness News

Wellness & Well-being Highlights October 1

Wellness & Well-being Highlights

for the

Week of October 1, 2023

This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog consists of topics on the importance of the growth that follows trauma to how Fentanyl deaths continue to increase across the USA to how some state courts are mandating mental health assistance for specific individuals. Today, I wish to shed some light on the issue of our nation’s mental health crisis. Recently, 7 US Surgeons General met to discuss how our inadequate mental health system may be a threat to this country’s democracy. With shortages of mental health professionals and rising insurance costs, only 41% of the people who have mental health issues receive treatment. The current Surgeon General, V Murthy, said, “The problems are profound and entrenched and structural in nature, but…the mental health crisis is not solely a policy or programmatic crisis. It is also a ‘moral’ crisis.”

 

Source: https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2023/09/28/health/mental-health-crisis-undermine-our-democracy-us-surgeon-generals-say/index.html

 

EAPs & 40% of workers

 

Stickiness of Lessons Learned

 

Post-Traumatic Growth

 

Suicide Prevention & YOU

 

211 & 1 million Calls in August

Is OTC Narcan Enough?

 

Curbing immigrant opioid deaths

 

Fentanyl + Meth / Adderall / Xylazine = Death

 

NYC & Fentanyl Deaths

 

More Fentanyl Deaths

 

Fentanyl & Global Danger

 

McKinsey & Opioids Settlement

 

A Model for Teen MH

 

State courts & MH

 

MH / Surgeon General / Democracy

 

Peace Corps & MH issues

 

Peers & Recovery

 

Protecting Teachers & Suicide

 

Panic Attacks / Ice Packs / Sleep

 

Menopause & Sex

 

Menopause & Tech

 

Middle Age & Sleep

 

Sleep & Well-being

 

Lethal Means & Suicide Prevention

 

Suicide Prevention & Firearm Safety

 

UAW & Radical Socialism

 

SLU nurses strike?

 

Writers reach agreement

 

App delivery workers & Min Wage

 

U of Penn RA’s strike

 

Amazon & Nooses

 

Nursing pods on job sites

 

Update: Davis-Bacon

 

Update: Student Loans

 

Upcoming webinars, etc.:

QPR Training

 

Xylazine response

 

How to organize your workplace

 

 

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.

 

October 2, 2023/by Braxton Payne
https://moworksinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/iStock-697895326.jpg 779 1345 Braxton Payne https://moworksinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/missouri-works-initiative-logo-new-1-300x222.png Braxton Payne2023-10-02 15:18:132024-01-16 17:03:54Wellness & Well-being Highlights October 1
Work life balance
Worker Wellness News

Wellness & Well-being Highlights September 25

Wellness & Well-being Highlights

for the

Week of September 25, 2023

This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog consists of topics on how some restaurants are taking an active role in training their workers to administer Narcan to how climate change (i.e., recent heatwaves) has impacted workers around the world to what the UAW strike has to do with equality and the middle class. Today, I wish to shed some light on the issue of Veterans and suicide. As Suicide Prevention Month soon comes to a close, we would be remiss by not acknowledging that ~17 Vets die by suicide EACH day in this country. In fact, their deaths equate to nearly double the rate with the adult population per 100,000 (31.7 vs 16.1, respectively). Sadly, from 2001 to 2020, the unadjusted suicide rate for Vets rose in every age group:

◾ Age 18-34: up 95% (highest rate)

◾ Ages 35-54: up 13%

◾ Ages 55-74: up 58% (highest number)

◾ 75 and older: up 21%

We—including the VCL (Veterans Crisis Line)—can and should do better by our brothers and sisters who bravely & proudly served this country!

 

Source: https://www.usatoday.com/story/graphics/2023/09/21/veteran-suicide-rate-2023-decreases/70909134007/

 

Vets & Suicide (1)

 

Vets & Suicide (2)

 

OSHA / Employers preventing suicide (Eng & Span)

 

Restaurants / Overdoses / Narcan

 

Opioids 4th Wave & USA

 

Treating pain w/o Opioids?

 

Kids & Fentanyl (1)

 

Kids & Fentanyl (2)

 

CA courts & MH

 

Healthy Habits & Reducing Depression

 

Life Despite Depression…

 

Social Media / Teen’s Brain / MH

 

More on Loneliness

 

Gratitude & Appreciation

 

Giving & Good Health

 

Compassionate Care & End of Life

 

Upping MH Benefits?

