Job Demands and Worker Health in Machine-Paced Mail Sorting Operations

摘要

The study compared job stress and health complaints among U.S. Postal Service workers engaged in machine-paced letter sorting tasks to those of Postal Workers in non-machine paced jobs. The data were collected by means of a questionnaire sent to 12,300 employees located at 48 postal locations regionally distributed throughout the mainland United States. There were approximately 6,700 survey respondents yielding a response rate of 55%. The results indicated that the machine-paced workers reported less job satisfaction, and higher concentration and memory demands. Also reported were greater levels of health complaints, particularly visual, arm/wrist/hand, and neck strains, as well as general stress problems. Suggestions on how to reduce the adverse impact of machine-paced operations on workers' health are presented. It is proposed that an ergonomic evaluation of MPLSM worksites be undertaken to define options for eliminating or reducing the visual and musculoskeletal problems reported by MPLSM operators.