According to Pew Research Center, 71% of surveyed employed adults said they were working from home toward the end of 2020. To better understand the emerging OSH issues related to telework, the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) published the results of a study that focuses on telework and its association with psychosocial risk factors and the occurrence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). The study involved desk and field research to investigate in greater depth and collect evidence on the implications of telework for employees. Researchers sought to address the current state of knowledge about the impact of telework on the incidence of psychosocial risks and MSDs; determine how the pandemic has changed telework patterns and the composition of the teleworking population; and identify new regulatory and policy developments related to the practice of telework (e.g., right to disconnect, monitoring, surveillance). In the literature review, researchers found extensive evidence on telework and psychosocial risks, but less research that is focused on MSDs and their interrelation with psychosocial risks. Researchers found evidence of emerging psychological risks related to intense virtual communication, with a high prevalence of self-reported MSDs in connection with sedentarism, long working hours, work-related stress and poor ergonomic conditions.
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