Jafar Akbari, Mahmood Abolghasemian, Amir Ghaffari, Fereydun Moghaddas, Mohammad Amin Mououdi, Shaghayegh Rahimi Kamal, Asoumeh Jozkanani,
Volume 9, Issue 1 (Iranian Journal of Ergonomics 2021)
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Presenteeism is introduced as a phenomenon according to which employees are physically present in the workplace but are functionally absent. This study aimed to investigate presenteeism and productivity loss associated with health problems among employees of the Iranian Gas Transmission Company (IGTC).
Methods: The participants were 2298 employees. Data collection instruments included the Stanford Presenteeism Scale (SPS-6) and the Health and Work Questionnaire (HWQ). Data analysis was performed using the multivariate logistic regression in SPSS software version 26.
Results: More than 52% of the participants (1189 people) had experienced presenteeism at least once a year, while a total of 1073 people (47%) were non-presenteists. The results showed that the HWQ subsets including productivity (P = 0.001), focus (P = 0.023), relationships with the manager or boss (P = 0.007), impatience and irritability (P = 0.026), workplace satisfaction (P = 0.038) and finally the total HWQ score (P = 0.011) had a statistically significant relationship with presenteeism.
Conclusion: Presenteeism reduces the productivity of the workforce by reducing individual productivity, reducing people's ability to concentrate, the inappropriate perception of the relationship with the manager/ boss, increasing their impatience, irritability and level of work-related stress and eventually reducing the level of people's satisfaction with the work environment. This imposes a lot of costs on the organization.
Iraj Alimohammadi, Shahram Vosoughi, Jamileh Abolghasemi, Athena Rafieepour, Seyed Hosein Tabatabaei, Batool Delshadi,
Volume 10, Issue 2 (Iranian Journal of Ergonomics 2022)
Abstract
Objectives: Inappropriate sitting posture on bench can contribute to pain and musculoskeletal disorders in students. Hearing and vision disabilities may be the cause of inappropriate sitting postures among students. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to compare the risk of musculoskeletal disorders in normal and students with hearing abnormalities in Ilam city.
Methods: Twenty students with hearing abnormalities (case) and 40 students with normal hearing (control) from primary schools in Ilam city of both genders were randomly included in the study. The worst recorded sitting posture of students on the bench was evaluated by the RULA method. Digimizer software was used to survey the body angles of the students while sitting on the bench. The used for analyzing the obtained data in 95% confidence interval.
Results: The results of posture evaluation showed that there was a significant difference in rula scores between case and control groups (P = 0.001). Deviation from the natural angles of the body in the case groups was more than the control group (P < 0.001), which has a direct and significant relationship with the increased risk of musculoskeletal disorders.
Conclusion: Musculoskeletal disorders possibility incidence were more common in students with hearing abnormalities compared to typical students which was due to an increase in deviation from the natural angles of the body and inappropriate postures. Given the limitation of the sample size, the present study recommends further research with the same goal and encourages interventional studies to correct the posture of hard of hearing students.
