Burden and social distribution of occupational psychosocial exposures in the United States workforce, 2022

Abstract

Objective

To characterize the burden and social distribution of occupational psychosocial exposures in the United States (US).

Methods

We merged 2022 US employment and demographic data from the Current Population Survey (CPS) with occupational characteristic data from the Occupational Information Network (O*NET), wage data from the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics Survey, and hours worked from the CPS, to estimate the number and proportion of US workers at risk of exposure to 19 psychosocial hazards. We additionally estimated the number and proportion of US workers over- or underrepresented in exposure burden.

Results

Of the exposures examined, US workers were most commonly employed in occupations with high time pressure (67.5 million US workers exposed; 43.2% US workers exposed), high emotional labor (57.1 million; 36.6%), and low wages (47.8 million; 30.6%). The burden of exposures was uneven across sociodemographic strata, attributable to occupational segregation. The full data set is available online at https://deohs.washington.edu/us-exposure-burden.

Conclusions

Work-related psychosocial exposures are ubiquitous and should be considered in occupational and public health research, policy, and interventions to reduce the burden of disease and health inequities in the United States.