Workers' Health On the Line

Workers’ Health on the Line addresses questions of how we can viably build and sustain trusted communities, and how we can rebuild the capacity of individuals to organize and represent themselves. In partnership with United for Respect, this project uses experimental designs to evaluate the impact of a new form of online organization—facilitated support groups—on the health of individuals working in precarious low-wage retail jobs. 

As people spend increasing amounts of time interacting over online platforms and the nature of work, as a result of changing technology, continues to evolve, the question of how to develop supportive online communities is an urgent concern. Workers’ Health on the Line uses a customized version of the mobile app WorkIt—developed by United For Respect as a resource for low-wage workers—to evaluate the utility of different forms of online community in improving health outcomes. Through a randomized controlled trial of 6,000 workers, this research will produce insights of theoretical and practical value beyond the context of low-wage workers. 

Workers’ Health on the Line has the potential to reveal methods to deepen our understanding of how different structures and online information discourse can influence desired outcomes.