Portland State University Psychology Professor Leslie B. Hammer has been
awarded a three-year, $1.4 million grant from the National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to create a center researching supervisor
behaviors that support the health and safety of workers and their families, the
first study of its kind in the nation.
The NIOSH grant will fund the
creation of the "Center for Work-Family Stress, Safety, and Health" (CWFSSH)
housed in the Psychology Department of PSU. The CWFSSH is a joint effort with
Michigan State University and Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU). The
initial three-year study is the first in the nation to examine family-supportive
supervisory behaviors that lead to decreased employee work-family stress, and
improved safety and health. It will also be the first to explicitly link
conflicts between work and family demands to worker safety and the mental and
physical health of workers and their families.
In collaboration with a
major grocery chain in the Northeastern United States and the United Food &
Commercial Workers Union, the Center will study work-family stressors that
low-wage grocery workers are experiencing and how these relate to important work
outcomes such as productivity, safety, absenteeism performance, health and
well-being. The Center believes that the connection between how supervisors
organize, communicate and administer work and family policies and facilitate
supportive work-family cultures within organizations will significantly enhance
U.S. public health and occupational health policy.
"This is an exciting
opportunity to have the Center housed within the PSU Department of Psychology
with its recent approval of the Ph.D. in Applied Psychology," said Prof. Hammer.
"In addition to its unique focus on work-family and safety and health issues
among low-wage, unionized, grocery workers, the Center will make a contribution
to both individual and organizational well-being, while providing graduate
students applied research experience."
Leslie B. Hammer is a professor
in the Psychology Department at Portland State University and the director of
the Occupational Health Psychology graduate training program. Prof. Hammer,
along with Margaret Neal of PSU's Institute of Aging, recently concluded a
national longitudinal study of the work and family experiences of dual-earner
couples, also known as the "Sandwich Generation," who care for children and
aging parents, which was funded by the Alfred P. Sloan foundation.
In
addition to Prof. Hammer, Ellen Ernst Kossek is the Center's associate director,
a professor at Michigan State University and a leading researcher on employer
support for work-family policies. Kent Anger, associate director of the Center
for Research on Environmental and Occupational Toxicology at OHSU, and Todd
Bodner, assistant professor in PSU's Department of Psychology, are also
collaborators on the grant.
For more information on the Center for
Work-Family Stress, Safety, and Health, please visit www.wfsupport.psy.pdx.edu
or call Leslie Hammer at 503-725-3971.
# # #
Source:
Leslie
B. Hammer (503-725-3971)
Center Director, Portland State University
For Immediate Release (#05-128)
