.
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206
FACT : At its current understaffed levels, it would take the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 133 years to inspect each of the workplaces in its jurisdiction just once. That’s 133 years per staff member, so 266 years total.
“‘Death on the Job’ Report, 2008: The Toll of Neglect,” American Federation of Labor—Congress of Industrial Organizations, www.aflcio.org .
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207
FACT : In 2006, over 11,000 workers were made ill or injured on the job every day. Working every day makes me ill, too.
“‘Death on the Job’ Report, 2008: The Toll of Neglect,” American Federation of Labor— Congress of Industrial Organizations, www.aflcio.org .
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208
FACT : An estimated 50,000 to 60,000 workers die every year from occupation-related diseases. Is not giving a shit considered an occupation-related disease? Because that affects a lot more than 60,000, I bet.
“‘Death on the Job’ Report, 2008: The Toll of Neglect,” American Federation of Labor—Congress of Industrial Organizations, www.aflcio.org .
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209
FACT : Work-related stress can be as damaging to health as cigarette smoking. But if you handle that stress with a smoke break, they cancel each other out.
Natalie J. Jordet and Erica Lumiere, “Is Job Stress Making You Sick?,” Marie Claire, www.marieclaire.com .
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FACT : Workplace stress is a near epidemic in the United States, thanks largely to a struggling economy and corporate downsizing. A recent survey recorded half of respondents feeling too much pressure at work. You want pressure? Try writing 1,001 jokes.
Natalie J. Jordet and Erica Lumiere, “Is Job Stress Making You Sick?,” Marie Claire, www.marieclaire.com .
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FACT : The chronic stress of a high-pressure job has been shown to double the risk of a heart attack .
Chronic stress may also result in alcoholism, hypertension, and severe depression, and can make your joints ache, your hair fall out, and even stop your period. So that bald drunk lady at work who’s always crying and giving away her tampons? Give her a break; she’s under a lot of stress.
Natalie J. Jordet and Erica Lumiere, “Is Job Stress Making You Sick?,” Marie Claire, www.marieclaire.com .
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FACT : About 1.7 million workplace violence incidents occur in the U.S. every year. 18,700 of them are committed by the victim’s intimate partner. Don’t forget:
Friday is Bring Your Batterer To Work Day!
“Domestic Violence in the Workplace Statistics,” American Institute on Domestic Violence, www.aidv-usa.com .
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213
FACT : An estimated 1 million workers are assaulted on the job every year in the United States. I know at least nine people I’d like to add to that total.
Barbara Kate Repa, Your Rights in the Workplace, 8th ed. (Nolo, 2007).
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FACT : The U.S. Postal Service reported 500 cases of employees being violent toward supervisors in a recent span of just eighteen months , and an additional 200 cases of supervisors being violent toward employees in that same period. Where do you think the term “going postal” came from?
Barbara Kate Repa, Your Rights in the Workplace, 8th ed. (Nolo, 2007).
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215
FACT : In August 1986, U.S. Postal Service worker Patrick Henry Sherrill—or “Crazy Pat,” as he was called— shot and killed 14 coworkers in the Edmond, Oklahoma post office where he was employed, including a supervisor who had criticized his work. Hmm, I wonder why they called him “Crazy Pat.”
Jacob V. Lamar Jr., “‘Crazy Pat’s’ Revenge,” Time, June 24, 2001, www.time.com .
Charles Montaldo, “It’s Official: ‘Going Postal’ Is Epidemic,” About.com , www.about.com .
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FACT : In 1976, the typical CEO earned thirty-six times the salary of his average worker. Today, the average CEO makes 369 times what an average worker makes. Both of them are unemployed now, and 369 times zero is zero.
Steven Greenhouse, The Big Squeeze: Tough