A recent study has revealed that the health risks of being out of work are equivalent to smoking ten packets of cigarettes a day
A stuntman who goes back to work after an accident has better long—term heath prospects than one who doesn’t. So has a nurse, a construction worker or a computer technician.
“The health consequences of being out of the workforce are far greater than many other long-term diseases and they’re certainly greater than working in a dangerous industry,” said Mary Wyatt.
The Melbourne occupational physician has just completed a major study for The Royal Australian College of Physicians looking at the ramifications of a trend that has seen more and more Australians claiming a disability pension rather than going back to work after an accident or illness.
Since 2001 there has been a 70—per—cent increase in requests for sickness certificates that entitle the holder to welfare payments.
“Even the risk to the health of the kids of people out of work goes up significantly,” Ms. Wyatt said. “The risk of suicide, especially among males, goes up.” She estimated that the health risks of being out of work are the equivalent of smoking ten packets of cigarettes a day.
“It sounds ridiculous but that’s the reality,” Ms. Wyatt said.
“Marriages break-up, people end up in quite awful situations.” Part of the problem is that doctors sign certificates knowing that the recipient could work if he or she wanted to.
The Centre for Independent Studies estimates that half the 670,000 people now claiming a disability support pension (DSP) are capable of working. The number of work—age adults claiming the DSP has doubled to 5 per cent of the workforce in the past 20 years.
Why are so many claiming that musculoskeletal disorders — most commonly, bad backs — are preventing them going back to work? And why are doctors letting them when the best interests of their patients would be served by a swift return to work? The questions are particularly apposite in Australia because, with the unemployment rate at 5 per cent, it has rarely been easier to find work.
“A lot of it is attitudinal,” Ms. Wyatt said. “It’s not understood by medical practitioners and the general community that if you stay out of the workforce your health gets worse. There’s often a sense that there’s nothing really wrong with a bit of time off work — we all take holidays — but if the person is off work for a month or two the chances of them going back to work goes down dramatically.” The study — Realising the Health Benefits of Work — found that those who took a couple of months off after illness or injury found it difficult to get back into the workforce.
“A bunch of things coalesce,” Ms. Wyatt said. “You get out of the routine of going to work and people get to expect that the system will get them back into work

source: hindu