TOTAL WORKER HEALTH® TOOLKIT
Safety & Health Improvement Program (SHIP)
IMPROVING EMPLOYEE SAFETY,
HEALTH AND WELL-BEING
THROUGH SUPERVISOR SUPPORT AND TEAM EFFECTIVENESS
The SHIP toolkit provides training for supervisors and managers,
as well as their employees be on the path to improving areas within
their work teams and throughout their organization. SHIP has
been shown in research studies to:
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Reduce stress and work-life conflict
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Increase team communication and effectiveness
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Improve employee health and safety
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Enhancements in work processes and practices
Download our SHIP One Pager and SHIP Briefing Slides to share with your organization's leader.
Learn more about YourWorkpath Program. Organizations can participate in this program to get access to our toolkits and receive additional incentives and support from our Oregon Healthy Workforce Center.
*Our toolkits are continually going through improvements and changes to provide your organization with updated and relevant content. SHIP was last reviewed and updated in August 2020.
“Employees were cautious at first, but now they are the ones asking supervisors if they can revisit the team effectiveness goals. They’re really enthusiastic.”
-Suzanne Kahn, Maintenance Director Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT)
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1. GET STARTEDThe Start Guide is available to help introduce SHIP to your organization. This guide provides an overview of the toolkit along with step-by-step instructions on how-to implement. The Start Guide includes: SHIP One pager to learn more abou the toolkit SHIP Briefing Slides help inform leadership and managers about the benefits of the program and the SHIP process SHIP Implementation Checklist was developed to help workplaces get started in SHIP and identify roles that can help your workplace successfully implement the toolkit.
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2. ONLINE SUPERVISOR TRAININGThe Online Supervisor Training is an essential aspect of Safety, Health and Improvement Program and outlines the importance of supervisor support in improving employee health and safety. SHIP supervisor training topics cover: Improving work-like balance and safety Family Supportive Supervisor Behaviors (FSSB) Safety Supportive Supervisor Behaviors (SSSB) Tracking your Supportive supervisor Behaviors Follow-up and check-ins with your team The training consists of these objectives: Showing you how leadership can improve the organizational climate on work-life balance and safety and health of their employees Providing insight on how to be supportive of employee work-life balance Highlights how to provide supervisor support for workplace safety Detailing the importance of team building and goal setting, as well as reducing inefficiencies for work processes There are 3 options to get access to the SHIP online training. Access to the online training is free to any organization wanting access. 1. The components of the SHIP toolkit are free and accessible at the following links below. If your organization is interested in using any SHIP training content/materials or access to Learning Managment System (LMS) training files, a licensing agreement must be in place. Please contact us to learn more and obtain a license or more information to the online training. The SHIP toolkit is protected under OHSU copyright. ACCESS THE SHIP ONLINE TRAINING (60 minute training) *Updated April 2021 2. Participate in YourWorkpath Program to gain access to the entire toolkit including additional incentives for your organization. Contribute to occupational health sciences research. 3. Customization, branding, and licensing of online training content for your organization's Learning Management System (LMS) is available. Contact us at Helen Schuckers, schucker@ohsu.edu.
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3. SUPERVISOR BEHAVIOR TRACKINGThe Behavior Tracking activity is designed to improve the transfer of trained behaviors following the Online Supervisor Training. This activity involves your choice of using a: notecard, log, journal or phone app to set goals and track supportive behaviors. Choose a method that works best for your organization/team. Behavior tracking will take between 3 to 5 minutes per day over a two-week period. This activitly will help supervisors and managers reinforce what is learned in the online training, as well as track supportive supervisor patterns towards their employees. Download SHIP Behavior Tracking The SHIP Start-Guide includes a “how-to guide” to faciliate behavior tracking. The tracking activity has the following elements: Daily Tracking Card 3x5 index card option Lanyard card option There are also smart phone behavior tracking apps available to download from the Apple Store or Google Play. We recommend the below apps: Upkeep Momentum Habit-Bull *OHWC does not endorse or maintain the smart phone apps listed. They are additional options to track behaviors that are not paper-based.
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4. FOLLOW-UPFollow-up includes group discussion in which supervisors and their teams meet to brainstorm solutions to improve work practices, communication, and the work environment. Follow-up and check-ins for supervisors/managers and their employees are an essential aspect of SHIP that help ensure what is learned during the SHIP toolkit becomes embedded into everyday work practices. Included in the SHIP User Guide are components to ensure the success of the SHIP trainings. Follow-up guide with check-in and quick tools provide additional resources to promote supportive supervisor behaviors and work life support The Follow-up Guide were developed by our partners, WFD Consulting, and consists of work practice assessments and templates.
Why Adopt SHIP?
