A timely study, given the need to deep clean workplaces during the COVID-19 pandemic, has re-emphasised the strong link between occupational disinfectant use and developing asthma. Meanwhile, researchers have warned of overlooked risks faced by workers handling fruit and vegetables.
High-grip non-slip shoes can reduce the rate of slips by workers by about 40 per cent, making their use an effective injury prevention strategy where eliminating slip risks is not practicable, researchers from the UK's work safety regulator and other bodies have found.
Wearing face masks is a critical safety measure for protecting workers from COVID-19, but some are causing wearers a "new subtype of headache", according to Spanish researchers.
Two sleep studies have highlighted the prevalence of work stress-related insomnia symptoms, the risks associated with workers taking sleeping pills to fall asleep and the need for interventions that promote the safe use of these hypnotic drugs.
Employers need to implement formalised working-from-home (WFH) policies and procedures to enable workers to gain the associated health benefits of WFH and disengage from work after hours, new Australian research has shown.
A study of more than a million workers has identified an increased risk of neurological disease in those from a major sector. In another study on asthma and other lung diseases, researchers have called for the respiratory risks posed by cleaning agents to be included in COVID-19 work guidelines.
Workplace health and safety and health promotion systems should be integrated, given workers with unhealthy behaviours and chronic conditions are at increased risk of injury, prolonged recovery and low productivity, Canadian researchers say.
The COVID-19 pandemic and remote working arrangements are exacerbating the significant health and safety risks posed by sickness presenteeism, but they also provide an opportunity to establish cultural norms that encourage workers to take sick leave when they have infectious diseases or other illnesses, organisational psychologists say.
Interventions that reduce workers' musculoskeletal pain, even by small amounts, have the potential to eliminate physical limitations caused by leg pain, which is especially prevalent in older workers, a study of nearly 13,000 workers has found.
Australian researchers have found that being exposed to poor quality work at each phase of their 12-year study increased participant workers' odds of developing a mental disorder by 30 per cent.
