‘Shortsighted’ companies failing to protect workers’ eyesight
Wednesday, 9th June 2010
British businesses have been accused of not taking adequate measures to protect their staff’s eyesight.
National charity, the Eyecare Trust, along with healthcare provider, Simplyhealth, has suggested that 89% of the country’s businesses are not meeting the minimum legal safety standards.
As many modern office jobs involve long periods in front of a computer, 90% of workers questioned by Eyecare Trust said they regularly suffered from ‘screen fatigue’, resulting in headaches, sore or tired eyes, impaired colour perception and blurred vision.
Office workers spend an estimated 128,740 hours staring at a screen during their working lifetime but the ‘ScreenSmart’ study found that approximately one in ten companies have no eye care policy at all.
Small businesses, those with fewer than ten people, were particularly targeted by the charities, with one in five making absolutely no provision for eye care.
Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations were introduced in 1992 to help reduce the stress on workers, requiring all employers to care for the eye health of staff who regularly use a computer for long periods of time. The legislation details measures as well as penalties for failing to comply.
Commenting on the results of the study, James Glover from Simplyhealth said:
“Our research suggests that some employers’ failure to safeguard employees’ eye health and comply with current regulations is due to a lack of understanding that this legislation exists.”
Approximately £1.5bn a year is lost on absenteeism and decreased productivity from eye-related illness. UK businesses should take note of these findings and implement measures to safeguard their staff’s eyesight for the future.
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