{"id":7345,"date":"2018-04-27T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-04-27T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsroom.ferrovial.com\/news\/ferrovial-joins-world-day-for-safety-and-health-at-work\/"},"modified":"2024-12-13T21:42:44","modified_gmt":"2024-12-13T20:42:44","slug":"ferrovial-joins-world-day-for-safety-and-health-at-work","status":"publish","type":"new","link":"https:\/\/newsroom.ferrovial.com\/en\/news\/ferrovial-joins-world-day-for-safety-and-health-at-work\/","title":{"rendered":"Ferrovial joins World Day for Safety and Health at Work"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The ILO celebrates World Day for Safety and Health at Work<\/a> on April 28 to promote the prevention of occupational related\u00a0accidents and\u00a0illnesses\u00a0worldwide<\/strong>. This is an awareness campaign\u00a0with the\u00a0objective\u00a0of focusing\u00a0the world\u2019s\u00a0attention on new trends in the field of safety and health<\/a> at work,\u00a0and on the\u00a0serious problem\u00a0of occupational injuries and illnesses.<\/p>\n

Ferrovial works to create\u00a0a risk-free environment\u00a0for\u00a0all\u00a0of\u00a0its employees, including users of infrastructures and services. There are two principles\u00a0that\u00a0govern\u00a0the company\u2019s actions: “Target Zero<\/a>“,\u00a0and\u00a0the belief that\u00a0any accident can be avoided.<\/p>\n

Providing safe and healthy\u00a0work environments assist\u00a0workers\u00a0in feeling at ease when\u00a0doing\u00a0their jobs, and it is no secret that if people\u00a0are content while working\u00a0they\u00a0perform\u00a0their jobs\u00a0with a more\u00a0positive\u00a0attitude and more productively<\/strong>. In addition,\u00a0this type of work environment\u00a0reduces the likelihood of accidents and illnesses\u00a0and\u00a0the resulting\u00a0absenteeism.<\/p>\n

According to the WHO<\/a>, a healthy work environment is a place where everyone works together to achieve\u00a0a state of\u00a0health and well-being. From the HSQE Management\u00a0Team\u00a0of Ferrovial,\u00a0we want to take advantage of the\u00a0significance\u00a0of this day to raise awareness\u00a0among\u00a0all\u00a0of\u00a0our workers\u00a0regarding\u00a0the importance of\u00a0maintaining\u00a0healthy\u00a0practices<\/strong>\u00a0in order to\u00a0create\u00a0a safe and\u00a0sound\u00a0working environment\u00a0in\u00a0all work\u00a0locations.<\/p>\n

Health problems, and especially mental health\u00a0issues, affect a significant\u00a0percentage\u00a0of the population. According to\u00a0an\u00a0ESE-MED-Spain survey, 19.5%<\/strong> of people\u00a0experience\u00a0a mental disorder\u00a0at some point in their\u00a0lives. In\u00a0a study\u00a0carried out\u00a0within the 2014-2016 Strategic Plan of the\u00a0Centre\u00a0for Biomedical Research in the Mental Health Network (CIBERSAM<\/i>), it\u00a0was concluded that mental health\u00a0problems are\u00a0the second\u00a0most common\u00a0cause of\u00a0sick leave (Moreno, JO, L\u00f3pez Bastida, J., Montejo-Gonz\u00e1lez, AL, Osuna-Guerrero, R., and Duque-Gonz\u00e1lez, B. (2009);\u00a0The socioeconomic costs of mental illness in Spain, European Journal of Health Economics, 10 (4), 361-369).<\/p>\n

According to the European Union,\u00a0mental health issues are the\u00a0second\u00a0most common work-related\u00a0health problems\u00a0on\u00a0the continent.\u00a0Their data show the following: between 50%\u00a0and 60% of all lost work days can be attributed to stress and psycho-social\u00a0problems<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The workplace\u00a0offers\u00a0an excellent opportunity to promote the practice of healthy habits since\u00a0the majority of\u00a0adults are at work most of the day. In addition, at work we tend to be sedentary,\u00a0and\u00a0this makes us more\u00a0prone to\u00a0developing\u00a0certain diseases. In a recent poll conducted\u00a0in\u00a0the European Union, half of\u00a0the\u00a0respondents said they did little or no exercise at work. At least two thirds of adults in Western Europe\u00a0do not engage in enough physical activity,\u00a0and the\u00a0amount of\u00a0such exercise\u00a0continues to decrease.\u00a0This\u00a0lack of physical activity\u00a0is capable of causing\u00a0as much as\u00a010% of\u00a0all\u00a0deaths in Europe<\/strong>,\u00a0according to the World Health Organization (WHO).<\/p>\n

Physical activity<\/strong> is an important factor\u00a0in enhancing\u00a0physical and mental health.\u00a0Regular exercise, even performed with\u00a0a\u00a0moderate intensity\u00a0level, can reduce\u00a0the\u00a0mortality\u00a0rate, improve\u00a0life\u00a0quality,\u00a0and prevent certain diseases. It reduces the risk of chronic\u00a0infirmities such\u00a0as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, osteoporosis and some types of cancer.\u00a0Moreover, physical\u00a0exercise lowers blood pressure\u00a0and regulates cholesterol\u00a0levels. It also helps\u00a0to\u00a0improve mental health by reducing stress, anxiety,\u00a0and\u00a0depressive disorders,\u00a0in addition to promoting\u00a0well-being and self-esteem<\/p>\n

Health and wellness programs<\/b><\/h2>\n

The aim of health and wellness programs\u00a0is\u00a0to\u00a0emphasize\u00a0the\u00a0importance that leading a healthy life implies for workers,\u00a0not only in terms of good eating habits\u00a0but also\u00a0with regard to\u00a0the need for physical exercise.<\/p>\n

There are many studies\u00a0and\u00a0a large\u00a0body\u00a0of\u00a0research that\u00a0link\u00a0physical activity\u00a0in general, or in\u00a0the workplace, to an improvement in health and productivity,\u00a0to\u00a0economic benefits\u00a0that result from\u00a0the\u00a0effort,\u00a0to increased\u00a0life expectancy,\u00a0or\u00a0to\u00a0an improvement in\u00a0the quality of\u00a0life<\/strong> of people.<\/p>\n

Physical\u00a0activity programs in the workplace can reduce\u00a0sick leaves by\u00a0up to 32%<\/strong> and increase productivity by\u00a0as much as\u00a052%.<\/p>\n

For\u00a0all\u00a0of\u00a0these reasons,\u00a0numerous initiatives have been launched at Ferrovial\u00a0in recent years\u00a0based on three fundamental pillars:<\/p>\n