Trends in Workplace Changes: Follow-Up of Job Analyses

Abstract

Ergonomic job analysis is considered to be a primary step in preventing work disability related to musculoskeletal problems. There has been little work examining what ergonomic changes are actually occurring after an ergonomic job analysis. This paper looks at what types of workplace changes are being implemented and what if any trends exist in these changes. It was found that in the manufacturing setting, workers were more likely to change jobs and workplace changes occurred with line changes rather than as an accommodation for a particular employee. In the office setting, ad hoc individualized changes to workstations were used in an effort to accommodate workers in their current jobs.