A collage of work environments including a person with a headset on, a computer monitor, a male riding his bike to work with a helmet and work bag, a walking meeting, etc.

Where we Work

As adults, we spend more than half of our waking hours, on average, at work. For some, going to work means staying home to care for kids or older relatives. Others venture out each day or night—to factories and farms; assisted living centers and construction sites; stores, restaurants and offices; and countless other places where we work.

A job unlocks resources for a healthy life

For most of us, a job is fundamental to creating healthy lives for ourselves and our
families. It provides income and benefits like health insurance that enable us to buy
nutritious food, obtain health care and live in safe neighborhoods—all factors that affect our health.

Not just the jobs, but the places where we do them, affect our health, too. These places
can support us—for example, when they provide a tobacco- and smoke-free
environment. Or they can make it harder to live a healthy life, when certain groups of
people are denied the opportunity to earn income and put their skills and talents to use.

Explore the issues

  • For an Oregonian with a disability, barriers to and within the world of work are barriers to a healthy life.

    Removing job barriers
    Older male living with an invisible disability sitting across from a younger male in a wheelchair, interacting in an inside environment