Work-Related Stress Causing Physical Injuries and Other Illnesses - Term Paper Example

Table of Contents I. Introduction …………………………………………………………. 3 II. Definition of Words ………………………………………………... 4 III. Search Strategy ……………………………………………………. 4 IV. Literature Review ………………………………………………….. 5 a. Probable Causes of Work-Related Stress …………. 5 b. Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI), Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Other Work-Related Injuries ………. 7 c. The Role of Ergonomic Analysts in Identifying Working Environment Stressors ………..…………… 9 d. Negative Health Effects of Work-Related Stress ….. 10 V. Conclusion ……………………………………………...…………… 12 References …………………………………………………………………… 13 - 20 Introduction The Seventh Annual Labour Day Survey that was conducted by Harris Interactive (2001) reveals that as much as 35% of employees reported that their current jobs are causing negative effects on their emotional and physical health. On the other hand, as much as 42% of the total number of respondent claim that stress from work has significantly affects their family life and relationship with their love ones. There are many factors that contribute to work-related stress. Millions of workers are very much exposed to working environment hazards related to noise, extreme changes in the room temperature including other ergonomic-related problems that may lead to the development of different types of Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) like the Carpal Tunnel Syndrome among others. (Buckle & Hoffman, 1994) Other factors such as physical stress related to illness or hormonal changes as well as emotional stress related to grievance due to the death or loss of a special someone may also increase stress at work. For the purpose this study, the researcher will gather peer-reviewed journals related to the probable causes of work-related stress and its impact over well-being of employees. To give the readers a better understanding of some medical terms used in the study, the researcher will provide the definition of words. For the literature review, the researcher will first discuss all the probable causes of work-related stress followed by repetitive strain injury, carpal tunnel syndrome and other work-related injuries. Since ergonomics study the impact of working environment in relation to stress and physical injuries related to the working conditions, the researcher will discuss the role of ergonomic analysts. Eventually, the negative health effects of work-related stress will be provided in order to give the readers a better understanding why health care practitioners should focus on preventing stress from work. Definition of Words Carpal Tunnel Syndrome – a common source of hand numbness and pain. (AAOS, 2007) Chronic Pain – pain that lasts for more than three months. (Mersky and Bogduk, 1994) Epicondylitis – also known as ‘tennis elbow’ is a degenerative condition of the tendon fibres attached with the bony part of the lateral side of the elbow. (AAOS, 2007) Ergonomics – a scientific-based study that teaches the proper design of working environment and systems in relation to increasing the efficiency and quality of employees’ work performance. (International Ergonomics Association, 2008) Repetitive Strain Injury – also known as chronic upper-limb musculoskeletal disorders or cumulative trauma disorders are work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSD) which is often associated with repetitive poor body postures. (Stock, 1991; Ranney, Wells, & Moore, 1995) Upper Limb Pains – pain related in the neck, shoulder, arms, wrists, and finger. (Aptaker, 1996) Search Strategy In gathering concrete evidences with regards to the major causes of work-related stress causing physical injuries and other health illnesses, the researcher utilizes ‘yahoo’ and ‘google’ search engines. Both search engines has enabled the researcher to locate relevant evidenced-based journal coming from databases search like Eric – Education Resources Information Centre; JAMA; Medscape; NCBI; Pubmed; Pubmed Central; Science Direct; and Springer Link. In searching for peer-reviewed journals, the researcher entered the following terms and phrases in the databases search engines: ‘work stress uk journals’; ‘work-related stress journals’; ‘work physical injury journal uk’; ‘work stress physical injury causes uk journal’; ‘work stress journal’; ‘ergonomic work injury journal’; ‘work stress heart disease journal’; ‘work stress musculoskeletal disorder journal’; ‘work stress circulatory diseases journal’; work stress employee cancer journal’; and ‘ergonomic trainings journal’; ‘work stress sexual reproductive dysfunction journal’; ‘work stress allergies journal’; work stress skin disorders journal’; and ‘work stress periodontal diseases journal’. Literature Review Probable Causes of Work-Related Stress Stressors at work can either be external or internal. (Ward et al., 2003) External stressors include extreme physical condition such as hot or cold room temperatures. An evidence-based research was conducted by Gershon et al. (2007) shows that there is a significant relationship between organizational climate and musculoskeletal disorders. It is also necessary to re-assess the ventilation system within the office in order to protect the health and well-being of the employees. (Russell et al., 1973) In some cases, poor working environment such as insufficient lighting or the presence of noise pollution could also lead to stressful working condition related to the straining of the workers’ eye sight. There is a need to control the noise level within the work environment since over