The Small + Safe + Well (SSWell) study was a multi-year research project designed to understand how small organizations support the health, safety, and well-being of their workforce and how employees perceive their workplace culture. This project aimed to uncover how those efforts and perceptions that affect health outcomes.
The study findings demonstrate the importance of developing Total Worker Health® policies, programs, and practices in small businesses. In particular, our work emphasized how critical company leadership is in creating an environment that supports Total Worker Health (TWH). We found that when leadership is committed to workforce health, safety, and well-being that employees are more motivated to engage and participate in TWH initiatives. Our research demonstrates that TWH leadership training can help small business leaders take action to improve their workforce’s health, safety, and well-being.
Major outputs of this research project are our Total Worker Health® Leadership Programs that are offered online or in-person. These evidence-based training programs are designed for business leaders who want to create a workplace culture that is safe, healthy, productive, and sustainable.
Better Together
Businesses that focus on leadership and have health and safety policies and programs have employees who act safer and healthier.
Policy and Program Changes
On average, businesses increased their Healthy Workplace Assessment score by 11% after the first year of the intervention
Leadership Matters
Work environments were rated 14% higher when employees felt that their leaders cared about their health and safety.
Support Matters
Employees were motivated to be safer and healthier at businesses with work environments that support employee health and safety.
Pandemic Strong
During the COVID-19 pandemic, well-being was greater at businesses with work environments that support employee health and safety.
View the infographic.
132 organizations enrolled
17 industries represented
60 leadership trained
10,000+ workers represented
Total Worker Health® Leadership Programs
Major outputs of this project are our Total Worker Health Leadership Programs that are available to non-SSWell study participants. These programs are designed for business leaders who want to create a sustainable workforce and workplace culture that is safe, healthy, and productive.
- Schwatka, N.V., Dally, M., Shore, E. et al. Small + Safe + Well: lessons learned from a Total Worker Health® randomized intervention to promote organizational change in small business. BMC Public Health 22, 1039 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-13435-y
- Schwatka, NV, Tenney, L, Dally, M, Scott, J, Brown, C, Weitzenkamp, D, Shore, E, Newman, L. (2018). Small business Total Worker Health: A conceptual and methodological approach to facilitating organizational change.
Occupational Health Sciences. 2(1): 25-41.
- Thompson, J, Schwatka, NV, Tenney, L, Newman, L. (2018). Total Worker Health: A small business leader perspective. International Journal of Environmental Research
and Public Health. 15(11): 2416.
- Schwatka, NV, Tenney, L, Newman, L. (2019). Health protection and health promotion in small business.
In Burke, R. & Richardsen, A. (Eds.), Increasing Occupational Health and Safety in Workplaces: Individual, Work, and Organizational Factors. Edward Elgar Publishing: Cheltenham, UK.
- Shore, E., Schwatka, NV, Dally, M, Brown, C, Tenney, L, Newman, LS. (2020). Small business employees’ perceptions of leadership are associated with safety and health climates and their own behaviors.
Journal of Environmental and Occupational Medicine. 62(2): 156-162.
- Schwatka, NV, Sinclair, R, Fan, W, Dally, M, Shore, E, Brown, C, Tenney, L, Newman, LS. (2020). How does organizational climate motivate employee safe and healthy behavior in small business? A Self Determination Theory perspective.
Journal of Environmental and Occupational Medicine. 62(5): 350-358.
- Schwatka, NV, Dally, M, Tenney, L, Shore, E, Brown, C, Newman, LS. (2020). Total Worker Health leadership and business strategies are related to safety and health climates in small business.
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 17(6), 2142.
- Brown, C, Schwatka, NV, Dexter, L, Dally, M, Shore, E, Tenney, Liliana, Newman, LS (2021). The Importance of Small Business Safety and Health Climates during COVID-19. Journal
of Environmental and Occupational Medicine. 63(2): 81-88.
- Schwatka, NV, Brown, C, Tenney, L, Scott, JG, Shore, E, Dally, M, Newman, LS. (2021). Evaluation of a Total Worker Health Leadership Development Program for Small Business.
Occupational Health Science. 5: 163-188.
- Schwatka, NV, Dally, M, Shore, E, Dexter, L, Tenney, L, Brown, CE, Newman, LS. (2021). Profiles of Total Worker Health in United States small business.
BMC Public Health. 21(1010).
- Shore, E, Tenney, L, Schwatka, NV, Dally, M, Dexter, L, Brown, CE, Newman, LS. (2021). A pilot study of changes in Total Worker Health® policies and programs and associated changes in safety and health climates in small business.
American Journal of Industrial Medicine. 64(12): 1045-1052.
- Brown, C, Dexter, L, Schwatka, NV, Dally, M, Tenney, L, Shore, E, Newman, LS (2021). Total Worker Health® and Small Business Employee Perceptions of Health Climate, Safety Climate, and Well-Being during COVID-19.
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 18: 9702.
The SSWell Study was funded through a cooperative agreement (1 U19 OH 011227 – 01) with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health as part of one of six national Centers of Excellence for Total Worker Health.
