Telework during the COVID-19 pandemic: Ergonomic and psychosocial risks among Brazilian labor justice workers

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The imposition of telework by the COVID-19 pandemic represented a challenge for companies and workers with regard to the management and organization of the workplace at home. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the ergonomic risks, psychosocial factors and musculoskeletal symptoms as well as the relationships between these variables in employees of a Brazilian labor judiciary unit. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out with 55 employees who had their workstations evaluated by means of the Rapid Office Strain Assessment (ROSA-Br) and answered a questionnaire of sociodemographic and occupational characterization, the dimensions of workstation and posture of the Maastricht Upper Extremity Questionnaire (MUEQ-Br-revised), the short version of the Job Stress Scale and the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ). RESULTS: The workstations evaluations by ROSA-Br and MUEQ-Br-revised showed a strong correlation between themselves and to body posture, but they were not related to the occurrence of musculoskeletal symptoms. Body posture and demands were correlated to each other and with to occurrence of musculoskeletal symptoms. Shoulders, neck and wrists / hands were the most affected body regions. CONCLUSIONS: Companies that adopt teleworking for their employees must be aware of working conditions at home, including the workload, and offer adequate support in order to prevent the occurrence of musculoskeletal problems.