Suffering Back Pain At Work
A campaign launched today by the Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Alliance has called on employers to do more ro help people with back, neck and joint problems to stay in work. Skeletal pain has a significant impact on the ability to work, it costs society 7bn per year and has a most debilitating impact on the lives of sufferers. But like many campaigns, this one seems to somewhat unrealistic.
Yes, there is much that employers can do to improve the working lives and productivity of staff who suffer back pain, and it is to everyone’s benefit that they do so. Ergononomic measures can be taken, for example making sure that staff are seated properly and using specially adapted equipment. Flexible working can help, as can ensuring that staff are working in roles that are less physically demanding.
But where the campaign is unrealistic is that is does not appreciate that all these measures come at a cost. And many, if not most, employers are cash-strapped in the current economic slowdown. Even with the best will in the world, they are likely to find new measures difficult to implement.
What is missing from the campaign is a clear call to action to staff who suffer skeletal pain to take what measures they can to improve their working life. In some cases all they will be able to do is to lobby their employers to make changes. But there are also many people with milder pain problems who do not address them properly, who could do simple things like adjust the rake and height of their chairs, but who are unaware that this alone could save them serious problems later.
And there are people with serious problems who fail to take notice when warning signs come on, who pass over the chance to spend a day or two off work when experiencing mild twinges, and who end up as a result taking months off later.
We all have to take responsibility for ourselves. Just as we are on our own when looking for a job, so too there are times when we are on our own when working in a job. It is a fine thing for employers to be lobbied to make improvements. But sufferers cannot rely on unwilling employers making changes as a result of a high profile campaign. It is unrealistic to believe otherwise. A bottom up approach is every bit as important as a top down one.
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