Working Well
Conversations at the intersection of health and work
Working Well is a bi-monthly webinar series that highlights unique and shared challenges impacting workers across industries. Join safety professionals, policymakers, and experts in occupational health, safety, and well-being as we discuss the topics that matter the most to workers.
Every other month on the third Tuesday, Working Well will bring you the latest on emerging issues and pressing concerns in workplace safety; we'll introduce you to experts on topics at the intersection of work, health and life; and we'll connect you to ideas and information you can use in the workplace. Working Well addresses worker safety and health topics from a Total Worker Health® approach, which emphasizes hazard-free work for all and prioritizes designing work for optimal well-being.
Upcoming webinars in the 2024-2025 Working Well series
Total Worker Health® approaches to workplace mental health and wellbeing
Webinar
Tuesday, April 15, 2025
Noon - 1:00 p.m.
Tickets are FREE and available at EventBrite.
Work design and hazards have a significant impact on worker mental health and wellbeing. Total Worker Health® offers science-based, practical approaches to being more purposeful in the way an organization designs work to improve mental health and well-being including but not limited to leadership training on mental health support practices, and programs and education on ways of promoting positive mental health at work. Don't miss this opportunity to learn about real world approaches to mitigating risks and promoting health and well-being in workplaces using evidence-based and evidence informed approaches.
Presented in partnership with:
Portland State University, Industrial and Organizational Psychology. ®
Meet the presenters
Dr. Megan Furnari, M.D., M.S., R ’16 is the Associate Chief Wellness Officer for OHSU and an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics. Dr. Furnari brings a decade of leadership experience in well-being for learners, staff, and faculty in academic healthcare, as well as specialized training in women’s leadership development. Her focus within well-being specifically is on how to build sustainable programs and strategic priorities that incorporate well-being best practices across an organization.
Dr. Leslie B. Hammer specializes in the effects of workplace conditions, including supportive supervision at work and occupational stress, on workplace mental health and well-being. She is the Associate Director of Applied Research and Professor in the Oregon Institute of Occupational Health Sciences at Oregon Health & Science University and the Director of the Oregon Healthy Workforce Center, one of 10 centers of excellence in Total Worker Health® funded by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health.
Captain Rathke began his medical career as a National Health Service Corps scholar and medical provider as a site director of a new community health center in Fredonia, Arizona. He was later also elected president of the town’s chamber of commerce during that assignment. As the town’s only full-time “doc,” he treated all aspects of health for his patients and served as the primary consultant to the mayor for public health concerns. He then practiced medicine for five years at Naval Hospital Pensacola in Florida, specializing in cardiology. Captain Rathke is also an aerospace physiologist, a dive medical officer, and an educator. He’s trained over 3,000 pilots and aircrew in high-risk operational environments. As a subject matter expert in flight physiology and hypoxia, he also served as an instructor for the U.S. Navy Flight Surgeon Course and a collaborative researcher and instructor for the U.S. Army’s Air Warrior aircrew ensemble. Through the U.S. Public Health Service, he has been trained in public health crisis management and has been deployed to respond to public health emergencies.
Past Working Well Webinars
Rules that Work for Workers: Paid Leave Oregon
Webinar
Tuesday, March 18, 2025
Noon - 1:00 p.m.
Stream the video on YouTube.
In September 2023, Oregon implemented a paid family and medical leave program. Paid Leave Oregon provides 12-14 weeks of job-protected paid leave for Oregon workers who need to take time away from work for qualified family, medical, or safe leave. In this webinar conversation we seek to understand the implications of this program for worker health, safety, and wellbeing. We will talk to researchers evaluating the use and effectiveness of paid family and medical leave programs for diverse groups of workers and program administrators overseeing implementation of Paid Leave Oregon. A few questions we will explore: 1) How is the Paid Leave Oregon program working, 2) how does it compare other programs of its type in other states, and 3) what are the documented outcomes for workers and employers?
Watch the video
Overtime Pay for Agricultural Workers: Policy to Practice
Webinar
Tuesday, February 18, 2025
Noon - 1:00 p.m.
Registration is free and open to all
Starting January 1, 2023, Oregon employers were required to pay overtime to agricultural workers after they worked 55 hours in one workweek. As of January 1, 2025, agricultural workers are eligible for overtime pay after 48 hours in a workweek. How is agricultural worker defined? What defines a work week? What are the implications of this new law for workers and employers? In the 2 years since its gradual implementation with full implementation in 2027, what do we know about how this law is working? How has this innovation in worker focused legislation supported the health, safety, wellbeing of those who work in this industry?
Protecting Oregon's Workforce: Policy Landscape for Workers and Employers
Webinar
Tuesday, December 17, 2024
Noon - 1:00 p.m.
Stream the video of the Protecting Oregon's workforce webinar
Oregon is recognized as a national leader in developing innovative legislation and policies that protect the health and safety rights of workers. This webinar will kick off a series of focused discussions that will explore the intended and unintended consequences of recent Oregon laws such as paid family leave, hospital staffing requirements, and overtime for agriculture workers.
Participants will learn about the legal landscape for workers and employers in Oregon from local and national experts. Oregon is consistently recognized by Oxfam’s Best States to Work Index. Learn from the lead researcher on the Oxfam team about how these rankings are established and tested. Learn from Oregon’s Deputy Labor Commissioner about how Oregon balances the safety and rights workers and employers in innovative ways. Download Oxfam's Best and Worst States to Work in the US 2024.
Too hot to work: How to protect workers from extreme heat and poor air quality
Virtual Webinar
Tuesday, October 15, 2024
Watch the video of the "Too hot to work" webinar.
Extreme heat events have claimed more lives in the United States over the past 10 years than any other weather-related event. Climate models predict that climate change will lead to an increase in extreme heat events and associated air pollution episodes. During wildfire smoke or extreme heat events, people may also be exposed to increased levels of harmful air pollutants such as ozone, particulate matter, and allergens such as pollen. Heat and air pollution tax human health in distinct ways and the ways we protect workers during heat and air pollution events are also distinct.
In this session, participants will explore what science tells us about the synergistic effects of extreme heat and poor air quality and how to prevent exposure to these hazards effectively.
Learn more about our work
Newsletter
Explore professional development opportunities, the latest updates from the Oregon Healthy Workforce Center and the Occupational Public Health Program, a research snapshot, and upcoming occupational health-focused events.
Blog
The Oregon and the Workplace blog features the latest from OccHealthSci research, professional development opportunities, and valuable insights from disciplines associated with occupational health, safety, and well-being.
Podcast
The What's Work Got to Do with It podcast, produced by OccHealthSci, brings together occupational health, safety, and well-being experts to discuss the latest topics relating to worker health, well-being, and safety in Oregon and beyond.