We all know that if you don’t like your job, you can become stressed, unhappy and you find yourself in a situation that is bad for your health. But are all jobs that bad? It looks like some jobs are worse for your health than others. Here are 23 jobs that are bad for health.
Street Cleaners
They don’t look like they have the most dangerous job in the world but this one can be really bad for your health. Working beside traffic all day can be tough on the lungs and if they aren’t careful, they run the risk of being hit by a passing vehicle. Besides, picking up everyone’s mess all day must be depressing too!
Construction Workers
It’s not surprising that construction workers have one of the most dangerous jobs that can damage your health. Everyday these workers run the risk of injury and even death doing their jobs.
Protective equipment can only do so much to safeguard someone’s health and every year workers die from injuries, go deaf or blind, or die from poisoning.
Power Line Technicians
Having to work with a few million volts shooting through a power line must be very exciting! But even if you can stand the excitement of being electrocuted, you probably won’t survive being electrocuted. A lot of power lines can be found up high on poles so there is a chance of falling and hurting yourself.
Healthcare Workers
Doctors, nurses, and anyone else who has to work with keeping you healthy is putting their own health at risk. The human body is pretty gross at the best of times and a million times worse when it is sick or not working right! The spread of disease from sneezes, blood and urine are enough to make you think twice about joining the ranks.
Vets
Vets are doctors and nurses for animals so it’s not surprising that their job is bad for their health. Vets have the same risks as human doctors with diseases and bodily functions but they have the added bonus of their patients biting and attacking them. Human doctors don’t generally have this problem.
Carpenters
You would imagine that working with wood and creating something of beauty would be a safe job. Not on your nelly! Carpenters run the risk of losing fingers or limbs on the different machines that they work with. Drill and saws make sawdust and without the proper safety equipment, this can cause lung irritation and damage the eye lens.
Drivers
Anyone who chooses to get into a vehicle instantly puts their health at risk. Let’s face it, there are plenty of idiot drivers on the road. If one of those guys doesn’t kill you, the heart attack from road rage might. Sitting for long periods of time is bad for your circulation, leads to obesity and can cause back problems.
Bike Couriers
You would think that riding a bike all day would be good for your health but it turns out it can be the opposite. Men who work as bike couriers have a reduced chance of having children because the seat can cause problems for their swimmers. Zipping around a city all day can irritate the lungs with exhaust fumes from traffic. And then there is the traffic itself.
Miners
If you work as a miner you will need more than a canary to help protect your health. Gas leaks and dust from cutting away at rock can be very dangerous for your health. Miners also run the risk of death from explosions and cave-ins if a mine is unstable. And then there are those big machines that are used too.
Farmers
Country air, beautiful scenery, the smell of your crops. Being a farmer sounds idyllic in theory but it is one of the most stressful jobs in the planet, and all that stress can lead to a heart attack or stroke.
One of the most dangerous factors is the chemicals used in farming which can easily poison someone. Makes you think twice about eating organic, doesn’t it?
Firefighters
When stuff goes on fire there is a good chance that it will give off toxic smoke. The person most likely to breathe it in is your local firefighting crew. Although firefighters have the proper breathing equipment to protect their lungs, it doesn’t mean that they use it. We suppose that the thought of keeping your lungs nice and pink is the last thing on your mind when your deal with burning buildings every day.
Police Officers
The police service has to deal with a lot of different dangers. First of all, they might get shot or stabbed. Then they have the psychologic problems that come with dealing with criminals on a regular basis. Stress and the physical demands of the job can add up and leave officers with some really bad health problems later in life.
Extraction Workers
These guys have a bad enough job as it is. Every day they have to sort through other peoples mess and are exposed to harmful chemicals or infectious diseases. It was estimated that around 35,000 out of 100,000 extraction workers take seriously ill every year, that’s around 35% of the work force!
Nuclear Technicians
When your job is to deal with radioactive materials it’s not a surprise that you can put your health at risk. Even with the most modern protection suits there is always a chance of a leak or exposure to nuclear waste. One of the biggest risks of this job is cancer from long term exposure or radiation burns.
Pilot
Could you imagine having the lives of hundreds of people resting on your shoulders every day? Neither can we, but that is the sort of stress levels that pilots deal with. Watching all of those controls doesn’t give them a chance to stretch their legs much either which is bad for blood flow around the body.
Lab Technicians
When you have a blood test done or are asked to pee in a jar by your doctor, there is a group of people that have to poke through your bodily fluids to see what is wrong with you. Lab technicians can put their health in real danger by being exposed to diseases and all sorts of nasty bodily fluids.
Logging Workers
When you are working with trees and your job is to cut them down, it is definitely bad for your health. Apart from cutting down the trees that make oxygen for the planet, loggers have to deal with Mother Nature fighting back! When a tree is falling you had better get out of the way otherwise it is death or permanent disability in your future.
Roofers
When your job is to climb about rooftops everyday there is always a chance it will impact your health. Probably by you impacting on the pavement below. Falls are the biggest danger to a roofer’s health but there is also sunburn, frostbite, and poisoning from chemicals.
Custom Officers
It might be a thankless job but it can be dangerous to your health too. Every day, custom officers run the risk of being exposed to chemicals, poisons and drugs that people try to sneak in or out of the country. The x ray and scanning equipment that they use can give off radiation and be damaging to their health.
Podiatrists
If you aren’t familiar with what a podiatrist is, it is a foot doctor. Feet are the area of the body that hold the most bacteria and disease. They are also the area that has its own list of problems! Exposure to different foot diseases is bad enough but they also spend a good part of the day sitting down.
Writers
Writers are in a unique position because they can pick and choose what they do. They get to follow their muse and write whatever their heart desires. They can also starve to death if this is their attitude. Writers are often stressed with deadlines, low pay and little creative wriggle room.
Archaeologists
It doesn’t seem like a dangerous job for your health but our mothers always told us that digging in the mud all day was bad for you. Digging up ancient artifacts can be stressful and not the cleanest of jobs. Opened ancient tombs that have been sealed for centuries can have unknown chemicals and contaminants can poison or kill a budding Indiana Jones.
Water Treatment Workers
Did you know that everything you flush down the toilet has to go somewhere? Most of the time it goes to a water treatment plant to be cleaned and the poor guys at the water board have to deal it. You know why this job is bad for your health. We shall say no more.
