Businesses should do more to avoid RSI

By Peter Abrahams, Bloor Research


RSI Action is a UK charity working to facilitate the prevention of RSI (Repetitive Strain Injuries) conditions and for the relief of sickness, hardship and distress amongst those suffering with RSI.

The RSI Action annual conference was held in London on 1st March 2008. It opened with some stark statistics: in the UK 30.7 million days are lost to illness every year and of those 3.5 million are categorised as upper limb disorders. RSI and upper limb disorders are different terms that cover roughly the same set of symptoms. People can and do argue about the differences but however we cut the statistics we can say that about 10% of sick days are connected to RSI. If businesses could reduce that number then would reap a considerable financial benefit from:

* The increased number of productive days. Besides the actual days of sick we should add many days before and after the sickness when the employee is less than fully productive.
* The reduced management time involved in coping with the effects, direct and indirect, of the absences.
* The extra cost of health care provision.
* The cost of successful damages claims by employees.
* The cost of legal proceeding relating to all claims for damages.

BP and GlaxoSmithKline presented on how they are dealing with RSI. In both cases they have set up projects to increase the awareness of their employees and management of the potential problems and the generally simple actions that can be taken to reduce the risk.

BP have produced a DVD; the first part shows a number of employees who have suffered from RSI describing the impact of RSI on their careers and the reasons why they fell ill. It is a very powerful message to employees and management of the potential dangers. The second half of the DVD gives practical advice on ergonomics of the work place and good work practices (such as rest periods) that can greatly reduce the risk of RSI. It is important to realise that most of the changes identified do not cost money to implement—just an understanding of the issues.

Associated Link: Businesses should do more to avoid RSI

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