Table 1.
Presentation of the study populations with health outcomes, work tasks and ergonomic and psychosocial conditions
| Forklift operators | Office workers | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Variable | (n = 150) | Mean | SDa | %b | (n = 44) | Mean | SD | % | P Value |
| Demographics | |||||||||
| Men | 110 | 73 | 24 | 55 | 0.04 | ||||
| Women | 40 | 27 | 18 | 41 | 0.04 | ||||
| Age (range:21–66) | 40.4 | 9.60 | 37.3 | 9.42 | 0.70 | ||||
| Length of employment | 9.8 | 4.41 | 7.3 | 5.25 | < 0.01 | ||||
| Health and lifestyle | |||||||||
| Has experienced neck pain | 74 | 49 | 13 | 30 | 0.02 | ||||
| Neck pain during the previous 7 days | 42 | 28 | 4 | 9 | 0.48 | ||||
| Intensity of neck pain | 5.04 | 2.47 | 5.0 | 2.00 | 0.90 | ||||
| Sick leave due to neck pain | 26 | 17 | 0 | 0 | < 0.01 | ||||
| Shoulder pain | 95 | 63 | 17 | 39 | < 0.01 | ||||
| Shoulder pain during the previous 7 days | 53 | 35 | 4 | 9 | 0.03 | ||||
| Intensity of shoulder pain | 5.28 | 2.52 | 4.36 | 2.29 | 0.14 | ||||
| Perceived good health | 121 | 81 | 39 | 89 | 0.08 | ||||
| Ever smoked | 84 | 56 | 30 | 68 | 0.15 | ||||
| Work tasks | |||||||||
| Has previously worked as forklift operatorc | 150 | 100 | 18 | 41 | < 0.01 | ||||
| Low-lifting order picker | 123 | 82 | 14 | 32 | < 0.01 | ||||
| Counterbalanced tilting mast | 129 | 86 | 15 | 34 | < 0.01 | ||||
| Reach decker | 100 | 67 | 11 | 25 | < 0.01 | ||||
| Never sits at work | 56 | 37 | 7 | 16 | 0.02 | ||||
| Sits at work part of the day | 42 | 28 | 8 | 18 | 0.08 | ||||
| Sits at work 100% | 52 | 35 | 29 | 66 | < 0.01 | ||||
| Works in drafts or cold | 69 | 46 | 5 | 11 | < 0.01 | ||||
| Floor bumps when operating forklift | 69 | 46 | 5 | 11 | < 0.01 | ||||
| Neck extension | 108 | 72 | 9 | 20 | < 0.01 | ||||
| Neck lateral flexion | 104 | 69 | 8 | 18 | < 0.01 | ||||
| Neck rotation | 124 | 83 | 12 | 27 | < 0.01 | ||||
| Monotonous arm/ hand movements | 119 | 79 | 19 | 43 | < 0.01 | ||||
| Heavy lifting arms/ hands | 112 | 75 | 13 | 30 | < 0.01 | ||||
| Work involving hands above shoulder level | 100 | 67 | 7 | 16 | < 0.01 | ||||
| Psychosocial factors | |||||||||
| Satisfied with work | 7.15 | 1.94 | 8.1 | 1.40 | 0.04 | ||||
| Co-worker support | 135 | 90 | 43 | 98 | < 0.01 | ||||
| Freedom of work | 105 | 70 | 39 | 89 | < 0.01 | ||||
| Stress due to high work pace | 5.2 | 2.82 | 5.4 | 2.81 | 0.64 | ||||
| Physically strenuous work | 13.6 | 2.63 | 8.8 | 2.34 | < 0.01 | ||||
| Work ability now compared with personal best | 7.1 | 1.98 | 8.6 | 1.43 | < 0.01 | ||||
Chi squared cross-tabulations (categorical variables) and t-tests (continuous variables) for comparisons between the groups
aStandard deviation
bMissing values not taken into consideration when calculating percentages
cOffice workers may operate forklifts on rare occasions