Are Workers Who Leave a Job Exposed to Similar Physical Demands as Workers Who Develop Clinically Meaningful Declines in Low-Back Function?

• Published in: Human factors 2014-02, Vol.56 (1), p.58-72
• Main Authors: Ferguson, Sue A., Marras, William S., Lavender, Steven A., Splittstoesser, Riley E., Yang, Gang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Back pain; Categories; Demand; Disorders; Employee turnover; Ergonomics; Exposure; Female; Human factors; Human factors research; Humans; Low Back Pain - physiopathology; Male; Manual workers; Monitoring, Physiologic; Monitors; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (U.S.); Occupational Diseases - physiopathology; Occupational exposure; Occupational health; Occupational safety; Occupations; Personnel Turnover; Position measurement; Prospective Studies; Risk Factors; Space life sciences; Surveys and Questionnaires; Turnover rate; United States
• ISSN: 0018-7208; 1547-8181
• DOI: 10.1177/0018720813493116

Objective: The objective is to quantify differences in physical exposures for those who stayed on a job (survivor) versus those who left the job (turnover). Background: It has been suggested that high physical job demands lead to greater turnover and that turnover rates may supplement low-back disorder incidence rates in passive surveillance systems. Method: A prospective study with 811 participants was conducted. The physical exposure of distribution center work was quantified using a moment monitor. A total of 68 quantitative physical exposure measures in three categories (load, position, and timing) were examined. Low-back health function was quantified using the lumbar motion monitor at baseline and 6-month follow-up. Results: There were 365 turnover employees within the 6-month follow-up period and 446 “survivors” who remained on the same job, of which 126 survivors had a clinically meaningful decline in low-back functional performance (cases) and 320 survivors did not have a meaningful decline in low-back functional performance (noncases). Of the job exposure measures, 6% were significantly different between turnover and cases compared to 69% between turnover and noncases. Turnover employees had significantly greater exposure compared to noncases. Conclusion: Turnover employees had similar physical job exposures to workers who remained on the job and had a clinically meaningful decline in low-back functional performance. Thus, ergonomists and HR should be aware that high turnover jobs appear to have similar physical exposure as those jobs that put workers at risk for a decline in low-back functional performance.