Ergonomic support and workstation satisfaction among teleworkers in small and medium enterprises

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Human Factors Engineering
• Workplace Ergonomics

Background:

• Ergonomic support is adaptable to remote work, including training, furniture, and workspace evaluations.
• Limited research exists on ergonomic support provision for small and medium enterprise (SME) teleworkers post-pandemic.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess ergonomic support provision and workstation satisfaction among SME teleworkers.
• To determine how individual and organizational factors influence support and satisfaction.
• To investigate the link between ergonomic support and satisfaction.

Main Methods:

• An online questionnaire was administered to 1162 teleworkers in Canadian SMEs.
• Data collected included information on ergonomic supports (training, equipment, evaluation) and workstation satisfaction.
• Logistic and linear regression analyses were used to examine relationships.

Main Results:

• Individual factors (e.g., gender, age, supervisory role) and organizational factors (e.g., enterprise size, union presence) influenced ergonomic support receipt.
• Workstation satisfaction was associated with union presence and telework hours.
• All forms of ergonomic support were positively correlated with increased workstation satisfaction.

Conclusions:

• Certain teleworker groups (e.g., women, younger workers, unionized employees) in SMEs appear to receive ergonomic support more frequently.
• Increased provision of ergonomic support leads to greater teleworker satisfaction with their workstations.