Two in five Albanian workers lift or carry heavy objects, while a smaller proportion work in extreme conditions, with almost half using their hands as the primary “tool” at work, according to the findings of the European survey on education and its links to the labor market conducted last year in Albania.
According to the survey results, 39% of employed Albanians reported that they lifted or carried heavy objects, loads, or people without the help of machinery when it was conducted in early 2023.
Also, three in ten (29%) surveyed Albanians report working in an environment with high temperatures or very cold temperatures, chemicals, or dangerous parts, roughly in line with the EU average (27%) and five Western Balkan countries (32%).
Furthermore, almost half (46%) of Albanians say they use their hands to grasp, manipulate, or precisely assemble objects (excluding computer mouse, keyboard typing, or handwriting), roughly in line with the WB5 average (51%), but significantly more than in the EU27 (38%).
The percentage of employees lifting weights in Albania is higher than the average values in WB5 (37%) and EU27 (34%). Men are much more likely to be involved in such manual tasks than women (47% versus 27%).
Older workers are more likely to lift weights compared to younger ones (48% of those aged 55-64, compared to 28% of those aged 25-34).
Workers with low and medium education are more exposed to lifting weights (54%) and medium (46%), while only 15% of those with higher education declare that they have done this.
More than half of workers in manual and elementary professions (53% and 50% respectively) stated that they lift weights compared to 30% in semi-skilled professions and 18% in skilled professions.
The lifting of objects and loads is also more common among respondents working in agriculture or industry (50%), while only 36% of those working in services and 22% of respondents from the public sector, education, or health lift objects during working hours.
Respondents were asked if, as part of their main job, they have used or worked with computerized machinery in the past month. About one in five (21%) Albanians say they use computerized machinery, compared to almost four in ten (39%) in the EU, and three in ten (28%) in the WB5.
