Bent necks and twisted wrists: exploring the impact of touch-screen tablets on the posture of office workers

Authors:
Katarzyna Stawarz;Rachel Benedyk
Affiliations:
University College London, London;University College London, London
Venue:
BCS-HCI '13 Proceedings of the 27th International BCS Human Computer Interaction Conference
Year:
2013

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Abstract

Touch-screen tablets are becoming increasingly popular as office work tools. However, as current health and safety regulations applied to office equipment do not cover tablets, the importance of understanding their impact on the posture of office workers increases. As the research on ergonomic issues related to tablet use is scarce, especially in the context of office work, we explore, through an online questionnaire, semi-structured interviews and observations with postural analysis, how and where office workers use tablets and what potential posture-related issues could arise as a result. Our findings show that the lack of screen adjustability and the virtual keyboard encourage poor posture and tablet use could lead to discomfort in a number of body areas, especially the neck and wrists.