Latest news with #workplacehealth
Medscape
03-07-2025
- Health
- Medscape
Employees in Public-Facing Jobs Have a High Risk for T2D
TOPLINE: High emotional demands and confrontational interactions in person-related work were associated with a substantial 15%-24% increased risk for type 2 diabetes (T2D) in both men and women, with low social support at the workplace further intensifying these associations. METHODOLOGY: Although adverse psychosocial working conditions have been linked to an increased risk for T2D, the effect of person-related roles — those involving interactions with patients, customers, clients, passengers, or students — remains unexplored. Researchers in Sweden conducted a register-based cohort study of 2,950,186 employed individuals aged 30-60 years (50.9% women) who had no history of any type of diagnosed diabetes or a prescription of anti-diabetic medication in or before 2005 to examine the association between person-related work and the incidence of T2D. Three dimensions of person-related work — general contact with people, emotional demands, and confrontation ─ and the degree of workplace social support were assessed using job exposure matrices. Occupations with the highest levels of exposure across these dimensions for both men and women belonged to the following sectors: Healthcare, education, service industry, hospitality, social work, legal services, security services, and transportation. The outcome of interest was the first diagnosis of T2D, identified via inpatient and outpatient registers, the cause-of-death register, or the first prescription of anti-diabetic medication from 2006 to 2020; participants were followed up until 2020. TAKEAWAY: During the study period, 216,640 individuals (60.0% men) developed T2D. Compared with those who did not develop T2D, these individuals were older, more likely to be born outside Sweden, and less educated and had lower job control. Among men, high exposures to emotional demands, confrontation, and general contact with people were associated with 20% (95% CI, 1.17-1.21), 15% (95% CI, 1.13-1.16), and 14% (95% CI, 1.12-1.15) increased risks for T2D, respectively. Women with high exposures to emotional demands and confrontation had 24% (95% CI, 1.22-1.26) and 20% (95% CI, 1.18-1.22) increased risks for T2D, respectively. The association of emotional demands and confrontation with the risk for T2D was stronger among employees with low workplace social support than among those with high support, peaking among women facing high emotional demands and low social support (hazard ratio, 1.47; 95% CI, 1.42-1.51). IN PRACTICE: "Workers in human service occupations, such as healthcare professionals and social workers, take responsibility for the fundamental human needs of clients and witness human suffering, and in most cases, there is no reciprocity in relations with clients and patients. These are potential stressors that can result in compassion fatigue, burnout, and mental health problems among workers in such occupations," the authors wrote. SOURCE: This study was led by Kuan-Yu Pan, PhD, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. It was published online on June 24, 2025, in Occupational and Environmental Medicine. LIMITATIONS: This study did not capture variations in individuals' experiences or work environment within specific occupations, potentially leading to the underestimation of the true associations. It used only one item to measure each dimension of person-related work. Moreover, it lacked information about participants' complete occupational history and potential job changes over time, and it could not adjust for potential confounding effects of personality traits. DISCLOSURES: This study was supported by AFA Insurance and the Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life, and Welfare. The authors declared no competing interests. This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.
Daily Mail
25-06-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Menopausal police officer who asked to work from home because of way she smelt sued force for discrimination - after colleagues questioned severity of her symptoms
A menopausal police officer who asked to work from home sued her force for discrimination after colleagues questioned her symptoms. Sarah Dye had requested to work remotely because of menopause-related 'body odour' and brain fog which made it difficult to work in the office in her role at Norfolk Constabulary. But her colleagues then saw social media posts of her 'enjoying herself at social activities' such as going to the zoo, leading them to think her issues weren't quite as 'extreme' as she made out. The officer told an employment tribunal that the odour 'did not prevent her from going out with her husband' - and claimed that her boss grilling her about the issue amounted to harassment. However, her claims for sex discrimination, harassment and disability discrimination were dismissed with a panel ruling that the concerns raised by her colleagues needed to be addressed. It is understood Mrs Dye intends to appeal against the decision. The tribunal, held in Norwich, heard Mrs Dye worked for the Norfolk Constabulary from February 2018. She was moved from frontline duties to a crime recording and investigating unit after a shoulder injury in late 2020, which involved duties such as taking statements from sex assault victims. Mrs Dye said she experienced 'severe' symptoms of the menopause in 2022, including insomnia and brain fog. She claimed she couldn't read books or watch TV shows, and struggled to remember simple tasks. A workplace health review in June that year found that the brain fog