Russians consider the most dangerous professions to be firefighters, rescuers, police officers and test pilots. Such data are provided by the Levada Center, but representatives of seemingly calm office professions are exposed to no less, and sometimes even greater, danger at work. American researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology came to the conclusion that office workers receive severe, including life-threatening injuries. injuries are no less common among miners, builders and lumberjacks, whose work has always been considered the most dangerous. In this case, office employees are divided into two groups. The first is those who receive serious damage through their own fault and without the participation of third parties. The second is those who get their nuts from angry clients, the police or a violent boss.
In the first group, the leading positions are held by system administrators, engineers, couriers, cleaners and secretaries, in the second - lawyers, accountants and deputy managers.
In Russia, there are no accurate statistics on office injuries, but even without statistics, based on simple reports from ambulance departments, emergency rooms and police, we can conclude that our clerks are not inferior to their American colleagues.
Secretary
Girls sitting at the entrance to the office at solid counters most often suffer from burns, cuts, head injuries and broken limbs. They regularly receive burns from coffee machines, coolers and cups of tea, coffee or broth. In one of the St. Petersburg advertising companies there was a tradition: every day at six in the evening the secretary had to heat up soup for top managers. For a while, everything was calm, the management slurped and slurped broth in unison, and the girl successfully coped with her duties, but one fine day the young lady dropped a tray with six cups of hot soup on herself. She was wearing a woolen skirt, which only made the burns worse. The secretary was hospitalized.
Another secretary girl, this time in Moscow, carried a package of bottles of drinking water to the manager’s office. The plastic burst and the bottles fell on the employee's legs, causing tendons to rupture.
Another secretary spent a month on sick leave with a concussion. The culprit was a poorly secured window frame that fell on her head. The girl just wanted to open the window to ventilate the room.
Secretaries often suffer because of perfectly polished glass doors. Thus, the assistant secretary of one of the capital's architectural bureaus was out of work for a month due to a collision with an office door. According to Olesya, she was in such a hurry to get home at the end of the day that she did not notice that the glass door to the common hall was closed. “We had a designer handle on the door, also glass, so when the cleaners washed the glass, it seemed like there was no door there at all. So I hit it with my face as hard as I could,” the girl recalls. As a result, she broke her nose, split her lips and almost lost her teeth. Moreover, the secretary herself later wondered how she managed to hit her face. “I have, excuse me, quite decent breasts, and my posture is fine, I don’t walk head first! I should have just spring back, but I stuck my nose right into the door!” - the victim complains.
Representatives of this profession often experience severe concussions, which occur mainly due to impact with a tabletop. Thus, an employee of a Moscow cargo transportation company, Valentina K., hit her head hard on the tabletop when she reached for a folder with documents that had fallen under the table. “I collected them for a long time, realizing that the boss really needed these papers, I was in a hurry as best I could, and then the phone rang. I straightened up sharply, and I vaguely remember what happened next,” the girl recalls. The blow was so strong that Valentina lost consciousness. The furious boss, who came to collect the documents literally a minute after the incident, saw only the secretary’s legs sticking out from under the table. Fortunately, everything turned out to be two weeks of sick leave, which was also paid for by the company. Unfortunately, this is the exception rather than the rule, since employers rarely pay sick leave to their awkward employees.
According to Vladimir Kalinin, director of the Center for Loss Settlement for Personal and Property Insurance at ROSNO, employers rarely insure office workers against accidents. "Office employees are the least risky category for the employer. Basically, such policies for personnel are purchased by large companies, in particular banks. When determining the accident insurance rate for office workers, the lowest coefficient is applied. As a rule, office injuries are similar to household ones (bruises, cuts, etc.) Most insurance cases among office workers occur on the street on the way to work or home, for example in winter, when anyone can easily slip on ice and get injured,” Kalinin said.
Despite the fact that “office plankton” is almost not insured, injuries and damages occur frequently, which, in general, explains the reluctance of employers to spend money on injured personnel.
Courier
A whole series of attacks on couriers took place in March in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Kyiv. All crimes followed the same pattern. The goods were ordered through an online store to the address of a rented apartment, the criminals beat the courier, taking the order and, of course, without paying for it. Finding scammers is not so easy - their addresses are new every time.
Those who consider the work of a courier to be simple and uncomplicated are mistaken. In addition to the financial responsibility that the employee bears for what he transports, he also has to take care of his own integrity and safety.
Alexey, who worked as a courier for a software company in the capital, was attacked by a pack of stray dogs. The young man barely fought off the dogs only at the cost of bitten legs, right arm and back. He still receives injections.
