The relationship between working conditions and musculoskeletal/ergonomic disorders in a manufacturing facility - A longitudinal research study

Abstract

I have done research on the relationship between working conditions and musculoskeletal/ergonomic disorders in a manufacturing facility. I believe that the biomechanical and psychosocial aspects of work have a significant influence on the individual worker's health and well-being. The work organization at which I have evaluated the employee's health and well-being and collected a large amount of data; which I have analyzed; is at a large manufacturing facility. This research is based upon the Balance Theory Model of Smith & Carayon-Sainfort [2], [3]. This model specifies that the working conditions and other factors outside of work can create a stress on the individual. That stress can have physiological and psychological consequences. If the stress exceeds the individual's capacity, the stress can produce a negative effect on the individual which could result in a strain. This is a bad fit between the individual resources and the work demands. If the stressful exposure continues for a prolonged time period, then this can result in serious musculoskeletal disorders. © 2009 Springer Berlin Heidelberg.