A systematic review of working conditions and occupational health in home office
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Authors
Publication date
2022
Typ of student thesis
Course of study
Type
01A - Journal article
Editors
Editor (Corporation)
Supervisor
Parent work
Work
Special issue
DOI of the original publication
Series
Series number
Volume
72
Issue / Number
3
Pages / Duration
839-852
Patent number
Publisher / Publishing institution
IOS Press
Place of publication / Event location
Edition
Version
Programming language
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Practice partner / Client
Abstract
BACKGROUND: In times of the COVID-19 pandemic, employees around the world may be practicing part-time telework at home. Little is known about the working conditions at home and its impact on the employee’s occupational health. OBJECTIVE: This systematic review examines the working conditions at employees’ homes, the work-related disorders associated with working from home, organizations’ perceptions of ergonomics at home and how they support their teleworkers. METHODS: A search of electronic databases (Cochrane Library, Embase, Medline, Google Scholar, Open Grey, Pedro, PsychInfo, PubPsych, Scopus and Web of Science) was performed. Twelve studies were included in this review. RESULTS: The findings highlight the lack of ergonomic working conditions for home-based teleworkers. Furthermore, the results underline organizations’ lack of awareness regarding home-based policies, ergonomics programs and the health-related consequences associated with the absence of ergonomic support. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that home-based teleworkers have increased health risks. This assumption is substantiated by the fact that most of the included studies reported teleworkers who have experienced musculoskeletal issues. These results underline the necessity for implementing ergonomic design recommendations, especially for working at home. Further research is needed to understand the impact of ergonomics programs and workplace design for working at home.
Keywords
Home-based telework, work policy, ergonomic, remote work
Subject (DDC)
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Date of the last check
ISBN
ISSN
1051-9815
1875-9270
1875-9270
Language
English
Created during FHNW affiliation
Yes
Strategic action fields FHNW
Publication status
Published
Review
Peer review of the complete publication
Open access category
Hybrid
License
Citation
Wütschert, M. S., Romano-Pereira, D., Suter, L., Schulze, H., & Elfering, A. (2022). A systematic review of working conditions and occupational health in home office. Work, 72(3), 839–852. https://doi.org/10.3233/WOR-205239