London - Even if you love your job, you may be unwittingly paying a high price in terms of your health. For while we all know that slumping over a computer is bad for our backs, there are many other subtle - and unexpected - factors of office life that can have a harmful effect.
A recent British study found that missing out on a promotion is bad for the heart. Here, we identify some of the other health risks of office life.
* Office lighting can drive you to drink
For much of the year we get up in the dark then spend much of the day inside in the relative gloom — particularly if an office has poor lighting or little natural light. This reduced exposure to natural daylight upsets the body clock, according to Professor Till Roenneberg, head of the Centre for Chronobiology at the University of Munich.
We need sunlight to wake us up and darkness to help us sleep — light changes trigger the production of melatonin, the hormone that prepares the body for sleep. Yet many of us miss out on these natural cues.
Using computer screens, iPads and smartphones — which all emit light — exacerbates the problem, say researchers from the University of California Los Angeles Sleep Disorders Centre. And because we sit with or hold these devices so close to our faces, staring directly into the light, the effect is amplified compared with, say, a TV across the room.
As a result we not only feel tired, but our metabolism suffers, too. And if your internal body clock is not in synch with real time, it increases the risk of being addicted to alcohol to calm down at night or cigarettes as a stimulant to stay alert during the day.
The melatonin effect may partly explain why shift workers — thought to account for around 20 percent of the workforce — suffer from poorer health.
For instance, a Danish study published recently in the British Journal of Cancer found women who worked nights were almost four times as likely to have breast cancer, possibly due to disruption of the body clock.
* Eating at your desk causes tummy bugs
The crumbs that accumulate on your desk and in your keyboard provide a perfect environment for bacteria and fungi to thrive, says Dr Ron Cutler, a micro- biologist at Queen Mary University of London.
The temperature in offices is typically around 20C, the point at which staphylococcus can breed, causing diarrhoea and vomiting — which is why leaving your sandwich on your desk all morning is also a risk.
“Meat or chicken in temperatures of more than 4c will start to see salmonella growing after two or three hours,” says Dr Peter Wilson, a microbiologist at University College London Hospitals.
Your risk of catching your colleagues’ bugs are also higher in an open-plan office, says Dr Cutler.
“If you are coughing and spluttering, do everyone a favour and go home. The particle matter in a sneeze can travel more than three metres in any direction.”
And the more people who share office equipment or desks, the greater the risk of catching a bug.
“Faecal contamination has been found in the office environment and on phones, so the more people use certain equipment, the more germs will be on it,” says Dr Cutler.
“That’s why it’s so important to wash your hands before eating.”
Staphylococcus and E.coli, which live in the nose and mouth, can be sprayed into phone receivers.
Meanwhile, lift buttons have been found to harbour more germs than loo seats, because they are cleaned less often.
Eating at your desk distracted by work means you can gulp and takein excess air when eating — raising the risk of flatulence and indigestion. Dietitian Dr Sarah Schenker recommends moving from your desk to eat — go outside in the fresh air, if possible.
“Even if you move only a few metres from your desk for five minutes, you have a better chance of being able to focus on and enjoy your food, so you should feel more satisfied — and are less likely to snack later,” she says.
It will boost your brain, too. Research shows people who take lunch breaks — at least 20 minutes away from technology — score higher on cognitive performance.
* Missed promotion puts the heart at risk
Getting passed over for a promotion is linked to heart disease, according to research from University College London. Scientists tracked the employment histories and health outcomes of 4,700 civil servants in London.
Those in departments with high rates of promotion were approximately 20 percent less likely to develop heart disease than those who weren’t. It’s largely down to a feeling of being in control (or not), says Daryl O’Connor, professor of health psychology at the University of Leeds. “If you feel you’ve put in a lot of effort and it has not been rewarded, this increases stress and, in turn, the risk of heart disease.”
Stress triggers the release of the hormone cortisol. “We need hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline to help us perform better,” says Dr Mark Hamer, an epidemiologist at University College London, who specialises in stress and cardiovascular disease.
“However, too much chronic activation over time may be related to hardening of the arteries, high blood pressure and low-grade inflammation.”
And when it comes to promotion, it’s relative status that’s important, not just being the big boss.
“It doesn’t matter where you are on the ladder, it’s where you think should be,” says Professor O’Connor.
“People who are unhappy in their job have elevated blood pressure readings even when not at work.”
* Smartphones can affect your memory
Research last month revealed the average employee effectively works a 12-hour day due to checking emails before and after work, for instance on their smartphone. But experts warn that mentally “clocking in” before leaving the house and struggling to switch off at home could be detrimental.
Constantly trying to force information into the brain overloads it, says Dr Nerina Ramlakhan, a sleep therapist at Capio Nightingale Hospital.
“Part of the brain — the short-term storehouse — doesn’t like to be busy all the time. It likes to have a chance to switch off, consolidate and file away things that we might need later on.
“If we try to force it to work all the time it shuts down anyway. As a result, we become stressed and our memory isn’t as good.”
* Sitting at work can trigger diabetes
The millions who sit at desks for hours on end before going home to sit in front of the TV are increasing their chances of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity and kidney disease, according to scientists from University of Missouri.
They claim sitting down for an extended time is as bad for health as smoking or over-exposure to the sun.
And rushing to the gym after work won’t necessarily undo the damage — research from the American Cancer Society has found it’s the length of time you spend sitting that can affect your risk of premature death, regardless of how much physical activity you get outside the office.
Prolonged sitting has an adverse influence on blood fats, cholesterol, blood sugar, resting blood pressure and the hunger-controlling hormone leptin.
Hot-desking — where different workers use a particular desk at different times — can be terrible for musculoskeletal health and energy levels. This is mainly because many of us don’t spend much time adjusting the furniture to our own requirements, says Nigel Heaton, a fellow at the Institute of Ergonomics.
“A workstation set up for a 6ft 3in man, for example, will be completely unsuitable for a woman a foot shorter and can result in a host of aches and pains.”
The use of laptops — which hot desking often encourages — increases the potential to slouch, placing pressure on the neck and lower back. And poor posture can make you feel tired, says osteopath Adam Dallison.
“Our muscles are the biggest energy consumers in the body; poor posture means they work overtime, which depletes energy,” he says.
Hot-desking also means you can’t personalise your desk — and scientists at the University of Exeter have found that allowing employees to display pictures and plants can boost wellbeing by 32 percent and their productivity by 15 percent. It’s thought this is because we feel more comfortable and so are more able to concentrate.
Plants also help protect us against stress. A US study measured the effects of plants on students performing a slightly stressful computer-based task.
The students’ reactions were 12 per cent quicker and their blood pressure lower in a lab with plants.
Meanwhile, researchers in Norway have found that the more plants employees had on the desks, the less sick leave they took. - Daily Mail