Workplace Safety: Beware of These Hidden Dangers

Written for AOL

Some jobs are just inherently dangerous: Window washers spend their days suspended 50 stories above ground, coal miners face risks like wall collapses, gas poisoning and explosions, and the livelihood of firefighters practically depends on the presence of dangerous conditions. Because of the occupational hazards that go along with these jobs, many of us opt for safer means of employment, where we're out of harm's way ... or so we think.

While it's true that many of us won't encounter the potentially life-threatening working conditions of coal miners and the like, there are other, oft-hidden workplace hazards that come with even the most unexciting desk jobs. In fact, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, almost four in 100 private-sector workers experienced a nonfatal workplace injury or illness in 2008 (the most recent year from which data is available); a statistic which does not reflect the injury and illness rate of hazard-ridden jobs in the public sector, like firefighters and policemen.