Division for Occupational Health, Croatian Institute of Public Health, Zagreb, Croatia.
Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia.
Front Public Health. 2023 Jul 3;11:1155745. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1155745. eCollection 2023.
Telework has become considerably more common during the ongoing pandemic. Although working remotely may have numerous advantages, negative impacts on workers' health and safety should also be considered. Telework is a major contributor to the development or aggravation of work-related musculoskeletal disorders where unsuited workstation ergonomics, sedentary behavior, as well as psychosocial and organizational factors play a role. This paper aims to identify telework-related risks and their impact on musculoskeletal health as well as provide recommendations that may be useful in constructing future preventive measures. A comprehensive literature search regarding the topic has been performed. Teleworkers experience musculoskeletal pain and discomfort mostly in low back area, neck, shoulders, arms, and hands. Poor ergonomic solutions when it comes to workstation design resulting in prolonged sitting in non-neutral positions contribute to the development and aggravation of musculoskeletal disorders in teleworkers. Working with inadequately placed screens and laptops and sitting in maladjusted seats without usual functionalities and ergonomic support is associated with musculoskeletal pain and discomfort. Extended working hours with fewer rest periods to meet increased work demands, social isolation, and lack of support from work colleagues and superiors as well as blurred work-home boundaries and omnipresence of work are commonly stated psychosocial and organizational factors associated with musculoskeletal disorders. Environmental factors such as poor lighting and glare, inadequate room temperature, and ventilation or noise, are frequently overlooked remote workstation risk factors. For a certain part of workers, telework will remain a common way of work in the post-pandemic period. Therefore, it is essential to identify telework-related risk factors for musculoskeletal disorders and address them with timely preventive measures tailored to each remote workstation's risks and individual workers' needs.
在当前的大流行期间，远程办公已经变得相当普遍。虽然远程办公可能有很多好处，但也应该考虑到对工人健康和安全的负面影响。远程办公是导致与工作相关的肌肉骨骼疾病发展或恶化的主要因素，其中不适当的工作站人体工程学、久坐行为以及心理社会和组织因素都发挥了作用。本文旨在确定与远程办公相关的风险及其对肌肉骨骼健康的影响，并提供可能有助于构建未来预防措施的建议。已经针对该主题进行了全面的文献检索。远程办公人员主要在腰部、颈部、肩部、手臂和手部感到肌肉骨骼疼痛和不适。工作站设计中人体工程学解决方案不佳，导致长时间处于非中立姿势，这会导致肌肉骨骼疾病在远程办公人员中发展和恶化。使用不合适的屏幕和笔记本电脑工作，坐在没有通常功能和人体工程学支撑的不适当的椅子上，与肌肉骨骼疼痛和不适有关。为了满足增加的工作需求，远程办公人员通常会延长工作时间，减少休息时间，从而导致社交孤立以及缺乏同事和上级的支持，工作与家庭之间的界限变得模糊，工作无处不在，这些都是与肌肉骨骼疾病相关的常见心理社会和组织因素。环境因素，如光线和眩光不佳、室温、通风或噪音不足，通常是被忽视的远程工作站风险因素。对于一部分工人来说，远程办公将在大流行后成为一种常见的工作方式。因此，识别与肌肉骨骼疾病相关的远程办公风险因素并通过针对每个远程工作站的风险和个人工人的需求及时采取预防措施来解决这些问题至关重要。
