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Microsoft Study Says Repetitive Strain Injury Costs $600m
4roddas writes "Work-related RSI cases are at an all-time high and the cost to businesses is spiraling, new Microsoft research reveals.
Repetitive strain injury cases have soared by over 30 percent in the last year, costing businesses over US$600 million in lost working hours — and causing pain and debilitating discomfort to over-worked staff.
Microsoft claims the rapidly emerging trend of 'mobile working' — with office-based employees now working on the move for an average of an hour more per day than they did two years ago using laptops and mobile devices — is behind this alarming climb in work-related injury.
The company arrived at its conclusions in a poll among over 1,000 office workers, HR managers and office managers. This showed that 68 percent of office workers suffered from aches and pains, with the most common symptoms including back ache, shoulder pain and wrist/hand pain."
I hate to be cynical, but why would Microsoft fund this study? They sell ergonomic keyboards. I wonder if they're coming out with some new ergonomic device, if they are trying to prop up sales of their current line of ergonomic devices, or if their funding of the study was simply an act of generosity (otherwise known as a tax write-off).
Also, first post?
From the article: The research suggests that one of the main factors behind the high number of injuries is because not enough companies are replacing their existing office equipment with ergonomic hardware that can significantly reduce the risk of RSI.
Translation:
"...not enough companies are replacing their existing office equipment with ergonomic hardware that can run Vista."
I use a 15" at work, would much prefer a desktop with a decent screen. By the time you hook up external keyboard and mouse it has to sit so far away you need an external monitor as well.
Next they should do a study on how much extra "Your computer wants to do something mundane and we need to you click another box. Confirm or Deny?" clicks contribute to RSI.
"Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much." - Oscar Wilde
I have to say that this is amazing, when you give your employees the ability to work at home, they over work themselves.
That seems the opposite of conventional wisdom, and I remember reading another story here, some time ago, that said that in the office employees think that telecommuters appear to be doing less work.
Crap! I just kissed my karma good-bye.
Clearly, what we need is a new way to interface with a computer, something like speaking/yelling at it and/or a touchscreen interface.
Naively I ask, does Microsoft have any such projects in development?
hmmm....
Idiots. If they wouldn't pop up a notification every time a computer farts or a mouse is plugged in, maybe interfacing with the computer wouldn't be so, you know, repetitive!
If you don't know what AltaVista is (was), get off my lawn.
1. Write software that requires the grunt of a desktop machine to run.
2. Discredit mobile computing (where you aren't doing so well) by blaming it for a medical condition.
3. Profit!
Seriously though, how is it news that performing more of a repetitive action that causes RSI causes (wait for it!) more incidents of RSI?
I'm more interested in the phenomenon whereby technology that is supposed to make our working lives easier and faster is actually making us work more. (I know, it's not *making* us work more, but why on Earth would anyone want to do more work in more time? Doing the same work in less time, or more work in the same time I can understand).
My employer (Sabre Holdings) offers Active Release Therapy (ART) for RSI and similar problems. The doctor that does this comes into the office two mornings a week and does 15 minute treatment sessions. No complex insurance forms and the associated cost of running around and taking time off to get it treated. It's a nice benefit to have :-)
I've had ART done on me for running injuries (repetitive strain) and it's worked really well, I recommend it.
The underlying cause of RSI is that you dont need to be very accurate to hit keys on a keyboard, and so you can be fairly indiscriminate about which keys you hit. The nerves all activate together, and, over a long period, you lose the ability to distinguish between nerve fibres.
Enbroidery requires you to be very accurate, and you re-learn the use of the individual nerves.
I leave google as an exercise for the reader, while I get back to my needlework.
Sent from my ASR33 using ASCII
Funny how the increase in workhours is mostly due to technology Microsoft introduced themselves, among others. Windows Mobile comes to mind. What a handy business model, when you're the reason and the cure for a popular problem all at once. Greatest invention since the postal undertaker.
...in something that's been known about and documented over the last 20 odd years. Any one pounding keys all day is at risk for this. I'm not sure a survey was needed. I'm trying to work out what Microsoft are doing these sort of surveys for now. Maybe even find out why they are doing it now.
According to this article from may 16th
http://www.nu.nl/news/1569649/36/rss/RSI-klachten_weer_op_niveau_van_10_jaar_geleden.html
(sorry it's in dutch) our RSI numbers are down to the same as ten years ago. So we don't see to have the problem that MS is warning us about.
