In a Year’s Work™
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Intro Heading link
In a Year's Work™ is a desktop computer game. While the game is mobile-friendly, we recommend playing on a computer for an optimal experience.
In a Year’s Work™ is an educational game that demonstrates how different workers within the same organization, eDelivery Enterprises, experience the social determinants of health. In the game, In a Year’s Work™, each player takes on a unique character.
You can play as the Temporary Warehouse Worker, Call Center Representative, HR Manager, or the CEO. Each character will have to navigate unique stresses and health challenges both at work and at home. Players will make decisions, big and small, while trying to live healthy and happy lives.
Every month you will be presented with a scenario designed to make you consider the various health effects of different work arrangements. The choices you make impact your health, as well as your ability to make work healthier for others at eDelivery Enterprises.
Play the Game In a Year's Work™
Trigger Warning Heading link
The game, In a Year’s Work™, contains sensitive content that may be harmful or traumatizing to some audiences. The game covers topics such as workplace injuries, opioid addiction, and mental health. See below for resources or more information about the concepts mentioned in the game, In a Year’s Work™.
Resources Heading link
| Term | Definition | Links to Additional Information |
|---|---|---|
| Advocate | To advocate for something is to support or recommend a particular cause or policy. | Read 'A Public Health Advocacy Guide for Researchers' Learn How to be a Public Health Advocate |
| Ergonomics | Ergonomics is the science of designing and arranging work environments to be safe and efficient. | Ergonomics and Musculoskeletal Disorders Practical Demonstrations of Ergonomic Principles |
| Fair Workweek | The Fair Workweek ordinance requires certain employers to provide predictable schedules to their workers and compensation for changes to those schedules. | Learn about Chicago's Fair Workweek Ordinance |
| Family & Medical Leave Act | The Family & Medical Leave Act, or FMLA, allows eligible workers to take unpaid leave for specified family and medical reasons, while keeping their job. | Family and Medical Leave Act |
| Flexible Schedule | Flexible schedules vary from the traditional 9 to 5 job, allowing workers to vary their arrival and departure times. | Learn more about flexible schedules |
| Hazard Pay | Hazard pay means that workers are given additional pay for working in hazardous conditions. | Learn more about hazard pay |
| Health | Per the World Health Organization, health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. | Read the World Health Organization's Constitution |
| Impact | Impact is the ability to have a strong influence on a person or organization. | Read about the Six Phases for Building Sustainable Impact |
| Medication-Assisted Treatment | Medication-Assisted Treatment uses medication in combination with counseling and behavioral therapies to treat Opioid Use Disorder. | Medication-Assisted Treatment |
| Mutual Aid Network | Mutual Aid Networks are autonomous, self-help organizations controlled by the members within the network. Mutual Aid Networks use democratic processes to distribute resources like food. | Mutual Aid Networks |
| Opioid Painkillers | Opioids are substances that provide pain relief. Opioid abuse may result from physical or psychological reliance on opioids. | Opioid Use in the Workplace |
| Organizing | Organizing includes bringing together individuals toward a common cause. | Basic Tutorial on Workplace Organizing |
| Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) | The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is the federal agency that ensures safe and healthy working conditions for all workers by setting and enforcing standards and providing training and education to workers and their employers. | Review OSHA's Website |
| Paid Sick Leave | Paid Sick Leave is a benefit that allows workers to take compensated time off for health needs. | Paid Sick Leave |
| Paid Time Off | Paid Time Off, often referred to as PTO, is employer-approved personal time that employees spend away from work while still receiving compensation. | Parental Leave Policy Template |
| Pandemic | A pandemic is a widespread occurrence of an infectious disease across a large region, usually an entire country or across the globe. | CDC Workplaces and Businesses: Plan, Prepare, and Respond |
| Parental Leave Policy | Parental Leave Policies enable employees to take paid time off following the birth of their child, adoption if, or fostering of a child. | CDC Workplaces and Businesses: Plan, Prepare, and Respond |
| Direct Hires | A direct hire is hired directly by and receives compensation from a single employer. | How do workers' compensation filings compare between temporary workers and direct hires? |
| Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) | Personal Protective Equipment (PEE) is equipment that is worn to reduce exposure to hazards that can cause illness or injury. Examples of PPE include things like respirators, gloves, hard hats, and steel-toed shoes. | What is PPE? |
| Predictable Schedule | A predictable schedule is provided to employees in advance, with minimal changes to an employee's schedule once it has been posted. Predictable schedules allow workers to plan for their time outside of work, for example, identifying when childcare may be needed. | Learn about how predictable schedules can improve health and well-being |
| Retaliatory Action | Retaliatory Action occurs when an employer or supervisor takes adverse action toward an employee for engaging in a protected activity. An example of this is being fired for attempting to organize a union. | Facts about Retaliation |
| Social Determinants of Health | According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Social Determinants of Health are the nonmedical factors that influence health outcomes. Examples include where people live, learn, and work. | What are the social determinants of health? |
| Stress | According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, job stress can be defined as the harmful physical and emotional responses that occur when the requirements of the job do not match a worker's capabilities or the resources provided to them on the job. | Stress at Work Mental Health in the Workplace Work Stress' Impact on Your Company |
| Temporary Worker | A Temporary Worker, often hired through a temporary staffing agency, works in short-term job placements based on the needs of the employing organization. Temporary workers often cycle through short-term positions with little to no benefits. | Protecting Temporary Workers Illinois Leads the Way in Fighting Temp Worker Abuse |
| Total Worker Health | Per the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Total Worker Health¨ is defined as policies, programs, and practices that integrate protection from work-related safety and health hazards. | NIOSH Total Worker Health Program Making the Business Case for Total Worker Health CPH-NEW Total Worker Health Facilitator Training |
| Union | A labor union is an organized group of workers, often within a trade or profession, that have formed to protect their collective rights and interests. Labor unions serve as a collective voice for workers to bargain with an employer. | Your Right to Form a Union Steps to Form a Union |
| Wages | Wages are payments made by an employer to their employee. | Wages and Health Health Promotion Programs by Wage Category |
| Worker Center | A Worker Center is a non-profit community-based organization developed to support the communities of low-wage workers that are not represented by a labor union. | What are Worker Centers? |
| Workplace Health and Safety | Per OSHA, Workplace Safety is the process of protecting employees from work-related illness and injury. | Workplace Safety and Health Worker Rights and Protections Healthy Work Tools |
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If you’d like to learn more about how your organization may use In a Year’s Work™ or about the game’s ability to change attitudes and beliefs based on experiential learning please contact us using the form below.
TESA Collective Heading link
We are proud to have worked with the TESA Collective on the design and development of the game. To learn more about the TESA Collective, visit their website.