Work Related Ill-health Is Costing Employees Hundreds Of Millions Each Week, Finds UK Study

In the UK, work-related illness are costing people to spend more than £400 million a week. A new analysis by the Trades Union Congress, which studied that data from government workplace regular for the Health and Safety Executive, found out that number of cumulative sick days lost due to illness has increased by a third since 2010. The number has now increased to 34 million.

The interesting point is that the results have just came ahead of legislation on employment rights, where the government has promised to safeguard the workers and security at work. Paul Nowak, who is the TUC general secretary, said, "Work related ill-health is costing us hundreds of millions each week- that is billions of pounds down the drain every year." According to the reports, work-related ill-health cost the economy £22 billion in 2023.

Why People Worked With Few Many Breaks?

While it is true, even as mentioned in a report by Commission for Healthier Working Lives that poor quality work can harm employee health, many still do it to strengthen employment values. However, it is important to strengthen the employment rights before one must focus on the work itself. Need for a healthy workspace is also important.

As per Polling by Opinium, las autumn showed that three-quarters, which is 75% of managers thought that strengthening employment rights will improve employee health.

While we hear a lot about 70 hours work week and many more, the need of our body or mind is to rest too. As per a study by the World Health Organization and the International Labour Organization, titled: "Global, regional, and national burdens of ischemic heart disease and stroke attributable to exposure to long working hours for 194 countries, 2000–2016: A systematic analysis from the WHO/ILO Joint Estimates of the Work-related Burden of Disease and Injury" show that working more than 55 hours a week can have negative effects on your health.

What Happens When You Work Too Much?

One of the common complaints is not getting enough sleep and it can be a sign that you are overworked. Sleep also improves physical and mental strength and when one is overworked, the employee then needs more time to cope with the symptoms, which can lead to even more off days.

The number of people falling ill may also indicate if the work is suited to them. There are certain signs that may represent that your job, and your overworked schedule is making you sick, which may explain the rise in the number of off days taken. Some of the common signs are:

You cannot sleep or you are sleeping too much

You are losing or gaining weight, especially when you height and diet has remained the same.

You feel tired and unmotivated

You are getting cold more often: this happens when everyone around you is able to fight them, but your job is too toxic and taxing that it affects your body's ability to fight off illness. Also look out if you take longer than others to recover from minor illness.

Mental issues from a taxing job could also led to your feel withdrawal socially. These could be the reason why one may extend their sick leaves. Thus, the point made to improve working condition is truly the only way ensuring that employees do not have to frequently go for work-related illness.