Employees' Familiarity of Computer Ergonomics

Lely Lubna Alaydrus

, Dewi Nusraningrum

Master Candidate, Magister Management Program, Universitas Mercu Buana, Jakarta,Indonesia

Associate Professor, Postgraduate Studies, Universitas Mercu Buana, Jakarta, Indonesia

Keywords: Computer Ergonomics, Familiarity, Employee.

Abstract: The familiarity of computer ergonomics is crucial for the employees since they are working daily with a

computer. The study’s aim is to describe the familiarity of computer ergonomics among employees. This is a

descriptive study of 120 employees selected with a simple random sampling method. The data were gathered

using a self-administered form and analysed with SPSS version 23. Most of the respondents are females (51%)

and aged 20-30 years old (57%). Majority of the respondents were aware of computer ergonomics (65%) and

familiar with the appropriate requirement of ergonomics chair, keyboard, mouse, monitor, workplace

environment, and having a regular break after working with a computer, but less percentage on accessories of

computer, laptop, and hot desking.

1 INTRODUCTION

The number of injuries connected to long-term

computer use is rising rapidly (Editor, 2009).

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), computer vision

syndrome (CVS), and carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS)

are the commonest computer-related injuries (CRIs)

among employees (Haskett, 2019). These may lead to

sickness absence and disability, decreasing work

efficiency, and extensive cost upon the organizations

(Sadeghian, 2014).

MSDs are responsible for about 30% of

employees’ reimbursement costs in the United States.

The US companies paid 50 billion dollars on costs of

MSDs in 2011 (CDC, 2018). These economic costs

are unnecessary because MSDs are preventable. If the

employees are aware of what MSDs are and what

causes them, how to prevent MSDs, then it may help

to reduce the costs and the incidence of injuries.

Another problem is computer vision syndrome

(CVS), which experienced by almost 60 million

people globally that might reduce employees’ quality

of life. Other studies predict that the occurrence of

CVS was about 75 to 90 % among computer users

(Ranasinghe, 2016).

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) is another disorder

among computer users. CTS is a peripheral nerve

entrapment syndrome on the adult wrist because of

high rates of repetitive movement of the wrists,

working with bent wrists, forceful hand motions, and

improper rests of the hands (Dinesh, 2017 and

Newington, 2015). It is clinically characterized by

pain, tingling, and numbness sensation of hand

(Herbert, 2000). The occurrence of CTS was reported

by almost 5% among computer users. This syndrome

is a major cause of work-time restrictions and

economic loss (Jung HY, 2016).

To understand all these, workers must be aware of

computer ergonomics. Computer ergonomics is a

computer terminal that well-designed ergonomically.

This is important for employees who spend hours in

front of a computer (Techterm, 2011). Computer

ergonomics provide clues on how to select the proper

equipment and sit with a good posture, hence when

the principles are implemented and practiced by

employees, it will reduce the incidence of MSDs,

CVS, and CTS. An interventional study by Mary et

al. in New Jersey, US, reported that ergonomic

intervention that involves providing ergonomic

equipment and training on workstation ergonomics

reduced the occurrence of MSDs by an average of

40% (Mary et al., 2001). Hence, it is crucial that all

workers get appropriate training on ergonomics and

having adequate familiarity with computer

ergonomics. Therefore, this study’s aim was to figure

out the familiarity of computer ergonomics among

employees in one private university in Jakarta,

Indonesia.

Alaydrus, L. and Nusraningrum, D.

Employees’ Familiarity of Computer Ergonomics.

DOI: 10.5220/0009958501210126

In Proceedings of the International Conference of Business, Economy, Entrepreneurship and Management (ICBEEM 2019), pages 121-126

ISBN: 978-989-758-471-8

121

2 LITERATURE REVIEW

Kroemer stated that “ergonomics is the application of

scientific principles, methods, and data draws from a

variety of disciplines to the development of

engineering systems in which people play a

significant role” (Kroemer, 2000).

The International Ergonomics Association Executive

Council (IEAEC) defined ergonomics as follows:

“Ergonomics (or human factors) is the scientific

discipline concerned with the understanding of the

interactions among human and other elements of a

system, and the profession that applies theory,

principles, data, and methods to design in order to

optimize human well-being and overall system

performance” (IEAEC, 2000).

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

defined ergonomics as:

“Ergonomics is the science of adapting

workstations, tools, equipment, and job techniques

to be compatible with human anatomy and

physiology to reduce the risk of musculoskeletal

disorder injuries due to ergonomic stressors”

(OSHA, 2018).

In the United States, ergonomics is known as

Human Factors (Swain & Guttman, 1983). The goal

of ergonomics or human factors is to create

comfortable workstations for employees and reduce

the incidence of MSDs or other related injuries (Alan,

2013). Some other benefits are a reduction in worker's

compensation cost, improved productivity, protecting

human resources, reduced turnover, and reduced

absenteeism (Mc Murray, 2014). Another study

reported that ergonomic training successfully reduced

employees’ medical claims (Mc Murray, 2014).

