Which occupation is most likely to get you killed on the job – and what are the most common causes of death at work?
You might think firefighters running into burning buildings or police officers chasing down dangerous criminals would be most at risk. But it turns out that those two professions don’t even crack the top ten list of deadliest jobs.
This June 2017, the job search engine, Adzuna, conducted a study taking a closer look at what are Canada’s most dangerous jobs. They found that almost half of the workplace fatalities (43 per cent) were in the manufacturing and construction sectors.
Their research noted that 60 per cent of employment related death in Canada is caused by exposure to caustic, noxious, or allergenic substances.
That lines up with data from Statistics Canada. They also note that the most likely cause of workplace death is exposure to harmful substances, including poisons, chemicals, allergens, carcinogens and radiation.
That is closely followed up by people being killed by transportation vehicles, mostly trucks and cars, but also aircraft and watercraft. Workers also died from being struck or caught by objects, and from falls, overexertion, fire and explosion, electrocution and violence.
Ouch.
The deadliest jobs in Canada
- Mining and quarrying workers
- Construction: insulation workers
- Air pilots, navigators and flight engineers
- Lumberjacks
- Loggers
- Commercial fishermen
- Truck drivers
- Construction workers
- Pipefitters and commercial plumbing
Men make up the majority of workers in most of those occupations, which explains why men are 30 times more likely to die on the job than women.
You’d think white collar office jobs would be safe, however that’s not necessarily the case. For one thing, your commute could be killing you. According to a recent US study, nearly 100,000 Americans suffer heart attacks every year that are attributed to traffic. If you shorten your commute by 20 minutes a day, you can reduce your stress-level by 20 per cent and lower your risk of heart attack by 300 per cent.
Also, the longer your commute, the less likely you are to exercise, and the more likely you are to be overweight. Which can also kill you.
Bottom line: watch out at work for poisons and radiation, flying objects, explosions and electrocution, and try to find a job with a reasonable commute. (And hopefully one that stimulates you. Researchers have also found that it is in fact possible to literally be bored to death.)
Keep a look out for the top 10 signs you’re a boring person.
