Telecommuting and Technology Hazards

The benefits to be derived from using emerging technology for business as well as household organization are progressing at an ever increasing rate. However, these benefits come at a cost to the body that must be taken into consideration.

Reliance on technology such as e-mail, fax machine, the Internet, as well as the seemingly ever-present smartphone makes working away from an office more enticing and alluring than ever before. Working outside the office may take place in a home, at a local library, or any location that is appropriate and has access to the World Wide Web, but the Internet is not always a requirement for work to be performed. Regardless of the physical location of your workplace, the practice of using technology to work from remote locations is referred to as telecommuting and it is beginning to reveal that it is producing problems that accompany the benefits derived from the convenience of working in this manner.

Repetitive strain injury (RSI) is a comprehensive syndrome that encompasses tendonitis in many different areas of the body, carpal tunnel syndrome, and thoracic outlet syndrome resulting from repetitive work activity. These types of syndromes may also be referred to as overuse syndromes because the damaged body parts are being hurt by performing the same sequence of work activity over and over again.

Think about this for a moment. When you are using a computer or texting on your cell phone aren’t you repeating the same activities over and over again? Of course you are! And RSI can easily result from the repeating movements you are making with your fingers and hands.

RSIs are a much more significant problem for full time workers than for those working less than 30 hours per week because of the greater exposure time to the repetitive movements causing these syndromes. That is no big surprise, is it?

Another huge factor affecting RSI is that most electronic devices are not designed with ergonomics in mind. The next time you have an opportunity to observe someone using a laptop computer note if their wrists are held in a perfectly horizontal position (which is the best wrist position to prevent carpal tunnel syndrome) or are their hands held with the wrists placed at an acute angle? They most likely have a laptop in their lap or on a low table so they must crane their neck forward allowing them to look down at the monitor. How about their head position? Are they sitting with their head erect to keep their ears over their shoulders and their shoulders perfectly positioned over their hips as they should be sitting?

These types of positions spell disaster for the musculoskeletal system. Any time the 12-15 pound head is placed forward of the center gravitational line of the body the muscles of the neck and upper back are being used in a manner that often leads to neck, upper back, and/or head pain. Telecommuting and technology hazards very often involve this type of posture which can lead to painful and sometimes debilitating afflictions. A repetitive strain injury resulting from hazards created by telecommuting or other uses of new technology is becoming a major area of concern for employees, employers, and all entities involved in worker compensation issues.