Years ago, I had an Accounting supervisor who would spend late nights sitting at the job working. She would spend over fifty hours, especially during month-end, a week knocking out tasks for the department and company. After about a year of working alongside her, she got sick. Her health was in jeopardy because of the lack of eating, which was caused by overworking herself. Sometimes we all get into the hustle and bustle of our jobs and don’t realize that work is making us sick. From ergonomic issues to heart disease, internal and external illnesses do form from your workplace. Buzz360 recently produced a segment that acknowledges this issue. In the video, it is explained that our job could be killing us slowly. Reporter Gillian Pensavalle mentions that, according to the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (JOEM), one hour of extra work runs the risk of individuals getting cardio vascular disease. In the JOEM report, a 55-hour week saw a 16 percent risk of heart disease. A 60-hour work week saw an even higher risk of heart disease. Although Pensavalle says that the JOEM study do not say why this is true, but researchers believe that working longer hours isn’t overall good for you. It may be difficult to ask the boss for shorter work hours, but if you do, make sure you approach the subject professionally. Be equipped with any doctor’s prescribed orders and/or documented reasons why there may be a need to telecommute or work less hours. If you are suffering from ergonomic ailments, ask your boss if you can get a new work chair, keyboard or mouse, and computer screen that will help minimalize bad eyesight. These are just a few suggestions that can make your daily work routine less critical.
