Sitting in a chair for long periods of time can be damaging to your body. Exercise physiologist Alex Sheldon explains how occupational health can help to minimise the associated risks using a few simple exercises. Do humans need to physica  More...
01 November 2012 09:00

A recent gathering in Wales brought together GPs and occupational health teams to discuss the impact of fitness-for-work statements on sickness absence at various organisations. Occupational health practitioners provide their feedback on the event.  More...
01 November 2012 09:00

Should employers support employee health beyond simply managing absence? Welfare reform and the sickness absence review have placed employers right in the centre of managing absence. What impact can health benefits have on this, asks Emma Page? Acco  More...
08 October 2012 09:38

Stress and heart disease in female workers High job strain and "active jobs", but not job insecurity, are related to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) among women, ­according to an analysis of 22,086 participants in the Women's H  More...
01 October 2012 09:00

Health interventions are essential to minimise the risks to employees in the workplace. Siân Edwards outlines the importance of manual handling training and how an effective programme can help to promote and improve health at work. If workplace healt  More...
01 October 2012 09:00

Occupational health specialists Pippa Stanford and Anne Harriss outline a case study that considers the impact of a lumbar disc prolapse on a professional horse rider in relation to his fitness to work. Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), including b  More...
01 October 2012 09:00

Government assessments of people's fitness to work have revealed what occupational health practitioners have known for a long time: a minority of individuals that are on sickness leave are only pretending to be ill. Jane Fairburn looks at how occupation  More...
01 October 2012 09:00

Nearly three-quarters of staff who are absent from work require adjustments to their workplace to return to employment successfully, an analysis of government statistics has concluded. Insurer Legal & General crunched statistics from the Departme  More...
28 September 2012 12:23

The symptoms of some of the most common skin diseases could be alleviated through psychological interventions, according to the latest medical research. A study by psychologists at the University of Sheffield and published in the British Journa  More...
28 September 2012 09:00

Charity Allergy UK has estimated that nearly 5.7 million employees in the UK could be allergic to their workplace. Research among office workers, primarily those already with allergies, found that 95% had experienced nasal problems, eye conditio  More...
27 September 2012 16:23

Risk of side effects is barrier to flu vaccination The most common reasons given for declining an influenza vaccine are fears about its side effects, a belief that the flu is not severe and concerns about the effectiveness of the vaccination, accord  More...
05 September 2012 14:07

The NHS's new web-based occupational health clinical governance system is to be offered free to all OH teams, whether inside or outside the NHS. The Management of Health at Work Knowledge (MoHaWK) system, launched in April 2012, was predominantly int  More...
05 September 2012 10:42

Investment in proper and effective occupational health measures could save employers thousands of pounds every year, an analysis of the lessons learned from the construction of the Olympic Park and Athletes' Village has argued. A study by the Instit  More...
03 September 2012 10:49

Dr Bridget Juniper and Mike Tyler explain how occupational health teams can help to add value to wellbeing initiatives. Concluding our series on employee wellbeing , this article looks at the shape and role of an occupational health service. To  More...
03 September 2012 09:00

Occupational health teams should be encouraged to get behind the concept of mindfulness, an alternative approach to helping staff cope with pressure experienced in the workplace, says Suzy Bashford. The UK's first Mindfulness at Work conference  More...
03 September 2012 09:00

Reducing stress levels within an organisation can be achieved by adopting simple techniques such as engaging all levels of the workforce to make them feel more valued, says Carole Spiers, the author of a new book on stress management. Managing workp  More...
03 September 2012 09:00

With the abundance of guidance and research available, OH practitioners should now be well placed to help ease the stigma of mental ill health, says Jane Downey. According to recent research, six employees out of 10 with diabetes keep thei  More...
03 September 2012 09:00

Employees who experience distressing incidents at work may develop feelings that prevent them from returning to the scene. Employers can take steps to minimise the post-traumatic impact of such events.  Many employees are at risk of experiencin  More...
03 September 2012 09:00

Work-based interventions for depression Group sessions aimed at helping employees become more resilient at work are successful in preventing depression, according to a randomised controlled study involving 566 employees in 17 organisations. The grou  More...
02 August 2012 09:00

It is becoming increasingly popular for organisations to make significant investments in the health and wellbeing of their staff. But how can employers measure exactly what they are getting for their money? Astute employers and HR teams in large or  More...
01 August 2012 09:30