ABSTRACT
The modern office is equipped with a variety of technologies from wireless printers to hand-held PDA’s, the most prominent of which is the standard desktop PC. A recentUS census revealed that seventy-sixmillion employedUS adults use a computer at their place of work (Cheeseman, et al., 2003), an increase of 17% since the last census taken in 2001, and reports indicate that this trend is steadily growing. This piece of technology has single handedly redefined the traditional work environment where once paperwork, couriers, dictation specialists, design engineers (blue print drafting) each performing completely different work-related tasks are now confined to the parameters of a 4′ × 5′ workspace, a mouse, a keyboard, and a monitor.With this increase in computer use, so too has arisen a new strain ofWorkrelated Musculoskeletal Disorders (WMSD’s). In 1999, Liberty Mutual reported that hand, wrist and shoulder injuries were a fast growing source of disability in the American workforce rising in large part from the increase in computer usage in the workplace (Liberty Mutual, 1999). Musculoskeletal pain and discomfort, together with eyestrain, make up at least half of all subjective complaints of computer operators (Helander, 1988). Each year estimated costs resulting from computer-based WMSD’s range in the millions, while employees are suffering from lost pay, and sometimes lifelong afflictions. Fortunately, the potential impacts of extended computer use are being realized and much work and research has been done related to the ergonomics of computer workstations.
