Health and Safety Executive

Table 4: Percentage of current workers who had ever experienced certain working conditions in 1995, by age and by sex

Working condition Percentage of current workers ever experiencing certain working conditions
Males Females All persons
16-44 45-64 Significant difference 16-44 45-64 Significant difference 16-44 45-64 Significant difference
Having too much to do (August 1995)* 62 57   53 57   57 57  
(56, 68) (49, 65)   (47, 59) (48, 67)   (53, 62) (51, 63)  
Having too much to do (October 1995)* 70 66   69 73   69 69  
(64, 75) (58, 74)   (63, 75) (65, 81)   (65, 73) (64, 75)  
Unable to choose or change the order of tasks or method of working 33 36   31 33   32 35  
(29, 37) (31, 42)   (27, 35) (26, 39)   (29, 35) (31, 39)  
Getting insufficient help and support from people in charge when needed 20 19   23 16 - 22 18  
(16, 23) (15, 24)   (20, 27) (11, 21)   (19, 24) (15, 22)  
Being exposed to breathing fumes, dusts and other harmful substances 45 46   18 21   32 35  
(41, 49) (40, 52)   (14, 21) (16, 27)   (29, 35) (31, 39)  
Requiring to handle or touch harmful substances or materials 36 30   19 18   27 25  
(32, 40) (25, 36)   (15, 22) (13, 23)   (25, 30) (21, 29)  
Involved in tasks resulting in ringing in ears or a temporary feeling of deafness 12 9   4 5   8 7  
(9, 14) (6, 12)   (3, 6) (2, 8)   (6, 10) (5, 10)  
Sitting or standing on a vibrating machine or in a vibrating vehicle 13 9   2 0.3   8 5  
(10, 16) (6, 13)   (1, 3) (0.008, 2)   (6, 9) (3, 7)  
Repeating the same sequence of movements many times 64 64   68 65   66 64  
(60, 68) (58, 69)   (64, 73) (58, 71)   (63, 69) (60, 68)  
Working in awkward or tiring positions 48 43   46 44   47 44  
(44, 52) (38, 49)   (42, 51) (38, 51)   (44, 50) (39, 48)  
Using appreciable force 39 29 - 23 18   31 24 -
(35, 43) (23, 34)   (19, 26) (13, 23)   (28, 34) (20, 28)  
Lifting or moving heavy loads 59 47 - 45 40   52 44 -
(55, 64) (41, 53)   (41, 50) (34, 47)   (49, 56) (40, 48)  
Twisting or stooping when lifting or moving heavy loads 82 91 + 79 87   81 89 +
(78, 87) (86, 96)   (74, 85) (80, 94)   (78, 84) (85, 93)  

Source: SWC95

Notes:

In the significant difference column, +/- indicates that the older current workers' rate is statistically significantly above/below the younger current workers' rate (p<0.05).

Figures in parentheses are upper and lower 95% confidence intervals for each percentage.

Refer to commentary for further information regarding this data source.

* A pooled estimate has not been shown as responses differed significantly between surveys.

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Updated 22.10.09