Leveraging health capital at the workplace: An examination of health reporting behavior among Latino immigrant restaurant workers in the United States

This article examines the choices made by a sample of Latino immigrant restaurant workers in regard to their health management, particularly in response to illness and injury. I draw on 33 interviews with kitchen staff employed in the mainstream restaurant industry in San Jose, California, and Houst...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Social science & medicine (1982) 2012-12, Vol.75 (12), p.2291-2298
Main Author: Gleeson, Shannon
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Biological and medical sciences
Bread
California
Claims-making
Compensation
Decision Making
Emigrants and Immigrants
Health
Health Behavior
Hispanic Americans
Hispanics
Humans
Illness
Immigrant
Immigrants
Injuries
Latino
Male
Medical sciences
Methodology (Data Collection)
Migrant Workers
Miscellaneous
Noncitizens
Occupational Health
Occupational Injuries
Occupational medicine
Pain
Public health. Hygiene
Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine
Qualitative Research
Restaurant workers
Restaurants
Rights
Service industry
Social capital
Texas
U.S.A
United States
Workers
Workplaces
Young Adult
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Summary:This article examines the choices made by a sample of Latino immigrant restaurant workers in regard to their health management, particularly in response to illness and injury. I draw on 33 interviews with kitchen staff employed in the mainstream restaurant industry in San Jose, California, and Houston, Texas, in 2006 and 2007. I argue that workers must consider complex power relationships at work in weighing the advantages of calling in sick, using protective equipment, seeking medical care, or filing a workers’ compensation claim. These decisions implicate direct and opportunity costs, such as risk of job loss and missed opportunities for advancement. Workers consequently leverage their health capital to meet their economic needs, to assert their autonomy at the workplace, and to ultimately reject the stigma of illness and injury. ► Worker education is insufficient for activating occupational health rights. ► Workers leverage their health capital for job security, scheduling preferences, and opportunities for advancement. ► Co-workers often share both competitive and collaborative ties that may cross racial/ethnic boundaries. ► Workers consider the direct and opportunity costs of engaging with health care and legal bureaucracies to be prohibitive. ► The immigrant experience and legal status accentuate the challenges workers face when advocating for their health.
ISSN:0277-9536
1873-5347
DOI:10.1016/j.socscimed.2012.08.031