What are your employees’ major health concerns?
Ever wonder what health issues most concern your employees? A new publication from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, contains a listing of "12 Concerns Employees Frequently Have About Workplace Health." Each question is accompanied by an answer intended to aid the employee in making the appropriate self-care decision. The 12 most commonly asked questions, according to the clinic, are:
1. Question: Can I work with low back pain?
Answer: The answer depends on the severity of the pain and your job function. In most cases, if you don’t have numbness or weakness in your legs and you aren’t having new problems with controlling your bowel or your bladder, the answer is "yes."
2. Question: Can I go to work with a cold?
Answer: If you have a common cold, the answer is generally "yes." The viruses that cause the common cold are usually spread by direct contact. If you have influenza or a more serious respiratory infection, you should not go to work.
3. Question: Can I go to work with strep throat?
Answer: It depends on how you feel. You can go back to work after you’ve been taking antibiotics for 24 hours. If you had a fever of more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit, wait until it has resolved.
4. Question: How long do I need to be off work after surgery?
Answer: Recovery time depends on how physically demanding your job is and what surgical procedure was performed. If your surgery was performed through a "scope," you may be able to return to an office job in one to two weeks. If you have large abdominal or chest surgical incisions and your job involves heavy lifting, you may need to be away from work for six weeks or more, or you may need to return with restricted activity.
5. Question: Are there some people who can’t do shift work?
Answer: Shift work may be undesirable for some people with certain medical conditions. For example, diabetics who use insulin may have difficulty balancing blood sugars, and some people with major depression may not be able to do shift work.
6. Question: Are there prescription medicines that might interfere with my work?
Answer: Yes. Some prescription and over-the-counter medications cause drowsiness or impair judgment. These include some cold medicines, some prescription pain killers, sleeping medicines, muscle relaxants, antidepressants, and medicines with "PM" added to the name.
7. Question: What are the risks of video display terminals (VDTs)?
Answer: Concerns include the potential risk of exposure to electrical and magnetic fields and radiation produced by screens of VDTs. To date, however, these risks appear to be insignificant.
8. Question: When can I return to work after a heart attack?
Answer: Some people are able to return to work in a week, whereas for others the recovery period is six weeks or longer, depending on the specific demands of the job. Discuss your job activities with your doctor, who may order a stress test to determine how well your heart functions under physical demands.
9. Question: Can I work with pink eye?
Answer: In theory, you should be able to got to work if you wash your hands frequently and keep them away from your face in order to minimize spread of the germ. Talk with your manager about alternative activities at which your risk of infecting others is less.
10. Question: Are there jobs I shouldn’t do when I’m pregnant?
Answer: Yes, but not many. If you are concerned about your pregnancy in the work environment, talk with your manager and your doctor.
11. Question: What are the signs of burnout?
Answer: The most common symptoms are overwhelming frustration and indifference toward your job, persistent irritability, anger, sarcasm and a quickness to argue.
12. Question: How can I find out more about workplace health and safety?
Answer: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) offers free booklets and fact sheets. Contact the OSHA Publications Office, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, room N301, Washington, DC 20210. Internet address: http://www.osha.gov.
[Editor’s Note: Excerpted from Mayo HealthQuest Guide to Self-Care, a new book published by Mayo Clinic. For more information, call (800) 430-9699.]
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