People working in the financial services sector have an unhealthier lifestyle compared to other white collar professionals though it was found to be healthier to blue collar workers.
People working in the financial services sector have an unhealthier lifestyle compared to other white collar professionals though this lifestyle was found to be healthier to blue collar workers. According to workplace safety regulator WorkSafe Victoria, they have high blood pressure and cholesterol levels and are more at risk of developing diabetes and having heart attacks.
WorkSafe Victoria released an analysis by Monash University of the results of more than 400,000 "WorkHealth" checks conducted over the last three years.
It compared the results of 13,926 employees in the financial services sector to the results of 57,490 workers in the professional, scientific and technical services industry, which includes doctors, lawyers, engineers and academics.
The comparison between the similar sectors revealed that workers in financial services had a 13 percent greater chance of smoking and an eight per cent greater chance of drinking alcohol at risky levels.
Women smoked more, but men were worse than women across most risk factors.
Overall, 24.6 percent of men and 11.3 percent of women tested in the financial services industry were found to have a high risk for developing type-2 diabetes.
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The long hours worked could limit access to healthy food and promote the consumption of junk food.
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Kayler-Thomson also said that crucial things for businesses such as reducing absenteeism, boosting productivity and attracting motivated, committed staff were all linked to the health of workers.
The results of the study indicated that in the financial services industry 96.7 percent of men and 92.5 percent of women don't eat enough fruit and vegetables, 70.2 percent of men and 72.5 percent of women don't exercise enough, and men are more likely to have a high cardiovascular risk score.
It also concluded that one in four men and one in five women have high to very high blood glucose levels, 29.8 percent of men have high blood pressure as compared with 13.5 percent of women, and 26.3 percent of men and 26.9 percent of women have a total cholesterol level above the normal range.
Source-ANI