COPE's Occupational Health Blog

Occupational Health Advisor - Associates

Fri, 20 Feb 2026 12:23:40 GMT

Ad-hoc Associate Occupational Health Advisors

Ad-hoc Associate Occupational Health Advisors needed to work remotely carrying out case management

About us:

COPE provides UK wide Occupational Health to over 400 customers. Our customers vary between public and private sector organisations in addition to ranging from SMEs to large corporations. We provide a variety of services which provides an entire holistic approach, from core OH services to wider services including Physio, EAP and more.

At COPE, honesty and integrity guide us in everything we do, ensuring that the solutions we offer are always in the best interest of our customers.

About the role

We are looking for OHA's to join our network of associate OHA's who are available to carry out ad-hoc remote case management.

About you

You will hold an Occupational Health Qualification with at least two years' experience within the Occupational Health sector and recent experience of the full Occupational Health remit.
You will have excellent IT skills and be a great communicator.
You will be quality driven and have excellent record keeping skills.
You will be supported by a clinically qualified manager and a friendly head office support team.

Why carry out work for COPE?

COPE has over 30 years experience in providing a variety of Occupational Health Services across the UK. We are a growing, innovative company and offer a professional service and bespoke solutions to our wide portfolio of customers. Quality not quantity is important to us at COPE, we pride ourselves on delivering high quality, evidence based Occupational Health and Wellbeing interventions.

We are driven by our values and place a huge emphasis on caring for our team, supporting you as an individual and delivering outstanding service to our customers. We are dedicated to building knowledge and capability with those we work with.

What next?

Send over your CV, availability and current rates - we will review and be back in touch with next steps.

In the meantime, if you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us at hr@copeohs.com to discuss further.

Dementia in the workplace – challenges and reflections

Wed, 15 May 2019 14:19:55 GMT

Dementia Action Week – 20 May 2019

As a nation we are far more likely to engage in discussion about health issues impacting on the mind and its health than in years gone by. With a wealth of information at our disposal on the internet, and high profile figures publicly supporting charities and causes to raise awareness, there has never been a better time to explore these issues. With ‘Dementia Action Week’ starting on 20 May, now seems like a good time to home in on the particular challenges of dementia. The aim of this important week is to raise the profile of dementia – whether in our workplaces or communities – and remove some of the ignorance surrounding the condition.

So what is dementia and how widespread is it?

Dementia involves a decline in mental ability with varied symptoms including memory loss; difficulties with thinking, problem-solving or language and changes in mood or behavour. It occurs a result of the death of brain cells or damage in parts of the brain that deal with our thought processes (Mental Health Foundation). Symptoms can be mild to start with but will typically decline insidiously over time. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia and one that most of us have heard of or come across. There are around 850,000 people in the UK with dementia – predicted to increase to 1,000,000 by 2025. One in 14 people over 65 will develop dementia. It is inevitable that for many sufferers, symptoms of dementia will begin to appear whilst the person is still at work so employers have to plan for this and be able to supportivly accommodate changes in mental capacity.

What do employers have to consider?

The impact of dementia is far reaching. It affects the sufferer and their carer(s). We should all be familiar with the Equality Act’s (EA) requirement for reasonable adjustments to be introduced at work for those with a disability, but it’s also worth reminding ourselves of the protection which carers of those with a disability receive under the EA, and the need to flexibly accommodate employees with such responsibilities wherever possible. Yet, a study published in late 2018 in the journal ‘Occupational Medicine’ found that employees who developed early onset dementia between age 30 and 65 were not being offered the reasonable adjustments that could have helped them to carry on with their jobs. There was evidence of poor management styles in dealing with dementia, low levels of co-worker support and in some cases “no real will” to find individuals suitable roles for their remaining skills level.

Positive steps

The role of employers in supporting employees with dementia is likely to be complex. For example, has there been a diagnosis which the employee readily shares with their employer? Or maybe there is a referral to occupational health for vague symptoms of declining capacity which results in investigations and ultimately a diagnosis of dementia? What about team colleagues – should they be informed and how? How do employees cope with witnessing the impact of dementia on a valued colleague? How should short or longer term absences be tackled? What kind of information would support employees, their family members or carers? Occupational health professionals have a pivotal role in advising on the practical, emotional and physical implications of an employee living with dementia.

A thought to finish

Dementia doesn’t change a person completely overnight. It’s a progressive disease. Being able to work and make a contribution has been shown to be hugely positive in terms of our mental health and therefore retaining employees with residual capacity to undertake some work is important. We as employers need to plan proactively to do this and not regard dementia as some sort of cliff-edge over which people suddenly fall. We must confront our own fear and lack of understanding about the condition and begin to consider our strategies for supporting employees with dementia in the workplace.

Have you got guts?! Bowel Cancer Awareness Month

Mon, 08 Apr 2019 14:26:49 GMT

In today’s world of easy access to medical information and ‘symptom-checkers’ on-line many of us look there as a first port of call when we sense something is not quite right with our health. But do we act on what we find?

April is ‘Bowel Cancer Awareness Month’ and the charity ‘Bowel & Cancer Research’ has published an interesting survey. Some worrying statistics have emerged as they often do. 77% of 25-34 year olds would not go to their GP as a first port of call if they suspected they had bowel disease. Nearly half of all adults surveyed said that they would avoid visiting the GP initially and over a third of respondents admitted to embarrassment. A further third said they never checked their stools for signs of bleeding.

This is particularly concerning because early diagnosis of stage 1 bowel cancer means that between 95-100% of people can survive for 5 years or more after diagnosis* a figure which reduces significantly for those with more advanced disease – at stage 4 only between 5 and 10% will survive for 5 years or more after diagnosis* (* Cancer Research UK )

The British media have made efforts to play their part in raising awareness. Regular social media users will probably have seen or heard about Deborah James, known as ‘Bowel Babe’, bravely sharing (on Twitter, Instagram and a daily newspaper column) her experiences as a 37 year old wife and mother with stage 4 incurable bowel cancer. Many of us have also heard about the much loved BBC news reader, George Allagiah, and the recurrence of his stage 4 bowel cancer.

We in COPE know that as occupational health professionals, we are not there to take the place of a good relationship between GP and patient but we can provide information and advice about ways our customers can educate, raise awareness and encourage their employees to raise health concerns with their GP. Our clients can also access our health-hub and source a wealth of helpful health related information on a broad range of health conditions which could, quite literally, be a life-saver.

If you’re reading this as an employer – are you aware that cancer is covered by the Equality Act? It’s worth noting that it’s far easier to support an employee through less complex disease than more advanced disease which is distressing, involves more time away from work for chemotherapy and requires more proactive, and challenging solutions to give much needed support to our employees.

