Health Implications In It
Research by various health organisations has pointed out that work can have a positive effect on health in terms of physical, social and mental wellbeing. This is due to the many social activities and business relations that are created on the work floor. However, work can also have a damaging effect on health if risks evolved in the workplace are not recognised by both employer and employee.
According to the Health and Safety Executive, 30 million working days are lost each year in The United Kingdom due to work related illnesses. The latest estimate of the cost of sickness absence and associated worklessness stands at 100 billion in The UK each year.
The IT Job Board, www.theitjobboard.co.uk , researched health implications further and was able to reveal that 84% of IT professionals believe that their IT job has an impact on their health. Nearly 86% of IT professionals felt that their IT job has a negative impact on their health. It went on to reveal that 72% of IT professionals felt that their IT job position did not allow enough time to do a form of exercise during lunch or after working hours. However 50% of IT professionals said that they receive various incentives from their employer, such as gym memberships and sport events.
More than half of the 350 IT professionals surveyed stated that they suffer from stress or anxiety because of their IT job and 30% say that they suffer from depression due to their current positions in IT jobs.
From the IT professionals surveyed 17% takes more than seven sick days a year, with the most common reason being stress at work. 15% of IT professionals said they feel they just needed the day off work to relax or to reload.
Health implications in IT jobs do not only involve illnesses due to stress or depression, as a staggering 65% of IT professionals pointed out that their IT job has impacted their eating habits as well. In fact 61% of IT professions were found to be having lunch at their desks in front of their computer spending their time working or surfing the Internet. In addition to this 8% of IT professionals said they do not have enough time to eat lunch. Of the 16% of IT professionals that do decide to get away from their working area they spend their time shopping, phoning friends or simply spending time with colleagues.
It is also important to note that 37% of IT professionals snack too much during work time, which explains why eating a healthy lunch or taking time to eat lunch no longer looks appealing.
The health implications described above do not only appear in the IT industry but seem to happen in most industries throughout The United Kingdom. It is evident that employees are failing to recognise that not taking time out during work can have a negative impact on their health in the long run.
According to the Health and Safety Executive, 30 million working days are lost each year in The United Kingdom due to work related illnesses. The latest estimate of the cost of sickness absence and associated worklessness stands at 100 billion in The UK each year.
The IT Job Board, www.theitjobboard.co.uk , researched health implications further and was able to reveal that 84% of IT professionals believe that their IT job has an impact on their health. Nearly 86% of IT professionals felt that their IT job has a negative impact on their health. It went on to reveal that 72% of IT professionals felt that their IT job position did not allow enough time to do a form of exercise during lunch or after working hours. However 50% of IT professionals said that they receive various incentives from their employer, such as gym memberships and sport events.
More than half of the 350 IT professionals surveyed stated that they suffer from stress or anxiety because of their IT job and 30% say that they suffer from depression due to their current positions in IT jobs.
From the IT professionals surveyed 17% takes more than seven sick days a year, with the most common reason being stress at work. 15% of IT professionals said they feel they just needed the day off work to relax or to reload.
Health implications in IT jobs do not only involve illnesses due to stress or depression, as a staggering 65% of IT professionals pointed out that their IT job has impacted their eating habits as well. In fact 61% of IT professions were found to be having lunch at their desks in front of their computer spending their time working or surfing the Internet. In addition to this 8% of IT professionals said they do not have enough time to eat lunch. Of the 16% of IT professionals that do decide to get away from their working area they spend their time shopping, phoning friends or simply spending time with colleagues.
It is also important to note that 37% of IT professionals snack too much during work time, which explains why eating a healthy lunch or taking time to eat lunch no longer looks appealing.
The health implications described above do not only appear in the IT industry but seem to happen in most industries throughout The United Kingdom. It is evident that employees are failing to recognise that not taking time out during work can have a negative impact on their health in the long run.
