Chronic pain during work is a big concern

One of today's biggest threats to productivity is employee absence, owing to injuries caused by long work hours that result in repetitive strain

- Geetika Sachdev

Pushpendra Sahni, a software engineer from Mumbai, has been struggling with a frozen shoulder and chronic backache for the past two years. When work from home was a norm during the covid-19 pandemic, he didn’t pay much attention to his posture and hunched over his laptop for long hours.

He continues to bear the brunt of his actions.

"When the pandemic hit, there was intense pressure to keep our jobs. I would sit on my bed all day long without taking a break; there were times when I’d even miss my meals,” recalls Sahni, 36. "It’s been a while but my back pain continues to trouble me. In fact, it has worsened over time.”

Sahni consulted an orthopaedic surgeon a few months after he first experienced the pain but the damage had already been done. While he was told to do range-of-motion and stretching exercises, he could hardly follow through because of his increasing workload.

Unfortunately, he is due for surgery now.

"Upon our return to the physical workspace in the latter half of 2021, I discussed my medical issues with the senior management but no action was taken,” he says. "We are expected to work eight to nine hours at a stretch without many breaks. My colleagues have been facing similar issues, complaining of frequent aches and pains.”

Sahni isn’t alone. If you listen closely to conversations inside and outside India Inc., you will realise that many are suffering from work-related injuries, pains and aches. Someone’s frozen shoulder forces them to take frequent breaks, someone can’t sit for long hours so they are completing PPTs while lying in bed, watery eyes, wrist pain, lower back pain. One of today’s biggest threats to productivity is employee absence, owing to injuries that are not the result of falls or lifting heavy equipment, but caused by long work hours, resulting in repetitive strain on a daily basis.