Analysis of Ergonomic Factors Related to the indoor Health Comfort and Musculoskeletal Symptoms of Office Workers

The objective of this research was to investigate the following ergonomic factors that might be related to the indoor health and comfort (IHC) of office workers, such as sick building syndrome (SBS) symptoms, job comfort and musculoskeletal symptoms (MSS). The study sample comprised all 65 office workers who use computers/laptops. The methods and instruments used in the study include observation, interviews, work environment measurement and questionnaires that address job comfort as well as SBS and MSS complaints. The study results show that 53.85 percent of the workers had high levels of comfort and that 53.85 percent had SBS complaints, 33.85 percent of which were eye-strain complaints and 33.85 percent of which were complaints of fatigue. Moreover, 78.57 percent of the workers experienced MSS. The ergonomic factors that were not in compliance with established regulations or standards were chair dimension, desk dimension, computers, work posture, room dimension, room layout, room colour and environmental factors such as noise, lighting, temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide, formaldehyde and volatile organic compound (VOCs). The study revealed a significant relationship between activity-level factors and work comfortability; additionally, VOCs concentration was a factor associated with SBS complaints. On the other hand, no significant relationship was found between ergonomic factors and MSS complaints.