Ergonomics in the Workplace - Essay Example

These decades have witnessed how managers shifted from using typewrites to using expensive computers, from using manual labour to highly specialised equipment and machinery and so on and so forth. In a nutshell, this development can be categorised as development in Information Technology. However, such developments have often resulted in increased complexity, pressures and strains, as well as various other issues, in the workplace. Specifically, the transformation to the wholesale adoption and implementation of computer technology has resulted in the domination of machines in the workplace, where employers typically expect employees to work on complex computer programs and technical equipment such as using barcodes instead of simple manual stock forms as a part of their work to improve their performance and targets in order to acquire bonuses and promotions.

All of this has given rise to materialistic culture, even in the workforce, where every employee try to compete with his colleague to win accolades and praise from his boss. This competition is rewarding for the business, but it has had certain bad effects on the health and psychology of individuals. This is due to a number of different reasons that are leading to an adverse impact on individuals in the workplace (Hartvigsen & Lings, 2004). . Conflict and Change in Workplace Environment: . Conflicts can be defined as stressors that individuals have to face sometimes in their lives and careers.

The complexity of organisational structure and introduction of new technology into the business have increased the risk of conflicts between workers and their supervisors, workers and their colleagues and workers and managers. For example, there might be conflict of interest between workers and supervisors about the working hours, wages etc. This will create disruption in the work and put off workers' mind towards things that will create stress and in short it will be a disturbance to work. (Lazarus, 1999; Lazarus & Folkman, 1984) An employment relation service in the Britain, ACAS (2007) have indicated that, despite the important role of ergonomics, a huge number of individuals confront various challenges at times of conflicts such as when they find that the decisions taken by the top management are against their personal value or change in their workplace environment against their wishes can range from physical and social to psychological and emotional adverse impacts (Hartvigsen & Lings, 2004).

This subsequently results in the bad performance of the organisations and workers. Before analyzing the different mechanisms that individuals use to cope during times of conflict and change at work, it is imperative to identify and discuss the challenges and issues that will enable a better understanding of the topic. In particular, many agencies and psychologists (e.g., ACAS, 2007) have indicated that changing the workplace environment and avoiding disagreements among the top level management and workers is impossible, as they are a fundamental part of every healthy organization.

In other words, it may be riskier to avoid conflict and change, since this could have a detrimental effect on different processes such as differing value judgements or priorities of the