Bent necks and twisted wrists: Exploring the impact of touch-screen tablets on the posture of office workers

Katarzyna Stawarz; Rachel Benedyk

Bent necks and twisted wrists: Exploring the impact of touch-screen tablets on the posture of office workers

Katarzyna Stawarz^*, Rachel Benedyk

^*Corresponding author for this work

Department of Computer Science

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference Contribution (Conference Proceeding)

Abstract

Touch-screen tablets are becoming increasingly popular as office work tools. However, as current health and safety regulations applied to office equipment do not cover tablets, the importance of understanding their impact on the posture of office workers increases. As the research on ergonomic issues related to tablet use is scarce, especially in the context of office work, we explore, through an online questionnaire, semi-structured interviews and observations with postural analysis, how and where office workers use tablets and what potential posture-related issues could arise as a result. Our findings show that the lack of screen adjustability and the virtual keyboard encourage poor posture and tablet use could lead to discomfort in a number of body areas, especially the neck and wrists.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	HCI 2013 - 27th International British Computer Society Human Computer Interaction Conference: The Internet of Things
Publisher	British Computer Society
ISBN (Print)	9780000000002
Publication status	Published - 2013
Event	27th International British Computer Society Human Computer Interaction Conference: The Internet of Things, HCI 2013 - London, United Kingdom Duration: 9 Sep 2013 → 13 Sep 2013

Conference

Conference	27th International British Computer Society Human Computer Interaction Conference: The Internet of Things, HCI 2013
Country	United Kingdom
City	London
Period	9/09/13 → 13/09/13

Keywords

Ergonomics
Office work
Posture
Touch screen tablets

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title = "Bent necks and twisted wrists: Exploring the impact of touch-screen tablets on the posture of office workers",

abstract = "Touch-screen tablets are becoming increasingly popular as office work tools. However, as current health and safety regulations applied to office equipment do not cover tablets, the importance of understanding their impact on the posture of office workers increases. As the research on ergonomic issues related to tablet use is scarce, especially in the context of office work, we explore, through an online questionnaire, semi-structured interviews and observations with postural analysis, how and where office workers use tablets and what potential posture-related issues could arise as a result. Our findings show that the lack of screen adjustability and the virtual keyboard encourage poor posture and tablet use could lead to discomfort in a number of body areas, especially the neck and wrists.",

keywords = "Ergonomics, Office work, Posture, Touch screen tablets",

author = "Katarzyna Stawarz and Rachel Benedyk",

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note = "27th International British Computer Society Human Computer Interaction Conference: The Internet of Things, HCI 2013 ; Conference date: 09-09-2013 Through 13-09-2013",

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Stawarz, K & Benedyk, R 2013, Bent necks and twisted wrists: Exploring the impact of touch-screen tablets on the posture of office workers. in HCI 2013 - 27th International British Computer Society Human Computer Interaction Conference: The Internet of Things. British Computer Society, 27th International British Computer Society Human Computer Interaction Conference: The Internet of Things, HCI 2013, London, United Kingdom, 9/09/13.

Bent necks and twisted wrists : Exploring the impact of touch-screen tablets on the posture of office workers. / Stawarz, Katarzyna; Benedyk, Rachel.

HCI 2013 - 27th International British Computer Society Human Computer Interaction Conference: The Internet of Things. British Computer Society, 2013.

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference Contribution (Conference Proceeding)

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AU - Benedyk, Rachel

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AB - Touch-screen tablets are becoming increasingly popular as office work tools. However, as current health and safety regulations applied to office equipment do not cover tablets, the importance of understanding their impact on the posture of office workers increases. As the research on ergonomic issues related to tablet use is scarce, especially in the context of office work, we explore, through an online questionnaire, semi-structured interviews and observations with postural analysis, how and where office workers use tablets and what potential posture-related issues could arise as a result. Our findings show that the lack of screen adjustability and the virtual keyboard encourage poor posture and tablet use could lead to discomfort in a number of body areas, especially the neck and wrists.

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