Guess what the world’s most dangerous job is? Not deep-sea diving nor firefighting. Timber-cutters and fishermen face the maximum hazards at work. This rating comes from labour departments across the world and is based on studies that looked at deaths in various occupations. On-job hazards in these physically taxing professions are certainly high. But even if you hold down a staid, desk-bound, white-collar job, there are several health and safety risks in your chosen profession.
Illustration: Jayachandran / Mint
The perils of the hot seat
ILO says that across the globe, a worker dies due to a work-related accident or disease every 15 seconds; every 15 seconds, 160 workers have a work-related accident. This means that by the end of each day, nearly one million workers have suffered a workplace accident. And staying glued to your seat won’t help.
According to B.C. Sathyanarayan, vascular surgeon, Max Balaji Hospital, New Delhi, any job that involves sitting or standing for long hours can potentially cause certain diseases which may be disabling or even life-threatening (see ‘Sedentary jobs: the bane of our lives’).
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Poor lighting, badly maintained flooring (I once worked in an office where the vinyl flooring was torn and employees often tripped) compromise employee safety. Yet, as Ingrid Christensen, senior specialist, occupational safety and health, ILO, says, several studies have shown that providing safe and ergonomically designed workplaces not only reduces health hazards, but also increases employee productivity and enhances performance.
If you watch American sitcom Seinfeld, it may seem as though every step we take is a potential minefield. On the show, Susan dies of glue poisoning (after licking hundreds of envelopes), raising questions about postal workers’ safety and risks faced by children or schoolteachers who often work with glue. Another episode shows George suffering from sciatica brought on by a heavy, credit card-stuffed wallet kept in his back pocket.
Though these episodes are highly exaggerated, there is an uncomfortable germ of truth in them. Research published in The New England Journal of Medicine as far back as 1966 showed that those who keep their wallets in their back pockets and sit on them are more prone to back problems and pain. This was backed by subsequent studies. While wallet neuropathy is common among lawyers and salesmen in the US, Bipin Walia, senior consultant, neurological surgery and head, spinal surgery, Max Superspeciality Hospital, New Delhi, says that in India this condition is common in long-distance lorry drivers who sit for hours on a stuffed wallet containing coins.
Below is a list of risks that run across the professional spectrum—and that you may not have been aware of :
• Dental assistants face risk of miscarriage because of exposure to ethylene oxide.