Last Updated on 18th August 2021 by Charlie Walsh
If you do not like your job it may be time to try and find another job. But what if you like your job but your job is slowly killing you? Yes, you read that right – killing you! I am not talking about the pain in your back or constantly being tired but actual risks in everyday life that we just don’t pay attention to. Here at Bathmate we have some handy tips that will help you with staying healthy and safe at work.
First of all if you feel that your work is really affecting your life and ultimately your health it may be time for you to make, or begin planning a new career path. Sometimes we must consider our health and there is no other option.
When you work in an office and sit down for the whole day – remember to try and take an occasional break to get some of your blood circulating. It is necessary to stretch your legs and back every single hour when you work in an office or in any type of work environment where you sit down for sustained periods of time. Try to invest some of your personal time in working out, it will make you feel better. You can walk to walk to the shop, have a nice walk with your dog, go jogging, do yoga or go to the gym. Your brain will release little hormones of happiness – feel good chemicals! This will do a number of things – it will ease depression, anxiety or panic attacks. Sport can also help with your sleep. Trust us, you will feel more relaxed. Next thing to consider is your eyes. Staring at a screen all day long, then your phone all night long can seriously damage them – look at filters, have regular eye tests and try to spend less time on social media on an evening (no matter how difficult that may seem!)
Health and Safety
Try to get used to sitting in the proper position, if you work in manual labour pay attention to health and safety legislations as they are there to protect you. If you sit at an office desk all day your arms should be supported using either your chair arms or desk, do not “crane” your head and try to use the lumbar support of your chair. Your computer should stand in the front of you in a central position but do not place it too close to your eyes (this can cause serious problems), try to carry things using your arms and not force your back to do all the work – lift from your legs! These are some simple things you can do but will help you with taking care of your health at work. Your health is very important!
For those of you who just can’t get enough of work – Turn off your phone and PC. Do not check your email and messages all the time. Your phone and other devices stress you out and you cannot relax properly, remember – its about balance – we all need to unwind every once in while even you workaholic’s. Try to unplug yourself from the matrix and focus on something different. Do not take work home every evening. Managing your time after work is very important. Your mental health also. Everybody deserves free time to focus on themselves and truly recharge.
If you started to feel any of these warning symptoms it may be time to take a moment to step back and assess your overall health – symptoms including – stomach ache, migraines, head aches, anxiety, depression, negativity, tired of being tired, fatigue, sleeping problems. If you suspect you may have a health issue its time to go to the doctor. Have a blood test and other necessary examinations they may recommend.
Here is a list of very high risk jobs
Waiting tables, logging workers, fishing jobs, flight engineers, roofers, steel workers, truck drivers, agricultural workers, electrician, fireman, painters, heavy machinery workers and working with power tools.
What are the most common injuries?
The most common accidents at work are slips, falls, trips, exertion, burning, struck by object, stress, tiredness and electric shocks.
Now usually when it comes to risks at work we only focus on physical injuries but there are also mental ones too which are just as important, things like like depression, anxiety, mental break downs and sadness can all have a disastrous effect on our overall health both short and long term.
What we are trying to get at is there is a risk to everything we do, sometimes we calculate this risk and sometimes we remain blissfully unaware until the damage has already been done. You only have one body, try and look after it the best way you can – work is not everything and sometimes we can get caught up in trying to be a successful as we possibly can be to the detriment of our overall health.