So, back to the ‘Bowel & Cancer Research’ charity. The aptly named “I’ve got guts” campaign encourages people to get out of their comfort zone if they have concerns about their bowel health with the strap line “Let’s Get Gutsy this Bowel Cancer Awareness Month”. So if you’ve ever fancied sky diving, wing walking or wall climbing you can find out more about taking the plunge whilst raising money for a charity that works hard to educate and raise awareness.

And if you know of someone struggling or concerned because of symptoms such as bleeding; a change in bowel habits (for 3 weeks or more); abdominal pain (for 3 weeks or more) or unexplained weight loss or fatigue perhaps give them a nudge to see their GP….. I think we’d all agree prevention is better than cure but if prevention isn’t possible, earlier detection and treatment certainly is!

Fit for Work and Fit Notes

Wed, 10 Jan 2018 15:30:28 GMT

Only just a year ago one of our blogs took a critical look at the ‘Fit for Work’ service and the extent to which it was delivering on its objectives, and our expectations, in the field of occupational health.

Lack of engagement

A year on, we now know that as of the end of March in England (and the end of May in Scotland) the ‘Fit for Work’ scheme will come to an end. In some ways this is not a surprise. Even after 3 years in existence barely 65% of GPs actually use the scheme to make referrals and it would seem that publicity, and a full understanding of what the scheme is all about, have been somewhat lacking.

There was certainly a healthy scepticism about ‘Fit for Work’ within many occupational health networks. How could such rigid parameters for access, for example an actual or anticipated minimum of 4 weeks sickness absence, really replace the value of an occupational health service where there is no minimum sickness absence requirement? How could a telephone assessment ever replace face to face contact in more complex or challenging cases? And, of course, how can a ‘distant’ service ever match a dedicated service where an occupational health professional knows the client organisation and its culture inside out?

We await with interest the government’s evaluation and ‘lessons learnt’ from the ‘Fit for Work’ service later on this year.

‘Fit Notes’

There are government plans to extend the scope of ‘fit notes’ so that other health professionals such as physiotherapists, psychiatrists and senior nurses can certify. There’s also now an acceptance that in order to increase the effective use of ‘fit notes’ there will need to be more awareness and training amongst those who issue them. There are plans to incorporate training into GP undergraduate and post graduate learning programmes.

Key aspects of the ‘fit note’

A ‘fit note’ is only as good as the ability of the person issuing it to understand its value to an employer and to be able make clear and tailored recommendations to employers. The goal has to be to ensure that people on longer term sickness absence in particular are not left in the wilderness and are able to benefit from appropriate and planned rehabilitation and re-integration in the workplace.

There has been discussion around taking the most common reasons for sickness absence and creating clinical guidance for assessing and planning the right workplace modifications to facilitate a successful return to work in each of these scenarios. The way GPs, or other professionals, convey their recommendations will impact positively – or negatively – on the so-called ‘return to work’ discussion.

Occupational Health Advice

We believe that the most effective transition from periods of sickness absence to full, productive and effective employment will occur where there is a dedicated occupational health service provided ‘holistically’ by professionals who understand their clients’ organisation, its culture and its people. This can only be achieved over time and by involving occupational health in the strategic and operational planning direction of the organisation.

If you are considering a new or different occupational health provider with a fresh and effective approach, why not contact us?

Finances and wellbeing

Mon, 11 Sep 2017 14:39:16 GMT

Money makes the world go round, or so the saying goes… but what happens when people have chronic worries about their finances? And is there a wider impact from these concerns on personal wellbeing and even how well we are able to do our jobs?

Yes, according to a recent survey of 1800 UK employees reported by the CIPD. A quarter of those surveyed said that they were ‘suffering’ on account of money problems to the extent that it had an adverse effect on their ability to do their job. The preoccupation and distraction of such a significant proportion of work force will most certainly negative impact on overall productivity.

Age matters

Age (and therefore possibly experience in handling money) seems to be one key factor in the extent to which money problems impact on work. In the survey, the figure for those who reported money problems having an adverse effect on their ability to do their job rose from a quarter to nearly one third in the 18-24 year old group. Of course this group captures the school/college leaver and graduate, new to the world of work. And it’s this group where anxieties about repayment of loans for further education and grabbing on to the first rung of an increasingly challenging property ladder are likely to be prevalent.

Impact of financial concerns widespread

There are geographical variables too. The number reporting problems rises to a nearly a third (31%) among 18-24 year olds, and those living in London (32%).

It would be easy to assume that those earning a higher salary are ‘sorted’ – but the evidence from the survey shows that one in five of those earning between £45k and £60k also have worries that can impact on their ability to do their job.

With the rise in inflation, firmer control of wage costs, political uncertainty and Brexit in the mix, there is potential for external circumstances to impact more widely on the level of anxiety about money.

Wellbeing – the link with productivity

We in COPE have looked closely at the impact of various life situations and perceptions on individual wellbeing. Wellbeing is not synonymous with simply ‘physical’ or ‘mental’ health. It’s a more complex ‘self-construct’ which focuses on the balance point between the demands placed upon us and the resources we have available to meet those demands.

This more holistic concept of wellbeing includes elements such as social support and networks, relationships (home and work based), feelings of being treated well – or otherwise, working environment and financial stability. If a person perceives one or more of these elements to be out of kilter, this could tip the ‘balance point’ such that wellbeing dips with an inevitable impact on productivity.

So how do we develop a proactive approach?

We know from working with our clients using COPE’s unique wellbeing and productivity tool (WPT) that financial concerns can be a clearly identifiable – and not insignificant – part of a person’s perception of their wellbeing.

Our research and experience tells us that organisations that care about their employees’ wellbeing and want to encourage and support a focused, productive workforce are best served by adopting a holistic wellbeing strategy, founded on organisation specific evidence. Want to find some ideas as to how this might be achieved? See our information page here .

Work Related Stress

website@sitemodify.com (Website Editor) — Mon, 09 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMT

All employers have a duty to assess the risk of work-related stress to their employees and to take measures to control that risk.

Work-related stress, depression or anxiety result in an estimated 10.5 million lost working days per year – the single biggest cause of days lost through work-related ill-health in the UK.

Stress at work is, therefore, a key issue for both employers, in terms of costs associated with sickness absence and reduced productivity, and for employees in terms of their experience of work, and their work-related quality of life.

Effective stress management reduces absence, increases productivity and improves staff retention.

