Wellbeing in essential workers: The role of family-related risk and coworker support

OBJECTIVE: Essential workers help maintain critical infrastructure in our society. This study examined the workplace characteristics associated with their health and wellbeing in a crisis, and tested the psychometrics of the Workplace Subjective Wellbeing (WSWB) scale. METHODS: Structural equation modeling using data from 211 public transit workers. FINDINGS: The ability to protect their families from workplace-related risks (e.g., COVID-19 infection), and trust that coworkers will provide support, were more strongly associated with public transit workers' workplace wellbeing than having personal protections, friends at work, coworker appreciation, or beliefs that employers prioritized their wellbeing. Workers with public-facing responsibilities reported significantly lower workplace wellbeing and higher stress. Cronbach's alpha for WSWB was 0.83. CONCLUSION: Organizational efforts should prioritize family-related risk mitigation and coworker support structures to promote the wellbeing and performance of essential workers during crises.