Couriers are more likely than other office workers to be hit by cars. In a hurry to deliver goods or documents, they run across the streets in the most unexpected places. If the collision is the fault of a pedestrian, the employer usually does not pay for medical expenses.
Accountant
The work of an accountant is usually quiet, calm, monotonous, even boring. But this is only at first glance. Not only are accountants attacked, they are regularly robbed by scammers, and law enforcement agencies are accused of theft, forgery, or other illegal activities. On top of everything, if you are “lucky” with a boss who is prone to adventures, you will constantly be subject to pressure: either they will force you to sign a “fraudulent” deal, or hide part of the funds from the tax authorities, or “cash out” them.
At the end of last year, law enforcement officers detained fraudsters who forged Sberbank bills worth 20 million rubles and tried to sell them. If an accountant had approached the bank with such purchased securities, he would have gone under Article 186 of the Criminal Code “Manufacture or sale of counterfeit money or securities.”
Another danger is associated with the periodic need to carry large sums. An accountant takes risks even if he rides in a car with a security guard. One example is an incident that occurred in the Moscow region. Armed robbers caused a car accident. It was not difficult to take away a bag with money at gunpoint and escape after that. After this ill-fated trip, the company was missing more than 6 million rubles, and the accountant was missing the lion's share of nerve cells.
Engineer
An installation engineer from Vladimir received fatal injuries after falling from a height of 3.5 meters. He was working on a loose wooden deck that had shifted at the most inopportune moment.
An engineer at one of the hydraulic power stations had his hand pulled into the machine. The man himself did not understand how this happened, because in his native workshop he knows every nut. The hospital insisted on amputation. The injured engineer was lucky: he found a brave and dexterous surgeon who took the risk of performing the operation. The hand was saved.
In offices, engineers often suffer because of electricity and furniture. When setting up and repairing electrical wiring, they are regularly electrocuted, and when moving, they crush their legs and arms with furniture.
In addition, engineers usually have the responsibility of arranging a new company office or accepting new premises, which also involves risks to life and health. Thus, in the Moscow region, during the acceptance of new warehouse premises, the staircase leading to the third floor of the warehouse broke under the engineer. The poor fellow flew one flight, crashed through the stairs on the second floor and landed on the concrete floor. Fortunately, he escaped with only serious bruises.
A similar story happened to an engineer at a construction company in the Arkhangelsk region. Andrey Kh. went to inspect the new premises. There was no light there yet, the engineer walked briskly along the corridor of the second floor, opened the doors, and examined the rooms. Having opened the next door and stepped inside, Andrei realized that he was falling down. “There simply wasn’t a floor there, and the window was also covered with some kind of rag. The only thing that saved me was that I didn’t have time to let go of the door handle.” The engineer did not accept the object, but he wholeheartedly praised the workers for the quality of the handles.
Overworking, hard work can cause deterioration in your health. For example, hypertension is a frequent companion of both those who work hard in factories and those who stay up late doing business in the office until dark.
Recycling is harmful!
Scientists have long proven that workaholics get sick much more often than their less diligent colleagues. They often have heart attacks, and the risk of injury is also higher than others. Women who linger at their workplace until dark usually do not eat normally, but snack quickly, smoke excessively, and pay less attention to sports and their health than others.
By the way, even if the processing time per week is only a few hours, it still has a negative effect on the body. Researchers at the University of California Irvine concluded that men and women who work 41-50 hours a week are 14% more likely to suffer from high blood pressure than workers who work no more than 40 hours a week. If more than 51 hours are devoted to work per week, then, accordingly, the risk of developing this disease is already 29%.
Alternate work and rest
Thanks to scientists, an interesting pattern has emerged: even complex intellectual duties associated with considerable mental stress can protect against hypertension, provided that the employee can actively influence his working conditions. To improve your health, as well as to maintain physical fitness, active rest is recommended, for example, cycling or a light jog in the evening.
Scientists from Holland have proven the negative impact of working night shifts on the condition and functions of the cardiovascular system. The research results are clear: those who work at night are twice as likely to suffer from tachycardia. And tachycardia in the future can cause heart attacks or even sudden death.
Industrial hazards
Heavy physical activity at work over time leads to occupational diseases of the musculoskeletal system, bones and muscles suffer. If an employee regularly has to inhale harmful substances due to his occupation, the risk of developing, for example, asthma or another upper respiratory tract disease increases significantly. Electromagnetic fields, various noises and vibrations also will not add health to a person.
