Popular perception is that working conditions are now so over-regulated the only people likely to be injured at work are bosses, strangled by red tape. But beware a hidden epidemic raging in British workplaces

In this post-industrial age, when most jobs are in light industry, information technology and the service sector, we expect working life to be relatively comfortable and at the very least safe. We don't expect to be maimed, laid off for life or work ourselves into the ground.

Think again. In the UK there are still 1.6 million workplace injuries every year as well as 2.2 million cases of ill health caused by work. Some of these injuries wouldn’t have been out of place in Dickens’ England. Last year 350 people died as a result of building site accidents, a large increase from previous years. According to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents 6000 people die of workplace burns, and 2000 cases of accidents involving chemicals are reported each year.

But some of the worst dangers are the hidden ones. 400,000 cases of asthma are caused by working conditions, exposure to high levels of dust or traffic pollution, and asbestos still kills over 4000 people a year. The Trade Union Congress calculates that around 1.4 million commercial and residential properties still contain asbestos. There are no regulations at present requiring owners to record its presence, meaning that builders and firefighters have no way of anticipating the problem. A not-for-profit organisation has taken the issue forward. AsbestosRegister.com is a new database launched in conjunction with the TUC, with the aim of listing every asbestos-carrying building in the country

21st-century ailments
The TUC, with its long history of campaigning for working people’s health and safety, now talks of ‘modern workplace plagues’. They are particularly concerned that musculoskeletal injuries like back pain and Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) still go unrecognised by the majority of employers and employees. Recently, I began to suffer what turned out to be the warning signs of RSI. Symptoms included pins and needles, numbness and pain in my arms, which only disappeared after an occupational health lecturer redesigned my workspace, rearranging the eye-line for my computer, insisting on a new ergonomic keyboard and banning me from tucking the phone between my shoulder and chin as I typed.

Anyone who uses a computer a lot at home or in a small office, where there are no regulations about screen breaks or provision of ergonomic equipment or physiotherapy, runs the risk of permanent disability. This even includes children and young people who use the computer heavily at home or at school and play a lot of computer games or text message frequently. This is not an exaggeration: RSI is a group of serious and potentially disabling musculoskeletal disorders. It’s estimated that some 200,000 people suffer from work-related RSI every year. Those at risk range from musicians, keyboard operators, call centre operators to anyone who performs repetitive hand movements or spends long periods with arms or shoulders in one position.

Helen, a senior academic researcher, wears wrist supports, after suffering from swelling, pain and experiencing difficulty in lifting things. Angie, ten years a secretary at a national newspaper, is now re-training for a career as a ceramicist. She suffered from numbness, pins and needles and eventually drastic pain in her forearms, leaving her unable to lift any weight at all. ‘The worse thing is people still believe you are making it up’, she says.

Whatever you do don't drive
For other workers back injury is the major problem. Recent research indicates that 49% of the population report lower back pain lasting for at least 24 hours. Those most at risk are people with skilled, manual, partly skilled and unskilled jobs. Those who drive more than 25,000 miles a year are off work with bad backs more than 22 days a year compared with an average of three days a year for those who don’t drive. Half of all office workers who use a computer and telephone for at least 2 hours a day report back pain. As with RSI, many sufferers are women; typically, nurses are particularly susceptible, unless thoroughly trained.

The TUC say these musculoskeletal injuries are a hidden epidemic. ‘Employers are not recording the number of sufferers or the amount of time lost due to RSI and back pain, nor are they providing treatment.’ Only a third of employers provide treatment, physiotherapy or rehabilitation, despite the cost-effectiveness of such measures. In the past, these illnesses were seen as accidents or due to some inherent susceptibility of the sufferer. Now there’s clear evidence from patterns associated with different employment that illnesses and injuries are work related.

What can you do?

• It’s vitally important to be well informed about risks inherent in your work, and trade unions are the best place to start
  
  
• To avoid back pain, it is important to adopt correct posture for lifting, so insist that your workplace provides adequate training and physiotherapy in case of problems.
  
  
• Back pain does not improve with lengthy rest, but with painkillers and physiotherapy. Contact BackPain.org for further information.
  
  
• To avoid RSI, the top of the computer should be level with your eyeline, and your posture correct, with back, legs and forearms straight.
  
  
• Contact the RSI helpline – 0800 018 5012.