occupational hazard

English

Noun

occupational hazard (plural occupational hazards)

1. A substantial risk to a worker's physical or mental well-being which is present in a certain task, job, or profession.
   • 1984 July 9, Richard Lacayo et al., “Show Business: Audiences Love to Hate Them”, in Time:

     They are the abrasive breed of radio and television personalities, most of them talk-show hosts, who treat their profession as a verbal adjunct to street fighting. . . . Threats and sometimes violence are indeed an occupational hazard.

2. (figuratively, by extension) An unpleasant, inconvenient, or unusual circumstance which occurs or is likely to occur during the course of one's employment.
   • 1988, Susan Howatch, Glittering Images, →ISBN, page 10:

     The attentions of passionate spinsters were an occupational hazard for all members of the clergy.

   • 2008, Steve Berry, The Venetian Betrayal, →ISBN, page 557:

     Today he was going to make a few stops at the rare-book shops in the area—an occupational hazard of his new profession.

   • 2009, Jon Talton, Concrete Desert, →ISBN, page 201:

     "Sorry. Asking uncomfortable questions at the most inopportune time is an occupational hazard."

   • 2010, Lisa Gardner, The Neighbor, →ISBN, page 237:

     "Student crushes are an occupational hazard. Ask any teacher."

   • 2013 July 26, Alison Green, “an employee is putting magic curses on her coworkers”, in Ask a Manager‎^[1], archived from the original on 14 December 2023:

     Normally I'm a big fan of managers handling performance problems on their staff themselves rather than looking to HR to do it for them, but in this case, since she's putting curses on her manager, I can see an argument for you having a one-time meeting with her and her manager and jointly laying down the law. (Of course, this may just get you added to the list of people she's cursing, but black magic is one of many occupational hazards.)

Antonyms

• occupational health and safety, occupational safety and health

Translations

substantial risk to a worker's physical or mental well-being

• Galician: risco laboral (gl) m
• German: Berufsrisiko n
• Spanish: riesgo laboral (es)

an unpleasant, inconvenient, or unusual circumstance which occurs or is likely to occur during the course of one's employment

• French: aléas du métier m pl, risques du métier m pl
• German: Berufsrisiko n
• Hebrew: סיכון מקצועי m
• Italian: rischio del mestiere
• Portuguese: ossos do ofício (pt) m pl
• Spanish: gajes del oficio m pl

References

• “occupational hazard”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Further reading

• occupational hazard on Wikipedia.Wikipedia