 

Menstrual Products & College

 

Workers / Heat / Climate Change

 

Timing your vaccines

 

Patients & Technology

 

MH / Jail / Wait

 

Elite Athletes & Extreme Treatments

 

Homeless & Tiny Housing in STL

 

UAW’s strike impact on organizing

 

5 things to know about UAW strike

 

CHAOS & UAW strike

 

UAW strike & Shrinking middle class

 

UAW strike: How non-union (southern) plants win

 

UAW keeps Big 3 guessing

 

Union Actors / Writers & Side gigs

 

Women & Craft Brewing

 

Supporting Child Care

 

Does DEI training work?

 

Eliminating cash Bail

 

Hispanics / Disabilities / Skilled Trades

 

Iron Worker’s fall halts project

 

Student loans: SAVE plan

 

Restart: Free COVID Test Kits

 

Upcoming webinars, etc.:

Suicide Prevention in the Construction Industry

 

Fed / Immigration, Community, & Economy

 

Chair Yoga

 

 

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.

 

September 25, 2023/by Braxton Payne
https://moworksinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/iStock-697895326.jpg 779 1345 Braxton Payne https://moworksinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/missouri-works-initiative-logo-new-1-300x222.png Braxton Payne2023-09-25 16:20:452024-01-16 17:03:55Wellness & Well-being Highlights September 25
Work life balance
Worker Wellness News

Wellness & Well-being Highlights September 18

Wellness & Well-being Highlights

for the

Week of September 18, 2023

This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog consists of topics on how a young lady’s suicide attempt has changed the lives of people far and near to how Native Americans seeking treatment for substance use disorders are being deceived by service providers to how organized shoplifters are placing retail workers’ lives in peril. Today, I wish to shed some light on how each one of us can play an important role in reducing suicides in this nation by limiting the access to lethal means. US stats indicate that over 50% of recent suicides involved firearms. While a closer look at the veteran community reveals that more than 70% of suicide deaths are gun-related. Putting time and distance between your loved one and his/her firearm is essential. This can take the form of temporary offsite storage or the use of gun safes and/or gun locks. In closing I have 3 asks: 1) Make a safety plan now with your loved ones who have access to lethal means (i.e., firearms, medications, poison, etc.) in their living space; 2) Contact your local VA…they often supply free gun locks; and 3) Take the CALM training course linked below.

 

Sources: https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/veteran-gun-shop-stored-firearms-started-saving-lives/

https://zerosuicidetraining.edc.org/enrol/index.php?id=20

 

LiUNA & Mental Health (10:40 mark)

 

Talent / MH / Benefits

 

Emma’s Ascension

 

Vet stores firearms for others

 

Suicide Prevention: Reframing gun control

 

The 4th Wave: Polysubstances & Fentanyl

 

Fentanyl & Black Men

 

Sober homes & Fraud

 

Kroger’s Opioids Settlement

 

Cocaine production on the rise

 

Winter foods & Depression

 

On helping depression

 

Loneliness & Friendships

 

Weight loss & Laxative shortage

 

Adding psyllium?

 

Unions / Workers / Supply & Demand

 

Construction labor shortage

 

A look at the UAW picket line

 

CA restaurant union’s new deal

 

Marvel’s artists unionize

 

Legal History of Slaves in America?

 

Shoplifting & Worker Safety

 

AI & Workplace stress

 

Is AI good for Green?

 

The 85% rule

 

Baby-boomers & Homelessness

 

More on student loans

 

NFL’s influence on High School Football

 

More on CTE & Youth Athletes

 

More on CTE & Youth Football (1)

 

More on CTE & Youth Football (2)

 

More on CTE & Youth Football (3)

 

 

Upcoming webinars, etc.:

National Farm Safety Week

 

Recovery & Peer Support as Suicide Prevention

 

CALM (Communication on Access to Lethal Means) Training

 

Living Works (90-minute, interactive) Virtual Suicide Prevention Training

 

 

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.

 

September 18, 2023/by Braxton Payne
https://moworksinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/iStock-697895326.jpg 779 1345 Braxton Payne https://moworksinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/missouri-works-initiative-logo-new-1-300x222.png Braxton Payne2023-09-18 17:06:022024-01-16 17:03:56Wellness & Well-being Highlights September 18
Work life balance
Worker Wellness News

Wellness & Well-being Highlights September 11

Wellness & Well-being Highlights

for the

Week of September 11, 2023

This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog consists of topics on how death rates for people under 40 have increased to how women will play a critical part in the infrastructure bill’s success to how AI (artificial intelligence) might impact the future of education, work, and society. Today, I wish to shed some light on the fact that this month is National Suicide Prevention (SP) Month.

