Is back pain bad for your business?
Published: 31 March 2016
Are you suffering at your desk? According to a new survey carried out by pain specialists Backpainhelp.com, three in 10 employees have taken time off work due to back ailments – and for some, work actually caused it!
The survey continued to state that 38 per cent of people in the UK claimed that work caused back or neck pain, and 31 per cent have called in sick because of it. What’s more, a further 35 per cent of those surveyed believed their employers should put measures in place to try and prevent back pain.
While manual workers have a high prevalence of back pain, the Backpainhelp.com survey also revealed that desk workers are suffering too, with 31 per cent saying their office workstations caused bad posture and back pain (a figure that went up to 41 per cent in the 25-34 year old age bracket) and 21 per cent in their home workstations.
The survey revealed that seven million people were sitting for nine hours or more a day, in spite of a sedentary lifestyle leading to back pain and other health risks. And worryingly, 45 per cent of those questions said they felt their pain wasn’t being taken seriously.
Mark Critchley, spokesperson for Backpainhelp.com, said: “Back-related absenteeism has long been an issue, but how many businesses are actually looking at the causes? Do they realise that in one in three instances, it is the work itself that’s actually the root of the problem?
“Over a third of people in our survey want their employer to take measures to improve their back health; it would be an investment that could help cut absenteeism and affect a business’s bottom line in the future, which can only be a positive thing.”
