Risk factors associated with the conditions of modern office work (literature review)

Cover Page

Cite item

Full Text

Open Access Open Access
Restricted Access Access granted
Restricted Access Subscription Access

Abstract

For quite a long time, working in an office was considered as an example of relatively safe work, taking into account the fact that in the workplace in most offices there are no traditional harmful factors of the working environment and the labour process: noise, vibration, aerosols, and harmful chemicals, ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, biological substrates, etc. However, in recent decades, the working conditions and health in office workers have become increasingly alarming to specialists around the world.The purpose of the work. Analysis of factors of the production environment and the labour process in modern offices and their impact on the health in employees: a review of foreign and domestic scientific research.To conduct research on this topic, an extensive search of foreign and domestic literature was performed using various databases such as Scopus, Web of Science, MedLine, elibrary.ru, CyberLeninka, and RSCI. During this search, special attention was paid to the PubMed database.Results. In fact, work in the office does not always remain absolutely safe for the health in an employee, who is affected by a complex of ergonomic and other psychosocial factors characteristic of the office, but not included in the special assessment of working conditions.Conclusion. The analysis of modern scientific literature shows that despite the absence of traditional harmful factors of the working environment and the labour process, the staff of modern offices is affected by a whole range of internal factors of the office environment – indoor air quality (microclimate, aerosols, chemical, biological pollution, air ionization), external physical factors, ergonomics, intensity and intensity of work, psychosocial factors.Contribution: Masyagutova L.M. – research concept and design, data collection and processing, text writing; Sadrtdinova G.R. – writing the text, selection and translation of literature; Stepanov E.G. – writing the text, editing; Kaibyshev V.T. – data collection and processing, text writing. All authors are responsible for the integrity of all parts of the manuscript and approval of the manuscript final version.Conflict of interests. The authors declare no conflicts of interest.Acknowledgment. The study was not sponsored.Received: November 15, 2024 / Accepted: March 26, 2025 / Published: June 27, 2025

About the authors

Lyayla M. Masyagutova

Ufa Research Institute of Occupational Health and Human Ecology; Bashkirian State Medical University of the Russian Health Ministry

Email: kdl.ufa@rambler.ru

Guzyal R. Sadrtdinova

Ufa Research Institute of Occupational Health and Human Ecology

Email: Guzi24@mail.ru

Evgeniy G. Stepanov

Ufa Research Institute of Occupational Health and Human Ecology; Ufa State Petroleum Technical University

