Special Report: Accident claims and workplace safety: how to stay healthy in your career

With the amount of young talent and graduates around, the job market is more competitive than ever before. As employers seek to harness the potential of the younger generation (people who have grown up in a digital age) the challenge for more senior workers has grown immeasurably.

Maintaining and developing your career one you reach a certain age requires dedication, diligence and the ability to adapt and evolve with the times. If you have done this, you deserve a lot of credit.

However, the sharks are still circling, and if you want to keep the position that you have worked hard for then you have to be wary. This refers to your professionalism as well as your health and general fitness.

Professionalism

The first thing to remember about staying healthy in your career is that your emotional or psychological health will be just as important as your physical condition. If you no longer enjoy your job or feel devalued then this can increase stress levels. Seeing as stress was a major contributor to workplace illnesses in 2011/2012 (accounting for 40% of all reported work-related illnesses) it is important that you address this is soon as possible. This may simply mean maintaining a professional, positive attitude or looking for new avenues for you to investigate within your current role.

Health and Safety

After your professional attitude and emotional wellbeing, you must then consider your physical health. Your employer has a duty of care to protect you, whatever your age, and this means making sure appropriate health and safety procedures are adopted.

If you have suffered a personal injury whilst at work then it’s important you establish the cause of it. These sorts of injuries can put you out of work for a considerable time and have long term consequences so if you’re not to blame then it’s important you seek compensation via accident claims with a reputable legal firm like the Co-Op.

They can help you understand what you are entitled to and whether you have a solid case for any accident claims before you proceed with your case. While it is important that you keep your employer informed of any changes to your health or physical fitness as you age, they are still obliged to make adequate provisions where safety equipment and protocols are involved in order to protect you.

You should also remember that any unfair treatment or dismissal associated with your age could be grounds for unfair dismissal or workplace discrimination. It is important that this sort of behaviour is stamped out early on so never be afraid to speak up if you feel you are being unfairly represented or undervalued.