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."

Comments

I hate to sound cynical, but ...

[querist]

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?

Re:I hate to sound cynical, but ...

[Anne Thwacks]

why would Microsoft fund this study?

Dont you read /.?

Yesterday they announced MicroSoft "Touch" - today they announce a reason to want it.

Plus ca change...

Re:I hate to sound cynical, but ...

[will_die]

Correct.
Here is the original article from Microsoft, most of it is an ad for thier products.
One thing to note, Microsoft did not release this as a press release it is just part of the normal "Here is a way Microsoft can help you" marketing.

Re:I hate to sound cynical, but ...

[Macthorpe]

Here is the original article from Microsoft, most of it is an ad for thier products. What, you mean the one line that says "Microsoft led the way in ergonomic design, having introduced the Natural Ergonomic Keyboard in 1994, and more recently the Natural Wireless Mouse 6000"?

How on earth did that transform to 'most of the article' when you decided to point it out?

In other words

[Anonymous Coward]

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 don't think Microsoft wants to go there...

[Dancindan84]

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.

Seems to be the opposite of what I thought

[nauseum_dot]

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.

It's the opposite in the Netherlands

[Killjoy_NL]

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?