PSYCHOSOCIAL FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH STRESS

Demands – workload, work patterns, time pressures and work-life balance
Control – over work tasks and the organisation of work
Support and resources – from managers and colleagues
Role clarity – avoiding role ambiguity
Job security – now and in the future
Change – how it is managed and communicated

COPE strongly recommends a preventative approach to stress management, by employing a Psychosocial Risk Assessment Programme of auditing, advising and implementing management strategies.

HSE’s Management Standards have been developed to help employers identify psychosocial risk factors associated with stress.

The Standards can be found here .

Our Psychologists can help you to incorporate these standards into your own management practices, also developing a tailored stress management approach for your specific organisation.

Getting to the heart of the matter with World Heart Day

Wed, 14 Sep 2016 15:41:04 GMT

Power your life (world heart day)

How many of us are really aware of one of our body’s most important – and hard working – organs? Most of us only give our heart a thought when we become aware of it beating quickly – perhaps with fear or excitement! Yet, every day our hearts pump nearly 2000 gallons of blood around our bodies and the heart is literally our force for life. So how do we keep our hearts strong? We can’t see our heart and mostly we don’t even know whether our heart is healthy or not…

Some scary statistics

We might have heard some statistics around cardiovascular disease but let’s look again at the facts. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) causes more than a quarter (27%) of UK deaths – that’s an average of 425 people a day or a death every 3 minutes. Around 41,000 people under the age of 75 die from CVD every year. Today, in the UK, 7 million men and women are living with CVD so whilst death statistics are concerning, equally concerning is that fact that so many people are daily making lifestyle adjustments, with some having dramatically reduced quality of life. A further conundrum is regional health inequality – compare Glasgow city centre – 575 deaths under the age of 75 with West Dunbartonshire – only 100 deaths for the same cause and in the same age group. This is another subject altogether but when poverty and social demographics are put into the mix; the incidence of heart disease becomes a matter of social and health equality.

So what can we do about reducing our risk as individuals?

Eat a healthy balanced diet

A healthy diet can help reduce risks – we have probably all heard the ‘5 a day’ portions of fruit and veg mantra! But a healthy diet has other knock on benefits – reduced weight gain for instance which in turn reduces the risk of diabetes and high blood pressure.

The key to diet is balance and variety – a picture of what a healthy breakdown of our dinner plate looks like is perhaps not something we can achieve every day but aim for.

Balanced diet suggestion

We don’t need to avoid starch – so no need to go ‘no carb’ unless medically advised to do so. Perhaps fad diets are the cause of so many people shunning bread, rice, potatoes and pasta; but if we choose wholegrain varieties they are a great source of fibre and extra vitamins and minerals. We have found a great source of dietary advice here .

Keep moving!

Because our hearts are essentially muscle, they need exercise to stay in shape just like our biceps! More blood pumping around the body means operating at optimal efficiency with little strain. This will likely help it to stay healthy longer. 150 minutes of exercise per week is recommended but if this sounds like a lot you can start by breaking it down into 10 minute sessions – try this 10 minute living room workout . No need to sign up for the gym – all daily activities count e.g. housework, walking to the bus stop, gardening, switching the lift for the stairs – the list is endless.

Should employers be concerned about CVD?

A definite ‘yes’ to this question. Living with CVD can reduce health and fitness and increase sickness absence and prevention is always better than cure. Our clinical teams in COPE work with clients to address the impact of chronic health issues. We strongly recommend that employers encourage health awareness through their occupational health teams and actively engage with staff about the benefits of a healthy lifestyle.
Diet alone is not enough

If we consider other risk factors such as smoking, exercise and alcohol consumption in addition to diet there’s lots that employers can do to play their part in supporting and encouraging staff to adopt healthier lifestyles and reduce their personal risk of CVD. Why not arrange for an enthusiastic colleague to organise 20 to 30 minute walks at lunch time? This will increase afternoon productivity and break down the culture that ‘taking a break’ is a waste of time.

Employers can support ‘quit smoking’ programmes too. Smokers are almost twice as likely to have a heart attack as someone who has never smoked. It’s increasingly rare to find workplaces which provide the same number of convenient places for a ‘ciggy break’ as they did 15 years ago – which means those who can no longer access these places easily could be distracted by withdrawal symptoms rather than focusing on the task in hand. There’s some great advice in the BHF stop smoking booklet here .

We are perhaps all aware of the government’s guidelines on alcohol but these recently changed. The limits used to be daily with three to four alcoholic units for men and two to three for women. The new guidance moves to weekly limits to get away from the idea that drinking every day is fine. There’s some great information here .

Tips for employers

Whether you want to look at health awareness in terms of weight, diet, exercise, smoking or alcohol consumption (or all of them!) there are some great ways employers can plan to effectively support life-enhancing changes of habit – which ultimately reduce the risk of CVD:

Start planning – as part of an overall strategy
Break it down and tackle one thing at a time to avoid information overload
Find champions in peer groups
Don’t preach – make it fun and interesting with easily understood information
Use the power of the team – peer group encouragement is a good way to sustain intrest

The conundrum of presenteesm – too much pressure?

Mon, 08 Aug 2016 23:00:00 GMT

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Most organisations now have written policies on absence management – but how well these are communicated to employees or how well managers actually manage sickness absence is another matter! Yet an understanding of absence management and an appreciation of its cost to the business is only half the story…

What is ‘presenteeism’?

‘Presenteeism’ is spoken about much less than sickness absence, and anecdotally it seems to be less understood as a concept. One way of looking at ‘presenteeism’ is the scenario of an employee being present at work whilst mentally or physically unwell or notably below par.

The generally accepted definition of presenteeism as being the act of employees attending work while ill does not capture the true nature or scope of the phenomenon of presenteeism.

We prefer to use an alternative which defines presenteeism as being “Reduced productivity at work due to health problems or other events that distract one from full productivity.”

A view on the impact of ‘presenteeism’ – Professor Cary Cooper

Professor Cary Cooper, Professor of Organisational Psychology and Health at Manchester Business School and President of the CIPD, has been increasing our understanding of organisational psychology for many years as the author of 120 books and some 400 articles for academic journals as well as appearing as a guest commentator on radio and television broadcasts. In 2014, HR Magazine voted him ‘The Most Influential HR Thinker in the UK’ and he certainly has a hefty following – not only by HR staff but clinicians and line managers keen to understand more about people at work and what makes them tick.

At the last CIPD conference Cary Cooper said that presenteeism is the biggest threat to UK productivity. That’s a big boost to the profile of presenteeism in management thinking.

