Is your job putting you at risk?

Posted 6 years ago

What makes a healthy work environment?

Firstly, good physical and mental health among employees is essential to workplace productivity and the success of both the organisation and the staff themselves. However, only 23% of British people are happy with their job. Employees must have a healthy work-life balance, a good diet, good working conditions and several other factors to ensure they are in a physically and mentally healthy condition.

What is the world’s happiest country?

It’s Denmark! Not a massive surprise for the country where residents get to spend 2/3 of their day on eating, sleeping and leisurely activities. Additionally, only 2% of their residents report working “long hours”.

What makes an unhealthy work environment?

Each year in the UK, absence from sickness costs organisations £29 BILLION! Moreover, 300,000 people with mental health conditions either take time off or leave their organisation. That’s about the population of Belfast.

Night shift workers

People who work 55 hour work weeks increase their risk of developing atrial fibrillation, strokes and heart attacks.

Sitting for 11 hours a day increases your risk of premature death by 40%! Additionally, every 10 years in a sedentary role doubles your risk of colon cancer.

For night shift workers, they are 29% more likely to develop obesity than day workers. And, rather worryingly, 1 in 10 night shift workers will die early.

What jobs have high health risks?

Long hours can have a negative impact on marriage and family life. Lorry driving is one profession that is notorious for working long hours.

Another issue associated with driving is bladder and lung cancers being more prevalent in drivers. Additionally, drivers breathe in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and volatile organic chemicals.

Lorry drivers can be more prone to fall into bad nutritional habits, including high caffeine consumption and smoking habits – it’s estimated that 54% of lorry drivers are smokers, and 69% are considered obese.

In the US, 12% of all work-related deaths are related to truck driving.

Working in dentistry can also come with some serious health risks.

• 37.7% of the time a dentist’s posture is strained
• 56% of dental hygienists show symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome
• 87.2% of dentists indicate at least one symptom of a musculoskeletal disease

Additionally, dentists are at risk of noise-induced hearing loss.

Finally, flight attendants are also working in a high-risk occupation, with some countries even considering them as radiation workers.

• they have a 50% increased chance of developing breast cancer
• they have a 74% increased chance of developing stomach cancers

This is topped by the fact that with every 5 years of work their chance of developing non-melanoma skin cancers increases.

This infographic was created on behalf of Stanley R Harris Ltd.

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