Humpbacks, swollen limbs, swollen and bloodshot eyes … are the manifestations that researchers predict about office workers in the next 20 years.
‘She has a hunchback, swollen limbs, and bloodshot eyes’ – In about 20 years, experts warn, everyone will have the same appearance if they don’t pay attention to improving working conditions mine. “Emma” – the languid coworker of the future, a lifelike dummy created to show us the consequences of sitting all day at a desk.
The idea to create this dummy was given after a survey of more than 3000 office workers about health issues. The team has called for changing the way we work from the inside, asking for more breaks so we can get away from our desks and get physically active.
We of the future?
Behavioral researcher William Higham and his research team in the field of labor, occupational disease and welfare research have begun to investigate the effects of workplace working conditions on workers’ health. Based on surveys of more than 3,000 workers in France, Germany, and the UK, researchers have predicted what office workers will look like in 20 years.
Researcher William Higham with the Emma doll.
From the results obtained, the research team combined with Helix 3D Ltd’s modeling experts to create “Emma” – a life-like humanoid, depicting the effects of working conditions on workers. motion. Emma is the expression for someone who has to sit for hours every day at a desk, eyes bloodshot and dry from constantly looking at a computer screen, gray skin from overexposure to artificial lights.
“This colleague of the future warns workers, especially office workers, to act now, pay more attention to health issues. We must be ready to change our office life. , such as being more active, paying attention to your sitting posture, taking regular breaks to walk and improving your working conditions, otherwise the consequences are as people have seen,” – Mr. Higham said. .
The team called for workers to be more active and improve the working environment.
Research also shows that office workers spend an average of 6 hours a day sitting at work. In the UK, researchers surveyed more than 90% of office workers, the results of which said they had suffered from health problems such as dry eyes, back fatigue and headaches. It is known that sick days of employees cost about 77 billion pounds (about 2.3 million billion VND) each year to the economy.
What’s more, the report says 7 out of 10 workers resort to medication to cope with health problems. A work environment assessment is a mandatory requirement throughout Europe in order to promote a healthy working environment. However, the team found that employers often shirk their responsibilities in this area, with more than a third of workers saying they haven’t had an assessment since starting their current job. . Of those who have asked to improve the working environment, 28% said their request was not resolved and 20% said their boss dismissed the request.
“Over time, sitting all day in the office will have a huge impact on workers both physically and psychologically,” said labor researcher Stephen Bowden.
Mr. Bowden added that the steps for change should be gradual, making sure to happen every day as part of the job. One way to get workers moving and reduce the time they spend sitting is to consider changing their work tools, such as desks. This can help workers reduce the likelihood of long-term health problems.