I wonder why that is?
This is the sig that says NI (again)
getting random BSOD's, and IT Help Desk people from walking to and from computer terminals to fix simple issues. I guess the more that you are up and about the more likelihood of getting hurt. No wonder Linux saves money it hardly goes down and usually a simple SSH Session is needed to fix something unless SSHD is dead.
I'm on a computer a good portion of the day and really enjoy using the Dvorak keyboard layout. Some studies say they layout results in faster typing, some say not, however the amount of finger travel required to type on Dvorak is substantially less than qwerty. I've been using Dvorak for about 12 years now and haven't had any wrist trouble.
It just makes sense to use a optimized keyboard layout instead of an intentionally de-optimized layout from 130 years ago that was primarly designed to prevent typewriter hammers from sticking together. To further show how asinine the qwerty layout is, one of the marketing directives was to put all the letters to spell TYPE WRITER, which was the machines' brand name, on the top row so salesmen would have an easy demo.
This also keeps co-workers off my console in the event I forget to lock it. What's even more amusing is to change someone else's layout to dvorak and be there when they get confused. I quickly ask them to show me and I type something in front of them. We go back and forth a few times and for a split second, I take amusement in that person questioning their own sanity.
why Microsoft insists on changing user interface on each and every release - they are doing it to protect us! My heroes!
While I'm a bit dubious of why Microsoft cares, I'm also coming off two weeks of appalling pain in my left (non dominant) hand. It arrived in the middle of the night after a long day at the keyboard, with enough force to wake me up and keep me awake. A little thought revealed the culprit: A decorative metal strip (sort of like half a pipe) runs around the table where I sit, and my wrists were resting directly on it. Plenty of ibuprofen and padding with a soft towel took care of the immediate problem, but I probably lost three days of productive work. Actually I couldn't drive properly either. A padded wrist rest seems to be helping now. I think it's very easy to sit there and work while being entirely unaware of a low level of discomfort that can then become acute.
"Here's what's happening. You're starting to drive like your Dad..." - Red Green
I've often thought Windows keyboard shortcuts poorly thought out compared to MacOS. On the Mac most shortcuts are based around the Command modifier key which naturally sits beneath your thumb, making most shortcuts a simple reach, whereas on Windows PCs many shortcuts are based around Ctrl which sits under your little finger making even the most simple of key combos more of a stretch... and not a comfortable stretch at that.
I've never had RSI issues using a Mac (16+ hours per day), whereas I often have pains in my left hand from the overreach required for shortcuts if I have to spend more than a few hours working on one of the Windows boxes in the office.
It'd be interesting to see the OS split for the data that MS gathered over this RSI issue as I'm convinced that bad ergonomic layout of keyboard shortcuts is a major factor in the problem for anyone sat for long periods of time at a machine.
I bet construction workers are sore everyday they work their whole lives. I wonder if it is more the right hand for right handed guys and the left hand for left handed guys.....
all the users repeatedly smacking their heads against the keyboard after being forced to use Vista.
Monstar L
A psychiatrist friend of mine has a whole section in her website on whether RSI even exists. http://www.lucire.com.au/writers_cramp_main.aspx
this is from people continuously having to press CTRL + ALT + DEL
Thank you, I'm here all night! Try the veal!
Summation 2
go figure...
I wonder how much of this is an actual increase in the problem, or an increase in the reporting of the problem?
I work for the Department of Redundancy Department.