His view that “workers coming in and doing nothing is more dangerous for the UK economy than absenteeism,” is a salutary warning given that the UK ranks sixth of out the G7 nations for productivity. He also signalled that the UK was heading in the direction of the US with what he called a “lethal” working culture. This is easy to see in the context of how the UK working hours culture stacks up against comparisons with our European neighbours – the UK has the fifth longest working week in Europe, ahead of Germany at 13th place and France, which came in 25th place. Cary Cooper tells us that there is no research to back up the belief of some senior managers that working long hours actually makes people more productive. In fact, he says, you will get ill if you do!

The cost of ‘presenteeism’

Research shows that the annual cost of presenteeism is twice that of absenteeism – a staggering statistic. Interestingly the CIPD Absence Management Report shows that “’presenteeism’ is more likely to have increased where long working hours are seen to be the norm and where operational demands take precedence over employee well-being”. A third of organisations report an increase in people coming to work ill in the last 12 months, according to the report.

In terms of knock on effects of presenteeism, the report highlights that those who have noticed an increase in presenteeism are nearly twice as likely to report an increase in stress-related absence and more than twice as likely to report an increase in mental health problems.

That does not bode well then for our attempts to contain and manage sickness absence overall – yet, worryingly, 56% of those who have noticed an increase in presenteeism have not taken any steps to discourage it.

A new ‘ism’ in the mix?

Cary Cooper has also highlighted the concept of ‘leavism’ – people taking holidays to catch up on backlogs of work, particularly in the public sector. Similarly, staff don’t always take their full holiday entitlement, suggesting the presence of issues around managing work-life balance. This further compounds the problem of achieving a healthy, productive workforce.

Tackling the wider implications

Given the link between presenteeism and its relationship to increased absence for other causes, we need to look far more holistically at well-being – that means ensuring that there are ways for employees who are below par, physically and mentally, to feel comfortable about taking time off to get well and that people actually take their holidays!

A good deal of persuasion might be needed to get businesses and organisations to look proactively at the long game – but there’s great scope for the occupational health profession to partner with an organisation’s stakeholders to create strategies to stem the tide of presenteeism and this means tackling absence policies, training managers, addressing negative cultural norms and improving work – life balance. To find out more about COPE’s approach to supporting organisations to achieve this, please click here .

‘Fit for work service’ – panacea or partial solution?

Wed, 18 Nov 2015 00:00:00 GMT

Should occupational health welcome the Fit for Work service? At first sight the government’s own description of the service is compelling! It’s “ a free service that helps employees stay in or return to work. It provides an occupational health assessment and general health and work advice to employees, employers and GPs ”. The word ‘free’ might well attract attention but what is the service’s remit and potential value to employers? Certainly, its objectives of early intervention to address sickness absence are honourable – we know from the days of Dame Carol Black’s report “ Working for a Healthier Tomorrow ” back in 2008 that this, along with rehabilitation and retention of staff in the workplace, will become increasingly critical for employers to address.

Are expectations matched by reality?

Are the aims of the Fit for Work service matched by the experience of service users? Can it really achieve what it sets out to? Is its remit really ‘occupational health assessment’ in the fullest sense of a competent, comprehensive occupational health service? We can’t speak for other organisations and these are big questions, but our own analysis is that whilst the service plugs an important gap – particularly for smaller organisations with no occupational health service – it has some significant limitations… In fact we’ve debunked the myth that it’s “either occupational health or Fit for Work service” – they are best managed as complementary services.

Referrals

Fit for Work parameters for referral are pretty narrow and so won’t cover the majority of cases handled by a full occupational health remit – including the prevention side issues of ill health, surveillance and risk assessment. I’m sure you’ll agree that occupational health is so much more than just a focus on ‘return to work’.

It’s interesting that Fit for Work focuses on employees who have a “reasonable likelihood of making at least a phased return to work”. It won’t cover hospitalised in-patients, those who don’t have a good prospect of returning or those who are either terminally ill or in an acute phase of an underlying medical condition. Yet all these cases still need to be managed and an employer still needs good advice to manage them!

Absence patterns

As many an employer and occupational health professional will testify, patterns of sickness absence are more complex than just blocks of 4 weeks for a chronic health problem. What about (single or repeated) absence spells of, say, 2 or 3 weeks? Or the shorter ‘day here and there’ spells that often mask underlying physical or mental health problems – or aren’t actually to do with genuine health issues at all?

Here, occupational health plays a huge role in working closely with a client organisation to understand and grapple with solutions to address these shorter absence patterns which cumulatively become costly and disruptive to an organisation.

On-going management of cases

Interestingly employees can only be referred to Fit for Work once in every 12 months. Generally, an employee will be ‘discharged’ from the service two weeks after they have returned to work or the employee has been in the programme for 3 months more, or where a return to work has not been possible after 3 months.

Quite where this leaves an employer when the problem persists beyond this time, and there is no access to sound occupational health advice, is anyone’s guess!

I wonder how many cases – especially those with a mental health component – can be fully and effectively managed via an advice line – because that’s really the main option Fit for Work offers after the employee has been discharged and if further absence occurs within the 12 month period. With repeated longer spells of absence it can be crucial for a competent professional to speak face to face with an employee and that’s where the on-going involvement of occupational health adds most value to resolving a longer term absence case.

In fact The RCGP (Royal College of General Practitioners) signalled that the national service could be “ too reliant on telephone rather than face-to-face contacts with patients Return to work plans ”.

It’s encouraging to see the emphasis Fit for Work places on an agreed return to work plan and/or reasonable adjustments, but again there are limitations… What if these need to be formally reviewed or re-assessed because the health picture changes after the employee has been discharged from Fit for Work ? Again – is the advice line adequate to pursue this in more complex cases? Nothing can replace week by week support given by a professional who has the trust of the employee and the employer.

Prevention and strategic partnership

A focused referral and assessment service – which is Fit for Work’s core service – doesn’t remove the huge benefit of occupational health as a strong strategic partner of an organisation – integrated on all levels and working proactively to both resolve and prevent sickness absence challenges.

Dr Paul Nicholson, chair of the BMA’s occupational medicine committee has been clear in his concerns, referring to frustrations that the Fit for Work service is referred to as offering an ‘occupational health assessment’ rather than a more accurate “fitness to work” assessment. He has hit the nail on the head in terms of the potential confusion caused by lack of understanding of the much wider roles played by occupational health professionals.

Surely though the flip side of this is opportunity? The strength of an integrated occupational health service is the knowledge it builds of the organisation, its different roles and demands and of course the impact of health on work and vice versa in the client setting. So, all of us in occupational health have a perfect opportunity to more proactively engage with clients to increase their understanding of the full offering of a competent and comprehensive occupational health service.

The impact of Fit for Work is firmly in our hands…

Q&A blog: Is fitness more important than obesity?

