Overview
- ANSES examined a workforce of roughly 1.2–1.4 million people—about 5% of French salaried employment—with around 73% women working in enterprise settings.
- Key risks include fragmented and shifted hours, intensified pacing, chemical exposure, and isolated work, with high rates of musculoskeletal disorders plus respiratory and skin conditions, and studies suggesting increased risks for certain cancers.
- About 35% of staff now work through subcontractors, a rising share linked to reduced hours per site, faster cadences, and heightened precarity and vulnerability.
- The sector records more frequent and severe workplace accidents, a doubled rate of recognized occupational diseases, and nearly twice as many dismissals for unfitness, alongside widespread part-time and split-shift schedules.
- ANSES urges research on chronic and maternal‑child health, targeted prevention of musculoskeletal disorders, training adapted with visual supports, greater use of daytime work, and stronger duties for contracting authorities, with no immediate policy commitments reported.