Mental Health and Safety
Health and Safety is obviously extremely important in every workplace. Not only do companies not want to see their staff or the public injured, but the implications of any accidents can be extremely costly.
However, almost all companies focus purely on the physical when looking into health and safety, and often forget to consider the implications of mental health and keeping people safe from less obvious problems that the workplace can cause.
Stress is a surprisingly large cause of work-related absence and can be extremely costly to any company as well as to the health of the individual. Around 14 million working days are lost to stress every year and with the pace of working life only getting faster, this figure will likely just continue to rise unless it is addressed properly.
Tags: butter knife, generic processes, health and safety, health and safety jobs, occupational health and safety, occupational health assessments, productive workforce, safety health, unstable place, working environmentSecondhand Smoke and Mental Health
The effects of secondhand smoke on the lungs and on the heart have been clearly demonstrated in previous studies. Now it appears that secondhand smoke might also affect one’s mental health.
A new study examined more than 5000 non-smoking adults and more than 2500 smoking adults. Each participant, none of whom had a history of mental illness, was asked about psychological distress and admission to psychiatric hospitals. The participants were followed for a period of six years.
Researchers found that non-smokers who were exposed to a significant amount of secondhand smoke were 50 percent more likely to suffer from psychological distress than those who were not exposed to secondhand smoke. The risk of non-smokers exposed to secondhand smoke being admitted to a psychiatric hospital within the next six years nearly tripled.
Tags: byproduct, effects of secondhand smoke, history of mental illness, hospitalization, psychiatric hospital, psychiatric hospitals, psychological distress, s system, secondhand smoke exposure, smokers