NEWSFLASH
‘MAKE DO AND MEND’ CULTURE COMPROMISING WORKSTATION
SAFETY More than three quarters of UK employers (80%) are guilty of letting homemade workstation solutions jeopardise the safety of employees, according to a new European survey commissioned by ergonomics experts, Fellowes.
Despite nearly two-thirds of companies (62%) acknowledging that as employers they have a duty to influence the physical and mental health of their staff, the research has revealed that trained staff are less likely to undertake workstation assessments than non-trained staff.
Some 31% of employees have been left in charge of conducting their own self-assessments, without input from trained health and safety officers or HR managers. Nearly a quarter (22%) of employees said they experience physical discomfort at their desk on a daily basis.
In over a quarter of organisations (27%), staff raised concerns that their
NEARLY 1 IN 4 TRADESPEOPLE
AFFECTED BY STRESS The results of the annual health check survey by ECIS, the employee benefits company for the construction industry, show that nearly 1 in 4 (23%) tradespeople are suffering from stress-related conditions.
This was despite the fact that confidence in business was at a high. Out of the 200 tradespeople surveyed, 43% reported being very confident about their prospects in 2015.
The survey, now in its second year, showed that only 10% have taken longer than two weeks off work because of ill health or accidents. However, those who did take time off
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monitors or display screens were not appropriate for their needs and more than one fifth (21%) of office based staff weren’t aware of any legal requirements when assessing a display screen.
Only 21% of companies have purchased ergonomic products to resolve health issues within the
for illness found that it had a greater impact on their work in the past year – with nearly half (47%) saying that ill health had impacted their income significantly, a notable increase from 29% in 2013.
With regards to specific health issues, while 19% of all those questioned reported suffering from general stress or fatigue in 2014, down from 31% in the previous year, 23% reported they were suffering from stress-related issues such as hair loss, depression and high blood pressure.
The under 30s are feeling the strain the most with 22% of respondents reporting general stress in the past 12 months, and over 10% suffering from fatigue.
Older tradespeople were most affected by musculoskeletal disorders
past six months. However, of those companies who have invested in ergonomic products, 66% reported seeing enhancements in the performance of their staff.
Fellowes surveyed 832 respondents from across Europe (195 from the UK).
www.ergo.fellowes.com
with 22% of the over 50s found to be suffering. Those that were self- employed were twice as likely to be affected as those in employment.
Phil Scarrett, Sales and Marketing Director for ECIS commented on the findings: “While generally stress appears to be down, it is a concern that almost a quarter of workers are reporting debilitating conditions such as insomnia and depression.
“It is vital that as work continues to ramp up, tradespeople look after both body and mind – this is a particularly important message for the self- employed tradespeople who have perhaps been through some lean periods over the last few years and are now looking to capitalise on increased consumer and business confidence.”
www.ecins.co.uk www.tomorrowshs.com
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