More
research has been added to the mountain of evidence already gathered showing
that the modern workplace is bad for you.
The
latest addition, from Sweden shows some jobs increase the risk of people having
serious accidents and a UK study finds thousands risk becoming deaf because of
noise at work.
Both
sets of researchers have called for better occupational health policies to
protect workers.
The
study, by the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, surveyed more than 5,000
workers from 40 companies in central Sweden.
It
found that 7 per cent fell asleep unintentionally during work several times
each month, and 23 per cent fell asleep unintentionally during their leisure
time.
The
study shows that young men and people in senior clerical positions are most
likely to fall asleep on the job, and this worries researchers because of the
increased risk of workplace accidents.
A
separate study at the University of Southampton in the UK, surveyed more than
22,000 workers across the country and found that 2 per cent suffer severe
hearing difficulties.
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The
researchers believe as many as 179,000 people across the country have similar
problems – the estimate is much higher than previous studies have suggested.
