Shift workers, especially those who work nights, are at higher risk of suffering workplace injuries, according to new research conducted by the Economic and Social Research Institute and the Health and Safety Authority.

The study also found that a longer working week could contribute to risk, with employees working more than 40 hours a week seeing a significant increase in the risk of a work-related illness or injury.

Launched last month, the report - which can be accessed here – found that health workers are most likely to be out of work due to work-related illness and injury.

It examined work-related illnesses and injuries across a range of high-risk sectors including health, construction, transport, manufacturing and agriculture, forestry and fishing.

It tracked experiences from 2001 to 2014, and found that these sectors accounted for 41% of overall employment and 56% of all work-related injury.

Health sector workers were most likely to be absent from work due to work-related illness, with an absence rate of 92,000 between 2001 and 2014. Similarly, health ranked highest when the issue of work-related injury was explored.

Manual handling was a serious cause for concern with musculoskeletal issues accounting for 46% of work-related illnesses. Stress, anxiety and depression were also more prevalent among health sector workers, with 22% of workplace illnesses attributed to this, compared to 16% across all other sectors combined.

Shift workers, especially those who work nights, were at a higher risk of injury, while new recruits were more at risk than their more experienced colleagues. In addition, a longer working week was also noted as a contributing factor, with employees working more than 40 hours a week seeing a significant increase in the risk of a work-related illness or injury.