A survey of chief executives has revealed that very few of them are prepared to pay to prevent people getting health problems from computer use. Quite surprising when you consider that MSDs (musculo-skeletal disorders) account for more than half the people off sick today in the UK.
It is a common perception that it is cheaper to cover the cost of injuries than it is to make improvements to the workstation. If you do the sums it is easy to see that this thinking doesn’t add up, not to mention a lack of concern for the workforce.
There is plenty of research data which shows the scale and cost of the problem. The Chartered Society of Physiotherapists, the Health & Safety Executive, and the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development, produce regular reports. Musculo Skeletal Disorders or MSDs are the main problem. This includes back pain, Repetitive Strain Injury RSI, whiplash, and many other conditions including, tenosynovitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, tendinitis, tennis elbow, golfers elbow, De Quervain’s syndrome, and many more.
Paul Goddard, Education Officer at Keytools and well known RSI expert claims that the majority of these problems are easily preventable. He says “It’s a bit like seatbelts; they are far more effective before you crash than after. Many companies are happy to adopt preventative strategies in other situations.
Your organisation very likely has a healthcare programme, safety training, fire extinguishers, and security systems all of which are there for “in case” something bad happens.” So why don’t employers do a bit more to make workstations easier to use and less damaging for employees?
It seems that many organisations have totalled the costs and simply got the sums wrong. If you add up the wages, the extra work for colleagues and the lost opportunity it is not surprising that the bill for doing nothing finishes up a lot more than the prevention. For organisations like HP, E-Bay, and Visa, that have adopted a more proactive stance the reality is that bottom line savings and productivity improvements have been well worthwhile having effectively halved their costs of employee absence.
Their are studies that show organisations that are into office ergonomics, education, and the right apparatus can anticipate return on investment within 2 years, reduced problems with open risk workers and more cash in the bank. Excellent CEOs can tell its workers “I paid to prevent it and now have no problem to fix!
The author, Paul Goddard is the UK’s foremost expert on assistive technology for people with RSI and his company, Keytools provides ergonomic keyboards and mice to assist with the prevention of RSI.