Musculoskeletal disorders among insurance office employees: A case study

Insurance employees in India are overworked, and their jobs demand prolonged sitting hours in the office; this can lead to musculoskeletal disorders through consistent stress on the musculoskeletal system. The present study includes implications for the reduction of work-related musculoskeletal disorders to minimise sick leaves and medical expenses.

This study aimed to determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorder-related issues among employees working in insurance offices and to analyse the association of pain symptoms with risk factors including demographic, occupational and psychosocial factors.

The study included 400 employees from different insurance offices. Data were collected using a questionnaire about pain, a flexibility test (sit-and-reach test) and a video-based analysis of working postures using the Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) method.

The prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal symptoms was the highest in the neck (57.2%), shoulders (38.5%), upper back (28.5%) and lower back (46.2%).

A high persistence of musculoskeletal symptoms was observed in the neck, lower back, upper back and shoulders; the presence of these symptoms was strongly associated with predominant factors: assumed awkward posture, body mass index, job demand, RULA score and infrequent rest breaks. Additional research is required for testing the effect of interventions involving stretching exercises and/or installation of ergonomic workstations.