Marissa Baker is an Associate Professor in the UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS). She also serves as Program Director of the Industrial Hygiene Training Program at the Northwest Center for Occupational Health and Safety, housed at DEOHS. An associate of the Harry Bridges Center since 2020, she recently joined the Center’s governing Standing Committee.

Professor Baker's research focuses on the occupational experiences of vulnerable and underrepresented groups. She collaborates with various worker organizations, government entities, and industry partners to examine the physical and mental health outcomes of workers, understand their risk perceptions and needs, and develop and assess interventions for safe working conditions. Additionally, Marissa studies women's experiences in the workplace.

Marissa has kindly taken the time to talk to us about her research, her experiences being a mentor and professor in DEOHS, and the importance of collaborating in the labor movement.

Tell me about yourself!

I’m an Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences in the School of Public Health. My background training is in Industrial Hygiene and Exposure Assessment, so I study how work impacts health both physically and mentally, in negative and positive ways. I grew up in a very small town in southwest Washington, and attending public schools instilled in me a strong desire to serve the state and make education more accessible. One reason I really enjoy studying occupational health at UW is because work and labor are such a unifying part of the human experience; whether it’s paid or unpaid, it’s something that we all do and confront, and I think it deserves more attention from the public health perspective.

How has growing up in Washington influenced your occupational health research focus?

My mom performed unpaid labor at home, and my grandparents were dairy farmers in eastern Washington. I grew up in a very working-class community, with a mix of logging, small agriculture, retail, and healthcare. Originally growing up there and experiencing a very conservative small town, I thought, I can’t wait to get out! But now that I have the perspective, it’s certainly given me a much bigger appreciation for the working-class, and for the different ways that people labor in our state and across the world. I believe that some aspects of my upbringing enable me to connect more with workers and various industries I work with. Where I grew up, not many students in my high school went to college—a lot of them joined the military, pursued trades—so I think that has given me perspective on the different ways that people labor in our country, and helped me to be curious and understanding with the people that I work with, who might hold different backgrounds from me.

I recall a story you were featured in on KUOW discussing logging and its risks, highlighting how workers are passionate about their work and thus willing to withstand these risks.

Loggers take great pride in the work they do. I think a lot of times it’s been painted as this “environmentally unfriendly job” and that they’re destroying natural habitats for animals and just slashing down these trees. Still, the point of view there is… well, you all write on paper, you use toilet paper, we all benefit from paper! It’s an essential good, and they care about the forests. They are doing this job because they want to be in the forests and be stewards of the forests. And to be vilified for doing something so vital and essential to society… there are a lot of jobs that are like that. Right now, there’s all this hate towards Target and Amazon —and it’s not because it hasn’t been earned. But at the end of the day, there are still people working there. We’re all cogs in capitalism, and regardless of what the job is, we still deserve to have a safe workplace and have a thriving wage, not just a living wage. One that allows us to support our families, pursue our passions, contribute to our communities, live where we work, and all those positive things.

Given your background in Industrial Hygiene, what are some aspects of your work that you wish more people understood better?

The real goal of industrial hygiene (IH) is to anticipate, evaluate, and control workplace hazards. And it’s often thought of as only in a manufacturing or an industrial environment, out there sampling the air for lead, or other highly hazardous toxicants. While that is very important, I also think industrial hygienists can have an important role in evaluating other hazards at work like psychosocial hazards, things at work that can cause us stress and lead to mental health outcomes, like being bullied or harassed at work; being discriminated against or working really bad hours; if your boss is a jerk; or if you’re dealing with the public and they treat you unkindly. All of those things typically don’t fall under the umbrella of classical industrial hygiene, but I do think that industrial hygienists are uniquely positioned to contribute to solutions around those issues. First, because industrial hygienists are in the workplace, they have a rapport with the workers and with management, and they have a respect for work, so there’s already some buy-in. Second, an IH’s goal is to keep people healthy. So, thinking of industrial hygiene in this evolved, larger way is appealing to me, and it's something that people don’t necessarily associate with the field historically.

Yes, the conversation around mental health has been expanding so much that it only makes sense to expand in the workplace as well.

In your latest video with the DEOHS blog, I was surprised to learn that most clinics in the region do not support occupational health issues. Why have these hazards been overlooked for so long?