Wed, 04 Feb 2015 00:00:00 GMT

Until recently, many health professionals have advised that obesity and smoking are the most important risk factors for ill health and early death.

Things may be about to start changing, however. Recent newspaper articles have reported new research suggesting that physical inactivity causes twice as many deaths as obesity.

I thought I’d ask our Health and Wellbeing Director whether these newspaper reports were accurate – and what implications this may have for the advice provided by health professionals in the future.

Nick: So is it true that physical activity is far more important for long term health than anything else?

James: Yes, absolutely – in fact data suggests that it’s more important than obesity.

Nick: So, why has so much attention been given to obesity for so long?

James: That is a really good question, Nick… in fact the evidence for lack of fitness as being a major cause of a premature death is not new! Information from the Cooper Center Longitudinal Study , (CCLS) which has been in existence for 27 years, has already provided overwhelming scientific evidence that physical inactivity is well ahead of obesity as a cause of a premature death.

The accumulated evidence from the study shows that, if you are moderately fit, you can be overweight and still have a normal health profile in terms of, blood pressure, cholesterol levels and glucose tolerance.

Nick: So is the evidence saying that if you are “fat but fit” you can have a normal, healthy life and an average life expectancy?

James: Absolutely Nick – there is good evidence to show that people who are overweight and fit can out-live people who are slim, but unfit.

Nick: That’s great news – in fact I’m feeling a bit better already!

James: That is good Nick, but don’t get me wrong – there are still many health risks associated with being obese – particularly if you are morbidly obese. Having said that, I think people are too hung up and worried about being overweight – a bit of a stigma has developed here.

You can no longer assume that if someone you see or know is overweight that they are unfit and will develop diabetes or some other chronic disease – this is simply not true.

Nick: OK – so can we slow down and go back a bit?

James: Sorry Nick – of course we can – I tend to get a bit enthused about this topic.

Nick: Thanks – just now you mentioned that physical inactivity is well ahead of obesity as a cause of a premature death. This implies that there are other causes of a premature death….if physical activity is top of the league table, what are the other causes I should be aware of?

James: Yes, your assumption is correct and your analogy of a league table is a good one. The CCLS research included following 4000 people to their death.

The league table results for men may surprise you. In first place, as I mentioned, was low fitness caused by inactivity. Second was high blood pressure, followed by smoking, then high cholesterol, diabetes with obesity in sixth place.

The table positions were slightly different for women. Physical inactivity was still in first place, but smoking was second, followed in order by: high blood pressure, obesity, then diabetes, with high cholesterol in sixth place.

This data was published in the British Journal of Sorts Medicine in 2009; so, as I implied earlier, we have known about physical activity being a major cause of a premature death for some time. It just seems to be getting publicity, now which is good.

Nick: The premature death league tables are indeed surprising. You mentioned something else earlier – glucose tolerance – what is that?

James: People who have impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) have a higher than normal level of glucose in their blood, but not so high that you have diabetes. The good news is that, by achieving a moderate level of fitness, people can substantially reduce their risk of going on to developing full blown diabetes.

Nick: How much exercise do we have to do to significantly reduce our chances of becoming diabetic?

James: Recent articles in many national newspapers, including the Daily Mail and the Independent mention twenty minutes of moderate intensity exercise per day.

The evidence from the CCLS suggests that 30 minutes on five or more days of the week is the base line which will benefit you with a 50 percent reduction in the risk of an early death.

The 30 minutes can be split up – for example into 3 ten minute sessions – providing the sessions are at the right level or intensity.

Twenty minutes of exercise will still gain significant health benefits and is a good place to start.

Nick: Thanks, could I just ask you about the intensity and perhaps type of exercise we should be doing?

James: There are many forms of exercise that people can take part in. For those who have been inactive, a good place to start is with walking at a brisk pace.

The simple way of knowing if you are exercising at the right intensity is the “talk test”. If you are walking and are mildly breathless, but can still talk with little effort, then you’re probably doing moderate-intensity exercise. That is where you should aim to be.

If, however, you are walking or running and gasping for breath, and you feel your heart thumping and you can talk only with difficulty, then you are in the vigorous activity range.
People who are not used to exercise must avoid vigorous activity levels and gradually build up to moderate exercise levels. If you are not used to it, exercising at vigorous levels can be dangerous for you.

In any case, achieving a moderate level of fitness will achieve substantial health benefits. This only requires a moderate-intensity level of exercise on a regular basis.

Nick: As a specialist in this field, what is your take home message advice?

James: I think those providing advice in the public health arena should stop banging on about obesity. I am not convinced that it is working, or indeed will ever work.

We need to focus instead on becoming more active as a nation and as individuals. We certainly have to eat more vegetables and fruits, more whole grain breads and reduce our alcohol and fat intake.

The most important thing each of us can do, however, that will have a major impact on our health and longevity is to carry out 30 minutes of brisk walking at least five days per week.

Nick: Thanks, that’s really clear and informative advice. Where can I find more information?

James: The COPE web site!

Advice for employers worried about Ebola

Fri, 21 Nov 2014 00:00:00 GMT

What is Ebola?

Ebola (officially referred to as Ebola virus disease) is a serious, often fatal, disease.

It was first identified in Africa in the mid-1970s in the area around the Ebola River. It is thought to have originated in forest animals; the likely transmission route to humans is through butchering or handling dead animals contaminated with the virus.

There are currently no licensed treatments or vaccines.

What are the symptoms?

A person infected with Ebola virus will typically develop a fever of over 38°C, headache, vomiting, diarrhoea, joint and muscle pain, intense muscle weakness and bleeding inside and outside of the body.

Are my employees at risk?

The likelihood of UK-based employees catching Ebola virus disease is considered very low unless they have travelled to a known infected area and had direct contact with a person with Ebola-like symptoms, or contaminated objects.

Known infected areas are currently Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Ebola spreads through direct contact with an infected person through blood or bodily fluids, including vomit, faeces, urine, sweat, and saliva. As a result, employees, such as those who have worked in the healthcare, sanitation and emergency response roles while in a known infected area tend to be at greater risk for exposure.

There is still an element of risk associated with travelling to an infected area, even if an employee has not undertaken any of the above mentioned roles. Please see the following sections for more information on how to minimise such risks.

What advice should I give my employees who are planning to travel to West Africa?

The Foreign Office is currently advising against all travel to Guinea, except for those involved in the direct response to the Ebola outbreak.

