Citizens who become ill or injured because of their work cost Danish society around 50 billion kroner per year when everything is calculated.
This is shown by a new analysis from the National Research Centre for the Working Environment.
This is the first time that the cost of work-related injuries, occupational diseases and the resulting effects to society has been calculated in this way.
- The ambition has been to look at the socio-economic cost of someone having a poor or sub-optimal working environment, says Joachim Lynggard Boll, head of research at the National Research Centre for the Working Environment.
The study takes into account, among other things, healthcare costs, lost production and lost quality of life.
Most common injuries and diseases
The calculations are an estimate that contains a certain amount of uncertainty, according to the report. They are based on figures for 2019, which is the most recent year with the necessary data that is not affected by the corona pandemic.
Here, the total number of non-fatal, work-related accidents and illnesses in Denmark is estimated at 84,111.
The most frequent injuries are sprains, strains, fractures and wounds. The most frequent diseases are pain in the back, shoulders and lower back, lung diseases and cancer, primarily lung cancer.
In addition, there were a total of 1,769 deaths, of which men accounted for 77 percent. Of these, 36 were fatal accidents.
- There are very few work-related deaths in Denmark. But those that are are very costly in this analysis, because they lead to the loss of many years of production and many years of quality of life, says Joachim Lynggaard Boll.
The costs
According to the researchers, the societal costs in Denmark correspond to approximately 2.1 percent of the gross domestic product. The study is based on a method that is used internationally.
"Compared to the burden in other EU countries, the costs in Denmark are relatively low," the report says.
Employment Minister Ane Halsboe-Jørgensen (S) believes that the figure is causing "alarm bells" to ring both politically and in business.
- We are far from the goal, even though we are better than many other countries, she says.
- The first thing we look at is agriculture, and the next is construction. It is an effort that will continue for some time.
The Minister of Employment adds that she will personally focus on operations.
- We can see that it is an area that is growing and affects many people's lives and finances, because it means that people are often away from work for long periods.
/ritzau/
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