Thursday, October 29, 2009
Health of the American worker declining: report
The health of the American worker is on the decline, according to a report from the New York-based Families and Work Institute.
As part of the study (.pdf file), researchers used data gathered from 1977 to 2008 in FWI's 2008 National Study of the Changing Workforce, and found only 28 percent of workers reported their overall health was "excellent" today, compared with 34 percent six years ago.
The study also found:
- 41 percent of workers reported experiencing stress "often" or "very often"
- One-third experienced symptoms of clinical depression
- 21 percent were being treated for high blood pressure; 14 percent for high cholesterol
- 49 percent do not engage in regular physical exercise; 22 percent engage in no rigorous exercise at all
In addition, the report found 8 percent of workers remain wholly uninsured. People working low-wage jobs were less likely to be offered insurance through their employer and were less likely to receive at least five paid sick days. Both workplace productivity and health were found to be positively impacted by workers being offered paid sick and vacation time.