was not being fully managed by her Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT). This meant that driving for more than very short periods was difficult, so the medical advisor recommended Mrs Dye work from home or within five miles of her address. This was to 'reduce any risk from tiredness and brain fog'. The tribunal heard: 'The Report also confirmed that [she] had reported experiencing body odour despite good personal hygiene.' This odour was 'one of the main reasons for necessitating her need to work from home'. Mrs Dye began working from home on a trial basis in July 2022 for six months - the plan was to see whether new medication made her symptoms better in that time. Around September that year, her colleagues found Facebook posts which 'simply did not suggest' that the odour 'was to such an extent that [she] was making out'. She had a review meeting that month, during which Chief Inspector Zoe Hardman asked her about the symptom. The tribunal heard: 'Inspector Hardman did raise the issue of colleagues' concern that [Mrs Dye] had posted photographs on her Facebook page clearly travelling distances and enjoying herself at social activities in restaurants and at zoos, etc. '[Mrs Dye]'s explanation [was] that whilst she was restricted, her impairment did not prevent her from going out with her husband. 'It is clear that [Mrs Dye] became upset about the question and Inspector Hardman did apologise at the time, but these issues clearly needed to be addressed.' Mrs Dye later claimed that this conversation amounted to harassment. The tribunal found that her menopause symptoms were not a disability as she claimed, and that there was 'a complete absence of medical evidence that [she] suffered debilitating menopausal symptoms'. Employment Judge Robin Postle of her conversation with her superior: 'It was not unreasonable to explore these Facebook postings with [Mrs Dye]. 'Furthermore, Inspector Hardman, at that meeting, was quite clearly at pains to help [Mrs Dye] understand the reason why she was asking the questions about [Mrs Dye]'s Facebook posts.' All of Mrs Dye's other claims were dismissed. She is still working as a police officer for Norfolk Constabulary.
Daily Mail
19-06-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Now militant doctors demand the right to walkout on 'heat strike' as temperatures soar
Doctors are demanding the right to go on 'heat strike' as temperatures are set to soar to 33C over the next few days. Members of the British Medical Association (BMA) are calling on the union to demand that the NHS adopts a 'national maximum workplace temperature'. They said it should support staff to take 'heat strike action' if the temperature rises above this threshold, allowing all non-essential staff to walk out. The limit should be set using available evidence, it added. Some estimates suggest that staff concentration is affected from 24C, while the NHS says vulnerable patients could suffer at 26C. The proposals, which also call for funding to keep NHS buildings cool enough to work, have been put forward by the BMA's London regional council to be voted on at its annual meeting next week. It said there is 'evidence linking workplace heat to stress, poor health outcomes, reduced performance and decreased patient safety' and that the ' escalating climate and health emergency is increasing the frequency and severity of heatwaves in the UK, such that extreme working temperatures are very likely to become ever more common'. The BMA today launched an indicative ballot of consultants, asking if they would be prepared to strike over pay. The senior doctors, who earn an average of £145,000 a year, were awarded a pay rise of 4 per cent in May but had been seeking over three-times this amount. A legally-binding ballot of resident doctors - previously known as junior doctors - is already underway. They say this year's rise of 5.4 per cent should be closer to 30 per cent. Yellow heat health alerts have been issued across England , with the UK Health Security Agency warning that the weather could have an impact on people's health and put pressure on services. Wards or clinical areas exceeded 26C on more than 6,800 occasions in 2022/23, according to NHS data. The NHS warns temperatures this high put vulnerable patients at risk because they 'are physiologically unable to cool themselves efficiently'. This was up by almost a quarter on the year before, and more than double the 2,980 incidents that occurred in 2016/17. Overheating in hospitals has previously caused issues with refrigerators used to store medicines and led to IT systems containing patient data to crash. Matthew Taylor, the chief executive of the NHS Confederation, which represents health organisations, said: 'We know that during heatwaves issues with inadequate ventilation can cause challenges with dealing with extreme heat. 'This could have a detrimental impact on staff and patient wellbeing and hinder productivity unless organisations have the funding and capacity to fix faulty ventilation systems.' A report produced by Round Our Way, a campaign group, stated: 'In addition to patient distress, high temperatures also pose an occupational health risk to NHS staff.' It cited evidence that the 'cognitive performance' of doctors and nurses decreased at high, or even mild temperatures of 24C, lowering their productivity. Experts have also found that as many as nine in 10 hospital wards are at risk of overheating because of the design of buildings. With a third of the NHS estate built before 1965 – more than 50 years before the recording of overheating incidents began – the buildings are primarily designed to keep heat in.
