ABSTRACT
Basically an office work station is no different from a work station on the industrial shop floor. In either case an operator is required to work within an artificial environment, using fixed or mobile equipment to perform a function. Clearly the environments are different; commonly the office environment is less noisy, less dirty, and less hazardous than the industrial. Obviously the equipment is also very different. It is of course because of these differences, and the apparently congenial working conditions of the office, that until recently much less attention has been given to defining and solving the problems intrinsic in office work.Over the past 5 to 10 years, however, an increasing number of studies has been conducted to examine the quality of the office environment and the potential hazards to health and safety therein. These have been undertaken in a wide variety of fields. It is not feasible to list all the papers that have been presented but some of the more significant are noted here. A number of papers, including an authoritative paper from the World Health Organization (WHO, 1979) and another from a United States government office (United States General Accounting Office, 1980) have stressed the significance of air quality, while problems associated with the presence of asbestos (Anon, 1976), and urea formaldehyde (Harris, 1981) have also been noted. Questions pertaining to heat and cold have been examined (Altman, 1976), and even dermatitis as an allergic response to paper has been discussed (Wikstrom, 1969). Lighting has received attention, both in general (Shoskes, 1976; Maas, 1974; Ott, 1976) and with specific reference to word processing. Much work of course has been presented recently on word processors. This has included work on illumination and glare (Ferguson et a l , 1974; Hultgren et a l , 1974; Crouch and Buttolph, 1973), stress and fatigue (Smith 1980; Komoike et a l , 1971), as well as work station design (IBM Corp., 1979; Kroemer and Robinette, 1969; Stewart et a l , 1974), and general health hazards (Hunting et a l , 1980; Murray et a l , 1981). In addition there is an authoritative text on 178
the topic (Cakir et a l , 1980), and a collection of working papers (Grandjean and Vigliani, 1980).Through much of the discussion of office problems, however, there runs a common thread, namely that many of the problems are ergonomic in origin. Various ergonomic studies have been made of the office environment, including those by Fraser (1983b), Stammerjohn (1981), Nemeck and Grandjean (1973), and Harris Associates (1980), and much attention has been paid, for example to keyboard and work station design, as exemplified by the papers of Klemmer (1971), Kroemer (1971), Duncan and Ferguson (1974), and Ferguson and Duncan (1974).It will be apparent that the advent of the computer-mediated word processor, and the increasing number of workers utilizing its resources, has brought to light a host of previously unrecognized problems which, although seldom if ever dangerous to life, generate varying degrees of discomfort, reduced proficiency, and disability.Why the increase in problems is associated with word processing is not at all clear. It is probable, however, that the operator with a word processor works at a higher rate, with a greater degree of concentration, a more demanding visual input, and a higher output than his/her counterpart with a standard typewriter or calculator. Because of the impact of the word processor this chapter is primarily oriented to problems associated with its use. The material utilized in the chapter is derived in part from the above-noted studies. Information pertaining to air quality and other matters in the field of occupational hygiene will be discussed in later sections.Computer-mediated word processing is of relatively recent origin, coming into prominence in the decade of the 1980’s. It of course involves the use of a type keyboard and a visual feedback device known as a video display. The total complex is known as a video display unit (VDU) or a video display terminal (VDT). The latter name is more common in North America, although it is also widely used elsewhere.
