Go Home Healthy campaign launched

The research also found more than two-fifths of businesses are reporting a rise in cases of long-term ill-health with the majority (80%) stating tackling this growing problem is a priority within their organisation.

This news comes as HSE figures show that work-related ill-health is costing the economy more than £9bn with 26 million working days being lost, making it a priority for HSE, as the Government’s chief occupational health adviser.

The views of 300 major business leaders were sought and 40% of respondents said their industry was not doing enough to raise awareness and tackle the causes of long-term work-related ill-health.

The findings were revealed as HSE announced its new national campaign – ‘Go Home Healthy’. The campaign aims to reduce cases of work-related ill-health by shining a light on the causes and encouraging employers to do the right thing to protect their workers’ health.

Speaking after the campaign launch, Minister of State for Disabled People, Health and Work, Penny Mordaunt said: “Everyone should want to have a healthy and safe environment at work. Work-related ill-health is a costly issue for individuals, businesses, and the whole economy. This campaign will encourage employers to operate healthier workplaces and ensure workers get the support that they need.”

Commenting on the findings, HSE’s chair Martin Temple, said: “The survey findings confirmed what we already suspected – more needs to be done to tackle work-related ill-health.

“Over the years, figures show that as workplace safety has improved, health has stagnated. The ‘Go Home Healthy’ campaign is about driving behavioural change in workplaces so we all can go home healthy. There is a moral, legal, and business case for employers to do the right thing by their workers. The importance of more joined-up thinking across industries when it comes to tackling work-related ill-health cannot be overstated.”

More information on the campaign can be found here: www.hse.gov.uk/gohomehealthy

Three focus areas

"Go Home Healthy" is aimed at a wide audience, from employers, managers and employees, to industry sector bodies, and aims to spread an overarching message that leads to specific guidance and information on the HSE's three priority areas:

• occupational lung disease;
• musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs); and
• work-related stress.

MSD – Manual handling

Manual handling relates to the moving of items either by lifting, lowering, carrying, pushing or pulling. The weight of the item is an important factor, but many other factors can create a risk of injury, for example the number of times you have to pick up or carry an item, the distance you are carrying it, where you are picking it up from or putting it down (picking it up from the floor, putting it on a shelf above shoulder level) and any twisting, bending, stretching or other awkward posture you may adopt while doing a task.

Manual handling injuries are part of a wider group of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). The term ‘musculoskeletal disorders’ covers any injury, damage or disorder of the joints or other tissues in the upper/lower limbs or the back. Statistics from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) indicate that MSD cases, including those caused by manual handling, account for more than a third of all work-related illnesses reported each year to the enforcing authorities.

There is evidence that, as well as manual handling, heavy manual labour, awkward postures and a recent or existing injury are all risk factors in the development of MSDs. The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 (MHOR) require employers to manage the risks to their employees. 

They must:

• Avoid hazardous manual handling operations so far as is reasonably practicable, by redesigning the task to avoid moving the load or by automating or mechanising the process.
• Make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risk of injury from any hazardous manual handling operations that cannot be avoided.
• Reduce the risk of injury from those operations so far as is reasonably practicable. Where possible, provide mechanical assistance, for example, a sack trolley or hoist. Where this is not reasonably practicable then explore changes to the task, the load and the working environment.

Medical and scientific knowledge stress the importance of an ergonomic approach to look at manual handling as a whole, taking into account the nature of the task, the load and the working environment, and requiring worker participation.

Work-related stress

One in four people in the UK will have a mental health problem at some point. While mental health problems are common, most are mild. Common mental health problems (CMHPs) tend to be short-term and are normally successfully treated, with medication, by a GP.

Mental health is about how we think, feel and behave.

Anxiety is feeling worried, uneasy or fearful a lot of the time. Some people find it hard to control their worries; their feelings of anxiety are more constant and often affect their daily lives. Anxiety can have both psychological and physical symptoms.

Depression is more than simply feeling unhappy or fed up for a few days – it is when you feel persistently sad for weeks or months. It affects people in different ways and can cause a wide variety of symptoms ranging from lasting feelings of unhappiness and hopelessness, to losing interest in the things you used to enjoy and feeling very tearful. There can be physical symptoms too, such as feeling constantly tired, sleeping badly, having no appetite or sex drive, and various aches and pains. Many people with depression also have symptoms of anxiety.

Anxiety and depression are the most common mental health problems. Often they are a reaction to a difficult life event, such as bereavement.

Work-related stress and CMHPs often go together – the symptoms of stress and CMHPs are similar. For example loss of appetite, fatigue and tearfulness can be symptoms of both.

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