Work from home and musculoskeletal pain in telecommunications workers during COVID-19 pandemic: a pilot study

Abstract

One of the side-effects of the COVID-19 pandemic is a global change in work ergonomic patterns as millions of people replaced their usual work environment with home to limit the spread of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2) infection. The aim of our cross-sectional pilot study was to identify musculoskeletal pain that may have resulted from this change and included 232 telecommunications company workers of both genders [121 (52.2 %) men aged 23–62 (median 41; interquartile range 33–46 yrs.) and 111 (47.8 %) women aged 23–53 (median 40; interquartile range 33–44)] who had been working from home for eight months (from 16 March to 4 December 2020) before they joined the study. The participants were asked to fill in our web-based questionnaire by self-assessing their experience of hand, lower back, and upper back/neck pain while working at home and by describing their work setting and physical activity. Compared to previous work at the office, 90 (39.1 %) participants reported stronger pain in the lower back, 105 (45.7 %) in the upper back/neck, and 63 (27.2 %) in their hands. Only one third did not report any musculoskeletal problems related to work from home. Significantly fewer men than women reported hand, lower back, and upper back/ neck pain (p=0.033, p=0.001 and p=0.013, respectively). Sixty-nine workers (29.9 %) reported to work in a separate room, 75 (32.4 %) worked in a separate section of a room with other household members, whereas 87 (37.7 %) had no separate work space, 30 of whom most often worked in the dining room. Ninety-five participants (40.9 %) had no office desk to work at, and only 75 (32.3 %) used an ergonomic chair. Of those who shared their household with others (N=164), 116 (70.7 %) complained about constant or occasional disturbances. Over a half of all participants (52 %) said that they worked longer hours from home than at work, predominantly women (p=0.05). Only 69 participants (29.9 %) were taking frequent breaks, predominantly older ones (p=0.006). Our findings clearly point to a need to inform home workers how to make more ergonomic use of non-ergonomic equipment, use breaks, and exercise and to inform employers how to better organise working hours to meet the needs of work from home.

O impacto do home office na saúde dos trabalhadores durante a Pandemia da COVID-19: uma revisão de literatura / The impact of home office on workers' health during the COVID-19 Pandemic: a literature review

“…2021) De acordo com um estudo feito na Índia, a parte superior das costas e membros superiores foram os mais afetados, já as dores na parte inferior das costas e membros inferiores diminuíram significativamente após o início da pandemia (MAJUMDAR et al, 2020). A maior prevalência de dores no pescoço e parte inferior das costas, principalmente em mulheres, foi relatada em outros dois estudos (RADULOVIĆ et al, 2021) (PRIETO-GONZÁLEZ et al, 2021. Outro estudo feito nos Estados Unidos, apontou um aumento na prevalência de dor no pescoço, parte superior das costas, quadril e joelho (GULER et al, 2021).…”

“…Diante do exposto, foi possível identificar diversos fatores que impactaram negativamente na saúde de indivíduos mantidos sob regime de home office, durante a pandemia da Covid-19. Ganho ponderal, desenvolvimento de distúrbios musculoesqueléticos e diminuição do bem estar mental foram algumas das consequências encontradas (RADULOVIĆ et al, 2021).…”

“…O aumento de horas de trabalho do indivíduo, em ambiente ergonomicamente inadequado e despreparado para o exercício do ofícioem razão do surgimento de distrações antes não encontradas nas atividades laborais presenciaiscontribuíram de forma significativa para o aparecimento das preocupantes condições de saúde supracitadas. Ademais, observa-se redução do tempo livre do funcionário para realização de atividades físicas, as quais possuem caráter preventivo contra doenças psíquicas, como depressão e ansiedade; moléstias osteomusculares; e disfunções metabólicas relacionadas ao ganho de peso (XIAO et al, 2020) (RADULOVIĆ et al, 2021.…”

“…Notou-se a importância da implementação de programas educacionais e de treinamento, para os funcionários em situação de home office, que abordem questões referentes à adaptação da residência de tal maneira que o mesmo consiga realizar suas atividades laborais sob circunstâncias ergonomicamente adequadas, ter tempo para se alimentar melhor e realizar atividades físicas, garantindo saúde física e mental durante à pandemia (GERDING et al, 2021) (RADULOVIĆ et al, 2021.…”

Association of Preference and Frequency of Teleworking with Work Functioning Impairment

“…In this study, when teleworking preference and teleworking frequency were adjusted, a teleworking preference was associated with work functioning impairment whereas the teleworking frequency was no longer associated with work functioning impairment. Some studies have suggested that teleworking is associated with poor health conditions, such as depression and musculoskeletal pain 31,32 . Key to detecting signs of work functioning impairment would be to follow up on the health conditions of employees who frequently telework.…”