National statistics report, more than
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40% of workers report that their job was very or extremely stressful
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25% view their jobs as the number one stressor in their lives
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Job stress was a greater concern to worker health than either financial or family problems
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics over 3 million nonfatal workplace injuries/illnesses occur annually, which cost employers $1 billion per week in workers' compensation, plus other associated costs such as:
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Medical expenses
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Legal services
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Training replacement employees
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Accident investigation
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Lost productivity
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Implementation of corrective measures
We developed SHIP to address these major organizational concerns and improve employee outcomes. Find out more about how we developed SHIP.
The SHIP toolkit was developed by Dr. Leslie Hammer PhD. Learn more about Leslie and her research at OHSU.
The Science Behind SHIP
Where did SHIP come from? Did you know that it came from a rigorously tested study? Learn the scientific story behind SHIP.
SHIP was designed to increase supervisor and peer support and decrease job strain, which plays a key role in safety compliance and improved physical and mental health. SHIP integrates a focus on both health protection and health promotion by addressing psychosocial factors that are shown to be related to safety, well-being, and organizational productivity.
The SHIP intervention study was a NIOSH-funded randomized controlled trial focusing on supervisors and their teams. SHIP aimed to increase employee support from supervisors, improve team communication, enhance team effectiveness, and reduce stress and work-family conflict.
The SHIP intervention was composed of:
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One-hour training for supervisors
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Behavior-tracking that reinforced the training principles
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Team-based planning and problem-solving that utilizes a modified version of WFD Consulting's Team Effectiveness Process
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Follow-up sessions
The SHIP intervention was tested in the construction industry with a sample of 528 employees. We found that the intervention was effective at reducing worker blood pressure.
The SHIP study found that the strongest effects were among work crews that needed it most; those with poorer relationships with their supervisor and those with lower team cohesion. This Total Worker Health intervention targeted the supervisor and their teams/work groups to examine effects on work-life balance. Read more in the Journal of Work & Stress.
Also, an adapted version of the SHIP toolkit was developed for the United States Forest Service called the STTEP (Supervisor Training and Team Education Program) that included the online portion of the SHP training. Results showed similar significant outcomes on employee well-being, and descriptively explored the impact of the training on supervisors and employees.
Funding for SHIP was provided by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH; grant: U19OH010154).
Download the latest SHIP intervention study publication.
For additional leadership training, visit our Center for Supportive Leadership website.
Scientific Publications
Perry, M. L., El-Askari, L. M., Hammer, L. B., & Brown, N. D. (2020). Securing your Own Mask before Assisting Others: Effects of a Supervisor Training Intervention on Supervisors and Employees. Occupational Health Science, 1-27.
Hammer, L. B., Truxillo, D. M., Bodner, T., Pytlovany, A. C., & Richman, A. (2019). Exploration of the impact of organisational context on a workplace safety and health intervention. Work & Stress, 33(2), 192-210.
Brossoit, R. M., Crain, T. L., Leslie, J. J., Hammer, L. B., Truxillo, D. M., & Bodner, T. E. (2019). The effects of sleep on workplace cognitive failure and safety. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 24(4), 411-422.
Yaldiz, L. M., Truxillo, D. M., Bodner, T., & Hammer, L. B. (2018). Do resources matter for employee stress? It depends on how old you are. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 107, 182-194.
Zaniboni, S., Truxillo, D. M., Rineer, J. R., Bodner, T. E., Hammer, L. B., & Krainer, M. (2016). Relating age, decision authority, job satisfaction, and mental health: a study of construction workers. Work, Aging and Retirement, 2(4), 428-435.
Hammer, L. B., Truxillo, D. M., Bodner, T., Rineer, J., Pytlovany, A. C., & Richman, A. (2015). Effects of a workplace intervention targeting psychosocial risk factors on safety and health outcomes. BioMed Research International, 2015.
Bodner, T., Kraner, M., Bradford, B., Hammer, L., & Truxillo, D. (2014). Safety, health, and well-being of municipal utility and construction workers. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 56(7), 771-778.
Scientific publications for family support dimension of toolkit
Crain, T. L., Hammer, L. B., Bodner, T., Kossek, E. E., Moen, P., Lilienthal, R., & Buxton, O. M. (2014). Work–family conflict, family-supportive supervisor behaviors (FSSB), and sleep outcomes. Journal of occupational health psychology, 19(2), 155.
Hammer, L. B., Ernst Kossek, E., Bodner, T., & Crain, T. (2013). Measurement development and validation of the Family Supportive Supervisor Behavior Short-Form (FSSB-SF). Journal of occupational health psychology, 18(3), 285.
Hammer, L. B., Kossek, E. E., Anger, W. K., Bodner, T., & Zimmerman, K. L. (2011). Clarifying work–family intervention processes: The roles of work–family conflict and family-supportive supervisor behaviors. Journal of Applied Psychology, 96(1), 134.