Association between ergonomics awareness and risk factors of musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) among office workers in telecommunication industry: a ROSA analysis

In recent years, there has been emerging attention regarding Work-related Musculoskeletal Disorder (WMSD) among office workers that can pose damaging effects on health and productivity of workers. The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between ergonomics awareness
and practice of ergonomics in terms of working posture and work station design among telecommunication personnel in Malaysia using Rapid Office Strain Assessment (ROSA) as an
assessment tool for work posture in office. Among 75 questionnaires distributed to office workers, 57 had responded and their posture and workstations were analysed with ROSA. While majority of the respondents complained of low back pain (LBP) (47.4%), shoulder pain (40.4%), and neck pain (33.3%), 89.5% of workers said that they have awareness on ergonomics through training provided by the employer. However, following the multiple-choice questions (MCQ) majority (24.56%) of respondents had average score of 9 over 15. None of respondents scored full marks. In determining
relationship between awareness and practice of ergonomics, there is poor significant relationship between awareness and ergonomics practice based on variables of ROSA (chair, back support, monitor, mouse and keyboard). Similarly, in determining the association between awareness and risk of exposure to Musculoskeletal Disorder (MSD), there is poor significant relationship between these two with Spearman Rho of 0.045. Based on the results, awareness does relate to the practice of ergonomics in office, but the use of ROSA as a tool to assess work posture and workstation design is yet to be explored by other researchers in the future.