Occupational Disease Compensation and Update on the Musculoskeletal Health of Office Employees in Hong Kong

Chim, J. M. Y.; Chen, T.

The aims of this paper include introduction of the Employees’ Compensation Ordinance in relation to occupational disease in cases of musculoskeletal disorders. The paper also gives updates on the musculoskeletal health of office-based computer users from 2018 to 2019 and 2020 during COVID-19 pandemic. In Schedule 2 of the Employees’ Compensation Ordinance, compensable occupational disease concerning musculoskeletal issues caused by prolonged use of computers only include injuries to the hand or forearm (including elbow). If office employees suffer from lower back or shoulder pain, any application for compensation may not be practicable and feasible. Statistics indicate that 96% of office employees in Hong Kong spent at least six hours a day on computer work in the years 2018 and 2019. A total of 78% of office employees reported musculoskeletal discomfort and among all cases, Shoulder, Neck and Lower Back were the three highest reported body regions to have discomfort in past research from 2011 till 2020. In terms of the musculoskeletal health of computer-based users during COVID-19 in 2020, 80% of respondents self-reported musculoskeletal discomfort during the pandemic season of COVID-19. A high percentage of respondents who suffered from musculoskeletal health issues did not seek medical treatment. In addition, about one-third of the respondents had a basic workstation setup with the use of a laptop, tablet or phone only for work/study from home. 54% of the survey respondents perceived no suitable work/study space at home, but only 10% of the survey respondents were dissatisfied with their workstation setup at home. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.