Work and health

This article summarises the major issues which impact on work place health.

Although, statistically, you are more likely to suffer from ill health if you are unemployed, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) estimates that British industry loses :

• over £13 billion per year because of sickness absence
• the equivalent of some 172 million working days in total
• 40% of the time lost is through long term absences
• 13 million days are lost through stress, depression or anxiety.

There are laws which govern health and safety at work. As an employee you have a right to expect your company to maintain a safe and healthy working environment. The article on Health and Safety at Work outlines the main provisions.

The work place is an ideal environment for promoting positive health policies. 

• Increasingly complex work environments create more factors likely to impact upon an individual’s physical and mental health and wellbeing.
• Demographic trends show that the workforce is becoming more diverse - more women, more people who have a disability and more people in the upper age range. 

These trends contribute to the range of health issues likely to affect employees.

NHS Health Scotland identifies about 20 major issues which may impact upon work place health. Details are on the website: http://www.healthyworkinglives.com/advice/workplace-hazards/index.aspx

Stress at work

According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), 'Stress is the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressure or other types of demand made on them'. It can be a serious problem, both for the individuals who go through it and for the organisations they work for, leading to:

• low staff morale and   lack of company loyalty
• high staff turnover and sickness absence
• mistakes, lowering of standards and dissatisfied customers.

• physical symptoms: headache, chest pain, stomach trouble, skin problems, muscle tension, panic attacks, feeling tired and lacking energy  
• behaviour changes: mood swings, being indecisive, forgetting things, finding changes in your eating or sleeping patterns, increased drinking or smoking
• psychological symptoms: anxiety, being irritable or tearful, lacking concentration, having low self confidence or low esteem. 

Many of the solutions may lie in reviewing your lifestyle and changing it for the better (learning to relax; taking regular exercise; looking at your eating and drinking habits; cutting back - or cutting out - smoking and managing your time better).

How your employer can help

Your employer can help by:

• identifying sources of work place stress and promoting good working practices
• developing practical solutions to reduce ill health caused, or made worse by, work
• supporting employees in their work
• assisting people returning to work after illness, whether work related or not .

If you feel that you have a health problem which is affecting your performance at work, or is caused or made worse by your work situation, you should speak to your employer or trade union representative, if you have one.

Sources of information and advice about work place health:

Scottish Centre for Healthy Working Lives - part of NHS Health Scotland - aims to create safer, healthier, more motivated work places

Tel: 0800 019 2211

Web: http://www.healthyworkinglives.com

Health Scotland: http://www.healthscotland.com/ - NHS website delivering programmes to improve Scotland's health

Health and Safety Executive: http://www.hse.gov.uk/stress

International Stress Management Association: http://www.isma.org.uk/  

UK National Work-Stress Natwrok: http://www.workstress.net/whatis.htm

Worksmart: http://www.worksmart.org.uk - TUC website including information on work place health