Due to growing dependence on digital devices and flexibility in traditional work designs, a study observes how people are experiencing different problems. By Team Viva
Technology has become an integral part of life at work as well as at home. It has given employees access to computing power, communication channels, social networks and a variety of tools to help them in every sphere of their work.
Employees are increasingly seeking flexibility in their working arrangements not only with respect to their hours and days of work but also in their ability to perform their work remotely. It is important to understand more about the trends in device usage among employees and how these changing trends are influencing their health. The Workplace and Ergonomics Research Cell of Godrej Interio conducted a study across an office-going population of over 500 people from across a variety of demographics, industry types and Indian cities.
Estimates are that, on an average an employee spends eight to nine hours at work in the office. Seventy per cent of that workforce spend around 8.5 hours sitting at their desk. It was also observed that some employees sit for 2.5 hours at a stretch without taking a break.
The work day is not necessarily restricted to the office for the Indian office-goer. A study by IWG in June 2018, revealed that 58 per cent of people work remotely at least once a week and that more than 53 per cent of the respondents surveyed worked remotely for half the week or more and that 10 per cent worked outside the office for as many as five days in the working week.
This indicates a significant trend of employees working from other places including home as well. Working with tech gadgets for prolonged periods of time can adversely affect their health. They identified that more than 56 per cent of the surveyed population had experienced multiple pain problems such as back pain, headache, fatigue and distraction after the prolonged use of any gadgets.
There were variances in the nature of the complaints based on device usage. The complaints of musculoskeletal pain were higher among laptop users (87 per cent) as compared to desktop users (60 per cent). Almost 45 per cent of the users had experienced a tingling sensation in their arm, shoulder or hand after typing on a smartphone or a hand-held device or after using laptops at a height without a keyboard. Fifty six per cent of the users complained of eye strain and more than 50 per cent of users reported neck pain.
In the context of desktop work, the principal ergonomic risk factor is the traditional work design that doesn’t allow the users the flexibility to work anywhere apart from their designated space. Working in awkward postures was another area observed as a risk factor. It was found that users were sitting in non-neutral postures like sitting halfway through the chair, having inadequate back support and slouching or sitting in un-natural, legs tucked on the chair castors or twisted postures for long hours.
Laptops are now standard equipment in workplaces. They usually tend to be provided to those with a travelling work profile like those in sales and field service. It was found that 66 per cent of the office-going population used a laptop while at work. More than 50 per cent of the users interacted with the laptop for a minimum of six to seven hours a day and 28 per cent used it for more than eight hours a day.
While the device gave them the freedom to move, it was found that the most favoured laptop computing location was still observed to be the workstation and chair. Though the majority of the users used the laptop at their workstation, 73 per cent did not vary their work posture while working there. The static behaviour observed may have been because of a lack of awareness of issues arising out of incorrect ergonomics, recommended user behaviour, work culture or their work profile.
As the design of the gadget is fixed, it affords some challenges to be used ergonomically while ensuring the correct work posture for different individuals. For instance, Laptops have an in-built keyboard resulting in the users adopting an inward posture causing pain in the shoulders and upper back.
The study also showed that 96 per cent of people use smartphones at home. This usage extends beyond work — for social media, for gaming etc. It was observed that almost 79 per cent of users were using the smartphone extensively at work for an average of four to six hours per day. In smartphones, the smaller screen devices put additional strain on the cervical spine and upper back muscles. Holding the phone up to the ear for long periods of time or surfing for longer period can cause problems with the elbows, neck and shoulders like Text Neck Syndrome and Carpal tunnel syndrome.
Clearly, these numbers are alarming and they give strength to the case that device usage is a major risk factor for employee health.