Citation

Eggerth DE, Ortiz B, Keller BM, Flynn MA. Am. J. Ind. Med. 2019; 62(7): 600-608.

Affiliation

Education and Information Division, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Cincinnati, Ohio.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/ajim.22986

PMID

31104342

Abstract

BACKGROUND: There are roughly 3.8 million cleaning workers in the United States. The cleaning workforce is largely composed of women, immigrants, and ethnic minorities who receive low wages and have low education levels. They are exposed to physical, chemical, biological, and psychosocial hazards.

METHODS: Qualitative methodology was used to investigate how Latino immigrants experience work as building cleaners. A grounded theory coding approach was used to analyze focus group data from 77 participants.

RESULTS: Three major themes were identified: economic vulnerability, psychosocial stressors, and health and safety effects. Although workers are aware of the safety hazards associated with their jobs, they believe their immigration status limits employment opportunities leading them to accept poor working conditions. They work through injuries and cope psychologically through minimizing negative health impacts and normalizing work-related injuries and illnesses.

CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that interventions for these workers should recognize the hostile organizational and psychosocial contexts within which immigrants often work.

© 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Language: en

Keywords

Latino; building cleaners; coping; immigrants; qualitative