Most of us, for better or worse, spend the majority of our time at work. Naturally, you may spend your work hours focused on the next big step in your career, or just the most pressing task on your list when you’re at work. However, it’s also very important to stop and think about how your occupation is affecting your health every now and then. In this post, we’ll look at how some habits and behaviors at work could be taking their toll on your health. It may be time to search a remote job board to find a new job!
Doing Overtime
America has always had a reputation as a highly industrious nation, and this has been reflected in a lot of people’s workaholic tendencies. When compared to many other developed nations, Americans take a lot less vacation time, retire later in life, and generally put in more hours at work. Taking the “all work and no play” attitude may be great for your career, but can be exceedingly detrimental to your health at the same time. Studies have shown that employees who regularly work more than 50 hours per week are more likely to have reduced mental and physical well-being compared to those with more lax working schedules. Many of them tend to skip meals in order to keep working and have much larger incidences of self-reported depression.
Lack of Movement
Like many of my readers, you might be a white-collar professional. Understandably, you might assume that these kinds of positions are a lot healthier and comparatively low-risk compared to jobs which involve more manual work. Yes, you’re probably not going to fall off a scaffold at a desk job, but that doesn’t mean that you’re going to be totally healthy either. The American Osteopathic Association has found that around two-thirds of office employees suffer from some kind of physical pain on the job across a six-month period, mainly due to the effects desk work can have on the body. When you’re hunching over your desk, straining your eyes by staring at the light of a computer monitor, and using your trusty mouse and keyboard for long periods of time, it can all up the risks of relatively benign pain, along with more serious long-term conditions. It’s essential to have frequent breaks when in a white-collar job, and to ensure correct posture when sitting at a desk for long periods of time.
Environmental Health Risks
As I’m sure you know, there are certain occupations in the world which pose a much greater threat of health problems and injury than others. Some of the more well-known risks, such as asbestos exposure in the construction sector, have even sparked whole new niches in private legal practice, for example, Madeksho Law. While health and safety is always a big subject in sectors like construction, there are certain occupations which have more subtle, underlying environmental risks. For example, women who work night shifts, in particular air hostesses, have been found to have a much greater risk of developing breast cancer. White-collar workers who stay in occupations that they hate are more prone to depression and the physical damage of stress.
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