World Day for Safety & Health at Work 2022

At a recent workshop about Occupational Health & Hygiene, I was reminded about how many colleagues, friends and family have been affected by occupational related exposures. It is a sad truth that whilst we as a nation have managed to reduce the number of fatalities and serious injuries associated with safety, we still have lots of room for improvement on our health and wellbeing. This week we have the World Day for Safety and Health at Work 2022, which focuses on enhancing social dialogue towards a culture of safety and health. So, I thought this would be an ideal time to remind ourselves of those factors affecting our health and wellbeing.

The working population in the UK spend, on average, about a third of their time in the workplace. Employment and working conditions have powerful effects on our health. Good workplaces can provide social protection and status, personal development opportunities, and protection from physical and psychosocial hazards. All of these can improve social relations and self-esteem of employees and lead to positive health effects.

Some common health risks in the workplace, such as heat, noise, dust, hazardous chemicals, unsafe machines, and psychological stress, may cause occupational diseases and other health problems. These include respiratory diseases, musculoskeletal disorders, noise-induced hearing loss, skin problems, cardiovascular diseases, occupational cancer, and depression.

Employees working under stress or with precarious employment conditions are likely to smoke more, exercise less and have an unhealthy diet. Our bodies and minds are profoundly interconnected, so if you suffer from mental health issues then your body will also feel the impact in more ways than one – and vice versa. As an example, when an athlete has a sports injury, their mental health might be impacted by the inability to play or follow their usual daily routine.

If we are overwhelmed, stressed, or overthinking in any way then our mind will alert our bodies to that fact, and the body will do its best to alert us and encourage us to pay attention to what is going on. This can be exhausting for both the mind and the body, and so we will feel that in a physical way as well as on a mental level.

Employers have a responsibility to provide a safe and hazard-free workplace, and they have a duty of care to promote employees’ health and foster a healthy work environment. Maintaining a healthier workforce can lower direct costs such as insurance premiums and workers’ compensation claims. It will also positively impact many indirect costs such as absenteeism and worker productivity.

To improve the health of their employees, businesses can create a wellness culture that is employee-centred; provides supportive environments where safety is ensured; and provides opportunities for employees to engage in a variety of workplace health programmes that can reduce health risks and improve employees’ life quality.