Telegraph
19-06-2025
- Health
- Telegraph
NHS staff want right to stop working if it gets too hot
Doctors want the right to go on 'heat strike' as temperatures are set to soar. They have argued that NHS staff should not be forced to work in conditions above a certain temperature. A surge of hot weather will see temperatures increase to more than 30C this week and over the weekend, prompting a health warning from officials. A motion put forward by members of the British Medical Association (BMA) is calling on the union to demand that the NHS adopts a 'national maximum workplace temperature'. It said the BMA should support staff to take 'heat strike action' if the temperature rises any higher than that, allowing all non-essential staff to walk out. Just how high will temperatures get? 🌡️ Here's a look at when the peak temperatures may occur where you are over the next few days 📈 — Met Office (@metoffice) June 18, 2025 A threshold should be set using available evidence, it added. Some estimates suggest that staff concentration is affected from 24C, while the NHS says vulnerable patients could suffer at 26C. The proposals, which also call for funding to keep NHS buildings cool enough to work, have been put forward by the BMA's London regional council to be voted on at its annual meeting next week. It said that there was 'evidence linking workplace heat to stress, poor health outcomes, reduced performance and decreased patient safety' and that the 'escalating climate and health emergency is increasing the frequency and severity of heatwaves in the UK, such that extreme working temperatures are very likely to become ever more common'. Resident doctors – formerly known as junior doctors – are currently balloting on taking strike action over pay again, arguing that the 5.4 per cent average pay increase this year should be closer to 30 per cent. The doctors went on a five-day strike last summer after temperatures hit 30C, causing 'major disruption' to NHS services, according to health service bosses. Yellow heat health alerts have been issued for most of England as temperatures could reach 33C by the weekend, with the UK Health Security Agency warning that the weather could have an impact on people's health and put pressure on services. Data for 2022-23 found that there had been more 6,800 cases of wards or clinical areas exceeding 26C, which the NHS says puts vulnerable patients at risk because they 'are physiologically unable to cool themselves efficiently'. This was up by almost a quarter on the year before, and more than double the 2,980 incidents that occurred in 2016-17. Patients aged 65 and over or with pre-existing health conditions, such as those affecting the lungs or heart, are at higher risk from overheating, which can lead to heat exhaustion and, if untreated, develop into heatstroke, which requires emergency intervention to cool the body. Hot wards and clinical areas can also affect patient care in other, less direct ways. Overheating has in the past caused issues with refrigerators used to store medicines, the failure of essential hospital equipment and the crashing of IT systems that hold patient information. A heatwave in July 2022 saw temperatures hit record highs of 40C, which caused computer systems at Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital in London, one of the NHS's biggest hospital trusts, to fail. 'Starved of capital investment' Matthew Taylor, the chief executive of the NHS Confederation, which represents health organisations, said the NHS estate had been 'starved of capital investment', which has left 'many of the buildings crumbling and in urgent need of repairs'. He added: 'We know that during heatwaves issues with inadequate ventilation can cause challenges with dealing with extreme heat. 'This could have a detrimental impact on staff and patient wellbeing and hinder productivity unless organisations have the funding and capacity to fix faulty ventilation systems.' Mr Taylor added that a lack of investment to improve the NHS estate in the spending review had made it 'even more vital for NHS leaders to have access to other sources of capital funding, particularly from the private sector, in order to boost NHS productivity and keep patients well'. A report produced by Round Our Way, a campaign group, stated: 'In addition to patient distress, high temperatures also pose an occupational health risk to NHS staff.' It cited evidence that the 'cognitive performance' of doctors and nurses decreased at high, or even mild temperatures of 24C, lowering their productivity. Issues with building design Experts have also found that as many as nine in 10 hospital wards are at risk of overheating because of the design of buildings. With a third of the NHS estate built before 1965 – more than 50 years before the recording of overheating incidents began – the buildings are primarily designed to keep heat in. Daniel Elkeles, the chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents NHS trusts, said that 'heatwaves pile more pressure on stretched NHS services' and that 'welfare of the workforce is always a top priority'. He said: 'A lot of ageing NHS buildings and equipment – with almost £14 billion needed for essential repairs – aren't built to cope with very hot weather.' He said the whole of the NHS – not just hospitals – needed 'much more national investment in infrastructure to be able to handle extreme weather and reduce disruption'.
RNZ News
12-06-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
What are the rules around taking sick days?
health politics 44 minutes ago It's that time of year where bugs are rife, but there are questions around what the benchmark for a sick day is now, after the early post covid years where people were exiled from the office for the mildest sniffle. New Zealand workers are legally entitled to ten paid sick days a year although some employers offer more. Head of Advocacy, Strategy and Finance at the Employers and Manufacturers Association Alan McDonald spoke to Lisa Owen.
