Air-conditioned truck drivers’ cabin in India – an Occupational Health (OH) initiative
On 20th June 2023, the Indian Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari signed the file that mandates air-conditioning in truck driver cabins. Addressing the event called 'Desh Chaalak - Recognising those who move India,' the Minister said, ‘Our drivers operate vehicles in harsh temperatures...
AI, U & OI
It is basically about how AI (Artificial Intelligence) affects U (you) and can potentially cause OI (Occupational Illnesses). Yes, AI can cause OI. How? Let us understand… AI is around 60 years old. At the beginning of 1950, John Von Neumann and Alan Turing were...
Robots at workplace and mental health
Robots are already in use – in offices and factories, in affluent homes, in hospitals etc. They are useful for certain types of jobs. Robots are being made to do more intricate jobs in future. How do workers view the presence of robots at workplace...
Managing your mental health is mostly about ‘having a timely frank talk’
What do you do when you feel low? I asked this to a few of my close friends and acquaintances. The answers I got varied from, ‘I eat sugar,’ ‘go for a drink to a pub alone even if a friend is not available to...
Gig economy and worker health
Gig work is temporary or freelance work performed by a person independently on an informal or on-demand basis. Gig work consists of income-earning activities that do not have long-term employer-employee relationship. Gig economy is the contribution of these workers to the economy of the businesses...
Heart attack and cancer on the rise: what is being done?
On 23rd May 2023, a leading newspaper in Mumbai carried an article stating that ‘Heart attacks took 26 lives a day in Mumbai, cancer 25 in 2022.’ And this is just an estimate – the actual numbers could be slightly higher. That means around 10,000...
Toxic Positivity at workplace
On 3rd March 2023, Times of India, a newspaper, flashed a news with a heading ‘Toxic body positivity: Ranbir Kapoor says actors are starved, unhappy, and pained, do not eat enough.’ Ranbir Kapoor is a young popular actor in Indian cinema. He spoke about this...
All women work: a brief history of work and their health
All women work, including the full-time homemakers. How does the work (job) impact women and their health? Women have been working since time immemorial, mostly at home doing all the household work. In the olden days it was common to have 5 or more children...
