Nursing is the only health care profession that records each year a high number of injuries or

illnesses resulting from the work environment (Masoudi, 2016). A higher number of casualties is

recorded among nurses because of the nature of their work. The nurses’ work involves working

in a hazardous environment to care for a patient with highly infectious diseases. Most nurses

experience work-related pain that includes the Musculo-skeletal pain that entails the neck,

shoulder, lower back, and knees. This pain is a result of the regular lifting of patients or from the

manual movement of patient form one department to another. Another crucial aspect is that

nurses are required to nurse-patient with highly contagious infections. Some nurses end up being

at risk of being exposed to bloodborne pathogens. The most vital hazard when handling patients

with bloodborne pathogens is needle stick injury. Statistics reveal that 21% of needle stick injury

results from regular injection while 17%because of suturing. King KC, Strony R.
Needlestick. [Updated 2021 Aug 11]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island

(FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2022 Jan-. Available from:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK493147/

Globalization has had a major impact on the healthiness of workplace environments. It has

created national and international economies, cross border movement of goods and services and

has created millions of jobs globally (Albracht, 2005). Globalisation has also created, however,

more job strain and stress in the workplace due to tighter supervision, surveillance, multi-tasking,

and less control over individual work (Albracht, 2005). Due to more readily available jobs, there

is also more of a push for temporary contract, part time and full-time positions, all of which

create feelings of uncertainty and instability due to there being a presence of an inadequate social

safety net (Schnall, 2016). High turnover rates because of this can cause stressful and unfamiliar

workplace environments and can create feelings of isolation amongst coworkers (Albracht,

2005).
Globally, millions of working men and women have poor and hazardous working conditions.

Despite knowledge regarding effective interventions to prevent these conditions there exist these

large gaps between and within countries regarding their health status of worker and their

exposure to occupational risk (Moen et al., 2019).  A study showed worldwide there are around

340 million occupational accidents and 160 million victims of work-related illness annually.

(Lazic, 2022).

There is a link between low level work life balance, income inequality and poor working

condition that led to poor healthy work environment. A low-level work life balance indicates that

there is a high level of stress which result in workplace related musculoskeletal disorders (Green,

2018). As the income inequality gap continues to grow in underdeveloped countries, low-income

families around the world continue to suffer as foreigners come into countries to do industrial

work at the cost of the local lives (NCBI - WWW Error Blocked Diagnostic, n.d.)

Globally, one in eight nurses are working in a country outside of where they were born and

trained (ICN, 2020). The nursing workforce is unevenly distributed around the world where 89%

of nursing shortages are present in low-income countries (ICN, 2020). It was found that during

the pandemic, international recruiters tried to recruit healthcare workers from low and lower-

middle income countries such as Africa, Asia and the Caribbean to fill the nursing shortage in

high income countries (ICN, 2020). Although recruiters advertised this as an opportunity for

better working conditions, migrant nurses faced discrimination and racism in the workplace

involving lack of career progression opportunities and negative learning environments which

led to poorer health outcomes than their native-born counterparts (Llop-Gironés et al., 2021).
Globally, migrant workers have higher rates of exposure to negative occupational hazards than

their native-born counterparts (Moyce & Schenker, 2018). Many migrants come from Asia,

Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean to pursue work in other countries. Most migrant

workers worldwide are working in the service industry with 44.3% being women who are 6

times more likely than men to be employed in domestic work (Moyce & Schenker, 2018).

Compared to the native-born population, migrant workers are 15% more likely to be fatally

injured because of working longer hours for less pay and in poorer conditions (Moyce &

Schenker, 2018). They are more likely to be employed in positions that increase exposure to

toxins, chemicals, and extreme temperatures leading to illnesses and cancers (Moyce &

Schenker, 2018). In addition, migrant workers report higher rates of mental health problems and

substance use due to social discrimination and abuse in the workplace (Moyce & Schenker,

2018).

On a global scale occupational hazards have negatively impacted the nursing tremendously in

that It has led to 2 million global deaths(), Increased incidence of cancer and absence from work

on essential days.

   Estimated globally, there were 152,000 deaths annually from occupational cancer.

There has also been an estimate of 268 million nonfatal workplace accidents resulting in an

average of three lost workdays per casualty.

In the context of mental health, nurses are reportedly experiencing an increased risk of mental

health disorders due to the demanding work conditions and increased patient care flow (Roberts

et al, 2014). Studies have shown the decline in the mental health of nurses correlated with

reduced self-efficacy, low sleep quality, higher degrees of anxiety and stress (Roberts et al,

2014). Additionally, nurses reported declining mental health with 37% saying they have poor
mental health compared to 27% of physicians. Since the demand for healthcare workers has

increased over the years, research shows that poor mental health in nursing is associated with

functional impairment, which increases negative patient outcomes and reduces the quality of care

for patients (Spoorthy et al, 2020). In a case study that was conducted to assess mental health in

nurses who worked with COVID19 patients, it was found that many nurses did not have

adequate safety equipment during COVID-19 medical response, which triggered mental health

disorders such as PTSD, depression, and high-stress levels (Spoorthy et al, 2020). The analysis

found that nurses’ greatest concern was more about having the right equipment to safely work

instead of reaching out to social support systems to care for their mental health (Spoorthy et al,

2020).  The lack of response from both hospital management and health care leaders has caused

nursing shortages, deprived many nurses of their right to work in a safe environment and with

the appropriate safety equipment (Roberts et al, 2014).

Brady & Burnes (2012) discuss nine essential elements that create a healthy work environment.

These include “collaborative practice culture, communication-rich culture, a culture of

accountability, the presence of adequate numbers of qualified nurses, the presence of expert,

competent, credible, visible leadership, shared decision making at all levels, encouragement of

professional practice and continued growth and development, recognition of the value of

nursing’s contribution, and recognition of nurses for their meaningful contribution to practice”

(Brady & Burnes, 2012). Clark (2015) did a great job of incorporating many of these elements in

the Clark Healthy Workplace Inventory assessment. In this age of health care, many hospitals,

including the organization I work for, are struggling to staff their departments adequately. This

element is major factor in workplace satisfaction and health. Another element that should be
taken into consideration more in my organization is recognition of nurses. Recognizing the hard

work and the dedication of current employees could encourage retention of staff, as job

satisfaction and low turnover rates are strongly correlated with healthy work environments

(Browne, 2009).

King KC, Strony R. Needlestick. [Updated 2021 Aug 11]. In: StatPearls

[Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2022 Jan-. Available

from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK493147/