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A survey of workstation layout and work postures among 156 computer operators was performed in 16 call centers (CCs) in Sweden, relating data to operators’ comfort, symptoms and existing ISO-standards, EU-directives and National Work Environment Law. The quality of the furniture and equipments was generally good and mainly fulfilled the demands of the law, directives and standards. The main problem was how these were used—how they were positioned and adjusted to fit the individual operator and to allow good and flexible work postures. Awkward postures were, therefore, seen in shoulder joints and wrists. Lack of easy height adjustability of many desks was noted. This was associated with more seated postures and back pain. Desk and chair quality were associated with operators’ satisfaction and work postures and thick keyboards with dissatisfaction and neck or back pain. Optimal adjustments were associated with operators’ satisfaction and good work postures and in some aspects also with fewer symptoms. The conditions were more optimal at internal CCs as opposed to freestanding external (outsourced) enterprises. Relevance to industry CCs are one of the fastest expanding business sectors. Besides, investments in more flexible desks, optimizing basic adjustments would improve conditions substantially in many cases. There is thus a potential for improvements in the conditions for CC work with possibilities for gain in comfort, health and productivity.

A survey of physical work conditions was performed in a strategic sample of call centres in Sweden. Extensive observations including measurements of work environment factors took place at 16 companies, involving 156 operators and their workstations. Observed conditions were compared with current directives and recommendations and also with the operators’ ratings of comfort and reported symptoms. Internal and external call centres working in the whole range of task complexity were compared. The air quality and thermal climate in the workplace were mainly satisfactory, but air humidity was low. Sound levels were often high at many workstations and illuminance too low. Glare and reflexions in the VDU-screens were common. The observations indicate that the conditions quite often were out of range of current directives and recommendations for sound working environment. The indoor climate, the air quality, the ambient noise level and the illumination created dissatisfaction of comfort among about 74% the operators. Correlations between the ratings of comfort and the observations were moderate, but most were statistically significant. No significant associations between symptoms (eyes, ears, throat, skin or headache) and the observations were found. Relevance to industry The study provides useful data both for designing call centres and similar offices and for improvement of the physical work environment. It points out which physical factors and environment-related symptoms one should be especially aware of among call centre workers.

The study aimed to find out the problems connected with feet during work in cold loose housing barns in wintertime. Thirteen dairy farms and 20 workers were studied. Skin temperatures and subjective responses were collected, and at the end of a work period the subjects filled in a questionnaire about the workday. The foot skin temperatures were measured on dorsal foot and second toe. Most of the workers used rubber boots. The ambient temperature outdoors varied from +5 to −11°C. Indoor temperatures could be the same as outdoors (cold barns and fodder storage) but also close to +30°C (milk room). The lowest mean foot and toe skin temperatures were 24.1±2.6°C and 16.0±1.4°C. The lowest measured values were 20.1°C and 12.8°C, respectively. The toe temperatures were on average 7.3°C colder than foot temperatures (mean 28.8°C). The low foot skin temperature was well related to cold sensation. Low toe temperatures fitted well with wetness sensation. On average the thermal sensation of feet over the work period was neutral. The lowest ratings were cold (−2). The combination of various environmental factors in farms complicates finding of perfect footwear for work. Recommendations on the choice of footwear and their care are given. Relevance to industry Dairy farms function as small enterprises. The owners’ family usually does the work. The workdays are often long. In spite of modern machinery and industrial methods, several work moments are heavy and the work conditions are considered to be harsh.

The objective of the study was to validate the DLE (duration limited exposure) index, which provides a method to determine acceptable time limits when, in a cold environment, clothing insulation is not sufficient to protect the wearer from body cooling. The thermal responses of ten male subjects dressed in winter clothing to −6, −14 and −22°C during very light exercise were studied. The individual variation of peripheral temperature responses was large. The majority of the subjects stated that they would accept the exposure once a day, but not continuously. DLE was on the `safe side' according to the body net heat debt and rectal temperature, but at the same time it allowed for low skin temperatures, especially of the extremities at low ambient temperatures. At predicted time limits, the mean skin temperature criteria of DLE suggested in the ISO document ISO/TR 11079 were not met at −14 and −22°C. Introduction of limit criteria for extremity cooling in prediction models would render a more complete assessment of cold stress. Relevance to industry Since the protective clothing worn by the worker is not always sufficient for the actual low ambient temperature there is a need for accurate predictions of exposure time.