Occupational disease usually occurs due to unsatisfactory working conditions in which the employee is regularly exposed. If it is proven that you have an occupational disease, then the organization in which you work must pay you compensation on a monthly basis. Sometimes such payments even amount to 100% of wages. You are also entitled to additional vacation, medications at the expense of your company, a trip to a sanatorium every year, as well as other measures aimed at rehabilitating your health condition.
It is no secret, however, that work associated with mental stress is no less harmful than work in industrial enterprises. So, if half of the working day is spent in front of a computer monitor, such work is assigned the category “harmful”. The cause of vision deterioration, neuralgia, and other diseases can be a long stay at the monitor. This kind of work is generally not recommended for pregnant women and nursing mothers, so they have the right to demand a transfer to another position.
If the harmfulness of work lies precisely in a long stay near a computer monitor, the employer is obliged to submit lists of employees to Rospotrebnadzor and discuss regular scheduled medical examinations with sanitary doctors.
5 dangers of the office
Danger No. 1 – monitor
Keep in mind: working on a computer on a daily basis damages your eyesight. Those who already have poor vision are advised to wear special glasses for working in front of a monitor screen. Their special coating protects the eyes and reduces the negative effect of the monitor on vision. It is also advisable to perform certain eye exercises throughout the working day.
Danger No. 2 – air conditioning
In summer there is coolness, in winter there are hot air currents. This device causes the skin to dry out, literally dehydrating it. Therefore, it is recommended to lubricate your hands with moisturizer at least twice a day and restore makeup at least once. Conditioned air is also harmful to those suffering from bronchial asthma and other respiratory diseases. In addition, “under air conditioning” it is very easy to develop colds.
Danger No. 3 – hard stool
Sitting on a hard chair negatively affects your posture, and working in a sitting position generally has a negative impact on your overall health. Therefore, if you feel like it, be sure to stretch - this will make your muscles stronger. You can also solve the problem of sedentary work with lunch walks. It would be a good idea to refuse the elevator service. Periodically throughout the working day you need to do short (literally a couple of minutes) physical relaxation for the muscles. You need to get up and do a few simple exercises, at your discretion.
Danger No. 4 – a picky employer and an irregular schedule
Because of these two reasons, you have to worry endlessly. You work from early morning until late evening, trying to achieve unattainable heights. However, often the result of such efforts is only a nervous breakdown and a broken family life. Finally, understand: the result is important, but no one will pay you money for excessive zeal! You don’t need to do something that no one asks you to do and that, in fact, is not particularly important, but takes a lot of time.
Danger No. 5 – heels
The result of constantly wearing heels is damaged veins. Of course, it’s impossible to completely give up branded stilettos, so let’s solve this situation in a different way: wear replacement shoes at work or take off your shoes under the table and move your toes.
The economic situation has made many Russian residents forced workaholics, and stress from currency fluctuations is a drop in the sea of side effects of the crisis
Systematic overwork, chronic fatigue, lack of days off and proper sleep lead to strokes, problems with concentration and severe depression.
Heart attacks and strokes
Scientists associate stress, overwork and overwork with disruptions in the cardiovascular system.
Those who often work late and work more than 45 hours a week were 35% more likely to develop heart disease than those who worked 45 hours or less. Such data was shown by a study by scientists from the University of Texas.
They studied data from almost 2 thousand people over 18 years of age, which were collected from 1986 to 2011. The relationship between the frequency of overtime and the likelihood of various cardiovascular diseases was analyzed.
By the way, 43% of participants were diagnosed with angina, heart failure, hypertension and other disorders, including heart attack and stroke.
In August 2015, the Lancet published data from another study, which also confirmed that the risk of high blood pressure and stroke depends on the length of the working day, says psychotherapist Dmitry Astaulov.
People who worked 10 to 15 hours more per week than usual had higher blood pressure and increased the risk of stroke by up to 30%.
Depression
Overwork and an overly busy schedule can cause depression associated specifically with overwork. Among other things, they reduce motivation to work and productivity, Astaulov believes. It may even reach the point of complete indifference and apathy towards everything.
The fatigue response is a feeling of fatigue, which, by protecting nerve cells, prompts a person to stop activity, the doctor reminds.
Problems with sleep and memory
Due to overload of the nervous system, attention decreases, it becomes harder to concentrate and remember something. Naturally, forcing yourself to work and do anything in general becomes much more difficult.
It is believed that critical “workaholism” begins after 50 hours of work per week. Due to overexertion, problems with sleep may also appear, even without taking into account chronic lack of sleep during overwork, this leads to even greater fatigue.
Alcoholism
In 2015, an international team of scientists conducted the largest ever study of the relationship between alcohol abuse and long working hours. Scientists summarized data from 61 studies on more than 330 thousand people from 14 countries.
