European Working Conditions Survey highlights hazards

According to this year's European Working Conditions Survey, physical hazards remain just as much of an issue for workers across Europe as they did two decades ago.

The survey, now in its fifth year, revealed that workers are still exposed to positions, movements or tasks that may be damaging to their health.

One in three workers were found to still be carrying heavy loads for at least 25 per cent of their time at work, whilst one in four were found to be exposed to vibrations in the workplace. Neither of these figures have improved in the last eleven years.

Whilst many of the hazards are related to manual labour jobs, some affect workers across all sectors. Tiring positions effect one in six employees in the workplace almost all the time. Repetitive movement of the arms or hands effect more European workers than it did a decade ago.

The company behind the survey, Eurofound, said that the research investigated working time, health and safety, skills and training and discrimination in the workplace.

Research officer at Eurofound, Gijs van Houten, said, "Occupations in the expanding service sector also include physical work; for example, cashiers carry out repetitive movements most of their working time.

"In all occupations high work intensity might prevent workers from using personal protective equipment as well as other ergonomics devices which might have alleviated some physically demanding part of the work."