exposure to noise pollution may contribute to a permanent hearing loss. (Carpenter et al., 1971) Several studies suggest that one of the risk factors that may have contributed to workers’ upper limb discomfort includes the insufficient mobility while at work such as in the case of call centre agents. (Lynn et al., 2001; Greening et al., 1999) Particularly the work-related ‘social demands’ such as the personal interaction of call centre agents with the clients and ‘organizational demands’ such as excessive work load and responsibility could contribute to neck and lower back pains. (Daraiseh et al., 2003) Poor body posture at work increases the workers’ risk of having a chronic neck pain. (Aptaker, 1996) Internal stressors can be due to physical abnormalities caused by joints and muscle inflammation, infection, physical and mental illnesses, or psychological factors such as excessive worrying could increase stress at work. Despite the fact that the role of emotional regulation between stress and hypertension is still unclear (Gerin et al., 2002), several studies suggest that negative emotions including anger, anxiety and frustrations could significantly increase employees’ physiological stress leading to hypertension. (Lawler et al., 1998; Miller et al., 1998) Among the common risk factors that are highly associated with work-related musculoskeletal injuries include: (1) poor body postures; (2) work-related stress; (3) work that requires physical forces; (4) work that involves the use of vibration caused by machineries; and (5) work that required repeated working processes. (Chaffin, Andersson, & Martin, 1999: 291) In relation to the causes of work-related stress and injuries, the study of Ramsey et al. (1986) identified as much as sixty possible unsafe working habits. Specifically the body mass of employees also significantly contributes to the increased risks on occupational injuries since 85% of injured workers are either overweight or obese. (Pollack et al., 2007) Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI), Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Other Work-Related Injuries Repetitive Strain Injury or RSI is the term used in describing a wide-range of ankle, back, elbow, forearm, hand, hip, knee, neck, shoulders and wrist disorders. (Arksey, 1998) RSI can be detected when a person feels sensation related to aching, burning, numbness, swelling, or tingling in the upper limbs of the patient. (Bentham, 1991) The symptoms related to RSI should be manage during the early stage since it could develop into extreme discomfort and pain which is often characterised by pins and needles sensation. The research study conducted by Ranney, Wells and Moore (1995) reveal that 54% of 146 female workers who are engaged in doing repetitive jobs1 could experience muscle pain and tenderness in neck or shoulder area (31%) including the forearm or hand musculature (23%). Likewise, the study of Silverstein et al. (1986) also concluded that workers with highly repetitive jobs are 50% more likely to experience work-related injuries as compared with workers with low repetitive jobs. The Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is one of the most common nerve disorder associated with work. In many cases, these workers experience neuropathic compression in the median nerve of the wrist. This could eventually result in the development of early symptoms related to the burning sensation, numbness, pain, and tingling in the thumb, index and long fingers up to the latter half of the palm leading to a progressive atrophy of the thenar muscles which may or may not cause pain. It is never easy to identify or determine the main cause of work-related injuries, the seriousness of these injuries, or the exact location of potential injury sites. Despite the challenges related in the identification of work-related injuries, the study of Moore et al. (1991) stated that the carpal tunnel syndrome, tendon and muscle-related disorders are among the common upper limb disorders related to work. In line with this matter, other related studies have identified epicondylitis (Viikari-Juntura et al., 1991) and tension neck syndrome (Waris et al., 1979) to be some of the possible work-related injuries. Shoulder pain is very much common among women of more than 55 years old as compared to male workers. This is primarily because of the frequent work habits that causes the workers’ arms to be elevated from its normal rest position. (Walker-Bone et al., 2006) On the other hand, chronic neck pain may occur when there is either an acute cervical muscle strain or a minor ligament sprain due to a repetitive cervical extension. (Aptaker, 1996) The Role of Ergonomic Analysts in Identifying Working Environment Stressors Ergonomic stressors may contribute to the work-related injuries among the employees. The first step in identifying main sources of physical disorders related to working environment is to identify the potential stressor or existing problems. (Chaffin, Andersson and Martin, 1999) Since musculoskeletal disorders are one of the most common work-related injuries, a passive surveillance should be conducted within the work environment followed by analyzing the degree of employees’ exposure to the identified work-related risk factors whenever the submitted company medical reports is not sufficient in identifying the risk factors. In the process, ergonomic job analysts should implement an active surveillance within the work environment in order to gather as much information necessary in calculating the environmental risk factors. (p. 289) Active surveillance should be conducted several times a day. Data