Although the chances of being infected while travelling to countries other than Guinea remain low, there are measures you can take to prevent catching Ebola. You should follow the health advice issued by the National Travel Health Network and Centre to:

Avoid contact with symptomatic patients and their bodily fluids.
Avoid contact with corpses and/or bodily fluids from deceased patients.
Avoid close contact with live or dead wild animals.
Avoid consumption of “bush meat”.
Practice safe sex.
Follow strict hand washing routines.

What should I do about my employees who have travelled to West Africa?

Understanding the Ebola virus and educating managers and employees about it can help calm potential fears of possible infection.
Remember that people can become infected with the Ebola virus only if they come into contact with the blood or body fluids of an infected person.

Ebola virus is generally not spread through routine social or business contact, such as shaking hands. Additionally, it does not infect the respiratory tract, so it is not transmitted by coughs and sneezes.

Employees who have travelled to West Africa should be allowed to continue working as normal when they return to the UK.

If you have employees who’ve been to Guinea, Liberia or Sierra Leone in the last 21 days, they should be reminded to be vigilant for symptoms. If they become unwell with symptoms such as fever, chills, muscle aches, vomiting, diarrhoea or sore throat they should stay at home and dial NHS 111 or 999 and explain you have recently been to West Africa.

It is important to remember that there are many other illnesses with similar symptoms – such as viral gastroenteritis or norovirus. Nevertheless, it is important that such symptoms are taken seriously and acted upon promptly.

Dyslexia Awareness Week 2014

Thu, 06 Nov 2014 00:00:00 GMT

About 10% of the population has dyslexia – and this week is Dyslexia Awareness Week 2014 – the focus being not just about awareness raising but celebrating the achievements of those with dyslexia.

Most organisations want to source talented teams, so it makes sense not to narrow the pool from which you make your search, by making erroneous assumptions about the impact of certain conditions on an employee’s ability and potential to achieve.

There isn’t a ‘silver bullet’ to achieve a good track record in successfully recruiting, retaining and engaging with staff, but isn’t that what we want as employers? We can develop flexible and inclusive approaches and strategies to support staff at work who have a disability (as defined within the Equality Act). There is more to embracing a diverse workforce than just legal compliance – it’s about focusing on ability, ambition and achievement to empower everyone to make a contribution!

I have known employers ready to change their perceptions and work towards a dyslexia-friendly working environment – and others who are less willing to make that commitment. My own top 5 tips are:

Have a look at your selection processes – often these are surprisingly removed from the real skills and abilities needed in a role – I would recommend a ‘refresh’ of their relevancy and make the often minor adjustments to ensure that those with dyslexia are not disadvantaged at the outset
When new staff join your organisation, it’s common sense to invest in on-boarding and ensure that the mutual commitment between employer and staff members beds in from day one onwards. Take time to treat employees as individuals with needs and preferences – many people with dyslexia are highly intelligent and creative and often score highly on tests which assess analytical and problem-solving skills – but remember that each person with dyslexia is different – avoid stereotyping!
Plan for external support if appropriate – the British Dyslexia Association has great resources to support employers. Access to Work offer workplace assessments and some funding to implement workplace adjustments and technological developments, of course, offer a wealth of support now compared with just a few years ago.
Involve managers and team members – a tricky one at times, but worth making the effort to encourage and educate staff. I have found this to be the most challenging but rewarding aspect of supporting businesses. Keep it simple, clear and part of a broader approach to developing a culture where the focus is on strengthening the ability of all to make a contribution to the organisation.
Finally… if there are problems or misunderstandings between an employee and their manager, make sure that they are not swept under the carpet – try involving HR and/or occupational health to facilitate resolution of issues. Often a simple change to the way things are done, can enable a dyslexic employee to work to their full potential – and that’s really what we want for all of our staff.

National Stress Awareness Day and the workplace

Wed, 05 Nov 2014 00:00:00 GMT

The Workplace

For some time now it has not been acceptable for organisations to rely upon the physical and mental resilience of their individual employees to prevent distress and subsequent ill health.

The old fashioned notions that the business inefficiencies – including legal fees, presenteeism and absenteeism – resulting from distress can be prevented by the well trodden paths of organisational stress audits, health promotion, resilience training and offering an employee assistance or counselling service no longer hold water.

Indeed top down, assumptive and ill-thought through interventions can do more harm than good.

The health and performance of individual employees is influenced by the physical and psychological environments and their interactions with them.

Managers at all levels are responsible for both the physical and psychological work environments and thereby have the ability to create positive work cultures and environments.

Distress

Distress is the most commonly referred to type of stress – i.e. having negative implications, whereas positive stress is usually related to desirable, yet challenging, events in a person’s life. Persistent distress that is not resolved through coping or adaptation may lead to more serious symptoms of anxiety, withdrawal and depression.

Health Affects

Distress is taxing on the body and is cumulative in nature, depending on a person’s way of adapting to the stressor that caused it. Each person responds in a different way to physical and psychological stressors. Positive workplace stress can serve a useful purpose. Work stress only becomes a problem for individuals when it becomes uncontrollable, intolerable and prolonged – the precursor to distress.

The point at which stress or pressure becomes intolerable leading to distress varies between people, according to their own perceptions and their physical and mental resilience – for some people pressure is like ‘water off a duck’s back’. On the other hand the same pressure can cause some people distress to the point of suffering serious ill-health. This is why top down or “one size fits all” interventions are likely to fail.

What can be done?

Stress is primarily based on perceptions. It is how an individual perceives a given situation and how they perceive their task(s). Positive stress is therefore related to self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is one’s judgment of how you can carry out a required task, action or role. The goal then is for organisations to create working environments that generate positive work cultures and for individuals to be helped to increase self-efficacy.

Creating positive working cultures

The key is to quickly and accurately identify the barriers that are preventing the creation of a positive working culture.

Of course, this is easier said than done, which is why we have created a statistically validated tool which accurately predicts the root causes of the stressors that are or may be beginning to cause distress.

Our validated tool is based on an online questionnaire that takes an individual ten minutes to complete. The information gathered is translated into extraordinarily clear and simple output data, which identifies these root causes, which are the barriers to a positive work culture.

COPE can use this data to create proactive, targeted and effective interventions that are truly preventative.

To find out how COPE can help you to create a positive work culture and a truly preventative work environment, please complete our online enquiry form, or call us on 0115 925 9222.

Effective manual handling training

Thu, 02 Oct 2014 23:00:00 GMT

There is a wide choice of manual handling training courses that are available to choose from. When trying to decide which course to select please read our blog entitled Manual Handling Training Myths & Top Tips as this will help you to identify the essential ingredients of effective manual handling training courses.

