public health jobs remote

public health jobs remote

Public Health Jobs: The Benefits of Remote Work

1. Introduction

It must be noted, however, that remote work is not for everybody. The personality types and personal characteristics of those who are successful at remote work must be considered. Remote workers who are most satisfied with their jobs are of the “auto-nomad” or “minimalist” personality. These individuals are doers, not bureaucrats, and constantly seek to find the most effective means to an end. Satisfaction results from the ability to engage in activities with speed, to act on timely concerns and to see projects to their completion. Because remote work allows the worker to create their own work environment, those who are accustomed to a disorganized or unprofessional workplace will be more satisfied than if they were to work in an office. Measures of intrinsic career success, such as work autonomy, achievement of one’s internal values, and the development of one’s skills and abilities, are also important to remote workers. Since remote work in almost any industry allows for maximum integration of work and lifestyle, it is often perceived as blurring the line between work and play. This allows most remote workers to feel more satisfied with their job.

Remote work or telecommuting, once considered to be a job benefit, is now becoming the norm in almost every industry. Healthcare is no exception. Many health professionals have experienced increased schedule flexibility and productivity via remote work and are now taking advantage of the many professional opportunities available. In fact, a new trend has emerged in which employees within the healthcare industry “work from home” via their computer. With the use of technology and a little creativity, there are quite a few employment options for healthcare workers to explore.

2. Advantages of Remote Public Health Jobs

Many remote opportunities can also serve as consulting or private practice careers for health educators. Not bad for being able to maybe save an hour into work on a Friday just to start the weekend early. And finally, for those with disabilities, employment options are expanded as many find it hard to enter the workforce due to certain physical limitations.

Coming full circle to the main focus of the essay, remote work often offers the opportunity to do the same job you were doing in a traditional office setting for a higher salary to start. Higher salary positions with non-profit organizations and private companies that offer health promotion and disease prevention lifestyle coaching type programs are often underrepresented career areas for public health graduates; remote work opportunities in these fields can be stepping stones for better paying health educator positions.

Reduced stress and no more crowded rush hour commutes. Let’s face it; getting to work is just less stressful when all you have to do is walk to another room in your comfortable office attire and open up your laptop. And if time is money, many remote workers save several thousand dollars a year on gas, car maintenance, dry cleaning, parking, lunches bought on the go, and professional wardrobes. All of these are considerations for certain job costs offered in a traditional office setting compared to a remote position.

There is flexibility in daily work activities. Remote workers can set aside time in their day when they know they are most alert and focused to do their work. Whether it’s more efficiently writing health education materials because there are fewer interruptions from office mates, or being able to take a break and exercise during lunch because there is no commute, there is enhanced productivity in working remotely.

As opposed to other jobs, remote public health opportunities have several advantages. Firstly, remote working opportunities are not bound by location. Nurses have been seeing the benefits of working remotely through telecommuting positions for several years now, but the field is just starting to open up to other health education/promotion/behavior change oriented positions. This creates job opportunities and financial savings in that the same work formerly done in office can be achieved at home.

3. Challenges and Solutions for Remote Work in Public Health

Recent findings from a 15-month study on teleworkers conducted by the International Telework Association and Council (ITAC) that involved 2,500 employees describe many of the challenges faced by remote workers, the effects of which may be amplified in public health work due to its emphasis on human interaction and community involvement. The most prevalent and consistent problems are difficulty with “blurred boundaries between work and home” (75%), feeling “socially isolated from the organization” (69%), and “inability to unplug after work” (67%). A cross-sectional study of 142 teleworkers comparing quality of life and job commitment between office-based and remote workers found that remote workers had lower job commitment, although they reported greater life satisfaction. This discrepancy was accounted for by the lack of social support at work and overall poorer perceived job context, including leadership, role quality, and promotion. A possible side effect of these challenges is the increased turnover of remote employees. This was noted in a study of a telework program at the US Department of Veteran Affairs and attributed to employees feeling disconnected from the organization and undervalued.

While there are many advantages of remote work in terms of flexibility and fulfilling personal needs, this work alternative presents a number of challenges to creating and maintaining a high-quality and efficient workforce. Remote work can be isolating, both socially and professionally, and public health workers may feel a loss of camaraderie and mission. Time management and maintaining work/personal life boundaries can be difficult. Lastly, the nature of public health work is community-based and interactive, and many aspects of it simply cannot be done outside of a traditional office. These include conducting interventions that involve face-to-face contact and people working on teams or in professions that require meetings to share and discuss information. Industries that are research and/or teaching-oriented have unique challenges as they are often more autonomous and deadlines may be more flexible.

4. Remote Job Opportunities in Public Health

There is a visible trend of both governmental and non-governmental organizations cutting costs and workforce through traditional and information technology means. Yet the same demand remains for qualified individuals to carry out the public health mission. Postings for short-term foreign assignments relevant to disease control and health promotion are increasing. Virtual collaboration is a requirement for many multinational health initiatives. It is a safe prediction that 10-15 years from now a much larger portion of public health work will be carried out using global networks. The fallacy is in believing that remote work is exclusively available to seasoned experts in a high-paying consulting job. These same new professionals would be best served to try and enter the field through some fluctuation of remote work.

Remote job opportunities in public health. This essay has thus far focused on how working remotely may benefit the individual worker. But what of prospective new professionals in the public health field? What of the recent graduates? The generation currently undergoing public health studies is fully versed in the ways of the Internet and computers. For those entering a job market where growth of the CDC and HRSA is sluggish and restricted by budgetary constraint, the first beams of a new dawn are showing.

5. Conclusion

It will be critical for a significant number of community health workers and other public health professionals to significantly improve their preparedness and comfort with utilizing these tools with remote instructional strategies. By preparing people to use distance learning tools effectively, we increase its potential to serve as a vehicle for contentful in-service learning for public health practice. Local health departments will need to be creative in helping their workforce access professional development opportunities in the scarce resources environment ahead. The connective power of the Internet can facilitate sharing webinars, online workshops, and interactions with experts in the field from around the world. Global public health education widens our students’ and public health workers’ perspectives on their own field, by exposing them to diverse ideas and alternative solutions to persisting or emerging public health problems. With restricted funds for various types of travel, global learning experiences and interactions around public health issues can be nurtured at the desktop. Throughout this pandemic, the demand and interest in telemedicine and e-health has skyrocketed. Now would be a good time for public health students and professionals to take advantage of improving their knowledge and skills in these areas. Public Health 101 at the University of North Carolina Schools of Public Health recently launched an initiative to package and deliver public health learning through Podcasts. We have seen a recent influx of interest in a variety of news media for the science and field of public health. Now is a vital time for spirited and informed discussions on strengthening a platform for intelligent public discourse on key public health issues to enlighten both the public, policy makers and various stakeholders. Widespread adoption and usage of virtual meeting technologies has potential to significantly leveraging public health professional’s communal think-tank and strategy sessions on various issues. And again, adept use of these various technologies can both build and enhance platforms for advocacy on public health issues. By understanding the wide implications in the academic and practice arms of public health, community health workers can position themselves to play a vital role in the stepwise migration to greater utilization of information technologies. In a position paper on public health informatics, the CDC conveyed that the “dominant presence of the Internet and the World Wide Web in contemporary culture suggests it will become a central tool for conveying public health information to diverse populations”. This statement was published in 2001. In the wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic, we are now truly appreciating the wide gap that still exists almost 20 years later. This current crisis is creating an unprecedented learning opportunity and a desperate demand for infrastuctural upgrades in information technologies that has the potential to be a turning point in history for various aspects of public health. The future is now.