Introduction
The issues of ergonomics are of considerable importance for human beings. Busy with any activity, a person tries to structure it in a way that will allow make less effort and get more benefit from it. The aspect of the convenience and healthiness of the activity is also crucial. Therefore, ergonomics is the science helping people achieve their goals with fewer losses, which is vital for the modern world where computerization is global and it causes considerable health problems to people.
Musculoskeletal issues, various syndromes, and other disorders are associated nowadays with work with computers, and this paper aims at researching the factors that do not allow the complete elimination of health complications in people who work with computers. It is a universal truth that today ergonomics is paid much attention to, but the issues connected with the lack of ergonomic knowledge still bother society. Drawing from this, the topic of the current research is rather actual and valid.
Background
Needless to say, that the current research is not the first step in the study of ergonomics and its effect on social life. The relevant research work by other scholars including Berner & Jacobs (2002), Dockrell, Fallon, Kelly, Masterson & Shields (2007), Hendricks, Spoor, De Jong & Goossens (2006), Smith & Bayehi (2003) presents a valuable amount of theoretical and research-proven information on the ergonomics development and importance. For example, Berner & Jacobs (2002) in their work touch upon the topic of the difference between the level of ergonomic information that is accessible to computer workers and the very level of application of this information.
According to this study, among 60% of all the computer workers having access to ergonomic knowledge, only 10% use this knowledge in practice, which is explained by the so-called trap of the preparation stage after which a user never starts taking actual steps. Dockrell, Fallon, Kelly, Masterson & Shields (2007) study the issue of computer use in schools stating that in the Republic of Ireland 99.7% of schools are computerized, while 86.9% of teachers in the report the need for ergonomic education, which is lacking now.
The very medical side of ergonomics is touched upon by Hendricks, Spoor, De Jong & Goossens (2006), who study 21 sitting postures to determine why people choose some of them and how this choice affects their health while working with computers. Smith & Bayehi (2003) consider the effects of practical ergonomics improvement interventions upon the productivity of computer workers and find out that only half of the respondents reported improvements while another half experienced decline in their productivity. All these data demonstrate the comprehensive analysis carried out by scholars for all the spheres of application of ergonomics. At the same time, the work by Kroemer, Kroemer, & Kroemer-Elbert, (2001) assists in clearing up the basics of ergonomics and adds to the credibility of the current research paper.
Methods
Drawing from the above-considered information, the purpose of this research paper is to assess the major disorders caused by long-time work with computers including carpal tunnel syndrome, neck tension syndrome, carrying heavy loads (30 kg) in one hand and on the back, to see why these issues still bother people even though ergonomics is rather influential and effective nowadays. To achieve this purpose, the methods of literature review and the anonymous interview using a self-designed questionnaire will be used.
The essence of the first method (whose generalized findings are presented in the respective section above) lies in the study of the previous research works on ergonomics and its application for the increase of healthiness of work and facilitation of people’s practical use of their ergonomic knowledge at their workstations.
The main purpose of this method is to collect information about the most often reasons for health problems connected with computer work and see what the numerical relation of those who have ergonomic knowledge and those who regularly use it in practice is. Finally, the literature review will allow us to see the contrast between the reported figures and the results the questionnaire will bring. Also, the main areas demanding additional research can be seen through the review so that to be able to propose any guidelines for future work.
The aforesaid questionnaire will consist of two major blocks of questions, one concerning the access and ability to use ergonomic knowledge, and another one trying to find out what types of disorders are caused by computer work to the questionnaire respondents. The results of the questionnaire will be reported in a table in the Results section of this paper.
Results
Having carried out a detailed and thorough analysis of the previous research works on ergonomics and various musculoskeletal syndromes caused by computer work, the research paper has managed to find out that today the majority of people use computers at work, at home, etc (Berner & Jacobs, 2002). The bulk of schools and universities are also computerized which makes students spend over 5 hours daily on average at the computers (Dockrell, Fallon, Kelly, Masterson & Shields, 2007).
This fact leads to numerous disorders among which carpal tunnel syndrome and neck tension syndrome are observed rather often. Although the majority of research respondents questioned by Dockrell, Fallon, Kelly, Masterson & Shields (2007) and others report the need for ergonomic knowledge, the results of those research studies manifest the low level of readiness of those people to practically implement the knowledge.
All the researchers, and especially Berner & Jacobs (2002), keep to the viewpoint that the main reason for this fact is the preparation stage from which people seldom move on to taking actual steps in the direction of making their work more ergonomic. Thus, even though ergonomics is rather developed nowadays and the knowledge of this science is readily available for almost any person, the practical use of this knowledge is far from adequate as people still do not find time to deal with their carpal tunnel syndrome and neck tension syndrome or cannot move on from preparing to do this to do.
Not surprisingly, the results of my interview carried out with the help of the aforesaid questionnaire prove these findings, although at a smaller scope. Having questioned 50 respondents, whose names and other personal data are confidential, I have come to almost the same conclusions as Dockrell, Fallon, Kelly, Masterson & Shields (2007), Hendricks, Spoor, De Jong & Goossens (2006), and other have. It is difficult for people to switch to more ergonomic ways of work, even though they know how to do it. The following table (Table 1) presents the results of the interview in figures and percentage relation.
Table 1.
According to this table, the research resulted in the findings that evidence that people, in their majority, have access to ergonomic information (88%), but are either reluctant to use it or feel difficulties with moving on from the preparation stage to the actual ergonomic modernization of their workplaces (70%). Carpal tunnel syndrome and neck tension syndrome are the most often experiences disorders in those working with a computer, and they can be compared in their seriousness with carrying loads of approximately 30 kg in one hand or on the back, which is considered to be the hardest ways of carrying loads.
Block 2 results show that every respondent had more than one disorder. Due to this, the percentage is over 100%, showing that some people with carpal tunnel syndrome experience neck tension syndrome and vice versa, or they suffer from the combination of both and some other disorders including tendonitis, cubital tunnel syndrome, white fingers, pronator syndrome, etc. referred to as Other in the questionnaire and the above table.
Conclusions
To conclude, the issues of ergonomics are of considerable importance for human beings. Musculoskeletal issues, various syndromes, and other disorders are associated nowadays with work with computers, and this paper has managed to research the factors that do not allow the complete elimination of health complications in people who work with computers.
Carpal tunnel syndrome and neck tension syndrome are observed rather often among computer workers, and both the study of previous research and the results of the current work prove the viewpoint that people are reluctant to fight with them because of the preparation stage (i. e. the period when the workers obtain ergonomic data and prepare to use them) during which they are about to take steps in ergonomic direction but cannot move on to actually taking those steps.
References
Berner, K. & Jacobs, K. (2002). The gap between exposure and implementation of computer workstation ergonomics in the workplace. Boston University Student Paper, 193 – 199.
Dockrell, S., Fallon, E., Kelly, M., Masterson, B. & Shields, N. (2007). School children’s use of computers and teachers’ education in computer ergonomics. Ergonomics, 50(10), 1657 – 1667.
Hendricks, H. M., Spoor, C. W., De Jong, A. M. & Goossens, R. H. M. (2006). Stability of sitting postures: the influence of degrees of freedom. Ergonomics, 49(15), 1611 – 1626.
Kroemer, K., Kroemer, H., & Kroemer-Elbert, K. (2001). Ergonomics: How to Design for Ease and Efficiency (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Smith, M. J. & Bayehi, A. D. (2003). Do ergonomics improvements increase computer workers’ productivity?: an intervention study in a call centre. Ergonomics, 46(1-3), 3 – 18.