01 June 2006
Sarah Silcox

Office hazards take second billing to those on construction and manufacturing sites because of the higher accident rates and potential severity in the latter category.

But Lisa Robertson, health and safety manager at leading investment bank and finance specialists Merrill Lynch, says the common view of offices as low-risk environments means we underestimate the impact on business of the work-related conditions workers can develop there. 

Robertson believes that, for safety professionals in office environments, musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are "most definitely a high-risk issue, especially when you take into account the potential number of people affected in the service sector".

To support her point, she offers a hypothetical example of two workers in two very different industries - construction and office work - with injuries of similar severity to illustrate the long-term and wider-ranging impact of office risks compared with the relatively short-term and contained effect of a typical blue collar worker's injury.

Short break

The construction worker fractures an arm, while the office worker develops a severe MSD. "The fracture is immediate, dramatic - there may even be blood," she says. "Whereas the MSD develops over weeks, to the point where the worker thinks, 'I'd better say something', by which time the pain is aggravated and the length of time required to resolve the problem is extended." A simple fracture heals relatively quickly, eased by a return to manual work (which aids recovery), whereas the MSD may go away while the employee is signed off work, but does not disappear and can get worse once they return to relatively sedentary office tasks, even with adaptations to the workstation.

Robertson's example, which she presented to delegates at the recent Institution of Occupational Safety and Health conference in London, illustrates the wider, long-term impact of MSDs on the career and home lives of the workers involved, and on the business, and the relatively short-term impact of the building worker's fracture.

One Merrill Lynch employee in her early 20s using the keyboard and mouse extensively, developed an MSD. Major changes were made to her workstation, but continuing problems meant she eventually had to change career (though she stayed in the company). MSDs also impact on the work lives of colleagues, who have to pick up additional work if a team member is on long-term sick leave.

Reducing risk on a construction site is relatively simple, she argues, where there is the motivation and funding, but it can be complex in office settings, even with specialist health and safety support. "A point comes where it is hard to adapt equipment and job tasks any further if the work has to involve display screens," she says.

Merrill Lynch employs 8,000 staff in London, supported by two and-a-half health and safety professionals, and has developed a comprehensive management system for its office risks, starting with good design, including fully-adjustable work stations, and always designing work kit with extremes in mind.

The firm's approach prioritises display screen equipment assessments and referrals to occupational health support using a pre-assessment questionnaire, which highlights those members of staff most in need of early assessment or treatment. The health and safety team coordinates regular visits to workstations, which Robertson admits is time consuming, but produces the best outcomes. A combination of this careful case management with good design of employees' work settings can help make the office more like the low-risk environment many of us mistakenly think it already is, Robertson believes.

Categories:
Ergonomics, Musculoskeletal disorders, Article, Financial / general services, Work equipment