Occupational illness refers to illnesses caused by contact with dust particles, radiation or other hazardous elements during a worker's occupational activities with enterprises, public institutions and individual business units.

China's top legislative body, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), adopted and implemented an amendment to the Law on Occupational Illness Prevention and Control in a bid to better protect worker's legal rights.

Physical ailments that are affecting a growing number of white-collar workers in China will likely be added to the official list of occupational diseases, including death from overwork, ocular injury by working long-term in front of a monitor, occupational cervical spondylopathy, a chronic degenerative condition of the cervical spine, and carpal tunnel syndrome.

職業(yè)病是指企業(yè)、事業(yè)單位和個(gè)體經(jīng)濟(jì)組織的勞動(dòng)者在職業(yè)活動(dòng)中，因接觸粉塵、放射性物質(zhì)和其他有毒、有害物質(zhì)等因素而引起的疾病。

《全國(guó)人民代表大會(huì)常務(wù)委員會(huì)關(guān)于修改〈中華人民共和國(guó)職業(yè)病防治法〉的決定》日前經(jīng)全國(guó)人大常委會(huì)通過(guò)并開始實(shí)施，以最大限度保護(hù)工作者合法權(quán)益。

其中，過(guò)勞死、長(zhǎng)期視頻作業(yè)導(dǎo)致的眼部損傷、職業(yè)性腰背痛、頸椎病、“鼠標(biāo)手”等白領(lǐng)易患疾病都有望納入職業(yè)病目錄。