Email: doctorse@mail.ru

Vadim T. Kaibyshev

Bashkirian State Medical University of the Russian Health Ministry

Email: Kaf.mpz-mk@yandex.ru

References

  1. Безрукова Г.А., Микеров А.Н. Cовременные аспекты методологии регистров пациентов: регистры профессиональных заболеваний (обзор литературы). Медицина труда и экология человека. 2022; (1): 99–118. https://doi.org/10.24412/2411-3794-2022-10107 https://elibrary.ru/fczhhs
  2. Сладкова Ю.Н., Смирнов В.В., Зарицкая Е.В. К вопросу о гигиеническом нормировании микроклимата и качестве воздуха офисных помещений. Медицина труда и промышленная экология. 2018; 58(5): 35–9. https://doi.org/10.31089/1026-9428-2018-5-35-39 https://elibrary.ru/xnkbmt
  3. Дударев А.А., Сорокин Г.А. Актуальные проблемы гигиены труда и профессиональной патологии офисных работников. Медицина труда и промышленная экология. 2012; 52(4): 1–8. https://elibrary.ru/oxqiax
  4. Felgueiras F., Mourão Z., Moreira A., Gabriel M.F. A systematic review of ventilation conditions and airborne particulate matter levels in urban offices. Indoor Air. 2022; 32(11): e13148. https://doi.org/10.1111/ina.13148
  5. Степанов Е.Г., Ларионова Т.К., Галикеева А.Ш., Шарафутдинова Н.Х., Овсянникова Л.Б. Формирование здоровья и профессиональных рисков под влиянием условий труда у офисных служащих. Здоровье населения и среда обитания – ЗНиСО. 2017; 25(3): 23–6. https://doi.org/10.35627/2219-5238/2017-288-3-23-26 https://elibrary.ru/yhqifj
  6. Степанов Е.Г., Симонова Н.И., Ларионова Т.К., Галикеева А.Ш., Кайбышев В.Т., Овсянникова Л.Б. Оценка и управление профессиональными рисками у работников непроизводственных видов экономической деятельности. Медицинский вестник Башкортостана. 2016; 11(2): 74–8. https://elibrary.ru/vyxhiv
  7. Haynes B.P. The impact of office comfort on productivity. J. Facil. Manag. 2008; 6(1): 37–51. https://doi.org/10.1108/14725960810847459
  8. Alhakami A.M., Madkhli A., Ghareeb M., Faqih A., Abu-Shamla I., Batt T., et al. The prevalence and associated factors of neck pain among Ministry of Health Office Workers in Saudi Arabia: a cross-sectional study. Healthcare (Basel). 2022; 10(7): 1320. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare10071320
  9. Sasawaki Y., Shiotani H. The influence of chronotype and working condition on sleep status and health related quality of life of daytime office workers. Kobe J. Med. Sci. 2019; 64(5): E189–96.
  10. Bin Ahmed I.A., Aldhafyan A.E. Sr., Basendwah A.A., Alassaf T.Y., Alhamlan H.N., Alorainy A.H., et al. The prevalence and risk factors of low back pain among office workers in Saudi Arabia. Cureus. 2023; 15(9): e44996. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.44996
  11. Lee S., Barros F.C., Castro C.S.M., Oliveira Sato T. Effect of an ergonomic intervention involving workstation adjustments on musculoskeletal pain in office workers-a randomized controlled clinical trial. Ind. Health. 2021; 59(2): 78–85. https://doi.org/10.2486/indhealth.2020-0188
  12. Iram H., Kashif M., Sattar M., Bhatti Z.M., Dustgir A., Mehdi Z. Ergonomic risk factors among computer office workers for complaints of arm, neck and shoulder and workstation evaluation. Work. 2022; 73(1): 321–6. https://doi.org/10.3233/WOR-211029
  13. Daneshmandi H., Choobineh A., Ghaem H., Karimi M. Adverse effects of prolonged sitting behavior on the general health of office workers. J. Lifestyle Med. 2017; 7(2): 69–75. https://doi.org/10.15280/jlm.2017.7.2.69
  14. Зуев А.В., Некрасова М.М., Васильева Т.Н. Пилотное исследование информационной умственной нагрузки офисных работников. Медицины труда и промышленная экология. 2019; 59(10): 866–70. https://doi.org/10.31089/1026-9428-2019-59-10-866-870 https://elibrary.ru/esezli
  15. Almaghrabi A., Alsharif F. Prevalence of low back pain and associated risk factors among nurses at King Abdulaziz University Hospital. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health. 2021; 18(4): 1567. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18041567
  16. Sánchez-Valerio M.D.R., Mohamed-Noriega K., Zamora-Ginez I., Baez Duarte B.G., Vallejo-Ruiz V. Dry eye disease association with computer exposure time among subjects with computer vision syndrome. Clin. Ophthalmol. 2020; 14: 4311–7. https://doi.org/10.2147/OPTH.S252889
  17. Boubekri M., Lee J., MacNaughton P., Woo M., Schuyler L., Tinianov B., et al. The impact of optimized daylight and views on the sleep duration and cognitive performance of office workers. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health. 2020; 17(9): 3219. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17093219
  18. Benedetti M., Maierová L., Cajochen C., Scartezzini J.L., Münch M. Optimized office lighting advances melatonin phase and peripheral heat loss prior bedtime. Sci. Rep. 2022; 12(1): 4267. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-07522-8
  19. Güngördü N., Kurtul S., Erdoğan M.S. Evaluation of sleep quality, work stress and related factors in hospital office workers. Med. Lav. 2023; 114(3): e2023023. https://doi.org/10.23749/mdl.v114i3.14033
  20. Fjaervoll H., Fjaervoll K., Magno M., Moschowits E., Vehof J., Dartt D.A., et al. The association between visual display terminal use and dry eye: a review. Acta Ophthalmol. 2022; 100(4): 35775. https://doi.org/10.1111/aos.15049
  21. Arslan S.S., Alemdaroğlu İ., Karaduman A.A., Yilmaz Ö.T. The effects of physical activity on sleep quality, job satisfaction, and quality of life in office workers. Work. 2019; 63(1): 3–7. https://doi.org/10.3233/WOR-192902
  22. Clevers E., Lutin E., Cornelis J., Van Oudenhove L. Gastrointestinal symptoms in office workers are predicted by psychological distress and short sleep duration. J. Psychosom. Res. 2020; 138: 110230. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2020.110230
  23. Bolliger L., Lukan J., Colman E., Boersma L., Luštrek M., De Bacquer D., et al. Sources of occupational stress among office workers – a focus group study. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health. 2022; 19(3): 1075. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19031075
  24. Vedoato T., Pedro D.R.C., Garcia I.M., Galdino M.J.Q., Aroni P., Haddad M.D.C.F.L. Workaholism and quality of life: an integrative literature review. Rev. Bras. Med. Trab. 2021; 19(4): 503–10. https://doi.org/10.47626/1679-4435-2021-640
  25. Raijmakers R.P.H., van der Meer J.W.M. Chronic fatigue syndrome: source of controversy. Ned. Tijdschr. Geneeskd. 2020; 164: D5611. (in Dutch)
  26. Barreto M.F.C., Galdino M.J.Q., Fernandes F.G., Martins J.T., Marziale M.H.P., Haddad M.D.C.F.L. Workaholism and burnout among stricto sensu graduate professors. Rev. Saude. Publica. 2022; 56: 56. https://doi.org/10.11606/s1518-8787.2022056003883
  27. Vernon S.D., Hartle M., Sullivan K., Bell J., Abbaszadeh S., Unutmaz D., et al. Post-exertional malaise among people with long COVID compared to myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). Work. 2023; 74(4): 1179–86. https://doi.org/10.3233/WOR-220581
  28. Huntley C.C., Burge P.S., Moore V.C., Robertson A.S., Walters G.I. Occupational asthma in office workers. Occup. Med. (Lond.). 2022; 72(6): 411–4. https://doi.org/10.1093/occmed/kqac023
  29. Ofori S.N., Obosi J. Prevalence of hypertension among office workers in a multi-national company in the Niger-Delta with the 2017 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Blood Pressure Guidelines. Prev. Med. Rep. 2019; 15: 100899. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2019.100899

Supplementary files

Supplementary Files
Action
1. JATS XML

Copyright (c) 2025



СМИ зарегистрировано Федеральной службой по надзору в сфере связи, информационных технологий и массовых коммуникаций (Роскомнадзор).
Регистрационный номер и дата принятия решения о регистрации СМИ: серия ПИ № ФС 77 - 37884 от 02.10.2009.