Occupational Health: What is it? How does it benefit the company?

  • Jul 26, 2021
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According to World Health Organization (WHO), occupational health is a multidisciplinary activity that consists of carrying out preventive measures to take care of the health and well-being of all workers. This includes illnesses, accidents and other factors that directly endanger the life, safety and health of people.

The main objective of this activity is to promote and generate a healthy and safe work environment. Its application emphasizes the creation of organizational systems that favor a positive climate within an organization, achieving greater efficiency and optimization of the productivity of each company.

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In the words of the Dr. Frederick Vintinner: “Occupational health has been defined as the science and art of preserving health through recognition, evaluation and control of environmental causes, which originate diseases in the industry".

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In this article you will find:

  1. Occupational health functions
  2. Causes of occupational health
  3. Work Safety Guide

1.- Occupational health functions

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Although each country has its own legislation, there are certain functions that are basic and of general application:

  • Identification and evaluation of any type of risk that affects the work
  • Analysis of factors related to the work environment and whether any practice carried out may harm the health or well-being of workers
  • Advice on health, safety and hygiene and ergonomics

2.- Causes of occupational health

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Some examples can be: fractures, cuts, problems caused by constant noise in the work, blindness, breathing difficulties and any illness caused by radiation exposure wave exposure to bacteria in health centers.

Therefore, the workplace must necessarily have adequate conditions to provide health and safety to all workers. In order to reduce the risk of these problems, future illnesses or accidents must be prevented.

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2.- Creating a healthy work environment

The foundation of any successful job is encouraging employees to identify opportunities for improvement. For it, the employer must implement incentives (economic and non-economic) that promote a healthy life in the work ecosystem.

Since health is a state of complete mental and social well-being, a healthy work environment is one where there is a set of physical activities that promote health. María José Hernández, editor of the Health section of FITFORBEACH, highlights that improving the physical condition of employees is essential and for this there are simple exercise routines that allow maintaining a healthy weight. '' Basically, it's daily sequences of calf raises, squats four to six sets of repetitions and triceps exercises that can be performed in the same cubicle of the employee. During the working day, it is also essential to take active breaks, since these contribute to joint mobility, stretching and relaxation of the muscles ”.

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