It appears that physical labor tends to decrease our life expectancy. Occupations that are higher in professionalism seem to have a beneficial effect on the body because they cause less physical stress. Occupations with less stress tend to have a more positive impact on one’s overall well-being than those jobs filled with stress and anxiety.
Even though the available data has several variables to consider when determining how a job affects health, the evidence heavily points to a longer life expectancy for those who have more skilled and secure career positions. Therefore, the more positive effect an occupation has on the worker, the longer the lifespan of that worker. Variables such as job hazards, gender, and country also impact one’s lifespan.
Occupations that Cause Fatalities
Gizmodo’s journalist Keith Verones claims that incidents of people dying while engaged in work happens to every 3.5 out of 100 people at work—regardless of what industry they work for. For jobs known to pose safety hazards (such as construction, truck driving and law enforcement), that number goes up to five times as much per 100 people. For instance, those who drive trucks will make up 25% of the year’s on-the-job fatalities in the US. Thus, it seems that people engaged in occupations posing a greater danger and requiring more work hours per day tend to die while on-the-job compared to people not in those type of positions.
The numbers don’t get any better for those who do fishing and logging. According to Verones, 118 out of 100,000 fishermen die each year while on the job, and 90 out of 100,000 loggers die each year while on the job. Therefore, a person working within one of these occupations for at least five years can anticipate that one person they know will die in an accident at work, and many co-workers will become disabled from workplace accidents
The Difference Between the Life Expectancy of Skilled and Unskilled Workers
Surprisingly enough, there is not a significant difference between the longevity of skilled and unskilled laborers. Although skilled laborers tend to have better healthcare, dietary choices and chances to relax, the life expectancy discrepancy is only seven years. So, a skilled female professional can expect to live as long as 85 years as compared to the 78 years of an unskilled female worker. The skilled male professional can expect to live as long as 80 years old as compared to 73 years for the unskilled worker.
Read the full article here: Jobs That Kill: What is the deadliest profession?