Ergonomics and Health

Articles and Research on Ergonomics

Work Disorders and Occupational Stress

February 1st, 2012 by robert

As indicated in the review of the epidemiologic, a number of workplace psychosocial factors can affect work-related back and upper extremity work disorders.

The literature provides strong evidence for the role, in low back disorders, of job satisfaction, monotonous work, social support at work, high work demands, job stress, and emotional effort at work. The perception of one’s ability to return to work was also positively associated with future back pain.

While the literature on upper extremity work disorders is not so extensive as with back disorders, higher levels of perceived job demands and job stress were the psychosocial factors most consistently linked to upper extremity work disorders. The reviews of the epidemiologic literature also indicated that certain psychosocial factors that are not work-specific (e.g., general worry/psychological tension, depression/anxiety, general coping style, and response to pain) were also associated with both back and upper extremity disorders. Nonwork-related variables tend to be more commonly related to back than to upper extremity disorders.

Musculoskeletal Injuries and Illnesses Reported by Occupation

February 1st, 2012 by robert

The percentage of reported injuries or illnesses involving days away from work in 1997 that were attributed to repetitive motion or overexertion from lifting has been tabulated by Ruser (1999).

Approximately 43.6 percent of the reports of the injury or illnesses associated with overexertion from lifting and 49.7 percent associated with repetitive motion come from employees working in jobs in the operator/fabricator/laborer category. The next highest categories for lifting were service (18.3 percent) and technical/sales/administrative support (17.7 percent). For repetitive motion, the next highest categories were technical/sales/administrative support (21.6 percent) and precision/production/craft/repair (12.3 percent).

It is interesting to note that overall the percentage of injuries or illnesses reported from lifting declined by 25 percent between 1992 and 1997; those attributed to repetitive motion declined by 16 percent. Since jobs in manual materials handling are a major source of reported musculoskeletal injuries and illnesses, we take the analysis another step and examine the types of workers’ compensation claims resulting from work in jobs involving manual materials handling. This analysis is supplemented by data collected from a large number of companies on various features of manual materials handling tasks.

Work Now and in the Future

February 1st, 2012 by robert

Much has been written about the nature of work and how it is influenced by ever advancing technology, shifts in market forces, the demographics of the workforce, and changing occupational structures (National Research Council, 1999a; Howard, 1995).

The central theme of work both now and in the future is diversity in workers, jobs, workplace design, and work location. At the level of industries and occupations, changes have been occurring for a number of years. For example, there has been a shift from blue-collar work to service work, a trend toward teamwork, and an increasing need for all levels of employees to develop new skills for working with technology.