Exceeding working hours leads to depression, stress and sleep problems, and workaholics often relieve these effects by drinking alcoholic beverages.
If working hours are 49-54 hours a week, the risk of developing severe alcohol dependence increases by 13%, researchers warn.
This effect is more pronounced in men than in women, and it does not depend on geography or social and economic status.
An inadequate number of working hours, in addition to alcohol abuse and stress, often leads to a sedentary lifestyle, and as a result, problems with weight and joints.
What to do if you have to work a lot
The nervous system requires regular rest, this is due to the need to accumulate a certain amount of specific substances - neurotransmitters - in the nervous tissue. Fatigue tends to accumulate; every hour, every minute of such overtime work needs compensation, reminds neurologist Alexey Mishechkin.
If circumstances require, follow at least a few simple rules:
- Every hour, take a break for 5-10 minutes, during which you do not sit still, be sure to get up, move around, if possible - go out into the fresh air and natural light.
- If you feel very tired, allow yourself to take a short nap, even right at your desk.
- If possible, use gadgets and TV as little as possible during non-working hours.
- Avoid energy drinks, strong tea and coffee, fatty foods, drink more clean water, try not to smoke.
- In the evening, be sure to take a walk, do relaxation exercises, and meditative practices will help you recover after a difficult day.
If you often work night shifts, be prepared for the fact that, in addition to your salary, you also “earn” a lot of illnesses. Why is it so dangerous to stay awake in the dark and how best to get enough sleep after night shifts, explains Doctor of the Department of Sleep Medicine, member of the Association of Somnologists Alena Gavrilova.
Oksana Morozova, AiF.ru: Alena Mikhailovna, how does working the night shift affect your health?
Alena Gavrilova: When a person works for a long time in such a schedule, he increases the risk of sleep disturbances, as well as a number of somatic diseases, atherosclerosis, obesity, carbohydrate metabolism disorders, etc. As for excess weight, its appearance is due to the fact that secretion in the body changes insulin. It is this hormone that is responsible for the feeling of hunger. If a person is awake at night, he wants to eat. In addition, with this regimen, the amount of cortisol, the stress hormone, increases, i.e. the body is chronically in a stressful state. At the same time, serotonin levels decrease, which provokes irritability and even depression.The enzyme system of the gastrointestinal tract is also affected. Normally, during the day there is a maximum secretion of gastric and pancreatic juices, because we are active and eat; at night their secretion decreases significantly. A person who stays awake and eats food at night experiences an imbalance in the production of enzymes, which can lead to diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. For the same reasons, so-called “traveler's diarrhea” develops when we change several time zones. The body does not have time to adapt to the new mode of functioning.
Let me emphasize once again that people are naturally active during the day. At night we must sleep. Of course, if you work on a shift schedule for several months (up to a year), and then return to a normal rhythm, there is a chance to avoid harmful consequences. But, if we are talking about years, be prepared for health problems. I would also not forget that at night, due to drowsiness, concentration inevitably decreases, which means that the likelihood of making a mistake automatically increases.
— What is the difference between night and daytime sleep?— Daylight affects the brain through the retina, changing the production of neurohormones that are responsible for the structure of sleep. It is correct and beneficial for us to sleep at night. Sleep during daylight hours is shorter and more superficial. It can be considered as an additional rest, but not as a main one. There are people who need daytime sleep, but not at the expense of nighttime sleep. If a person has insomnia at night, it is not recommended for him to sleep during the day, as this will worsen the quality of night sleep. You cannot completely change the rhythm that is genetically programmed, i.e., sleep during the day and stay awake at night. Otherwise, you will have the whole range of problems that I mentioned above.
— This regimen is not suitable for anyone and is definitely contraindicated for pregnant women, people who have had a heart attack or suffer from coronary heart disease, diabetes, heart failure, ulcerative lesions of the gastrointestinal tract and other serious diseases that can worsen. In general, only people with perfect health can afford such a schedule.
By the way, if you are a “morning person” by your chronotype, do not even try to use the regime with night wakefulness - it is very difficult and extremely unhelpful. “Owls” are easier in this sense. Their biological clocks work differently. They may not sleep and go to bed in the morning. For them, this is normal, comfortable and does not increase the risk of getting any diseases. Such people often choose “free” professions that do not force them to depend on the social routine. Working night shifts is also suitable for them.
— What is the best way to get enough sleep after a night shift, go to bed right away or a little later?