Top manual handling training tip number 13 includes anatomy and physiology as part of what core content should cover. Most manual handling training courses focus on the slipped disc as being the source of the disability that people suffer from through poor manual handling techniques. This ignores a fundamental and far more common cause of pain and loss of function that is the precursor to many causes of pain in the back including, but not limited to, the slipped disc.

Research demonstrates that in a large number of cases of mechanical low back pain (low back pain not caused by disease) the primary cause of loss of function is the fracture of a structure called the vertebral endplate.

If you look at Diagrams 1 and 2, you can see how the vertebral end plates form a boundary between the adjacent vertebrae and intervening disc.

The various movements of the spine during manual handling (see Diagram 3) result in compression forces on the vertebral end plates. The compression forces (represented by the black arrows in Diagram 4) can lead to a fracture of an end plate, as shown at the right of Diagram 4.

Consequences of a broken end plate

The broken end plate in diagram 4 is quite obvious to the human eye. The problem is that breaks can occur in the end plates that are much smaller than this. In fact they cannot be detected on most imaging techniques (X rays and scans). The end plate fractures however, even though they cannot be easily detected, cause the disc to be unable to resist load resulting in pain and dysfunction. In time however, the fracture, if not overloaded, heals and the spine gradually restores its ability to carry load without pain.

Initially an end plate fracture is not painful, with the individual saying that they heard a pop in their back at the start of their episode of back trouble – but felt no pain at the time. If you look at Diagram 4 and compare it to Diagram 2 you can see how the disc (white tissue) has lost its height. This happens because the end plate fracture has caused the disc to depressurise, which leads to many further problems including fractures of the vertebral body, osteoarthrosis and slipped discs.

Summary

Broken end plates eventually are of themselves painful and are a precursor to a number of other conditions that are disabling, including osteoarthrosis and slipped discs. Effective manual handling training courses should include bespoke industry advice and guidance as to how to prevent this type of injury from occurring in the first instance, as well as how to reduce the risk of recurrence.

Seven tips for preventing back pain

Thu, 02 Oct 2014 23:00:00 GMT

1. Sleep on your side rather than your back

Sleeping on your side in the foetal position puts the least loading on the inter-vertebral discs allowing them to receive important nutrients.

2. Avoid rapid and awkward bending movements – especially early in the morning

The inter-vertebral discs absorb water over night. Rapid movements increase internal muscle forces, the combination of these elements makes bending injuries – especially bending to one side – far more likely in the mornings.

3. When starting an arduous job, or returning to a job after a period of absence, build up your back strength slowly

Muscles build up their strength far quicker than the structures in the underlying spine. This may cause problems for the underlying structures if you exert yourself too soon/much before they have had a chance for their strength to “catch up” with the muscles.

See here for back care exercises.

4. Lift slowly with your spine balanced and flat, or slightly bent, and the weight close to and in front of your body

These factors reduce the forces in the spine. It is OK to lift with your back arched, but lifting with your back either flat or slightly bent is a better option.

5. Reduce the weight of the heavy loads you handle until you feel it is within your capacity. Organise the rotation of tasks so that there are frequent alterations between light loads and heavier loads that are within your capacity

A combination of reducing the weight of the heavy loads you carry and alternating between tasks regularly between heavy and light loads provides the best protection to the vertebral end plates in your spine.

6. Avoid spending long periods of time with your low back being bent forwards or over extended

Over extended positions, e.g. leaning backwards to work overhead, cause the small joints in your back to be subjected to excessive loading. Positions with your back bent forwards, such as standing and bending over, can impair reflexes that protect the spine.

7. Keep your spine supple

This reduces the forces in your spine and could reduce the risk of future back pain. See here for advice, and here for low back care exercises.

Manual handling training myths & top tips

Thu, 25 Sep 2014 23:00:00 GMT

Introduction

Before I set out my 14 top tips, let’s deal with a number of myths that still abound concerning the physiology of the human spine and its application in the design of Manual Handling Training Courses:

Myth 1: The human spine has not adapted to the upright posture – Wrong!

The spine has adapted or has been designed (depending on your point of view) for the upright posture – one example of this is the change in size that occurs between the bones (vertebrae) that make up your back. Look at the picture above and you can see that the vertebrae at the top of our spines are much smaller than those at the bottom of our spines. This is because the bones at the top of the spine do not carry as much weight as those at the bottom and so do not have to be as large as the ones at the bottom that have to carry the whole weight of the trunk. The contrast in size between the vertebrae at the top and bottom of the spine is quite unique to humans.

Myth 2: The inter-vertebral discs act as shock absorbers – Wrong!

The anatomical construction of inter-vertebral discs is such that they are simply physically too stiff to absorb shock. The real shock absorbers for the spine are actually the large muscles at the front of our thighs – the quadriceps muscles.

Myth 3: You should lift with a hollow in your low back – Wrong!

We now know that there is a better load distribution in the discs of the spine if the low back is maintained in a flat or slightly flexed position than in a hollow position.

Myth 4: The load to be lifted should be as light as possible – Wrong!

When the tissues that make up our spines are loaded optimally, they respond by strengthening. If you do not use your back, it will weaken!

Myth 5: You should avoid twisting movements – Wrong!

Twisting movements carried out to the extreme of range should be avoided – but avoiding twisting altogether weakens the muscles that control this movement, making the spine more vulnerable.

14 Top Tips for Manual Handling Training

1. Before even thinking about training:

Build management support
Conduct a Manual Handling risk assessment
Adopt a participatory ergonomics approach

2. Management support is crucial to success

Needs visible commitment
Managers need to be familiar with course content
Suggest including managers in training session

3. Training should be part of an overall risk management programme, assessing:

Task
Load
Working environment
Individual capability
Work organisation

4. Training should be viewed as an on-going process, not a ‘one-off’

Build and maintain knowledge and skills (refresher courses)
Discourage ‘tick box’ mentality, often just focusing on legal compliance
Consider ‘cascade’ training

5. Training should be provided:

At induction
As a planned on-going process

6. The trainer should have:

Charisma
Credibility
Experience
Breadth of knowledge
Ability to engage and communicate

7. Qualifications and competencies

Those commissioning training should establish that trainers are appropriately qualified and competent.
Onus is on the trainer to demonstrate their competence.
Experience of training is insufficient of itself.