When thinking about why the exposures, illnesses, or injuries we encounter at work are often underemphasized, there’s a couple of prevailing thoughts which I try to fight against. One is the thought that “if you don’t like your job, get a new job,” as if that’s easy or possible to do. Regardless of what your job is, you have a right to a safe and healthy workplace. The other thought is this idea that work is seen as a voluntary risk, and it’s as if you’re “opting in” to these risks,  and  “that’s what you’re paid to do,” —your job is stressful and risky and that’s why you’re getting paid—and again, pay is not an excuse to have an unsafe workplace.

I think a lot of that (framing) has persisted, and the other reason is that we live in a capitalist society, and there are so many things in our world and our lives that are essential, so it’s seen as “well, we have to have that, or we can’t have this other thing.” For example, I did work early in the pandemic (and still work now) with US-based maritime workers doing a study on mental health. Of course, during COVID, they were being isolated at sea, and in some circles, it’s seen as “yep, that’s the cost, we all needed our toilet paper, so they had to keep working,” because we can’t just stop maritime transportation.

But going back to medical clinics supporting occupational health issues, in medical school, there’s no general training on occupational or environmental causes of diseases. There’s a separate residency in occupational and environmental medicine, where students learn to anticipate and identify diseases or illnesses caused by occupational or environmental factors and treat them. It is a real specialty that’s undersubscribed to by medical residents.

As an Associate Professor, which course(s) do you feel most connected to?

So, to be honest, I’ve only taught a few classes at UW, but next year I’m teaching a new class that I’m really excited about! I’m going to be teaching it with my colleague, Assistant Teaching Professor Eddie Kasner. The course, Introduction to Occupational Health and Safety, will be offered in my department and required of all Environmental Health undergraduate students. Our goal is really to create a class that is going to have both the technical aspects of occupational health and safety, like an overview of why chemicals are hazardous, how to best measure them, what are some of the safety concerns we see, but also looking at some of the more societal impacts of work and how equity issues show up at work and some of the larger picture issues. Like, is a four day work week feasible? How can work be made just? And how can we move toward workplaces that promote our whole selves? So, I’m hoping that it will set up our students for whichever route they may choose, to have an understanding of the technical aspects as well as the societal aspects. My goal for anyone who comes to my class is that they leave with an appreciation and respect for work and all workers.

Congratulations on receiving your department’s Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award! Your students truly value your guidance and your work style. Tell me about your mentorship experiences and what it’s like to mentor students in occupational health.

I really love working with students: undergraduates, master ’s level students, and PhD students. I like to give them applied experiences, and I’m hopeful that they can spend some time in the field and interacting with workers. I think that’s really important. I believe I’m fairly available and conduct weekly check-ins with my students to identify opportunities that could benefit them, such as scholarships, training, or job opportunities. It’s a huge honor to receive an award from my students; it’s truly humbling!

So, I know you’ve been connected with the Bridges Center for a little while now. What part of being a faculty affiliate are you most excited about?

For me, occupational health and safety is a significant challenge, and having diverse perspectives is invaluable. When I talk to other faculty and staff at the Center, being able to get those different perspectives has really improved my work. I also think of the connections at the Bridges Center, it’s such a well-respected organization, especially among labor in the Northwest, and it helps to find resources when starting a research project or working with a particular workforce. I recall working on my mariner mental health study when a student involved with the Center shared with me, “I’m a former mariner!” This led to a meeting and a coffee outing, which ultimately improved my research. Selfishly, also bringing more attention to occupational health as a public health issue is valuable, and a framing that is important to think about. We’re all working toward a similar goal, bringing different strengths and lived experiences to the table. Being able to take advantage of all of those in order to help the most workers is the most valuable.

Regarding policy, we’re fortunate to live in a state that has a really strong occupational health and safety plan through state Labor and Industries. The city of Seattle has historically been very good about passing first-in-the-nation policies around safe and sick leave, minimum wage, and similar labor protections. I believe that in this area, researchers and activist researchers have a significant role to play, as their work directly impacts policy and city initiatives. The Bridges Center has been excellent at amplifying this impact and creating opportunities for collaboration. I think it’s awesome to see the work that you’re doing to inform policy and that it has a real impact on people’s lives.