occupational health

The Christmas season comes loaded with many lovely things, including delicious meals, colourful parties, awesome family get-togethers, and more. Sadly though, there’s often a downside to Christmas, with a spike in illnesses often the unexpected gift that visits along with Santa each year.

It is estimated that over 1 billion people in the world are dealing with one form of disability or another. This is a significant number, and as such, disregarding people with disabilities during the recruitment process would be discriminating against a large percentage of the global population.

When flu season is in full swing, the risk of catching flu or a cold from others is heightened. The workplace can be a pool of germs — sometimes all it takes is a single sneeze to spread the virus and affect dozens of colleagues.

In small doses, stress can be beneficial; it not only tunes your brain but also improves your health and performance. Chronic stress, however, is the complete opposite of beneficial.

Stress and poor mental health in the workplace are growing problems and My Occ Health is working hard with employers, HR teams and line managers to help them identify and address the issues through several layers of support – including our hugely beneficial counselling and talking therapy offerings.

Poor mental health is now the biggest cause of working days lost through sickness and absence and costs employers up to £42 billion a year. But employee counselling interventions have been found to reduce sickness absence rates in organisations by as much as 50 per cent.

Back pain is a major health concern in the workplace – a problem which has worsened over the course of the pandemic as more people have had to work or study from home, often in conditions that are less than ideal for posture.

Cholesterol is known as the silent killer, a condition which has no outward signs or symptoms so creeps up on you without any warning – which is why National Cholesterol Month in October is so important at raising awareness.

More people are working on computers, laptops and other mobile devices than ever before – which makes National Eye Health Week from September 20th to 26th a great opportunity to remind people of the need to protect their eyesight at work.

Were you aware that being a workaholic could seriously affect your blood pressure? Long hours increase the risk of high blood pressure which may in turn result in the development of cardiovascular disease – so it’s something employers need to be aware of.