8. Understand the audience

Level of awareness
Literacy/language skills
Physical fitness
Establish if employees have pre-existing injuries

9. Training style

Make it relevant
Use a mixed approach to learning
Consider different learning styles
Include a practical element – ideally task specific practice
Equip workers to risk assess for themselves

10. The optimum group size

In relation to training, ideally 8 – 12 people
Too many people can lead to distractions
Too few people can result in poorer discussion quality

11. The ideal length of a manual handling course

A half day, up to one day
Include regular breaks – this aids concentration

12. Manual handling training should be viewed as an on-going process and be structured accordingly

Formal refresher components
At least every 12 months

13. Core content should cover:

Why Manual Handling matters
Statutory requirements
Anatomy and physiology
Care of the back
Handling principles
Hands on experience
Risk assessing situations
Dealing with problems

14. Aim to improve physical fitness (work hardening)

Evidence that physical fitness reduces injury
General strength training better than training specific muscle groups
Improved worker fitness also beneficial for morale

Presenteeism in the workforce

Mon, 16 Jun 2014 23:00:00 GMT

What is Presenteeism?

Presenteeism describes lost productivity that occurs when employees come to work but perform below par due to any kind of illness.

Why should I be concerned?

Presenteeism is a growing concern for employers and health professionals, having potentially catastrophic effects on both employee and organisational health, and presenting hidden long-term costs for employers.

It is estimated that presenteeism accounts for more than 80% of an employer’s total health care costs, potentially a larger drain on productivity than either absenteeism or short-term disability. An employee who arrives at work despite illness may only operate at a fraction of his or her normal capacity despite requiring the same expenditure in wages, social contributions and taxes as employees operating at 100%.

“Research even shows that presenteeism may even be a stronger predictor of health than absenteeism.”
Dr Zara Whysall, COPE Occupational Psychologist

Addressing Presenteeism

COPE recommends a three-staged approach for addressing presenteeism:

Assess the extent and potential causes of presenteeism
Design and implement interventions or strategies aimed at preventing or reducing presenteeism
Monitor and review

Our practitioners provide tailored evidence-based solutions for tackling presenteeism, which may include:

provision of personalised self-care guides for employees based on their symptoms and conditions
examination of absence management strategies, working time arrangements, and performance management systems
self-care training or health promotion activities for common presenteeism conditions
initiatives to tackle aspects of organisational culture (e.g. long-hours culture)

For further information on how COPE could help you to tackle presenteeism in your organisation, please contact us .

Cognitive Behavioural Techniques?

Mon, 16 Jun 2014 23:00:00 GMT

What are cognitive behavioural techniques?

Cognitive behavioural techniques are based on the understanding that our stress or anxiety levels are affected by both our thoughts and behaviours.

Our thoughts, assumptions and beliefs (cognition) affect how we feel (emotion) and what we do (behaviour), and vice versa.

The benefit of this approach is that we can change the way we think to feel / act better even if the situation does not change.

There are a number of common patterns of thinking, or “thinking errors” that can affect our feelings, behaviour and body reactions. Training to identify and challenge these ways of thinking can help to improve your stress or anxiety levels, associated behaviours and body reactions, and improve your resilience.

The Stage of Change Approach

Mon, 16 Jun 2014 23:00:00 GMT

Behaviour change is crucial to the effectiveness of all health and safety interventions. Behavioural approaches can provide the leverage for achieving more effective and sustainable changes.

The Stage of Change approach

The stage of change approach (Prochaska & DiClemente, 1982) – a theory of behaviour change from the field of psychology – predicts that health-related behaviour change involves movement through distinct stages, which determine the likely effectiveness of health interventions.

The stages are:

Pre-contemplation (not considering changing)
Contemplation (thinking about changing)
Preparation (making plans to change)
Action (in the process of changing)
Maintenance (working to prevent relapse and consolidate gains)

From theory to practice

COPE’s Senior Research Scientist and Occupational Psychologist, Dr Zara Whysall, along with Professors Roger and Cheryl Haslam at Loughborough University, has developed the Stage of Change approach to improve health in the workplace setting (Whysall et al., 2007).

Interventions that are tailored according to individuals’ stage are likely to be much more effective than “one-size-fits-all” programmes, by increasing the likelihood that changes will be implemented, adopted and maintained (Whysall et al., 2006).

References and further information

Prochaska, J.O., & DiClemente, C.C. (1982) . Transtheoretical therapy: toward a more integrative model of change.

Psychotherapy: Theory Research and Practice; 19, p276-288.

Whysall, Z.J., Haslam, C., & Haslam, R.A. (2007) . Developing the Stage of Change Approach for the reduction of Work-related Musculoskeletal Disorders.

Journal of Health Psychology; 12, p184-197.

Whysall, Z.J., Haslam, C., & Haslam, R.A. (2006) . A stage of change approach to reducing occupational ill health

Preventive Medicine; 43, p422-428.

Whysall, Z.J., Haslam, C., & Haslam, R.A. (2005) . A staged approach to reducing musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in the workplace,
Health & Safety Executive, RR379 HSE Books, Sudbury. p1-77

The changing nature of work and workforce

Mon, 16 Jun 2014 23:00:00 GMT

Whilst rates of ‘traditional’ occupational health problems continue to decline, those with a less clear biological cause, such as stress and musculoskeletal disorders remain on the rise.

Both the ways in which work is conducted, and the people that it is conducted by, are becoming increasingly diverse. For instance there is expected to be increased part-time working, increased use of flexible working patterns, continuing migration to the UK, more older people in work and more women in work.

Consequently, the role of psychology and human factors in occupational health and safety management has never been so important.

Did you know that;

Up to 80% of accidents are typically attributed to human error?
Stress is now the leading cause of days lost through sickness absence, resulting in around 10.5 million lost working days per year?

For advice on how to avoid and manage potential risks associated with changing workforces and working practices, and to help you to manage diversity effectively within your organisation, please contact us .

Five Fitness Facts

Tue, 13 May 2014 23:00:00 GMT

Five Fitness Facts To Improve Your Health

With the modern lifestyle of the long day at work, long commute and busy personanel life keeping fit is becoming harder and harder. There are some basic facts you can follow to ensure you increase your fitness.

Fact 1

The most important thing you can do for yourself is to achieve the most basic level of fitness.

Fact 2

It does not take much to be fit.

Fact 3

You do not have to have gym membership or have access to a personal trainer or carry out cross-training, you just need to walk regularly.

Fact 4

All it takes is a modest amount of regular walking – say 30 minutes a day, five times a week – to reap huge benefits not only for your physical health but your mental health as well.

What is more the 30 minutes of walking can be split up into three 10 minute sessions!

Fact 5

It is not what you weigh – it is where you wear it – so a bit of extra weight is not such a problem as long as if you are a man your waist does not measure more than 40 inches and if you are a woman your waist does not measure than 35 inches

Measuring your waist:

Measure your waist by wrapping a flexible measuring tape around the natural waist (in between the lowest rib and the top of the hip bone) or at the belly button.

Keep the tape parallel to the floor.