Occupation & Health

With so much time spent at our place of employment, it's no surprise that our occupational environment can impact our health. Skolnik (2021) highlights "exposure to workplaces with unsafe, hazardous, and developmentally inappropriate machinery" as a notable risk factor for injuries. According to Crabbe et al. (2017), occupation is among the largest of contributors to injuries and disease with the World Health Organization (WHO) estimating around 2.2 million work related deaths per year and only 10-15% of workers globally with access to a basic standard of occupational health. Additionally, the WHO shares that occupational risk factors worldwide are estimated to be the cause of 37% of back pain, 16% of hearing loss, 13% of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), 11% of asthma, 8% of injuries, 9% of lung cancer and 2% of leukemia (Crabbe et al., 2017).

​

An annual national statistic report published by the Singaporean Ministry of Manpower (2020) showed a decrease in fatal job injuries, a decrease in occupational disease cases, and a decrease in non-fatal minor and major injuries. The details of each category and workplace injury trends are depicted in the below images. The most frequently occurring occupational diseases was Work-related Musculoskeletal Disorder (WRMSD) including back injury resulting from ergonomic risks with the second most common being Noise-induced Deafness (NID) (Ministry of Manpower, 2020).

​

Health promotion activities are essential in the workplace to avoid occupational injury and disease. Employers should have safety programs in place encouraging safe handling of equipment and proper body mechanics. In addition, employees can protect themselves against occupational risks for injury by protecting their bodies from occupational hazards such as loud noises, bright lights and screens, machinery, heavy products that require lifting, and toxic chemicals.