Mobile device enslavement a plague on British workers' health
After-hours fondling threatens office bods
Posted in Management, 19th June 2012 10:24 GMT
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British workers are ruining their health by fondling slabs and touching screens after the work day is done, the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy said.
UK office monkeys are slaving away well into the night on their tablets and smartphones to try to take the pressure off during their actual working hours, doing an average of two hours and 18 minutes of extra work a night on top of their six- to seven-hour days.
Londoners were the least able to switch off, usually spending two hours 50 minutes on their mobile devices after they left the office, though that could have as much to do with how much time they have to spend commuting as anything else, but folks across the country are having a hard time detaching from the office.
Around half of office workers polled by the physios said their out-of-hours work had increased in the last two years and the main reasons they found themselves glued to their screens were to try to ease the pressure of the working day or just plain having too much work to do.
“The results of this survey are a huge concern to physiotherapists, who see the consequences of poor posture and bad working practices each day," Dr Helena Johnson, chair of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, said.
“While doing a bit of extra work at home may seem like a good short-term fix, if it becomes a regular part of your evening routine then it can lead to problems such as back and neck problems, as well as stress-related illness. This is especially the case if you’re using handheld devices and not thinking about your posture."
The poll found that around two-thirds of office workers were already feeling the consequences of enslavement to their mobiles, reporting job-related ill health such as headaches and back pain.
The poll, done across the country and broken down into regions, is part of the society's efforts to get employers to consider their staff's health with a Workout at Work Day, which will attempt to encourage better working habits. ®
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COMMENTS
Sir
"try to take the pressure off during their actual working hours"
I know there are pressures to get more and more done, but really, how would the company feel if you started claiming money for time you hadn't actually worked? Well, guess what? It works the other way round too.
You turn up to work on time, you perform your job to the best of your ability in the time that you are paid for, then you go home. Anything else is extra.
If you have been set targets that are not achievable without working extra hours unpaid these are not SMART targets (little buzzword there for the managers).
Seriously though, people need to start taking control of their time a bit more and have a slightly smaller slave mentality. Not always easy granted, but it something to aim for.
Re: Sir
The current economic climate makes people feel they have to go the extra yards to keep their job
The reduction of red tape in dismissing staff enforces this
The government are twunts
Current economic climate can suck my plumbs
I decided a few months ago, that my work issued Blackberry gets a battery pull when I leave the office (only cause Blackberry doesn't seem to have an adequate off button). People spend enough time at work, they shouldn't have to sacrifice their home and families lives just to line someone else's pockets. Most often enough, companies who need workers working extra unpaid hours have a overpaid and under-skilled management structure.
When at work you give 100% so I can't see how my company or any company can incite fear in staff that if they don't hit unachievable targets then their out of a job, fear and uncertainty is not a good motivator and is counter productive. It would probably cost more to hire more staff and have a constant turnover due to retarded absent minded middle managers and above setting unachievable targets.
If any company wants more work out of you, they need to pay more be it in cash or shares but no one gets a free ride in my book!
</rant over>
Re: Sir
"The current economic climate makes people feel they have to go the extra yards to keep their job"
A situation made worse by colleagues who buckle under the pressure - it makes anyone who stands up for themselves a target - which is clearly wrong. People need to grow a backbone*
If you are worried that you are being bullied out of a job because you won't perform these extra duties, make a faily record of your conversations - time, who with and general context - plus how the conversation made you feel. One or two won't make a difference, but if you have a couple of months worth of information and you get sacked for what you feel is pressure to work without recompense then you will stand a much better chance at the unfair dismissal tribunal.
People need to take a defensive stance against this kind of pressure otherwise they will end up in an early grave - and don't expect the company to be sympathetic either.
*Easy for me to say because I don't have kids and work contracts rather than permie jobs - but then again I did lose a job (and quite a bit of health) over a matter of principle so I am qualified to have an opinion at least.
Um... please can you repost - it's just that I'm having trouble grokking your post as a whole.
I did hear a report on the traffic crossing story on R4's PM, but can't grasp the link to childcare, the BBC or to working hours.
Cheers!
Looking at the video you linked to, it seems that the timing of the crossing is fine, but that the drivers don't know their highway code (amber flashing lights are a sign that a car can proceed ONLY if there is no pedestrian on the crossing... the lady makes it safely across whilst the lights are still flashing orange. 'Driving without due care and consideration for other road users' is what these cars are doing *) This BBC report does nothing to re-educate drivers of the Highway Code as it relates to pedestrian crossings. So much for 'inform, educate and entertain'.
*just like people cruising in the middle lane of the motorway, driving up your rear bumper, driving too slowly for the road without pulling over occasionally, and driving a silver car in the rain or mist without their side lights on...
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