Home > News > November 2004 > 29-Nov-2004

Work is making us hoarse says TUC

With winter, the season for coughs and colds fast approaching, a new TUC report is warning that the combination of bugs and germs, dry, centrally-heated offices and jobs that place a strain on employees' vocal chords could prove disastrous for the millions of UK workers who rely on their voices to do their jobs.

‘Work hoarse', which appears in the latest issue of the TUC-backed health and safety magazine ‘Hazards', says that teachers and call centre workers are the groups of workers most likely to be suffering a silent blight at this time of year. Figures from the US suggest that as many as five million workers in the UK could be routinely affected by voice loss, at annual cost to the economy of over £200 million.

In any one year around one in five teachers has to miss school due to voice-related problems, around five times the rate for the UK workforce as a whole. And in recent years, the call centre industry has grown massively, with around a million employees now at risk of occupational voice loss. The Royal College of Speech and Language has reported increasing numbers of call centre workers being referred to speech therapists, blaming their voice loss on over-long scripts, long hours and few opportunities to take a break for a drink of water.

The TUC report says that a wide variety of other workers are at risk of losing their voices as a result of the jobs they do. It also stresses that whilst talking is clearly not avoidable in many jobs, voice loss is.

A key factor leading to occupational voice loss is voice overuse, says the Hazards article, because human voices are not designed for constant use without breaks. Low humidity doesn't help, neither does stress, tiredness, poor workplace air quality, or chemicals like chlorine and organic solvents that are common in many workplaces.

‘Work hoarse' contains a number of recommendations for how employers and union safety reps can help reduce the risk of occupational voice loss:

* Provide a working environment that has a comfortable temperature and humidity, and control dust and chemicals, as both can inflame the membranes of the vocal tract.

* Carry out a risk assessment that looks at the jobs most at risk of voice loss and stress, look at ways of changing the way people work to minimise any risk.

* Ensure staff take regular rest breaks and drink plenty of fresh water, and don't put pressure on staff to come into work when they are not well enough to do so.

External link

Worksmart, the TUC's working life website, contains further advice and guidance on how to avoid losing your voice at work www.worksmart.org.uk/health/viewsubsubsection.php?ssn=5

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