SYDNEY, June 20 (Xinhua) -- Healthcare workers feel less confident about their health and safety in their jobs than construction workers, according to an Australian study released on Wednesday by the University of Sydney.

The five-year study of more than 8,000 workers by the University of Sydney in partnership with the Australian Research Council and Unions New South Wales examined workplace attitudes towards health and safety.

Sydney University research director John Buchanan unveiled the findings at a workplace health forum in Sydney on Wednesday.

"I think there's a stereotype about what an unsafe workplace is - it's a coal mine which is going to fall on top of people, or they're going to get poisoning of some kind, or fall off a multi- storey building," he said.

"But the hazards of work are far more subtle these days."

The study found 25.3 percent of health and community workers believed their work was unsafe, compared to only 22.7 percent of the construction workers surveyed.

"Being a nurse or doctor in the public health system is one of the most stressful places to be, but most people don't see it like that," he said.

The findings also revealed that only 17 percent of workers were confident about their workplace safety and health.