Some healthy advice, Boris: please put a lid on it
Stefan Stern | Saturday, 12 July 2008
I am deeply concerned about the health and general well-being of Boris Johnson, the new mayor of London. I wonder if the pressures of the job aren't getting to him?
Defending his decision to go helmetless on his bicycle the other day, Mr Johnson explained that the allure of the beautiful June sunshine had proved too great. He had felt compelled to let his splendid blond locks fly free.
As Mr Johnson argued in his regular newspaper column - he finds time to write this in between all the mayoraling stuff - people should be allowed to decide for themselves whether to plunge into London's traffic properly protected or not. "Be it on our own heads - or, in the case of my helmet, sometimes not," the mayor said.
Oh dear. One of the key but often overlooked principles of health and safety legislation is that employees have a "duty of care" towards themselves, as well as towards colleagues and customers. It is not just the employer's job to keep people safe.
Now, while he is pedalling his way down from north London to City Hall, the mayor is clearly not yet at work, and therefore not covered by this legislation. But as a leader, an employer, and one of Europe's most powerful elected politicians, Mr Johnson really should be setting a good example. If he is careless about his own health and safety, why shouldn't the rest of us be?
Taking health and safety lightly makes workplaces dangerous. In the UK last year, 69 construction workers were killed, according to the Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians. British newspapers these days are filled with startling tales of knife crime and murder. But in 2005-6 almost twice as many people (1,300) died at work than were murdered (765), a report from the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies found. More people are hospitalised after workplace injuries than after falling victim to violent crime.
All the same, sometimes it is almost impossible not to sneer at the boring admonitions of the "elf and safety" lobby. I have been guilty of sneering in the past. I am sure readers of this column will have sneered, too. Can we plug in a kettle or a toaster here? (Answer, invariably, no.) Does my posture really have to be scrutinised by a complete stranger? (Answer, yes. "Get your bum back!", a young Australian physio once instructed me after a brief assessment of my preferred seating position. We hadn't even been introduced!)
Most of the anti-health and safety sneering is done by people who work regular hours in safe, well-lit, air-conditioned offices, in jobs that involve no physical stress or heavy lifting. With any luck, a paper cut is the worst injury that will ever befall them.
One way of relieving the oppressive tedium of the health and safety sermons is to think about health and well-being in a broader sense. Sensible employers already do this. Unsurprisingly, food and drink companies have been among the first to develop health campaigns that can also be exploited later on for marketing and PR purposes.
For example, Danone, the French food group, launched an "active health" programme as part of the company's existing "people acceleration unit" initiative in 2004. On-site massages and ergonomic assessment, all served up with as much mineral water, yoghurt and fruit as anyone could (sensibly) eat, have helped employees improve lifestyles and "live the brand".
Heinz introduced a "Well@Work" programme in 2005 at its site near Wigan in the North West of England, which is Europe's largest food factory. The usual suspects - smoking, alcohol, bad diet, lack of exercise - were targeted. Advice on maintaining healthier blood pressure and cholesterol levels was given and a 12-week weight management programme - "Absolutely Flab-U-Less" - proved popular.
Other food companies, such as Kellogg's and Nestl
Defending his decision to go helmetless on his bicycle the other day, Mr Johnson explained that the allure of the beautiful June sunshine had proved too great. He had felt compelled to let his splendid blond locks fly free.
As Mr Johnson argued in his regular newspaper column - he finds time to write this in between all the mayoraling stuff - people should be allowed to decide for themselves whether to plunge into London's traffic properly protected or not. "Be it on our own heads - or, in the case of my helmet, sometimes not," the mayor said.
Oh dear. One of the key but often overlooked principles of health and safety legislation is that employees have a "duty of care" towards themselves, as well as towards colleagues and customers. It is not just the employer's job to keep people safe.
Now, while he is pedalling his way down from north London to City Hall, the mayor is clearly not yet at work, and therefore not covered by this legislation. But as a leader, an employer, and one of Europe's most powerful elected politicians, Mr Johnson really should be setting a good example. If he is careless about his own health and safety, why shouldn't the rest of us be?
Taking health and safety lightly makes workplaces dangerous. In the UK last year, 69 construction workers were killed, according to the Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians. British newspapers these days are filled with startling tales of knife crime and murder. But in 2005-6 almost twice as many people (1,300) died at work than were murdered (765), a report from the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies found. More people are hospitalised after workplace injuries than after falling victim to violent crime.
All the same, sometimes it is almost impossible not to sneer at the boring admonitions of the "elf and safety" lobby. I have been guilty of sneering in the past. I am sure readers of this column will have sneered, too. Can we plug in a kettle or a toaster here? (Answer, invariably, no.) Does my posture really have to be scrutinised by a complete stranger? (Answer, yes. "Get your bum back!", a young Australian physio once instructed me after a brief assessment of my preferred seating position. We hadn't even been introduced!)
Most of the anti-health and safety sneering is done by people who work regular hours in safe, well-lit, air-conditioned offices, in jobs that involve no physical stress or heavy lifting. With any luck, a paper cut is the worst injury that will ever befall them.
One way of relieving the oppressive tedium of the health and safety sermons is to think about health and well-being in a broader sense. Sensible employers already do this. Unsurprisingly, food and drink companies have been among the first to develop health campaigns that can also be exploited later on for marketing and PR purposes.
For example, Danone, the French food group, launched an "active health" programme as part of the company's existing "people acceleration unit" initiative in 2004. On-site massages and ergonomic assessment, all served up with as much mineral water, yoghurt and fruit as anyone could (sensibly) eat, have helped employees improve lifestyles and "live the brand".
Heinz introduced a "Well@Work" programme in 2005 at its site near Wigan in the North West of England, which is Europe's largest food factory. The usual suspects - smoking, alcohol, bad diet, lack of exercise - were targeted. Advice on maintaining healthier blood pressure and cholesterol levels was given and a 12-week weight management programme - "Absolutely Flab-U-Less" - proved popular.
Other food companies, such as Kellogg's and Nestl