gathered from either the passive and active surveillance will be recorded and treated with confidentiality. Upon screening the work place, ergonomic analysts normally observe the common working behaviours of the employees silently and secretly. In the process of examining the work place, it is possible to identify the main sources of noise through the use of a multiple time-synchronized dosimeter. (Spencer et al., 2007) Another effective way of identifying the occupational risk factors is to utilize ‘discomfort surveys’. (Kuorinka et al., 1987) Discomfort survey forms normally indicate the possibility of upper limb discomfort related to neck and shoulder pain, arm and wrist discomfort and lower back pain. These forms will be distributed to the workers in order to determine the degree of workers’ discomfort at work. In fact, some companies are using computerized version of ‘discomfort survey’. (Saldana et al., 1994) Negative Health Effects of Work-Related Stress A chronic pain in the neck is often caused by several malfunctioning of structures within the neck area. (Sari-Kouzel and Cooper, 1999; Bogduk and Lord,1998) Neck pain commonly occurs among people belonging to the age bracket of 25 years old and above; especially those individuals who are working. (Cassidy, Hiltner and Baer, 1989) The proper management of pain induced by neck-related disorders is essential since it could result to a severe back pain and discomfort such as headache, visual disorders, nausea and vertigo (Salter et al., 2006; Stovner, 1996) could increase the rate of absenteeism at work. (White and Ernst, 1999; Kvarnstrom, 1983) In worst cases, this could lead to morbidity. (Bland, 1987) Internal or external stressors, regardless of whether the stress occurs over a short- or long-term period, could negatively affect the workers’ physical, mental, and emotional health. Regardless of the workers’ age, several studies concludes that a stressful working environment and conditions could cause a person to experience a significant decrease in their work performance because of the sudden decline in the functioning level of their declarative memory. (Lupien et al., 1997; Kirschbaum et al., 1996; Newcomer et al., 1995) Work-related stress could also increase the workers’ risk in developing type II diabetes (Harris and White, 2007). Aside from a sudden loss of memory function and health risk related to diabetes, stress is also know to affect the workers’ heart and circulation system especially among postmenopausal women. (Kivimäki et al., 2002; Bairey Merz et al., 1998) In some cases, work-related stress could cause an individual to experience irregular heart beats (Cooper, 2005) or triggers the human body to release inflammatory markers (Giannessi et al., 2007) that could worsen the heart and circulatory diseases. This may eventually lead to an unexplainable heart attack or stroke. Sometimes, stress could also result to inflammatory diseases like rheumatoid arthritis. (Walker et al., 1999) In general, it is not clear as to whether or not stress could increase employees’ risk to develop different types of cancer. However, the study of Zweitzig et al. (2006) suggests that stress could activate a gene that leads to metastatic cancer. This gene is highly associated with the unexplainable increase in the level of marker AGR2. Other negative effects of stress include difficulty in getting sufficient sleep (Leskin et al., 2002); sexual and reproductive dysfunction (Ferim, 1999); learning difficulty (Wenz-Gross and Siperstein, 1998); allergies (Wright,2005); chronic fatigue (Kang et al., 2003); skin disorders (Guilfoy, 2006); alopecia areata or the unexplained hair loss (Hadshiew et al., 2004); and the increase risk for periodontal diseases which are related to teeth and gums (Peruzzo et al., 2007). Conclusion In general, chronic pain related to the upper limbs could significantly affect employees’ work performances, mood, sleeping habits including their social relationship with other people. (Carr & Mann, 2000) In order to increase the employees’ attention and performance at work (Asmundson, Norton, & Vlaeyen, 2004), it is important for health care practitioners to teach people how to control and manage the main sources of upper limb pains. Work-related stress could result to a lot of negative health consequences related to the physical, emotional and psychological aspects of a human being. In order to avoid suffering from the negative effects of stress, it is essential for each individual to learn the proper way of dealing with stress. Work-related injuries should also be considered seriously because these injuries could lead to a person’s permanent physical disability. For this reason, health care practitioners particularly the ergonomics analysts should work with nurses in providing sufficient trainings to office employees with regards to ergonomics. When assessing the work place condition, ergonomic analysts must consider all the different angles which could lead to the development of employees’ muscular pain on hands, wrists, shoulders and lower back among others. The impact of employees’ body mass could increase the workers’ risk to occupational injuries. Environmental factors related to excessive noise, insufficient lighting, extreme changes in room temperature, poor ventilation including the use of wrong specs of tables and chairs used within the office could also increase the workers’ physical stress. References: AAOS. (2007, October). Retrieved March 15, 2008, from Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00005&return_link=0 AAOS. (2007, October). 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