New Poll Shows Work Can Be Hazardous to Your Health

Share On Social!

A new poll by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), and Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that many employers do not do enough to reduce the stress of their employees. Of the working adults who say they’ve experienced a great deal of stress in the past 12 months, the vast majority (85%) report that efforts to reduce stress in the workplace are fair or poor.

Compared to the general population, Latinos are more likely to engage in healthy behaviors, such as exercising and spending time with friends and family, to manage stress. Unfortunately, stress is still a major health concern for Latinos, as more than half report they are worried about stress in their daily lives.

Overall, 43% of working adults reported that their job negatively affects their stress levels. Also found by the poll, 28% said their job negatively affects their eating habits; 27% said their job negatively impacts their sleeping habits, and 22% reported weight issues due to their job.

“The takeaway here is that job number one for U.S. employers is to reduce stress in the workplace,” said Robert J. Blendon, a professor of health policy and political analysis at the Harvard Chan School who directed the survey.

More than 1,600 workers were polled. About half of those who were polled reported that their workplaces offer wellness or health-improvement programs. Nearly 25% rated their workplace as being fair or poor in providing a healthy work environment, and more than 40% rated their workplaces as poor or fair in providing healthy eating options and physical exercise.

In the poll, 22% said that something at their job may be harmful to their health (such as chemicals and contaminants). Over 40% of workers in the outdoor or construction industries and 34% in medical jobs had health concerns about their workplace. As reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Latinos make up 28.5% of those employed in the construction industry and 12.2% work in health care in some capacity.

One of the main sources for stress in the workplace was found to be overworking. Nearly 1 in 5 polled reported working 50 or more hours a week on their main job. A majority of people who reported working 50-plus hours a week in their main job said they did so because “it’s important for their career to work longer hours.” Half also said they did so because “they enjoy it,” and 37% said they “need the money.”

Read more about this story here.

Share this story on Twitter: Where you work can have an impact on your health. #SaludAmerica #HealthEquity http://salud.to/29T5b1Y @SaludToday