ABSTRACT
In most Western countries, physical workload is no longer as common as it used to be. In manufacturing, hard physical labor has been taken over by materials handling aids, mechanized processes, and automation. Legislation has also put limits to the amount of workload that employees can be exposed to. Yet, in some occupations such as construction work, commercial fish netting, and logging, workers still perform much physical work. Such work generally involves less structured tasks, and they are difficult to mechanize.
