Work-related morbidity profile among software professionals in Chennai, Tamil Nadu: A pre-pandemic, cross-sectional study

Abstract

Introduction Computers have become ubiquitous in today's world and have considerable impact on human health. This study was planned to assess the common work-related morbidity among software professionals in a selected software firm in Chennai, Tamil Nadu and to identify the role of occupational characteristics and ergonomics of workstation on morbidity profile of the participants. Materials and methods This was a descriptive, cross-sectional study conducted between January and February 2020 among 160 employees of a software firm in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, using a pretested, semi-structured questionnaire consisting of sociodemographic and occupational characteristics, morbidity profile including perceived stress scale and workstation ergonomics. A p value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results The response rate was 98.1% (152 participants). Among the 152 employees who participated, 88.8% reported work-related morbidity; 75.7% and 74.3% reported visual and musculoskeletal symptoms respectively. Eye strain (52%) and pain (49.3%) respectively were the commonest visual and musculoskeletal symptoms reported; 56.6% employees reported moderate and 12.5% reported high levels of stress. The occurrence of visual symptoms were significantly associated with gender, duration of work experience, work-hours per day and poor workstation ergonomics (P<0.05). Conclusion Our study identifies a high burden of work-related morbidity among software professionals. It is essential to adopt a pro-active, multi-disciplinary approach with focus on social and occupational factors in prevention of work-related morbidity.