PLEASE let us keep in mind the following significant designations:

  • Sept 4-8: SP Week for the US construction industry;
  • Sept 10: Worldwide SP Day; and
  • Sept 11-14 National SP Week.

 

As many of you may know, this topic is near and dear to my family. In March 2017, we lost my oldest son, John Jr, to suicide. (It is suspected that repetitive head impacts—including no less than four concussions—from high school football and soccer played a part in his demise.) Upon John’s death, the Concussion Legacy Foundation research team at Boston University identified that my son suffered from Stage 1 CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy). As noted in the CTE article linked below, Dr. Ann McKee has been a pioneer on this topic…taking on the likes of the NFL, NHL, etc. has been no easy task! (Disclaimer: John Jr’s findings were included in her recent research on CTE & youth athletes.)

 

The CDC (Centers for Disease Control & Prevention) has identified the construction sector as #2 when it comes to deaths by suicide. It also found in a study covering 2003-10, that more than 2200 construction workers died from TBIs (traumatic brain injuries)…representing 25% of ALL construction fatalities. While Dr McKee and her team work on moving the correlational link of CTE and suicide to a causal link, there is work we can do as an industry to prevent suicide. Please see the first 4 of 5 links at the end of this week’s blog for more info on what YOU can do NOW to help.

 

THANK YOU!

 

Sources: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/premium/article/woman-discovered-cte-disease-athlete-brain

https://www.cdc.gov/suicide/facts/disparities-in-suicide.html

https://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2016/03/21/constructiontbi/#:~:text=From%202003%20to%202010%2C%202%2C210,fatalities%20during%20the%20same%20period

https://www.cpwr.com/news-and-events/informational-webinar-series/

 

Fight against Fentanyl

 

Death rates / Under 40 / Fentanyl

 

Marijuana: Pros & Cons

 

MH / Schools / Cabinet

 

Bipolar’s effects: Women v Men

 

5 Wake-up Tips

 

Morning Yoga

 

Your Power to Decide

 

Joy in Sadness?

 

Food & Addiction?

 

Foods & Heart Health

 

Foods & Reducing Anxiety/Depression

 

Memory & Dementia

 

Hoarding & Aging

 

Social Isolation / Cognitive Decline / Aging

 

Wellness & Sleep Schedule

 

Weight Loss After 50

 

Menopause Retreat

 

On Handling Conflict

 

TX / Heat / Water Breaks

 

Farmworkers & Heat

 

On Union Membership

 

Labor Day Update

 

UAW Prosperity

 

Possible ULP: Heading South?

 

Labor / Detroit / Big Disruption

 

Creating an Equal WF

 

Infrastructure / Women / Help Wanted

 

Degreed Apprenticeships?

 

Spain / Women Soccer / Wage Dispute

 

Turkey / Women Vball / Social Divide

 

Construction / Women / Harassment

 

Special Forces / Women / Sexism

 

Fempreneurs & Coaching

 

New Nursing Home Standards?

 

Shortage of HC Workers

 

AI & Learning

 

AI: Employers & Employees

 

AI / Change / Jobs

 

STL Vet Village opening soon

 

More on student Loans (1)

 

More On Student Loans (2)

 

Is College Worth It?

 

CTE / TBIs (Traumatic Brain Injuries) / Youth Athletes

 

Upcoming webinars, etc.:

Suicide Prevention in the Construction Industry

WRAP (Wellness Recovery Action Plan) Training

CALM (Counseling on Access to Lethal Means) Training

 

Living Works (90-minute, interactive) Virtual Suicide Prevention Training

 

How to Organize Your Workplace

 

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.

 

September 11, 2023/by Braxton Payne
https://moworksinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/iStock-697895326.jpg 779 1345 Braxton Payne https://moworksinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/missouri-works-initiative-logo-new-1-300x222.png Braxton Payne2023-09-11 15:32:412024-01-16 17:03:58Wellness & Well-being Highlights September 11
Work life balance
Worker Wellness News

Wellness & Well-being Highlights September 4

Wellness & Well-being Highlights

for the

Week of September 4, 2023

This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog consists of topics on a resurgence of miners’ Black Lung to how COVID may now be making a comeback to how a new study revealed that young, amateur athletes are posthumously being diagnosed with CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy). Today, I wish to shed some light on how you can help confront this nation’s opioid epidemic. NOTE: This coming week, Narcan will be available as an OTC (over-the-counter) drug in most pharmacies for about $45 per 2-pack. As noted below, a local library district is now providing free Narcan to the public. This is known as a harm reduction strategy. The fact is that you cannot save a dead person but you can help save one who is experiencing an opioid overdose. How? Know the signs, get trained (this takes less than 30 minutes), obtain doses of the free Narcan now available, and be prepared to act when necessary. The vast majority of us know someone close who either has OUD (opioid use disorder) or has died from an opioids overdose. Make no mistake, OUD is considered a disease…no different than diabetes or hypertension. Now is the time to act! Please insist that your workplace, place of worship, sport venue, etc. carry Narcan next to its First Aid kit and AED.

