|
Workers under 25 years of age are a population at high risk, who are much more exposed to physical and organizational constraints than older workers. This is one of the findings of a study on Quebec workers' working, health and safety conditions, recently published by the Canadian HSW research body Institut de recherche Robert-Sauvé en santé et en sécurité du travail (IRSST). The authors analysed the data of the 1998 Health and Social Survey conducted by the Institut de la statistique du Québec (Quebec Statistical Office) among 11 000 workers.
The researchers looked closely at Quebec workers’ exposure to a set of eleven physical and organisational constraints. Their findings are particularly worrying about young workers, only a quarter of whom face none of the constraints studied, compared to 40% of workers aged 25 and over.
The figures show that irregular working hours are more common among young workers (35%), levelling-off at around 30% after age 35. Night working is also more prevalent among workers under 35 years of age (13-14%), but decreases thereafter to a level that holds steady up to retirement (8%).
Workers in the 15-24 age group have the highest frequency of exposure to physical constraints, particularly the three most widespread in the work environment - repetitive work, handling of heavy loads and strain from using tools or machinery.
Young people are also more - though not quite so badly - exposed to vibrating handtools, solvents and wood dust. Only loud noise and whole-body vibration predominate among workers in the 25-34 bracket.
The survey reveals that young people are also most affected by combinations of exposures to constraints. More than 15% of workers aged 15-24 combine at least four work constraints, a percentage that falls below 10% for workers aged 45 and over.
On psychosocial risks, the study finds that young workers aged 15-24 are in the group reporting the highest levels of psychological distress since 1998.
27% of female and 18% of male workers aged 15-29 reported a high level of psychological distress, compared to an all-age-group average of 23% for women and 16% for men.
|
