Improvements in musculoskeletal symptoms, mental workload and mental fatigue: Effects of a multicomponent ergonomic intervention among call center workers.
{"title":"Improvements in musculoskeletal symptoms, mental workload and mental fatigue: Effects of a multicomponent ergonomic intervention among call center workers.","authors":"Ali Seyed Sharifi, M. K. Danesh, Reza Gholamniya","doi":"10.3233/WOR-213641","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"BACKGROUND\nCall center workers are highly susceptible to work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs) as well as mental stress. Nonetheless, there has been a surprising paucity in the body of the research regarding interventions among call center workers.\n\n\nOBJECTIVE\nThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the effectiveness of a multicomponent ergonomic intervention program on mental workload, mental fatigue and WRMSDs of call center employees.\n\n\nMETHOD\nA non-randomized interventional study with a single group pretest-posttest design was conducted among 84 call center workers of a private telecommunication company in the city of Tehran, Iran. At the baseline, data regarding WRMSDs prevalence, mental workload and mental fatigue were collected by means of standard Nordic, NASA-TLX and SOFI questionnaires, respectively. Then, subjects participated in a multifaceted intervention program including comprehensive office ergonomic training, work layout improvement, supervised on-site face to face visits, and provision of quality break time encompassing regular exercise program. Follow-up assessment was carried out after 6 months.\n\n\nRESULTS\nAfter the intervention, prevalence of WMSDs in the neck (10% , P = 0.022), lower back (8.4% , P = 0.04), and knees (9.5% , P = 0.02) decreased significantly, while improvements in other body areas remained insignificant. Results also showed a significant decrease in overall score of mental demand (P = 0.000) as well as three of its subscales including performance (P = 0.02), effort (P = 0.001), and frustration (P = 0.025). Additionally, positive effect of the intervention was also observable on overall mental fatigue of call center workers (P = 0.016). As for its subscales, Lack of energy was reported to decrease meaningfully (P = 0.007) while lack of motivation did not change significantly (P = 0.240).\n\n\nCONCLUSION\nAlthough the primary focus of many ergonomic interventions has remained to measure physical outcomes of the work place, our findings show that multicomponent interventions are indeed capable of boosting cognitive aspects of the work as well. The future studies should consider investigating such outcomes.","PeriodicalId":49090,"journal":{"name":"Cognition Technology & Work","volume":"141 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4000,"publicationDate":"2022-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"3","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Cognition Technology & Work","FirstCategoryId":"5","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.3233/WOR-213641","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"ENGINEERING, INDUSTRIAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 3
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Call center workers are highly susceptible to work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs) as well as mental stress. Nonetheless, there has been a surprising paucity in the body of the research regarding interventions among call center workers.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effectiveness of a multicomponent ergonomic intervention program on mental workload, mental fatigue and WRMSDs of call center employees.
METHOD
A non-randomized interventional study with a single group pretest-posttest design was conducted among 84 call center workers of a private telecommunication company in the city of Tehran, Iran. At the baseline, data regarding WRMSDs prevalence, mental workload and mental fatigue were collected by means of standard Nordic, NASA-TLX and SOFI questionnaires, respectively. Then, subjects participated in a multifaceted intervention program including comprehensive office ergonomic training, work layout improvement, supervised on-site face to face visits, and provision of quality break time encompassing regular exercise program. Follow-up assessment was carried out after 6 months.
RESULTS
After the intervention, prevalence of WMSDs in the neck (10% , P = 0.022), lower back (8.4% , P = 0.04), and knees (9.5% , P = 0.02) decreased significantly, while improvements in other body areas remained insignificant. Results also showed a significant decrease in overall score of mental demand (P = 0.000) as well as three of its subscales including performance (P = 0.02), effort (P = 0.001), and frustration (P = 0.025). Additionally, positive effect of the intervention was also observable on overall mental fatigue of call center workers (P = 0.016). As for its subscales, Lack of energy was reported to decrease meaningfully (P = 0.007) while lack of motivation did not change significantly (P = 0.240).
CONCLUSION
Although the primary focus of many ergonomic interventions has remained to measure physical outcomes of the work place, our findings show that multicomponent interventions are indeed capable of boosting cognitive aspects of the work as well. The future studies should consider investigating such outcomes.
期刊介绍:
Cognition, Technology & Work focuses on the practical issues of human interaction with technology within the context of work and, in particular, how human cognition affects, and is affected by, work and working conditions.
The aim is to publish research that normally resides on the borderline between people, technology, and organisations. Including how people use information technology, how experience and expertise develop through work, and how incidents and accidents are due to the interaction between individual, technical and organisational factors.
The target is thus the study of people at work from a cognitive systems engineering and socio-technical systems perspective.
The most relevant working contexts of interest to CTW are those where the impact of modern technologies on people at work is particularly important for the users involved as well as for the effects on the environment and plants. Modern society has come to depend on the safe and efficient functioning of a multitude of technological systems as diverse as industrial production, transportation, communication, supply of energy, information and materials, health and finance.