Central Statistics Office (CSO) analysis shows there is a correlation between working in proximity to others and increased exposure to disease.

Artists and agricultural machinery drivers are the two occupation groups who ranked themselves as working furthest from others while paramedics, dental practitioners and physiotherapists ranked themselves as working in closest proximity to others.

CSO figures show medical and dental technicians (including dental nurses), veterinarians and nursing auxiliaries and assistants (including ambulance staff but excluding paramedics) also feel that they work in very close proximity to others.

Software development

A number of occupation groups, of which programmers and software development professionals make up the largest employment numbers, rated themselves as never being exposed to disease while at work.

Medical and dental technicians (including dental nurses) are again the group who rated themselves as being most exposed to disease while nursing and midwifery professionals are the second-highest ranked group for such exposure. 

Those working in retail (sales and retail assistants, cashiers and checkout operators (including shelf fillers)), along with farmers, made up the two largest occupation groups in the country.

According to the research, both groups felt that they are at low risk of exposure to disease while farmers rated themselves as working in slight proximity to others and those in retail rated themselves as working at a little more than arm’s length from others.

Teachers

Both the primary and nursery education teaching professionals’ occupation group and the secondary education teaching professionals rated themselves as working at arm’s length from others but the latter group (secondary education) felt that they have an exposure to disease which is less than that felt by the primary and nursery education teaching professionals.

Waiters and waitresses, along with the bar staff, rated themselves as working in similar proximity to others but waiting staff felt that they have a higher rate of exposure to disease.