Just because you're sitting behind a desk all day doesn't mean you're safe from harm. Studies have uncovered plenty of things about the workplace that are secretly killing you. This includes...

Uncomfortable office shoes may eventually lead to spinal injuries, muscle spasms, and chronic headaches.

While "power woman" pumps might make you feel tall and confident, but they're also harming your body in surprising ways. Wearing uncomfortable shoes can lead to spinal injuries, muscle spasms, and even chronic headaches and migraines. And the more pain you feel, the more likely you'll sit for longer periods which leads us to...

Regularly slouching in your can chair lead to long-term illnesses.

Plenty of studies have shown that sitting for lengthy periods is terrible for your body. We're talking about muscular skeletal disorders, obesity, diabetes, cancer, heart disease and more.  And apparently, working out regularly is not enough to counter these problems. Your best bet is to get a sitting device that allows you to straighten your poor posture.

Using a treadmill desk increases your chances of physically hurting yourself.

While a treadmill desk may help with the risk of obesity and heart disease, these desks are also prone to increased typos, and might even cause you to fall more often than merely sitting in a chair.

Skipping breakfast puts your body in a constant stressful state.

People who don't eat breakfast have a greater risk of high blood pressure, being overweight, and having heart issues compared to those who regularly eat within two hours of waking up. Skipping it will put your body in a consistently stressful state and disrupt your metabolism.

Regularly eating fast food for lunch increases your risk of heart disease.

Here's a good reason to pack your own lunch more often. A portion of fast food usually has around double the calories to another similar food of the same size, and they have a lot of oxidized fat, which increases the risk of heart disease.

Motivational meetings can actually depress people.

Team-building exercises and motivational meetings might seem like the best way to get workers excited about the company's mission, but research has shown that forcing people to feel positive for something they're unsure about can actually "highlight how unhappy they are" and, ultimately, make them even more depressed.

Recirculated, toxic air clogs your lungs.

Also known as "Sick Building Syndrome", this has to do with air inside a building which has been found to be 100 times dirtier than air outside. Pollutants such as toxic particles, dangerous bacteria and mold can be spread via the air conditioning, especially in buildings that aren't well taken care of.

Over-exposure to printers and photocopiers could lead to lung disease.

Unchanged filters in photocopiers contain deadly ozone, and even small amounts can cause chest pain and irritation. As for laser printers, these contain toner particles that can get in your lungs and blood stream, which could lead to lung disease and other ailments.

Endlessly staring at a computer screen harms your vision.

The strain from staring over long periods of time can cause harm to your vision, headaches and migraines. Luckily, these effects can easily be fixed by giving your eyes a break more often.

Being exposed to way too much light increases stress, fatigue, and blood pressure.

Our body treats over-illumination as total darkness, which in turn messes with our internal clocks. Health problems can include a particularly high level of fatigue, stress, high blood pressure and an increased risk of certain carcinomas.

Working for more than 10 hours per day may lead to a heart attack.

European researchers found that people who work 10 hours or more every day have a 60% greater risk of a multitude of cardiovascular problems, including heart attack and angina.

Working odd hours can cause weight gain and increase stress hormones.

A 2008 Harvard study found that people who woke up later in the day showed a decline in leptin, a hormone responsible for curbing appetites, and an increase in the stress-related hormone cortisol. This can result in a greater risk for Type 2 diabetes, cancer, and heart disease.

Tight deadlines negatively affect your learning and memory.

Even short-term stress can have the same affects as stress that lasts weeks or months.

Dirty keyboards are as dangerous as E. coli and coliforms.

When was the last time you cleaned those keyboards? Not only can they be a breeding ground for bacteria. microbiologists have found that keyboards can even have up to five times as many bacteria as a bathroom. This includes dangerous ones like E. coli and coliforms (associated with food poisoning) and staphylococcus which causes a range of infections.

Germs are everywhere in the office.

Your keyboard isn't the only bacteria farm in the office. Door and faucet knobs, handles, elevator and printer buttons, hand-shakes and more all are hotspots for bacteria.

Typing too much leads to carpal tunnel syndrome.

This painful wrist strain that can go all the way up your arm, causing permanent nerve damage and muscle wasting.

Keeping your mouse in the same spot makes you prone to repetitive strain injury.

Upper limb RSI occurs when your tendons are straining more than they should for long periods of time, which can be because of movement repetition, a sustained awkward position, or prolonged pressing against hard surfaces.

Smartphone overuse may eventually weaken your hands and wrists.

People who use their smartphones heavily to text and email are prone to muscle fatigue and "Blackberry Thumb," which is a type of RSI. The effects are said to get so bad that the pain can reach all the way up to your wrist, and can be utterly debilitating to your hands.