Hosted by the GPH Global Mental Health & Stigma Program
GMH Symposium Speaker Series #13
Many low-wage health care workers (e.g., home health aides, nursing assistants) are employed in jobs that have low job security and minimal resources to grow professionally. Already a vulnerable group of workers, they are also often at the periphery as organizations are likely to treat them as "replaceable" instead of engaging in efforts to develop and retain them. Consequentially, the work environments of low-wage health care workers may be impinging on their wellbeing in different ways compared to other workers. Using the case of medical assistants – whose median hourly wage in 2020 was $17.23 per hour – Dr. Alden Lai will discuss findings from an ongoing study that examines what they value at work and how managers can better create employer-employee relationships that are mutually beneficial and therefore sustained.
About the Speaker
Alden Lai, PhD, MPH is a health care management scholar who studies how to improve the jobs and work environments of health care workers. His current research focuses on proactivity at work, including job crafting and the conditions under which workers and managers can shape jobs to improve work engagement, generate meaningfulness, or reduce burnout. Dr. Lai's research has appeared in both management and health care journals, including Academy of Management Discoveries, Health Care Management Review, Medical Care Research and Review, and The Milbank Quarterly. He also serves as Executive Advisor to the Global Wellbeing Initiative, a collaboration between Gallup Inc. and the Wellbeing for Planet Earth Foundation that collaborates with philanthropies, corporations, and international organizations to foster a more globally inclusive understanding of wellbeing for research, practice, and policy.