Writing Fit

Today, as workers across Europe face uncertain futures and an ever more challenging job market, why do we need to focus our attention on the health of the workforce? Surely our priority should be job security and job creation? The Work Foundation – an independent, not for profit, research and consultancy organisation – has been leading the debate on health and well-being at work, especially as the recession starts to bite.

It’s clear to us, and to the employers, Trades Unions and policymakers we speak to, that employee health has never been more important. It is important as a driver of productivity and competitiveness and it is vulnerable if we fail to manage worklessness and unemployment with great care. Specifically, the Fit for Work project which we are running is asking tough questions about the ways that workers with long-term and chronic conditions – especially Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs) - can be kept in work in a way that maximises their economic contribution and their quality of life.
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As Europeans prepare to observe Labour Day, researchers ask:
Are musculoskeletal disorders undermining a productive and competitive European workforce?

Brussels, 29 April 2009 – As Labour Day approaches on May 1st, and Governments across Europe seek to keep their citizens healthy and productive in work, a new pan-European study is examining the economic, health, psychological and sociological consequences of unemployment.

Advised by a panel of leading experts on employment and health, the 25-country study is gathering data with a particular focus on people who live with Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs). The issue is a hot topic and has already been the subject of a recent European Commission proposal and a lunch debate in the European Parliament.  The study, led by the Work Foundation, a UK-based not for profit research and consultancy organisation, is part of the Fit for Work initiative, and further background on Fit for Work – including blogs and videos casts from experts including Members of the European Parliament – will be hosted on      www.fitforworkeurope.eu to be launched on May 1st.
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