Almost two million people worldwide die from work-related illnesses and accidents every year, largely due to long working hours, the UN warned Friday, adding that the pandemic would greatly exacerbate the situation. It is the first joint assessment by the UN’s health and labor agencies of the global disease and injury burden linked to jobs since 2000, and it does not include the dramatic shifts in working conditions brought about by the Covid-19 crisis.
It was estimated that 1.9 million people died from work-related causes worldwide in 2016, a slight increase of over 1.7 million at the beginning of the century. However, this figure is undoubtedly underestimated, according to the report. According to the report, exposure to long working hours, defined as working 55 or more hours a week, is the biggest risk factor, causing about 750,000 deaths annually. The study examines 19 occupational risk factors, including exposure to carcinogens like asbestos, ergonomic factors such as prolonged sitting, and manual handling of loads.
In 2016, 450,000 deaths were attributed to occupational exposure to gases, fumes, and other air pollution, after long working hours. The World Health Organization (WHO) chief declared it shocking that so many people were literally killed by their jobs. In his report, he called on countries and businesses to enhance and protect workers’ health and safety.
Overworking kills
Work-related deaths were caused by diseases 82 percent of the time in 2016, with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease as the leading cause of death with 415,000 deaths. It was followed by strokes, with 400,000, and ischaemic heart disease, with 350,000. 360,000 people died as a result of occupational injuries in 2016, accounting for 18 percent of all work-related deaths.
International Labour Organization chief Guy Ryder commented that ‘these estimates provide important information on the burden of work-related diseases and this information can be used to devise policies and practices that will reduce health and safety risks at work’. Over the 16-year period covered by the report, the global death rate from work-related causes declined by 14 percent, but the number of deaths remained the same.
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According to the report, the decrease in workplace fatalities from 39.9 to 34.3 per 100,000 working-age people was possibly a reflection of safety measures improved at workplaces. Occupational injury-related deaths, however, dropped sharply over the same period, while deaths linked to long working hours surged. Long working hours were associated with an increase in death rates from heart disease of 41 percent, and long hours were associated with an increase in stroke deaths of 19 percent, the report showed.
Despite the lack of a mention of the pandemic, the WHO has previously warned the situation appeared to be fostering long hours. The Covid-19 pandemic has fundamentally changed the way many people work, Tedros said in May, pointing out that the sharp increase in teleworking has ‘often blurred the boundaries between work and home’.
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