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Workstyle in office workers: ergonomic and psychological reactivity to work demands
Cherise B Harrington1, Michael Feuerstein
1Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Objective:
To investigate whether variation in work demands are related to keyboard force, postural change, cognitive reactivity, physiological arousal, and work output in asymptomatic office workers who varied in workstyle.
Methods:
Eighty asymptomatic office workers prescreened for level of workstyle (high = 39, low = 41) were enrolled in this study. Participants were exposed to a high- and low-demand work task and biomechanical, physiological, and psychological reactivity were measured.
Results:
Results indicate that the high workstyle group demonstrated elevated keyboard force (F[1, 74] = 3.99, P < 0.05), greater awkward posture (F[1, 69] = 4.80, P < 0.05), more negative mood changes (F[1, 73] = 10.70, P < 0.01), and more negative work-related cognitions (F[1, 73] = 4.99, P < 0.05).
Conclusions:
Asymptomatic office workers with higher levels of self-reported adverse workstyle responded to a manipulation of work demands with greater psychological and biomechanical strain.
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