Is work killing you silently?

Gordon Waddell (CBE DSc MD FRCS Centre for Psychosocial and Disability Research, Cardiff University, UK) and A Kim Burton (PhD DO EurErg Centre for Health and Social Care Research, University of Huddersfield, UK) from United Kingdom recently conducted an interesting survey.

The idea of the study was to strike a relation between health and unemployment.

Hence, the two researchers undertook the topic ‘Is work good for your health and well-being?’ and studied unemployed persons as subject – who later bagged jobs.

Research findings

The findings of the research found that the health of unemployed shot up after getting a job. The possible reasons were quoted to be…

1. Employment facilitates purchases

2. Work affects psycho-social needs

3. Provides identity to an individual, decides social roles and status

4. Employment and socio-economic status affect physical and mental health and mortality

Other side of coin

Employment brings positive changes in physical and psychological health of a person. It stated that work can pose a risk to health.

Being employed affects a person’s health in two ways – psychologically and physically.

Psychological impact: If you are one of those who has unpleasant dreams about workplace or thinks of work even while at home or when surrounded by people, or frequently thinks about work, the creeps the boss gives you and the sickening atmosphere, you are actually trapped.

Physical impacts: If you often suffer from head, body or backaches by the time evening sets in or have difficulty concentrating after a few minutes or you catch yourself empty-headed and staring at the computer screen or suffer from gastric issues, then your work is affecting you physically.

Competition galore

There is cut throat competition everywhere.  Periodic outbursts, abuses, ditching and deceiving, belittling, work pressure etc with no place to vent out your feelings are an indispensable part of the working culture. Sleepless nights are common complaint for the freshers.

These things take a toll on the nervous system and causes stress.

Stress

Human brain senses stress and reacts from the stress-reactive area. As a result, the stress hormones including cortisol and norepinephrine are released and get diluted in the blood. Based on the capacity of bearing the stress, an individual’s body system reacts to this change.

While some may undergo a panic attack, others may have headaches, high blood pressure. Though, these problems may be addressed through medicines, but this is not the answer. Stress is also associated with uncontrolled diabetes due to increase in blood glucose levels.  

 Though vaguely associated, stress seems to increase the cholesterol level. The theory behind the notion is that stress might boosts up the body’s inflammatory processes resulting into lipid production.  Insomnia due to stress is a whole different regime of health hazards.

Tough on body

Desk jobs require long sitting hours – paving way for wrong food and drinking habits, no physical activity while sitting at the computer and finally obesity, cardiovascular diseases and cancer.

On an average, office workers spend about 95 percent sitting with 82 percent of their time in the same posture. Sitting for hours reduces life expectancy as body fat increases around the heart; elevates chances of high blood pressure, lack of insulin resistance and obesity. Backache or body ache is not just a symptom; it is an indication of your bones losing its strength. With heart, brain, bones, all being at risk, office work is putting your whole body system at risk immensely and is silently killing you