Ergonomic Discomfort Profile of a Telecommunication Company with Health Promotion Implications

Abstract

The use of ergonomic discomfort and fatigue profiles can be effective tools in selecting the type of health promotion and safety programs required to improve employee health and productivity. Profiles vary according to industry and job characteristics. PURPOSE: To report the findings of an ergonomic and exercise questionnaire in a call center that required sitting and answering telephones for 8 hour shift and to discuss the implications for exercise, nutrition and safety programming. METHODS: An anonymous ergonomic and exercise questionnaire was administered to 393 volunteers in a communication company, 71% female and mean age 33.6±9.78 yrs. The questionnaire included body part discomfort, fatigue and injury assessments. The discomfort scale ranged from 0–5 with 0 = no discomfort to 5 = very uncomfortable. Fatigue was measured in two hour time intervals starting at 5 minutes and continuing to the end of the 8 hour shift on a similar ranking scale of 0–5. RESULTS: The most distressed body parts with the percentage of those reporting the higher discomfort levels of 3–5 were: lower back, 41%; neck, 35%; upper back, 30%; eyes, 27%; right shoulder, 24%; left shoulder, 21%; and right wrist 20%. Mean number of days since discomfort began: 176±40.6 days. 71.0% indicated the discomfort occurred gradually over time. The mean fatigue level increased from .5 to 2.5 over the 8 hours with a significant slope increase (1.18±1.39 to 2.46±1.50, p< .05) between hours 6 and 8 of the shift. Injured employees required 33–54 days to become accustomed to job; non injured 15–31 days. CONCLUSIONS: The discomfort profile indicated the health promotion targets for this sedentary work environment were those related to the spine, shoulders, eyes and wrists. Suggestions for targeting these top discomfort areas included the following: Use of computers to prompt exercise and stretch breaks supported by a booklet that illustrates exercises for the top discomfort areas; resistance exercise, especially for the low back; and exercise along with nutritional programming to address the 6–8 hour fatigue rise. Management training would assist supervisors to identify and assist those new employees who had difficulty physically adjusting to the job or were experiencing gradually increasing body discomfort, in an effort to reduce musculoskeletal injury.