Computer ergonomics comprises selecting certain

tables and chairs that suitable for a worker’s body size

and providing ergonomic keyboards and wrist rests.

All this computer equipment need to have an

ergonomic design. A chair with ergonomic design

may support the back and avoid symptoms of MSDs.

Neck pain could be prevented by adjusting the

monitor to the appropriate height. Carpal tunnel

syndrome (CTS) could be prevented by using a wrist

rest while using a mouse or keyboard. (Mc Murray,

2014).

The height of the table should be adjusted for

every employee. Hence the employee may sit up

straight and see the monitor at the correct level. When

these types of ergonomic equipment are utilized

together, it will create an ergonomic workstation or

computer terminal. This is crucial since most of the

time, they work in front of a computer. Therefore, by

giving attention to this principle of ergonomics,

employees may avoid the occurrence of CRIs in the

future (Techterm, 2011).

The familiarity of workplace ergonomics is the

ability to know and perceive or knowledgeable about

the well-designed and comfortable workplace for the

employees. This familiarity is crucial for every

employee because the unergonomic workplace may

cause injuries (Jomoah, 2014). These injuries do not

occur overnight. Computer ergonomic may help to

avoid the occurrence of CRIs. The employers need to

be aware of this issue by choosing proper desks and

chairs for their employees. On the other hand,

practicing better posture and good working habits are

essential for every worker. This habit can be

ingrained if the workers are familiar with computer

ergonomics (Brace, 2005).

MSDs are injuries of soft-tissue of muscles,

nerves, tendons, ligaments, joints, that result from

continuous and prolonged exposure. This type of

injury is called CRIs (Sinkwittz, 2014). The neck,

back, shoulder, and arm pain, headaches, eyestrain

are common CRIs among computer users. Some

muscle and joint problems will get injuries because of

inadequate workstations and inappropriate posture.

Moreover, employees need to maintain some parts of

the body static for hours in the office. This condition

may reduce the circulation of blood to the organs, and

it may lead to stiffness and pain of muscles, tendons,

or ligaments. These static positions can produce

greater damage to the muscles and joints

(Government, 2018).

Moreover, CVS occurred because the employees

focus their eyes on the monitor for a long period. The

American Optometric Association (AOA) defines

CVS as a “complex of eye and vision problems

related to the activities which stress the near vision

and which are experienced in relation, or during, the

use of the computer” (AOA, 2008). The most

common complaints reported are eyestrain, irritation,

burning sensation, redness, blurred vision, and double

vision. These symptoms may disappear after work,

but some employees may get a prolonged symptom

after work (Loh, 2008).

There are two factors that affect to the occurrence

of CVS, first is personal factors, such as poor sitting

position, wrong viewing distance angle, eye diseases,

and aging; second is environment and computer

factors, such as poor lighting, imbalance of light

between the monitor and the office, poor resolution

and contrast, and glare of the monitor (Assefa, 2017).

The human eyes favor looking at objects more than

six meters. Hence any works performed close up

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cause burdens to the eye muscles. The illuminated

computer monitor may cause eye fatigue. Hence

computer users may get CVC symptoms.

(Government, 2018).

Furthermore, the increasing use of laptops has

caused more injuries, pains, and eyestrains among

computer users. Actually, a laptop was designed for

short time usage of the computer when someone

could not access a desktop. The monitor and keyboard

of a laptop are very close that may cause the user to

lift their arms and shoulders too high. The laptop

users also need to hunch their shoulders and neck, and

these positions will cause neck and shoulder pain

(Government, 2018).

Some organizations have implemented office

ergonomics assessments to reduce and prevent of

CRIs among employees and also conducting

ergonomic training. Integrating the principles of

ergonomics and counseling can achieve healthier

employees and improve productivity and lower costs

(Moore and Lopes, 1999).

3 METHODS

A descriptive quantitative study was used in this

research. The study was conducted among 120

computer users at Universitas Mercu Buana (UMB),

Jakarta, from January-February 2019. The inclusion

criteria of the participant were computer users that

have been using the computer for their daily tasks for

about one year and with a minimum of 5 hours

working with a computer daily in the office. The

exclusion criteria were office workers who are having

musculoskeletal complaints because of acute trauma

in the last 30 days or systemic diseases such as gout,

hyperlipidemia, or eye diseases such as

conjunctivitis.

The data was collected by using a validated self-

administered questionnaire that consists of questions

on socio-demographic data; 16 questions on

awareness of workstation ergonomics by using the

Workstation Ergonomics Self-Assessment

(Queensland Government, 2013). The content and

face validity were done by the researchers, and the

construct validity was done by using Pearson's

Bivariate analysis. A pilot study was carried out by

distributing a questionnaire to 30 non-sample

participants, with Cronbach’s alpha 0.700.

