Occupational health: what factors affect the health of workers?
We all spend long hours in our work, so it becomes a very important part of our life. In this sense, problems at work affect our daily life, and determine in a certain way our degree of happiness. For example, monotonous tasks can cause stress, which can affect our day to day and cause psychological disorders such as anxiety or depression if this situation continues.
What do we mean when we talk about occupational health? What factors affect our well-being at work? In the following lines we explain it to you.
- Related article: "Psychology of work and organizations: a profession with a future"
What is occupational health
There are many factors that can affect our well-being at work, either by the tasks we perform, by being in a job that does not fill us or by the bad relationship with colleagues.
For this reason, work psychologists and other professionals in the field of occupational risk prevention have been interested in the health of workers and to find out what conditions we find in the company or in the position in which we work. affect our physical health as psychological . If you want to know what types of health exist, you can read the article "The 10 types of health and their characteristics"
There are different types of health, and occupational health is one of them. The World Health Organization (WHO) defined general health as a "state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not only the absence of disease". Therefore, we talk about wellbeing and not the absence of disease, that is, the absence of disease by itself is not health. In addition, health goes beyond enjoying physical fitness, but we must take into account our emotional and social health to have a healthy life.
Considering this definition, the International Labor Organization (ILO), a specialized agency of the United Nations that deals with matters related to work and labor relations, affirmed that occupational health "aims to favor and maintain the highest degree of physical, mental and social well-being of workers, regardless of their profession; and protect the worker from the risks to his health, keep him in a job that suits his psychological and physiological aptitudes and prevent any damage that affects his well-being. "
Factors affecting the occupational health of workers
Occupational health should not only matter to the worker, because When an employee is not well at work the company will also suffer the consequences : lower performance, higher work presentism, lower work, etc.
The elements that can affect the welfare of a worker can appear from different sources; for example, from the workplace, what is known as working conditions (taking excessive weight or the level of noise or overload of work), of the organization (for example, the working day or the communication of the superiors) or psychosocial level (for example, expectations or the socioeconomic situation that the worker lives at one point).
Now, what factors affect the health of workers? The health of workers can be affected by the presence of different elements. If we talk about the job, we can talk about different risk factors, which are those that can decrease the welfare of a worker. According to this, a classification in 5 groups is usually carried out
1. Security Conditions
This group refers to the materials that they can cause an accident at work .
- Electrical risks
- Risk of fire .
- Handling and transport.
- Work machines
- Work surface
2. Physical environment of work
This group includes those factors of the natural environment that may appear modified in the workplace and that affect the health of workers.
- Noise.
- Temperature.
- Vibrations
- Illumination.
- Radiation .
3. Polluting factors
Pollutants, which are agents external to the person, can be chemical (for example, gases) or biological (for example, fungi).
4. Workload
It has to do with physical and mental efforts. In the first we can highlight the handling of loads, repeated movements, etc. In the seconds, the monotony or responsibility that falls on a worker .
5. Organizational factors
Organizational factors have to do with the structure and organization of work, which affect the physical, mental and social. Leadership style, work schedule or relationship with colleagues .
How to know if you are in a toxic job
It is usually spoken of a toxic work when the work climate is not appropriate to work. When talking about work climate, we are referring to the work environment and how it affects workers. That is, here we are talking about working conditions, but we also pay attention to interpersonal relationships, the expectations of workers, the possibilities of growth within the company and other factors such as remuneration, recognition or the degree of involvement of an employee with the company.
If you want to know what characteristics a toxic work environment presents, you can read the article "12 signs that indicate that you are in a toxic work environment"
Occupational health is a multifactorial phenomenon
As you have seen, there are many variables that influence the welfare of workers, that's why usually speaking of different areas in the prevention of occupational risks , and therefore the work of different professionals.
To minimize the risk, we work with different knowledge and techniques: work safety (application of measures to minimize risks, for example, through standards, industrial hygiene (cleaning, carrying out samples and measurements of pollutants, etc.), medicine of work (study of work-related diseases), psychosociology (social and psychological factors associated with occupational health) and ergonomics (conditions of adaptation to the job).