- Focus on your own feelings. But there is nothing wrong if you fall asleep as soon as you get home. The main thing is to try not to doze off in public transport when you get home from work. Already in the apartment you need to create all the necessary conditions for yourself: silence and complete darkness, so that daylight does not penetrate into the room at all. If you have difficulty falling asleep during the day, you can take melatonin preparations. They are often used during shift schedules, flying across multiple time zones, are sold without a prescription and are not addictive. The most important thing is that they do not have any serious contraindications. If you don’t want to use medications, drink herbal teas, such as chamomile or sage, and take a warm shower.
— Is it possible to take caffeine-containing products while you are at work?
— Yes, they are even recommended to be taken at the beginning of the night shift. But in its second part you need to completely give up such drinks so that they stop their effect by the time you are supposed to sleep, when you finish work. Then, once at home, the person will be able to sleep peacefully. It is believed that the average dose of drinks that does not have a negative effect on the body — 5-6 cups of coffee or tea per day.
— How to reduce the negative consequences if you are forced to work at night?— It is necessary to exercise regularly, at least 3 times a week, for 40-60 minutes. Swimming, running, shaping and other aerobic exercise are suitable. This improves sleep quality and well-being. In addition, such activities are a means of preventing cardiovascular problems for absolutely any person. Minimize stress. It is clear that we cannot completely avoid them, but we can use various auto-relaxation techniques. This will improve the quality of sleep at any time of the day.
Also, when you go outside after a night shift, wear sunglasses so that daylight does not reduce the synthesis of melatonin, which promotes sleep. Then, upon returning home, you can quickly immerse yourself in the kingdom of Morpheus. In order to achieve the opposite effect at the beginning of the shift and, conversely, reduce drowsiness, it is recommended to turn on bright light. It is desirable that the lamps be daylight, at least 2500 lux. Due to this, melatonin synthesis will decrease and the person will become more active. Naturally, towards the end of the shift it is better to gradually dim the lights.
Question of the day: is working harmful?
“Anyone who is as active as a bee during the day, strong as an ox, works hard as a horse and comes home in the evening as tired as a dog should consult a veterinarian.
For there is a high probability that he is an ass.” (Folk wisdom)
Scientists from the Finnish Institute for Occupational Safety and Health answered the question “ Is it harmful to work?
? After many years of research, the answer was unequivocal: working is harmful
. And for both physical and psychological health.
True, the Spanish “associate professors with candidates” make a significant reservation: working is harmful
, if the work is unloved.
That’s how it goes: we’re fussing, we’re in a hurry, we’re nervous that we won’t make it in time...
Having studied the bad statistics, doctors now strongly recommend stopping one day, catching your breath, looking back, looking around and soberly and honestly analyzing: what have we done wrong in this “squirrel wheel”?!
And was it worth such an intermediate result when it’s scary to look at yourself in the mirror?!
This is called the cumulative effect...
“You don’t have to work hard, but with your head,” the unforgettable Steve Jobs used to say.
And it’s true, “the head was given to a person not in order to work, but in order not to work.”
The standard working time in the EU is now forty hours a week. I know that in Canada, for example, they practice long weekends – three days off almost once a month.
Why so?!
In many cultures, the axiom “work hard” is considered hereditary. A is it harmful
work
- you couldn’t even think about it, sedition...
Make a career, they say, and you’ll be fine... Not a fact. Now doctors are often forced to cool down their workaholic rage.
Apart from the well-known wear and tear and occupational diseases, people smoke and drink frequently to relax after work. So is it harmful to work
?!
Is it harmful to work – this is not a rhetorical question... 
The work can take hours, days, years, or even a lifetime. There are studies that to become a pro in any craft, you need to devote ten thousand hours to it, that is, three hours a day for ten years.
With all that said, work is just a part of life, and try to convince me that the most important...
Rutherford's biographers cite the following story...
One day, Rutherford walked into his laboratory late at night and saw one of his promising employees there, despite the odd hour.
“What are you doing here so late?” - the scientist was surprised.
“I’m working,” he replied.
“What, then, did you do during the day?”
“Of course he worked.”
“And in the morning? Did you really work in the morning too?”
“And in the morning too.”
“Excuse me,” Rutherford was genuinely amazed, “when do you think?” - and stopped placing special hopes on this employee.
If work is in the foreground, then health, family, children, pleasures and other joys of life are in the second, fifth, tenth... But work is a vampire, and the mentioned joys of life are donors. So is it harmful to work ?
They claim that the work made a man out of a monkey... Just a version for now. It is easier to prove that the work made a tired and sick monkey out of a monkey...
Agree, “the phrase “Get to work!” The most satisfying thing is when she toasts!”
Be healthy!
Comments are accepted. Comments are welcome. Additions are encouraged.
