New stance on posture
February 1st 2006

Most computer workers have aches, many have pain and some have severe pain, according to Hugh Babington Smith of Etcom People Engineers. However, with the correct posture training, he believes that such aches and pains can be avoided or reduced, leading to enhanced performance and morale

Across the country, every day, millions of people toil over their computers. These people, like you and me, evolved as hunter-gatherers, not for peering at a screen. Their musculo-skeletal system is continually fighting to get away from this unnatural behaviour and, when the body is improperly used, it hurts.

However, very few people take time off because of this pain. Health and Safety Statistics show that in 2004/2005 less than 0.5% of workers (one in 200) self-reported workrelated musculoskeletal disorders. Very few cases go to court and there has never been a Health and Safety Executive prosecution for breach of the Display Screen Equipment (DSE) regulations. It is because most businesses do not experience absence or litigation that posture is not perceived to be a business issue.

Success story?

So what's the deal? Surely this is a success story? Presumably our equipment is so good, our health and safety law so apt, our practitioners so skilled, the risks of litigation so remote, that we can all get on with life and stop worrying about musculoskeletal discomfort and pain? In short, why bother?

Well, take another look at the picture. Subjectively, we all know that computers cause problems; anecdotally, most of us have met people with horror stories. There are some surveys (my company's results among them) that have shown that about 70 out of every 100 computer users suffer discomfort or pain. So, why this contradiction - just one in 200 taking absence, yet 70% not happy?

There is no contradiction, just different sides of the same picture. Excluding accidents, musculoskeletal disorders tend to be long term and build up over a period of time. Most people grin and bear this, with just one in 200 finding the pain so intolerable that they take absence.

But, within those still at work, only a quarter have no difficulties; the remainder experience from slight discomfort through medium to severe pain. The absentees are but the tip of the iceberg. Their absence draws attention and something is done about them. This leaves the question, why bother about the majority? The answer is that it is good business practice to bother. Apart from the small risk of absence or litigation, there are greater risks of resentment and ill feeling and, above all, a risk of inefficiency. It is simply not possible to work efficiently when you are in pain - the greater the pain, the less the efficiency. That is where the business case lies. Paying lip service to the DSE Regulations does not in itself bring any business advantage. Businesses will gain though, through understanding the effects of poor posture on performance and by training to improve it.

So what should be done? It is the individual that counts. Ergonomics, DSE Regulations and furniture are all to do with people. So, logically, we have to get to the heart of the matter by talking to the people themselves.

As we have already seen, most people grin and bear their problems. Eventually, however, the grin fades and resentment and ill-feeling on both sides build. These need to be overcome before a new leaf can be turned.

Gaining trust

How do you go about getting the trust needed? A neutral third party, such as Etcom, offers a solution. Employees give us information that they do not give their employer, which enables our physiotherapists to train them as individuals to use their workplace equipment and their bodies to avoid problems in the future. We try to teach them not to 'grin and bear it', but to 'grin and change it'.

This approach is compliant with the DSE Regulations, especially Regulation 6, Training. It brings excellent legal protection - you have taken the horse to a full trough - and you have gained the added value of doing something, unasked, for your employees, thus boosting morale and contributing to a company's performance.