Worrying problem among citizens across the country
Sore back, a sprained wrist, lung cancer and mental illness.
A bad or harmful working environment can have serious consequences for the individual, and overall it also strives for society financially.
One New report from the National Research Center for Work Environment (NFA) shows that work -related accidents and illnesses each year cost the community around DKK 50 billion.
– Our research provides an insight into the overall socio -economic costs when employees are affected by an accident or illness due to work. The results give an idea of the potential of creating improvements to the working environment in Denmark, says Kristian Schultz Hansen, a professor at the research department Work Environment Economics at NFA, in one press release.
He stands with analyst Andreas Krabbe Thommesen, economist Brian Krogh Graversen and head of research and analysis Joachim Lynggaard Boll behind the new report.
Both direct and indirect cost
The new report looks at the cost of accidents and illnesses that can come from a poor working environment. The analysis is based on official data from 2019 for reported work accidents and occupational diseases in Denmark as well as estimates for some diseases such as cancer.
Costs include direct costs for, for example, health care and indirect costs in the form of, for example, reduced productivity and lost ability to handle daily tasks at home. In addition, loss of quality of life in the form of fewer years of life and poorer health.
– If an employee is affected by illness, it can – especially if it is a chronic illness – have long -term consequences for production, quality of life and the ability to handle daily chores such as cooking, cleaning and shopping, says Kristian Schultz Hansen.
First estimate of Danish costs
The analysis is the first attempt to calculate the total socio -economic costs of poor working environment in Denmark.
The calculations are based on a calculation method developed by the European Work Environment Agency (EU-OSHA) as well as the best available data. However, there is always some uncertainty in economic models, which is common in this type of research.
– We want to further develop the methods and the data base in the coming years, so that we can get even more solid numbers. And we also want to look at several years after 2019. The purpose of our research is to contribute to a better understanding of how the quality of the working environment- whether it is good or bad- has an impact on the social economy, says Joachim Lynggaard Boll, Head of Research and Analysis for the Work Environment Economics Department at NFA.
Over half are diseases
During the period investigated, it is estimated that there were 42,635 work -related accidents, 36 of which were fatal accidents. The most common injuries after work accidents were twisting, sprains, wounds and broken bones.
In addition, there were 43,245 work -related cases of illness, where 1,733 of them led to death. Here, among other things, pain in the muscles and joints, mental illnesses and cancer and lung diseases were most prevalent.
– For example, damage can be a sprained ankle in the warehouse, a broken arm on the construction site or a cut in the kitchen. For example, work -related diseases can be back pain after years of physical work, stress due to high work pressure or lung cancer after being exposed to dangerous drugs, says Kristian Schultz Hansen.
