3.6 million people work in the retail sector in Poland, i.e. 26% of all employees. Nearly two-thirds of trade workers are women. The sector also offers many jobs for young people just entering the labour market and for people with lower qualifications.

There are very few studies on the assessment of the size and type of work of people employed in the retail trade at physical work stations. One of the few studies on this group of employees was carried out by employees of the Department of Occupational Physiology and Ergonomics of the Institute of Occupational Medicine in Łódź. The research covered a group of people representing all positions occurring in commercial outlets.

The research showed that ailments of the musculoskeletal system are a serious health problem in hyper- and supermarket workers.

In the group of women, the largest number of new cases of ailments concerned the neck (17%) and the lumbosacral region, shoulders and arms (15% each). Lumbosacral ailments were also correlated with high levels of stress and chronic fatigue. In turn, hip and foot pains affected women who walked a lot during work.

Analyzing which factors related to the work of the salesman have the greatest impact on the occurrence of ailments, it was found that among women these were: the need to walk with weight (or – long-term without), the need to bend over and stress.

Research indicates that the problem of musculoskeletal disorders among employees of hyper- and supermarkets requires the attention of both employers and doctors providing preventive care for this professional group. The fact that the occurrence of any ailments was reported by as many as 83% of women, and frequent ailments (weekly or more often) – 63% is very worrying, especially since the studied group was relatively young (on average 30 years). It can be expected that with age, the frequency and severity of ailments will increase.

Retailers are exposed to accidents, and the work is exhausting and requires high resistance to stress. Excessive physical and mental strain on people employed in the retail trade is one of the main sources of their dissatisfaction with work and a significant cause of high staff fluctuations. Of course, not in every case the threats are identical. In smaller stores, there are usually more threats, while in large supermarkets, where tasks are divided between many employees, some of the risks are specific only to certain positions.

Source: CIOP and PIB materials

Source: https://www.seka.pl/zagrozenia-dla-zdrowia-w-pracy-sprzedawcy/

Projekt otrzymał dofinansowanie z Norwegii poprzez Fundusze Norweskie 2014-2021, w ramach programu „Dialog społeczny – godna praca”.