The familiarity score was obtained by giving

score 'one' for each correct answer and 'zero' for the

wrong answer based on participants' responses to

questions from the questionnaire. The maximum

score was 16 and minimum score was 3 (mean

score=9.6±2.6; median= 10, mode = 11).

Furthermore, the familiarity of workstation

ergonomics was categorized into two categories,

‘aware’ if the score obtained was more than mean

score (≥ 9), and ‘unaware’ if the score obtained was

less than mean score (< 9).

4 RESULTS

The result showed that the majority of participants are

women (50.8%), aged 20-30 years old (56.7%), and

never attended any ergonomics training (87.5%). The

assessment of workstation ergonomics was displayed

in Table 1. Based on the assessment, most of the

participants were aware of workstation ergonomics

(65%).

5 DISCUSSION

The majority of the participants were familiar with

computer ergonomics (65%). However, they had a

low percentage on some questions, such as questions

on accessories, laptop, and hotdesking (Table1).

Regarding computer accessories, only 16.7% of

participants that was having a small inclined board to

assist them in reading or writing. More than half of

the participants did not have a document holder

(53%), and fewer participants use a headphone when

they were writing and at the same time, having a

conversation on the phone (22.5%). Moreover, many

of them did not use a full-sized external keyboard and

mouse while using the laptop for prolonged periods

(67.5%), and the majority did not get hotdesking

(89,2%).

This situation remains a concern because if it is

managed carefully will cause future injuries for the

employees. The use of laptops in the office should be

avoided, because working in the office about 8 hours

relatively long period and may cause injuries, such as

neck and shoulder pain. Laptops should be used only

for a short time. Moreover, the university should

provide a document holder for each employee, since

most of them work with writing and viewing

documents. Hot desking should be conducted to

supervise workers so that computer-related injuries

can be avoided.

Habibi (2016) and Husein (2009) suggested an

ergonomic intervention such as workplace redesign,

educate the users about ergonomic principles of

computers and reduce working with computers to

prevent injuries (Habibi, 2016; Husein, 2009). An

Employees’ Familiarity of Computer Ergonomics

123

ergonomics chair may also prevent computer-related

injuries and reduce body pain (Pardede, 2013).

6 CONCLUSIONS

Most of the employees at UMB were familiar with

computer ergonomics, but at some issues should be

corrected to increase the level of familiarity and to

avoid the computer-related injuries. Ergonomics

training is highly recommended for all employees at

UMB.

7 SUGGESTIONS

This study is useful as additional literature for

ergonomics research among computer users in

Indonesia. Future research regarding ergonomics can

be carried out in other institutions, for example, such

as experimental study with observation or monitoring

the employees while they are working with computer

in their offices from 8 am to 5 pm using closed-circuit

television (CCTV) to figure out whether they work

according to the ergonomics principles or not.

7.1 Limitation of the Study

The study was only conducted in one university.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This research is funded by the Ministry of Research,

Technology, and Higher Education of Indonesia

(Project no. 71372111).

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Table 1. Assessment on Workstation Ergonomics

Questions Yes

Frequency (%)

(n=120)

Frequency (%)

(n= 120)

Chair

1. Can the height, seat, and back of the chair be

adjusted to achieve the posture outlined below?

78 (65.0) 42 (35.0)

2. Does your chair provide support for your lower

back?

88 (73.3) 32 (26.7)

3. When your back is supported, you able to sit without

feeling pressure from the chair seat on the back of your

knees?

76 (63.3) 44 (36.7)

4. Do your armrests allow you to get close to your

workstation?

87 (72.5) 33 (27.5)

Keyboard and Mouse

1. Are frequently used items within easy reach? 105 (87.5) 15 (12.5)

2. When using your keyboard and mouse, are your

wrists straight and your upper arms relaxed?

87 (72.5) 33 (27.5)

3. Is the mouse comfortable to use? 103 (85.8) 17 (14.2)

Workstation environment and monitor

1. Is your monitor and work surface free from glare? 87 (72.5) 33 (27.5)

2. Do you have appropriate light for reading or writing

documents?

117 (97.5) 3 (2.5)

Break

1. Do you take postural breaks every 30 minutes? E.g.,

standing, walking to printer/facsimile, etc.?

83 (69.2) 37 (30.8)

2. Do you take regular eye breaks from looking at your

monitor?

85 (70.8) 35 (29.2)

Accessories

1. Is there a sloped desk surface or angle board for

reading and writing tasks if required?

20 (16.7) 100 (83.3)

2. Is there a document holder either beside the screen or

between the screen and keyboard if required?

56 (46.7) 64 (53.3)

3. Are you using a headset or speakerphone if you are

writing or keying while talking on the phone?

27 (22.5) 93 (77.5)

Laptop

In the event of using a laptop computer for prolonged

periods of time, use of a full-sized external keyboard

and mouse.

39 (32.5) 81 (67.5)

Hot Desking

Provided time, support, and supervision to make the

above adjustments.

13 (10.8) 107 (89.2)

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