Health & Safety

Health & Safety

• 1.
  Working with computersfor long periods of time can cause many different kinds of health problems. These can include stress, eyestrain and injuries to the wrists, neck and back. Employers must take steps to protect employees whose work involves the regular use of computers from these health risks or face the risk of being sued for compensation.
• 2.
  Some of theways ICT systems can cause stress for workers are: many people are afraid of computers and fear that they will be left behind or made redundant if they are unable to learn new ICT skills quickly enough and keep up with the younger more computer-literate generation; ICT systems make information instantly available wherever you are this means that some people find it virtually impossible to forget about work and relax.
• 3.
  The amount ofinformation ICT systems can produce is often far too much for anyone to take in. This results in ‘information overload’, which causes workers to become stressed by the feeling that they can’t cope with the information that they are receiving. Workers can be monitored using ICT systems — the feeling of being constantly ‘watched’ caused by this can be very stressful.
• 4.
  Repeating the samephysical movements over and over again can cause a condition known as Repetitive Strain Injury ( RSI ). For regular computer users it is the repeated presses on the keyboard and long periods of holding and moving a mouse which cause a build up of damage to the hands and arms and shoulders. Some of the more common symptoms of RSI are: tightness, aching or stiffness in the arms, neck or shoulders; numbness, coldness, or tingling in the arms and hands; clumsiness or loss of strength in the hands.
• 5.
  Sitting in thecorrect position, using specially designed furniture, keyboards and wrist rests, and learning how to type correctly can help to avoid RSI or at least reduce the damage that might be caused.
• 6.
  Spending long periodsof time in front of a computer screen can cause eyestrain . Eyestrain may be experienced as pain in the eyes, watering, blurred or double vision and headaches. Eyestrain can be avoided by: making sure that there is enough light in the workplace; reducing the amount of glare from light being reflected off computer screens; making sure that the correct prescription glasses are worn by any workers who need them.
• 7.
  Computer monitors area common source of extremely low frequency, or ELF, radiation. Some studies have shown that this type of radiation may cause health problems. There is some evidence for example that working for long periods in front of computer screen may increase the risk of a miscarriage during pregnancy.
• 8.
  The design ofan ICT workplace and the furniture and equipment provided in it can help to reduce the health risks associated with using computers for long periods of time. When purchasing new equipment or designing a ICT workplace consideration should be given to: lighting; furniture; noise; hardware; software; the working environment.