Office-related illness and injury have increased in the American workplace and new office technology and automation of office equipment are a contributing factor. As with all new technology, these changes bring with it a set of health and safety concerns.
In addition to obvious hazards such as slippery floors or an open file drawer, a modern office may contain hazards that include: poor lighting; noise; poorly designed furniture; and equipment or machines that emit gases and vapors when not properly maintained. Even the nature of office work itself has produced numerous stress-related symptoms and musculoskeletal strains. For example, long hours at a poorly designed computer workstation can cause pains in the neck and back, shoulders, lower extremities, arms, wrists, hands, and eyestrain and a general feeling of tension and irritability. The leading types of disabling accidents that occur within the office are falls, strains and over exertions, injuries from being struck by falling objects, striking against objects, and being caught in or between objects.
Remember to practice safety. Don’t learn it by accident.