Green Collar Workers: Epidemiology of An Emerging Workforce

Background/Purpose: The Green collar workforce is a unique and growing field of workers in the US, comprised of jobs seeking to increase sustainability and decrease waste, energy use, and pollution. Little is known, however, about the sociodemographic, health, and employment characteristics of these workers.

Methods: Using pooled data from the 2004-2012 National Health Interview Survey, we conducted descriptive analyses at the National Center for Health Statistics Research Data Center. We compared the prevalence of sociodemographic variables, health conditions, and employment factors of Green (n=27,432) versus non-Green (n=115,914) collar workers. Estimates were weight-adjusted for the complex survey design.

Results/Outcomes: Compared to non-Green collar workers, Green collar workers were more often were male (75.7% vs. 48.3%), were in the 25-64y age group, compared to older or younger age groups (86.7% v.s 82.6%), were insured (83.9% vs. 82.0%), had hearing impairment (13.2% vs. 10.7%), were overweight (39.8% vs. 35.6%) or obese (28.7% vs. 25.7%), and were employed in medium sized companies (100-249 employees: 14.1% vs. 12.0%; 250-499 employees: 8.5% vs. 6.2%; 500-999 employees: 5.8% vs. 4.6%) and incorporated companies (34.5% vs. 29.6%). They less often had more than a high school education (57.3% vs. 64.9%) and more than one job (6.9% vs. 9.1%).

Conclusions: There are some notable sociodemographic, health, and employment differences between Green and non-Green collar workers. As the Green collar workforce grows in the US, it is critical that we expand our understanding of the unique characteristics of these workers and the occupational and environmental exposures they face.