most of these injuries are due to the poor ergonomics of stooping over a laptop placed on your lap
what i've done is devoted my eating regimen to ice cream, fast food, and sugary sodas, thereby establishing a nice shelf space, massive rolls of belly fat, on which to perch my laptop. now that my laptop is securely nestled close to my face, my wrists assume a natural curvature during typing, my back is straight rather than stooped over, and i've even reduced my eye strain
therefore, i heartily (cough wheeze) endorse a high calorie regimen to decrease RSI via belly perching your laptop for better ergonomics. its a dramatic improvement in joint health
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
About 10 years ago I started having problems with pains in one of my wrists. I was a software engineer and I'm now a sysadmin so keyboards are critical to my work. When I first started getting the pains I got one of those wrist braces and it would help for a while but when I stopped wearing it the soreness would eventually return. I knew a guy around that time who was a professional chef, and apparently they get RSI injures quite a bit due to the repetitive motions used in food preperation. He also managed the openings of some restaurants and used a computer quite a bit for that as well as to manage recipes, menus, etc. He ended up having surgery on both wrists but also got one of the first generations ergonomic keyboards from Microsoft. I tried that keyboard out myself and I've been using them religiously ever since. I find the layout of the keys & the shape of the keyboard much more natural to the way my hands naturally rest on it compared with "straight" keyboards. Now any time I have to use a regular keyboard it makes me feel like my hands are crowded and in a forced unnatural position. I haven't felt any problems in my wrists or had to wear a wrist brace in close to a decade thanks to switching almost exclusively to the ergonomic keyboards. I'm not saying that the MS keyboards will work for everybody but if you do a lot of computer work you should try out various ergonomic keyboards and find one that feels comfortable to you. It can make a HUGE difference.
... and Microsoft is responsible for 50% of the damage because they invented the double-click where 1 single click would be sufficient. Greetings, Chris
"An operating system must operate."
Does the story right the dreams or do the dreams right the stories?
People are constantly hearing about carpel tunnel and RSI, it's really going to get in their heads. Testing for nerve damage from RSI is a little expensive, even if it's short and easy if a little painful. People aren't rushing out to get this done.
These studies are probably based on "Do your hands hurt when you use the computer a lot?" and how many people say yes? Using keyboards and mice for a really long time hurts, it's just the way it is, but that doesn't mean it's definitely doing damage to you.
This is clearly just Microsoft bullshit. I can say that with full authority because everyone knows everything Microsoft says and does is bullshit.
"Most people, I think, don't even know what a rootkit is, so why should they care about it?"
This number is meaningless. Is that a lot? It sounds like a lot, but I have no frame of reference. A 30% increase from its previous value sounds significant, but it, too, is meaningless it's based on a value that has no comparison to anything else. It might not be so significant if, for example, accidental stapling of documents to people's fingers (which rarely happens...at least, where I work) costs industry $800 billion a year.
Modern copyright is theft of culture from everyone and it retards the progress of the useful arts and sciences.
Those weird martian keyboards definitely look cool, but critically fail to take into account the most important part :
/. geeks).
Nobody stay immobile the whole day with their back straight hand laid down in optimal(c) position(r) the whole day.
Or if they actually do, they're going to have lots of back and neck pain very fast.
All these device are optimised for a specific optimal position.
Whereas, changing position often is critical against back/neck pains.
Thus these devices aren't polyvalant enough for someone who's going to use them the whole day. I mean they can't even be used one handed (whereas a keyboard can... as proven by countless single
"Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
What they did not mention is that a side study shows that most workplace injuries come from tossed Ergonomic Chairs. Which then identifies how much sense it makes that Microsoft funded this study.
Studies are showing RSI costs $600m.
Why is it that money is more important, aside the fact businesses enslave their employees through overwork and deadlines?
RSI is not only caused by bad positioning, but also by expecting more than which can be given. By stressing the body way overtime.
What's going to be next ? Sleep deprivation costs businesses $600m ?
To my opinion the root cause should be talked about instead of the result in an entities wallet.
Treat the root-problem instead of looking to the consequences only.
--- I am known for the ones who want to find me on the net. Is that a privacy risk or a privilege? One might wonder..
The ratio is more like 1.7:1 according to this keyboard analysis on prose. For 250 kB of text, you travel 6.3 km on Qwerty and 3.7 km on Dvorak (only horizontal travel counted). If you don't spend too much time thinking about what you write, you might be able to type that amount in 3 days or so, so 2 versus 1.3 km per day.
(Happily using Dvorak since 1995)
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Finger RSI from Microsoft.
Take Nobody's Word For It.
Microsoft Study Says Ballmer costs $600m.
The research stuggests that one of the main factory behind the high number of injuries is because Microsoft is replacing their existing office equipment with chairs.
If my dad complained about an ache or a pain, while working in the factory, he would have been laughed at. If he later complained about his hands hurting from typing, he likely would have gotten his a** kicked.
I doubt the injuries are going up, if anything they are probably going down. I suspect the reporting/complaining is going up because its not a factor in maintaining your manhood anymore.
