The rate of subjective mental workload and its correlation with musculoskeletal disorders in bank staff in Kurdistan, Iran

This study investigated the rate of Subjective Mental Workload (SMWL) and its correlation with musculoskeletal disorders among bank staff in Kurdistan Province located in west of Iran. This study conducted on 200 bank staff. The SMWL and the amount of prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders were assessed using NASA-TLX Questionnaire and Nordic General Questionnaire, respectively. The data were analyzed with SPSS15. 78% of the subjects were male. The mean age and mean work experience of the subjects were 36.28 and 14.2 years, respectively. 48% of the staff had experienced pain at least once during the past year in one of their nine musculoskeletal body regions with highest frequency in neck (48%), lower back (44%), and upper back (36%). The NASA Index showed that the bank staff assessed the Effort and Performance scale with mean and SD of 72.8 +/- 25.2 and 36.0 +/- 22.6, respectively as the maximal and minimal amount of subjective workload. The statistical analysis of the data revealed that there was a statistically significant correlation between work experience and also between prevalence and experience of pain in the nine musculoskeletal body regions and mean SMWL (P<0.0001). The rate of SMWL and musculoskeletal disorders in bank staff were high to the same degree and it seems that SMWL scales not only add to the SMWL but also act as a risk factor in the creation of musculoskeletal disorders. (C) 2015 Published by Elsevier B.V.