Reference no: EM133305157

Case Study: One of the present health issues in today's society is work-related musculoskeletal disorders. Musculoskeletal disorders are injuries and illnesses that affect the muscles, nerves, tendons, ligaments, joints or spinal discs. Occupational injuries and illnesses have many direct and indirect cost implications. When calculating cost implications of WMSDs, one must give due consideration to all factors. Employees' compensation costs and charges involved in medical care and rehabilitation are considered direct costs, while lost productivity, lost time, training new staff, administrative costs, and temporary staffing are consider indirect costs.

According to International Ergonomics Association (IEA), Ergonomics is defined as the scientific discipline concerned with the fundamental understanding of interactions among humans and other elements of a system, and the application of appropriate methods, theory and data to improve human well-being and overall system performance. Enhancing well-being and overall system performance are the ultimate goals of ergonomics which are achieved through ergonomic interventions. Several work organizational interventions and strategies have been proposed to improve the quality of work life, health and productivity, and prevent or reduce work-related musculoskeletal disorders for young professionals. It includes time management, compress work week, self-scheduling, and job sharing. (Mohammad Babamiri, 2020).

Furthermore, according to Anatomy, Posture, Prevalence, Pain, Treatment and Interventions of Musculoskeletal Disorders, computer use has become an essential part of auditor's daily life. People usually use computers for various work related and non-work-related tasks like in social media, banking, shopping, etc. Office computers employees use computers on an average of 6-12 hours a day. Rehman et al. stated that around 27% of computer users report backaches and discomfort due to spending long hours on their computers. It may cause organizations to suffer from a "combination of technology fatigue and aversion" resulting in ergonomic hazards such as headache, neck pain, wrist pain, and visual fatigue. This dependence on technology has resulted in several ergonomic hazards ranging from headaches, eye strain, and blurred vision, to tingling, numbness, and pain in the neck, back, shoulder, elbow, wrist, or hand. They in turn lead to dissatisfaction, fatigue and anxiety, negative self-evaluation, and avoidance towards technology.

In auditing, individual job performance is very important and must be handled appropriately since it affects the quality of audits. Compromises with job performance may produce substandard audit quality and consequently lead to potential legal liabilities and loss of credibility for the audit firms.

However, this research has thus spawned the desire to establish in practical terms, the factors which influence technostress and how these factors can affect performance within auditing firms. Examining the role of ergonomic hazard on users' performance signifies a new step which will lead to a better understanding by managers in different organizations and open a new path in this study among auditors and even accountants.

In spite of ergonomics being a discipline with the requisite expertise and methods for analyzing occupational tasks and performance, a qualitative information on the equipment, tools and analysis techniques used by practicing ergonomists is available. (Stanton and Young, 1998; Takala et al., 2010; Dempsy et al., 2019).

Statement of the Problem

The purpose of this study is to understand the impact of Ergonomics on Employee work satisfaction and retention CKC & Co. The company has been experiencing high turnover rates and they would like to explore if ergonomics in the workplace is a contributing factor.

Question: The study will look at the following research questions:

1. What is the current situation of auditing firms' employees?
2. What are the management actions in order to minimize technostress?
3. How employees preserve their responsibility to do their jobs in times of conflict?
4. What are the challenges faces by the management to sustain the business?