I think a lot of this boils down to unsafe work practices and failure to use PPE. When I started working in HVAC and refrigeration, I was relentlessly chided by older workers for using PPE, and special tools designed to make the job safer. I remember being laughed at for always bringing a kneeling pad to work on a unit. I remember being laughed at for using the “compressor tote” to lift and carry a compressor. “Throw it on your shoulder like a real man”, I was told. I remember being laughed at for wearing a mask if I had to work in an attic full of insulation. And I had no problem telling employers bluntly that either you provide suitable PPE, or I’m not doing the job.
Of course, I continued using PPE, and the people who laughed at me are no longer in the business. I assume they are in chronic pain now, and medically unable to do this kind of work anymore.
Unfortunately, it’s not just older generations who have an aversion to PPE. I frequently see people cutting tile, concrete, brick, etc without even a rudimentary dust mask. In fact, yesterday I was servicing the A/C at a house, and the customer had a contractor there to put epoxy coating on the garage floor. A young man, probably in his mid 20s was running a machine which grinds the concrete floor to make it flat and smooth. This was producing a huge cloud of concrete dust, and this man was using no respiratory protection. Neither was his coworker, who was sweeping the dust left behind. I assume this will result in serious illness and death at a young age, but apparently people don’t think that far ahead.
My cousin’s husband repaired and calibrated lab equipment for a major manufacturer. He had his equipment in a couple of steamer trunks, and they were very heavy, but he carried them anyway. He developed a bad back and later in life was in constant, debilitating pain, even with pain killers. Late in his career he used hand trucks to move his equipment, but it was too late then.
There are numerous causes of arthritis, some disease based and some injury or repetitive stress. The latter two could be considered under the common umbrella of ES&H in the workplace. Specifically, ergonomics playing a role in repetitive stress and/or injury. An example of this might be working/bending over a tall vehicle engine bay day after day and lifting heavy objects in/out. The company could invest in means to reduce this stress and prevent workplace injuries resulting from this environment. More often, they simply ignore it because they have a seemingly unending supply of freshly minted resources to draw from. The hidden cost is in the training and expertise built up over years that is lost when a more senior team member is injured and can no longer perform their job function effectively due to long term exposure to these hazards…
Because one of you folks flagged a perfectly fine post in relation to th3bither posts and it was removed. Cant even see it myself to know how jt offended you.