1. Read the following passage carefully: 5 Marks
1 Many a times people feel fatigue because of poorly designed workspaces. Your desk,
your chair, your computer and keyboard the placement, height, and angle of each of them –
play a crucial role in preventing muscle and eye strain. That is what has given rise to an
interest in the study of ergonomics. It is the applied science of equipment design at the
workplace. Ergonomics is intended to reduce fatigue and discomfort for people sitting and
working in offices.
2 So why does it make sense for organizations to follow ergonomic principles? In a
recent study, it has been found that over 60% of individuals diagnosed with Repetitive Strain
Injury (RSI) had received no training in strain injury at their offices and another 30% had
received incorrect ergonomic advice.
3 Another interesting find has been that employees who turn up to work in spite of
being in pain can cause massive productivity losses amounting to thousands of dollars
annually. Research findings have shown that most offices in India are operating with furniture
that is a mismatch to the highly networked work culture that exists and there is hardly any
awareness among employees about ergonomics and how it impacts them. This has resulted
in an alarming 71% of employees suffering from rapidly spreading Musculo Skeletal Disorders
(MSD). The symptoms are back pain, shoulder pain of varying intensity, leading to lowering
of productivity of employees at work.
4 To counter this problem, some companies have created volunteers who are part of a
‘train and trainers’ initiative. They act as custodians of their bays and monitor their colleagues’
postures and advise them on a day-to-day basis.
5 Talking about the part that employees can do to make their workplaces comfortable,
some experts say that from an employee’s perspective having knowledge of what is a safe
working position, and what are the right ways of relieving fatigue, how the current set-up can
be optimized, what simple solutions can be incorporated, can go a long way in creating a
stress-free environment with healthy employees.
On the basis of your reading of the above passage, answer the following questions:
(a) The study of ergonomics is essential in workplaces because it: (1)
(i) plays a crucial role in preventing muscle and eye strain.
(ii) is intended to increase fatigue.
(iii) causes massive productivity gains.
(iv) cannot create a stress-free environment.
Share
Answer:
Option i)Plays A Crucial Role in Preventing Muscle and Eye Strain
Hope it helped
Explanation:
causes massive productivity gains