Chefs, cops, firefighters doing most dangerous work in Netherlands

Fewer people did dangerous work during the coronavirus crisis, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) and TNO reported based on figures for 2020. Hazardous work is especially common among chefs, police officers, firefighters, and employees who have something to do with technology, transport, or logistics. Chefs, in particular, worked less during the pandemic.

In 2020, nearly 13 percent of workers aged 15 to 75 said they often or always do hazardous work. In 2018 and 2019, that was still about 16 percent. According to CBS sociologist Tanja Traag, this decrease is because no people were questioned who could not work because of the coronavirus when the study was conducted in the last quarter of 2020.

As a result, many chefs, in particular, were excluded from the study. This despite the fact that the those professionals usually raise the average due to their often risky work.

An additional 14 percent of workers said they were in a dangerous situation once last year. This was never the case for about three-quarters of employees. Men are more likely to do hazardous work than women.

In 2020, 9 percent of people with hazardous work fell victim to an occupational accident that resulted in physical or mental harm, compared to 1 percent of people who don't do dangerous work. As a result of such accidents, people in hazardous occupations also called in sick more often.