There are many mistakes workers should avoid. Here we will look at those concerning eye health.
This is essential because even if you have deep knowledge of your job, excellent skills, and extensive experience, they will not matter much if you have eye health issues that significantly lower your ability to do your work well.
You need your vision to always be clear, comfortable and safe. As an employee, you must do your job well to maintain a good performance rating. As a business owner, you need to see those numbers clearly, you need to vet those documents comfortably, in fact, you need to run your business with clear eyes.
So do yourself this favour……..
Learn the following eye health mistakes that can affect your work and try as much as possible to avoid them
Mistake 1 – Being ignorant about the vision requirements and recommended practices for your job
Vision requirements are specific vision demands or minimum standards you must meet for you to do a
particular job well. Recommended practices on the other hand are professional guidelines for keeping your vision
clear, comfortable, and safe. Some vision requirements and recommended practices include:
- Corrected distance vision not worse than 6/12
- Corrected near vision not worse than N6
- Normal colour vision
- Annual or biennial eye checks
- Use of safety eyewear (for jobs that expose the eyes to hazards)
- Good peripheral vision
- Good depth perception,
- Fast reaction times
- Good contrast sensitivity
Many people are not aware that their jobs have vision requirements. Many who do, do not know what the
requirements are. This is risky because you could be working with suboptimal vision without knowing it. Working
with suboptimal vision makes you prone to mistakes, accidents, and injuries. This in turn reduces your
productivity and can lower your performance rating at work.
If you do not know the vision requirements for your job, take time to find out today. Knowing and understanding
them, as well as the recommended practices for your job, can help you keep your eyes healthy, comfortable, and safe
at work.
Mistake 2 – Skipping occupational vision assessments and eye checks
Occupational vision assessments are done to ensure that your eyes meet the vision requirements for
your job. They detect eye problems that could interfere with your ability to do your job well. They are also useful for determining eye protection needs at work (when necessary).
When you skip vision assessments, you increase your risk of working with suboptimal vision or in a way that is harmful to your eyes. This can lower your productivity and negatively impact your performance rating at work.
Occupational vision assessment is best done before starting a job and then repeated at recommended intervals, usually every one or two years.
To ensure your eye care needs are fully met, we recommended performing a dilated eye exam during your occupational vision assessment, especially if you are 40 years or above or are at risk of chronic sight-threatening eye problems like glaucoma, diabetic eye disease, etc.
Dilated eye checks can help detect risks and early features of these sight-threatening problems, which are often not obvious in their early stages. This will give you an opportunity to take precautions or start treatment before any damage is done to your vision.
If you have never done a vision assessment and eye check or you are due for one, get it done as soon as possible.
Mistake 3 – Ignoring eye symptoms
While many eye diseases do not show symptoms early, quite a number of them alert us with symptoms.
Some symptoms may be so subtle that you could be tempted to ignore them. Ignoring them is dangerous because while doing so, the underlying condition continues to damage your vision. This may lead to irreversible eye complications that could have been prevented.
So, always bear in mind that eye symptoms are indications that something is wrong with your eyes. Never ignore them. If they last longer than 48 hours or are severe from the onset, consult the eye doctor.
Mistake 4 – Straining the eyes
Some workers ignore their symptoms and instead try to force the eyes to perform beyond what they can do. An example is when a worker experiences blurry vision while working on the computer or other digital device and then squints consistently to see clearly. Some workers also fail to apply good eye health practices and end up getting eye strain. An example is using the computer for a prolonged period without taking a break.
Eye strain causes very uncomfortable symptoms such as headaches, burning sensation, tired eyes, itchy eyes, light sensitivity, shoulder ache, back pain and general eye discomfort. So, it is difficult to fully concentrate on your work when you are experiencing it. This can reduce your productivity at work.
Mistake 5 – Failing to use eye protection
Eye protection is essential for preventing eye discomfort, injuries and long term eye damage in situations where hazards cannot be eliminated. They are known to significantly relieve eye discomfort, prevent up to 90% of eye injuries and minimize damage when accidents occur. Failure to use them when necessary exposes your eyes to hazards like harmful light, flying objects, chemicals, heat and more. This in turn lowers productivity at work and in severe cases can cost you your vision and job. So, do not fail to use the appropriate eye protection whenever necessary.
Common eye protection includes,
- Blue UV protection glasses
- Sunglasses
- Safety glasses
- Safety goggles
- Face shield
- Welding helmet
Now you know the eye health mistakes workers should avoid, it is time to take action to avoid them. Take this quiz to assess your vision.
