diff --git a/rq/logutils.py b/rq/logutils.py
index 35af585..aeb2c8f 100644
--- a/rq/logutils.py
+++ b/rq/logutils.py
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ import logging
 from rq.utils import ColorizingStreamHandler
 
 
-def setup_loghandlers(level='INFO'):
+def setup_loghandlers(level):
     logger = logging.getLogger('rq.worker')
     if not _has_effective_handler(logger):
         logger.setLevel(level)
diff --git a/rq/worker.py b/rq/worker.py
index ac48bf5..3881567 100644
--- a/rq/worker.py
+++ b/rq/worker.py
@@ -407,7 +407,7 @@ class Worker(object):
         if before_state:
             self.set_state(before_state)
 
-    def work(self, burst=False):
+    def work(self, burst=False, logging_level=logging.INFO):
         """Starts the work loop.
 
         Pops and performs all jobs on the current list of queues.  When all
@@ -416,7 +416,7 @@ class Worker(object):
 
         The return value indicates whether any jobs were processed.
         """
-        setup_loghandlers()
+        setup_loghandlers(logging_level)
         self._install_signal_handlers()
 
         did_perform_work = False