Also how people react to actual pain is different now as well. My brother is older than I am, and works in a garage. A rim blew off a truck tire and took off his fingernail (down to the root) He slapped a band-aid on it and went back to work.
Eschew Obfuscation
Hmmm.... does answering the same question over and over count as repetitive strain? If so, I think I've got RSI of the head.
----
Not to be confused with Col.
F-U-D that spells "microsoft study"! my laws!
Yes, but as everyone knows: "you can't be fired for choosing MS (over cheaper and better alternatives)"
Multiple Sclerosis vs. Microsoft, which one's worse?
I don't know if this is so much an issue with bad or unhealthy hardware as it is people's lack of basic fitness. I work in an IT shop, and see a lot of guys in their early to mid 20's complaining about bad wrists, elbows, shoulders, backs, etc. Some are even complaining about arthritis already. They drop serious cash on ergonomic chairs, mice and keyboards, wristbraces, everything.
:)) to spend all day slouched in a chair typing or clicking away at a terminal. Take some time to step away from the keyboard and get some exercise. My mother has worked as a typist for the last 35 years (with periods of months of 12 hour work days) and has less health problems than half the early twenty year olds in the office who spend most of their time in front of their comptuer. Why? She works outside on the weekends and gets some basic exercise. If you neglect the human body, it deteriorates. Don't be suprised that you have back and wrist problems if your butt never leaves your computer chair. You can take a few minutes a day away from your computer and work without it being counter-productive.
So what do they do once they leave work? They go home and sit in front of their home computer for another 5 hours before going to bed, coming back to work, and doing the same thing again the next day. Yet a lot of my other coworkers (ranging in age from 20's to 40's) who regularly exercise seem to be void of these problems.
I try to make it a point to at least step out for a short lunch and spend some time at home in the evenings doing something other than sitting on the couch or in front of the PC. The human body is not designed (or has evolved, whatever your point of view is
It's not your bad keyboard or small monitor's fault you can't take basic care of yourself.
In an effort to conform with internet communication standards, please note that the above comment is 100% biased opinion
I work for UPS having to lug around packages all day. I do not have any work related injuries or show any signs of back problems, or anything. UPS takes a very active initiative to make sure everyone understands how to properly do their job with safety always being behind every action. No matter what you do, even if you have your @ss planted in front of a computer all day, be aware of the way you sit in your chair (no slouching!), and know that any repetitive action will eventually be damaging if you don't take proper steps to avoid injury.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
$600 million? I could buy 3, maybe 4 copies of Vista Ultimate with that.
My comments are my own, and do not represent the views of my employer, my spouse, my children, or my cats.
Microsoft's three-key keyboard has been shown to significantly reduce BSOD-related injuries. It's not exactly a chording keyboard though...
I suspect that one of the major causes of RSI among telecommuters is reputation farming in WoW.
It is by the juice of the coffee bean that thoughts acquire speed, the teeth acquire stains. The stains become a warning
Once I started doing Aikido wrist exercises as part of my martials arts warmups I haven't had any problems with my wrists since. I strongly recommend them.
It is by the juice of the coffee bean that thoughts acquire speed, the teeth acquire stains. The stains become a warning
The problem is that it's not a good keyboard design. If we stick to a (roughly) flat board with buttons on it, you first of all want more space between the hands, since that's how you hold them naturally.
I'll tell you up front, I think the Microsoft ergo keyboards are better than standard ones.
The slight angle of the two halves lets the two halves line up more naturally with the way I want to hold my hands. And they do have some space between the hands.
Once I stressed my shoulder, and I found that typing on a standard keyboard gave me searing pain after a few minutes. I tried the (very first model of) Microsoft ergo keyboard and found that I could type for hours without the searing pain. This made an immediate believer out of me.
Not all their keyboards are good, but the basic design of their ergo keyboards is sound. Maybe there is something even better out there, but nothing I have tried seems like a real improvement.
steveha
lf(1): it's like ls(1) but sorts filenames by extension, tersely
My ism, it's full of beliefs.
Funny, I thought Linux was costing the software industry something like $1.6B. But of course, they don't mind RSI so much, they can keep selling you ergonomic keyboards...so they don't mind people wasting money, as long as they get their cut?
Over $60 billion in lost productivity using Windows.