Loss of Productivity Due to Neck/Shoulder Symptoms and Hand/Arm Symptoms: Results from the PROMO-Study

Introduction: The objective of the present study is to describe the extent of productivity loss among computer workers with neck/shoulder symptoms and hand/arm symptoms, and to examine associations between pain intensity, various physical and psychosocial factors and productivity loss in computer workers with neck/shoulder and hand/arm symptoms. Methods: A cross-sectional design was used. The study population consisted of 654 computer workers with neck/shoulder or hand/arm symptoms from five different companies. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the occurrence of self-reported productivity loss. Logistic regression analyses were used to examine the associations. Results: In 26% of all the cases reporting symptoms, productivity loss was involved, the most often in cases reporting both symptoms (36%). Productivity loss involved sickness absence in 11% of the arm/hand cases, 32% of the neck/shoulder cases and 43% of the cases reporting both symptoms. The multivariate analyses showed statistically significant odds ratios for pain intensity (OR: 1.26; CI: 1.12-1.41), for high effort/no low reward (OR: 2.26; CI: 1.24-4.12), for high effort/low reward (OR: 1.95; CI: 1.09-3.50), and for low job satisfaction (OR: 3.10; CI: 1.44-6.67). Physical activity in leisure time, full-time work and overcommitment were not associated with productivity loss. Conclusion: In most computer workers with neck/shoulder symptoms or hand/arm symptoms productivity loss derives from a decreased performance at work and not from sickness absence. Favorable psychosocial work characteristics might prevent productivity loss in symptomatic workers. © 2007 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

The acute effects of working time patterns on fatigue and sleep quality using daily measurements of 6195 observations among 223 shift workers

Objectives This study aimed to estimate acute effects of roster characteristics on fatigue and sleep quality and investigated whether these effects differed by individual characteristics. Methods Using an ecological measurement assessment survey, fatigue and sleep quality were daily measured among 223 shift workers for up to eight weeks. A questionnaire assessed baseline characteristics, and roster data were retrieved from the company registers to determine roster parameters. The effects between each shift parameter on fatigue and sleep quality were estimated with random-and fixed-effects models. Results Compared to day shifts, night shifts were related to fatigue [β=0.22; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.05–0.39] and poorer sleep quality (β =0.64; 95% CI 0.47–0.80), and more successive night shifts with more fatigue (up to β=0.68; 95% CI 0.49–0.87 for ≥2 nights). Fatigue was increased after a quick return (16 hours between shifts. Compared to forward rotation, stable (β=0.22; 95% CI 0.01–0.43) and backward rotation (β=0.49; 95% CI 0.23–0.74) were also associated with more fatigue. Workers with a morning or intermediate chronotype had poorer sleep quality after a night shift, while workers with poor health reported poor sleep quality as well as more fatigue after a night shift. Conclusions To alleviate acute effects of shift work on fatigue, shift schedules should be optimized by ensuring more time to recover and rotate forwards