WELLBEING AT WORK AND ELECTROMAGNETIC PROTECTION: WHAT CAN WE DO AT OUR WORKPLACES?

IF OUR WELLBEING AT WORK IS A LARGE CONCERN FOR BUSINESSES, THE HEALTH AND SAFETY OF ITS EMPLOYEES IS EVEN MORE IMPORTANT. SO EMPLOYERS MUST HAVE STANDARDS TO FOLLOW WHEN IT COMES TO PROTECTION FROM ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES.

ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVE PROTECTION IS BECOMING A TOP EMPLOYER CONCERN.

When it comes to workplace health and safety, the employer’s role is to ensure the “physical and mental health of its employees”. Obligations that come from this include the implementation of preventative procedures.

This obligation, broadly, extends to measures against harassment, hardship and violence, which can also sometimes be difficult to measure and prove, just like the effects of electromagnetic waves on the human body.

Most of our modern workplaces contain all types of connected devices, and therefore, is made up of all types of electromagnetic fields. The workplace could be a true ticking time bomb and an environment that is already fully unbearable for those suffering from electrohypersensitivity (EHS).

Since most governments have established some sort of regulations on electromagnetic fields, now it’s up to their legislators to implement these laws in the workplace.

This should be an easy task in France at least thanks to an August 2016 decree that created a preliminary framework when it comes to protecting employees from electromagnetic fields.

Since 2017, employers must now take the dangers posed by electromagnetic waves into consideration when it comes to human health.

The decree specifically defines electromagnetic fields as “static electric fields, static magnetic fields and electric, magnetic and electromagnetic fields that vary in time, with a frequency ranging from 0 hertz to 300 gigahertz”.

So, the decree outlines the preventative measures that must be taken to protect us from the effects that electromagnetic waves have on our health and our brains.

First, it involves imposing an obligation to monitor workers’ exposure to electromagnetic waves in the workplace to ensure the measurements set by the decree are upheld.

Next, we need to implement certain actions, in particular adapting our work areas, providing appropriate individual protection, training employees, posting signs and placing a certain priority on protecting pregnant women and minors.

Once again, we must be cautious when it comes to the impact EMF waves have on our health. For the government, this amounts to validating their harmfulness and recognizing the electrosensitivity some of us experience.

If the obligations placed on employers are a good starting point, it seems worthwhile to plan for true protection measures, for example equipping our workplaces with devices like electric network correctors and household environment correctors.