Health Affairs’ February Issue: The Work/Health Relationship

Work conditions can affect employees’ physical and mental health, and worker productivity can be affected by the demands employees face after returning home from the office. As Health Affairs editor-in-chief Alan Weil notes in his editor's letter: "Efforts to improve the health of the population must take into account the myriad ways employment and work conditions can improve or harm physical and mental health. Efforts to improve worker productivity must consider the growing burden of chronic diseases, the prevalence of unmet mental health needs, and the caregiving demands many workers face when they return home from their jobs. A collection of papers in this month’s Health Affairs expands our understanding of the complex work/health relationship."

Papers in this issue, including several from AcademyHealth members, cover a variety of issues from evaluating the role of employer accommodations on employees after cancer treatment to how Medicaid waivers help parents of children with autism stay in the workforce. See the full issue here.