If you or someone you know may be considering suicide or need help, call 988 or message the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741.
Tuberculosis, or TB, is preventable and curable. But it’s just beat out COVID as the number one most deadly infectious disease in the world right now. In part, that’s because 40% of people who have TB don’t know they have it. It’s also a pain to treat and requires daily medication for a period of time, though there have been huge advances in recent years that make treatment easier. We’re seeing an uptick in employee cases across our client base, and the news is full of others, too - from a college in Boston and a YMCA in Nebraska to a California casino and a Canadian airport. Ultimately, TB is probably on the rise as a result of the pandemic, when people didn’t seek medical care as much, and health departments reassigned TB control units to help tackle COVID, leading to fewer screenings and delayed diagnoses. The pandemic also increased inequality in the US and around the world, and the conditions associated with poverty (crowded living and working environments, lack of access to medical care, etc.) are “powerful determinant[s]” of tuberculosis, according to the WHO. So, there’s a lot of work to do. As health departments get back to work, we’re hopeful that a combination of treatment improvements, more affordable vaccines worldwide, and education will help make TB a thing of the past.
Generally, the risk in the workplace is low, especially if you have good ventilation (like in a commercial kitchen or dining room). The risks are greatest for people who live together, commute together, or hang out in enclosed spaces outside of work. We always recommend deferring to the health department regarding employee testing. You can help anyone who wants to be tested by giving them time off, a ride, or even facilitating the testing directly. There’s not usually a reason to encourage testing beyond that, though there are some rare instances when anxiety levels are high, and in those cases, helping the anxious employee get tested can actually help, especially once they have their results (usually negative). Educating your managers on TB is key so that they can share that knowledge and keep their team calm and informed.
Source: ZHH
We love this question, and it’s one that’s more relevant now than ever as the opioid epidemic continues. That’s especially true in the construction, hospitality, and food service industries, which had the highest rates of substance use disorder among workers. This week, the White House announced that it’s partnering with Google and the governor of New Hampshire to launch a new Recovery Ready Workplace program, including a giant toolkit for employers. Businesses can start by ensuring strong resources and support for current employees with substance use disorder and providing training and education to reduce stigma and share those organizational policies. Beyond that, there’s also the opportunity to reduce work-related risk factors for substance use - like repetitive motion or lifting injuries. Adopting fair chance hiring policies can help with staffing shortages, too. Some businesses have partnered successfully with local recovery services, the VA, and similar organizations to create a strong pipeline of talent for their hard-to-fill roles. You don’t need to tackle them all at once, but we highly recommend checking out the toolkit and picking a few of these actions to focus on.
Source: Department of Labor
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