 

Sources: https://www.kmov.com/2023/08/30/st-louis-county-announce-partnership-with-libraries-effort-fight-opioid-epidemic/?outputType=amp

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/03/29/health/narcan-reverse-overdose.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

 

MH / Stigma / Construction

 

More on Black Lung

 

Preventing Post-Vacation Burnout

 

Stress/Anxiety Relief Products

 

Dealing w/ Anxiety

 

MH Crisis & Schools

 

Using unlicensed school counselors

 

MH Therapist Shortage

 

Silent Walking

 

Kids / Eyes / Screens

 

PTSD & Writing Therapy

 

More funding to fight opioid epidemic

 

One Life Too Many

 

How to use Narcan

 

STL Co Library & Narcan

 

OTC Narcan’s Pricing

 

Sober homes & Scams

 

Will marijuana become a downgraded drug?

 

Cannabis Use Disorder

 

Hemp products & Loopholes

 

Air pollution & Shorter lifespans

 

New COVID surge & masking up

 

New COVID variant for Fall 2023

 

Is this a new COVID mini-wave?

 

Pandemic distrust is eroding healthcare

 

Sweat & Heat

 

Is diabetes drug curbing other cravings?

 

Innovative Wellness Start-ups

 

Romance & Alcohol

 

Repeat Firearm Injuries

 

11 Headache triggers

 

Americans approve of unions

 

SLU Hospital Nurses set to strike

 

STL Boeing supplier layoffs

 

UAW claims ULPs

 

Summer of Strikes

 

NLRB on Avoiding Elections

 

Labor shortages across the board

 

OSHA’s Walkaround rule change

 

Salaried workers & OT pay

 

Return to office: Smuckers

 

Female surgeons getting better results

 

The unwanted kiss

 

Child care prices continue to rise

 

ILO Youth: Seizing a brighter future

 

Jugaad & India’s Moonshot

 

On losing local hospitals

 

More on student debt (1)

 

More on student debt (2)

 

On new NFL helmets & Concussions

 

Football coach confronts a terrible truth

 

On younger athletes & CTE

 

 

Upcoming webinars, etc.:

Suicide Prevention Training

 

OSHA Sept 2023 Suicide Prevention Stand Down

 

 

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.

 

September 5, 2023/by Braxton Payne
https://moworksinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/iStock-697895326.jpg 779 1345 Braxton Payne https://moworksinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/missouri-works-initiative-logo-new-1-300x222.png Braxton Payne2023-09-05 15:29:522024-01-16 17:03:59Wellness & Well-being Highlights September 4
Work life balance
Worker Wellness News

Wellness & Well-being Highlights August 28

Wellness & Well-being Highlights

for the

Week of August 28, 2023

This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog consists of topics on how some communities are handling 911 calls with Mental Health experts vs Police to why HR professionals should prioritize Mental Health issues to how and why a construction union in KC, MO is calling on local, state, and federal officials to improve and ensure worker safety on the job site. Today, I wish to shed some light on a newly published study that indicated child gun deaths in the US have hit a record high. In 2021, nearly 4800 kids died by gunfire…of which nearly two-thirds were Black children while white children made up almost 80% of gun-assisted suicides. I, like many of you, am a gun owner. However, upon reflection, I cannot support the NRA’s rhetoric concerning 2nd Amendment Rights at the expense of our kids’ futures. Yet, here we are at the dawn of another election year, publicly debating the value of one’s rights vs a child’s life…while Rome is burning!

 

Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/number-us-children-killed-by-guns-hit-record-high-2021-study-2023-08-22/

 

Kids killed by guns hit record number

 

AZ / 911 employees / MH

 

Police / 911 Calls / MH

 

Highest OD deaths in construction

 

Politician/Vet calls out opioids profiteers

 

Vets / MH / PTSD / App

 

Spending on pharma & MH to rise

 

MH @ Work Poll

 

Workplace Safety

 

Tonic Immobility: On the Trauma of Rape & Freezing

 

On Black Americans & Depression

 

On Spirituality & Despair

 

Anxiety & Supplements?

