Is work bad for you?

21st-century ailments
The TUC, with its long history of campaigning for working people’s health and safety, now talks of ‘modern workplace plagues’. They are particularly concerned that musculoskeletal injuries like back pain and Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) still go unrecognised by the majority of employers and employees. Recently, I began to suffer what turned out to be the warning signs of RSI. Symptoms included pins and needles, numbness and pain in my arms, which only disappeared after an occupational health lecturer redesigned my workspace, rearranging the eye-line for my computer, insisting on a new ergonomic keyboard and banning me from tucking the phone between my shoulder and chin as I typed.

Anyone who uses a computer a lot at home or in a small office, where there are no regulations about screen breaks or provision of ergonomic equipment or physiotherapy, runs the risk of permanent disability. This even includes children and young people who use the computer heavily at home or at school and play a lot of computer games or text message frequently. This is not an exaggeration: RSI is a group of serious and potentially disabling musculoskeletal disorders. It’s estimated that some 200,000 people suffer from work-related RSI every year. Those at risk range from musicians, keyboard operators, call centre operators to anyone who performs repetitive hand movements or spends long periods with arms or shoulders in one position.

Helen, a senior academic researcher, wears wrist supports, after suffering from swelling, pain and experiencing difficulty in lifting things. Angie, ten years a secretary at a national newspaper, is now re-training for a career as a ceramicist. She suffered from numbness, pins and needles and eventually drastic pain in her forearms, leaving her unable to lift any weight at all. ‘The worse thing is people still believe you are making it up’, she says.