Ergonomic Accommodation in Return to Work

Abstract

Ergonomic accommodations can be useful when implementing a return to work program for people with a wide range of disability patterns. This chapter defines ergonomic accommodations, explains their purpose, characterizes them in types, and reviews a tested ergonomic-based algorithm to facilitate return to work primarily with workers affected by musculoskeletal disorders, and effectively applied with people with a wide range of less than optimal functioning and varied diagnoses. The ergonomic methodology to task analysis, with its focus on the functional space between task and person while considering the influence of environment, is described. Suggestions to reduce work overexertion are provided throughout the text.