 

MDMA: Pros & Cons

 

On Transgender Inclusion

 

Stretches & Stress Relief

 

MLK’s Dream Revisited

 

Finding Meaning: Wheelchair Football

 

UK Nurse & Infant Deaths

 

Update: Teamsters & UPS Contract Vote

 

FedEx Pilots Concerned

 

AZ / Chip Mfg / Foreign Labor Issues

Tipping: The New Battleground

 

Minimum Wage In Hot Markets

 

Wages: The Bidding War is Over?

 

Mallinckrodt Hides Behind Bankruptcy to Avoid Settlement Payments

 

The End of ESG Investing?

 

Is AI Coming After White-collar Jobs?

 

Laborers Speak Out In KC After Needless Jobsite Death

 

Fed Warns About Construction Worker Fraud

 

College Students & Construction Careers

 

Cobalt / Batteries / Child Labor

 

More on Student Loans

 

Upcoming seminars, etc.:

Eat Smart/Be Active

 

Step for Fitness

 

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.

 

August 28, 2023/by Braxton Payne
https://moworksinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/iStock-697895326.jpg 779 1345 Braxton Payne https://moworksinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/missouri-works-initiative-logo-new-1-300x222.png Braxton Payne2023-08-28 14:46:092024-01-16 17:04:01Wellness & Well-being Highlights August 28
Work life balance
Worker Wellness News

Wellness & Well-being Highlights August 21

Wellness & Well-being Highlights

for the

Week of August 21, 2023

This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog consists of topics from Tik-Tok brain to how Canada is addressing its worker shortage by supporting older workers to how some parents in Missouri may now be put in jail for their children’s truancy. Today, I wish to shed some light on the new movement of holding 3rd grades back who fail standardized reading tests. Experts suggest that students who cannot read at grade level by 4th grade are more likely to face incarceration. As such, I do not support the concept of social promotion. However, I also do not support politicians who short-change school funding via tax incentives to big businesses (i.e., Walmart, etc.). As someone who devoted nearly his entire career to workforce development, I find it very disturbing when politicians hide behind employers under the guise of “employers demanding a better educated workforce”. Meanwhile, many of these same squeaky-wheel employers are funneling campaign funds to those very politicians for future favors. It never ceases to amaze me how the people in “control” fail to see that these backroom deals can contribute to a community’s race to the bottom. I often shake my head when reading stories like the WSJ article linked below knowing that those parties complaining are at the root of the bigger problem. Yet, society’s solution is to punish our struggling kids…because of the shortcomings of unethical adults!

 

Source: https://www.wsj.com/us-news/education/more-states-threaten-to-hold-back-third-graders-who-cant-read-19f9765

 

Parents / College Students / Legal Docs

 

Students & Adderall shortage

 

Kids & Tik-Tok Brain

 

Kids / Summer Camp / MH

 

Winning w/ Honor

Sober living in Milwaukee

 

More on Sacklers’ bankruptcy

 

Are opioids settlement funds being (mis)used?

 

Few people w/ SUD/OUD getting help

 

Workers / Narcan / Saving Lives

 

Binging on alcohol & marijuana

 

On treating depression

 

Workers / Injuries / Cannabis

 

Ukraine soldiers & MH

 

Ukraine soldiers & Trauma

 

Canada / Worker shortage / Older workers

 

More on menopause benefits

 

Do Blue Light Glasses work?

 

Brazil’s vax & Crack epidemic

 

On sex drive

 

Stay at home dads

 

The gym office

 

Fall COVID Booster (1)

 

Fall COVID Booster (2)

 

Sleep & Insulin resistance

 

Tarmac safety?

 

STL Metro’s contract

 

Sharecropping & Slavery

 

Construction’s unpaid wages

 

Davis-Bacon Seminars coming

 

3rd grade / Reading

 

Math: Does 1+ 1= 2?

 

School Bus Drivers Needed

 

Kids & School / Parents & Jail

 

More on Child Care

 

Lifestyle Benefits

Do Whistleblower programs work?

 

Maui’s failed warning system

 

Upcoming webinars, etc.:

Youth & Adult MHFA

 

Suicide Awareness Month Toolkit

 

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.

 

August 21, 2023/by Braxton Payne
https://moworksinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/iStock-697895326.jpg 779 1345 Braxton Payne https://moworksinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/missouri-works-initiative-logo-new-1-300x222.png Braxton Payne2023-08-21 15:42:092024-01-16 17:04:02Wellness & Well-being Highlights August 21
Page 9 of 20«‹7891011›»

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