Ergonomic improvements in the office environment

Business Horizons, March-April, 1994 by Kathy Franchi, Robert A. Fleck, Jr.

The electronic office has dramatically changed the way we do business. It has enhanced our ability to gather and exchange information and resources. We have access to global data through communication links and remote data bases. We share data across oceans and work within groups that never physically meet. And we have become dependent on this access and flow of information in making sound business decisions.

While this electronic office has altered the way we do business and compete in the marketplace, it has also changed the manner in which we work. People are spending long hours at computer terminals performing repetitive tasks. They are working in noisy, poorly lit offices, seated in a fixed position on chairs and at desks meant for other tasks.

These concerns are not limited to office furniture. When evaluating hardware, according to O'Brien (1991), one must ask two questions:

1. Has it been "human factor engineered" with the user in mind?

2. Is it "user-friendly" - that is, designed to be safe, comfortable, and easy to use?

These same questions of ergonomics can be applied to the entire work environment. Is the lighting adequate, with little or no glare? Is the seating adjustable with good lumbar support? Is the computer equipment positioned for ease of use and the height of the monitor adjustable for the user? Is the noise level conducive to productivity and is the air quality good?

The ideal work environment should be compatible for multiple users, who must have some degree of control over it. This is of particular importance for data processing centers, computer controlled manufacturing departments, and other areas that operate 24 hours per day.

Technological advances in computing have outpaced concomitant changes in the work environment. Less consideration has been given to the cost of poorly designed work areas than to the benefit of improved processor speeds. Some argue that current equipment, furniture, and work environments are not economically designed with the user in mind.

This article, then, focuses on the changing environmental work requirements of computer users and the impact of these changing requirements on ergonomic design. It also discusses the legal aspects of employee health hazards and the relationship of ergonomics to productivity, and concludes with guidelines and recommendations from experts in ergonomic design.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

The business world relies extensively on information systems for decision support. As this demand for information increases, so does the demand for data entry personnel and other information workers. These people spend hours in fixed positions either entering data or peering at monitors or printouts. Recently many information workers have been complaining of such symptoms as eye strain, headaches, carpal tunnel syndrome, back and neck aches, dermatitis, and nausea. In the past, people pecked away at typewriters for years with little mention of symptoms, but now computer users are experiencing a multitude of repetitive stress injuries, or RSIs.

RSIs may have become so common because we are no longer required to move a manual carriage return or withdraw and insert paper into the typewriter. The amount of motion can be reduced further by the ubiquitous modem. The modem permits us to remain at the keyboard without picking up the telephone handset and placing it in an external acoustic coupler to make a connection. This means workers are spending considerably more time with their hands on the keyboard and taking fewer breaks from their tasks. Frederick Taylor and his principles of scientific management may have arrived at full fruition with the modern information worker.

Risk Factors

Marvin J. Dainoff, Director of the Center for Ergonomic Research at Miami University, maintains that RSI is the result of four risk factors acting in combination:

1. high rates of repetition;

2. awkward posture;

3. use of excessive force; and

4. lack of adequate rest and recovery.

Dr. John Henderson of the Hughston Orthopaedic Clinic in Columbus, Georgia, states that besides these overuse injuries, one must also consider "mal-design of the workstation and CRT-related problems" as contributing factors to employee health complaints.

VDT Radiation

Another concern for workers is the increased exposure to radiation from Video Display Tubes (VDTs). According to Booker (1990), "Studies have been made that associate VDT exposure with miscarriages." Yet Rosch (1991) maintains that "no one has proven a causal relationship between PC use and miscarriages, stillbirths, and birth defects." He cites sources indicating that up to 20 percent of all pregnancies end in miscarriage, whether or not the mother works at a PC. According to Dr. Henderson, there may not be a medical relation at all between VDT users and miscarriages. He puts this into perspective with the following questions: "In general, who spends the most time in front of VDTs? Young women. Who has the most number of miscarriages? Young women." In fact, he says, the radiation emission from VDTs is much safer than that from microwaves.