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Rise in back pain and long-term sickness linked to home working – ONS Rise in back pain and long-term sickness linked to home working – ONS
(about 3 hours later)
Sharp rise in people leaving labour market in past three years could be related to home working since Covid Poor ergonomics contributed to number of ‘economically inactive’ people and to UK’s labour shortage
Back and neck injuries caused by working from home during the Covid pandemic has been identified by the UK’s official number crunchers as a possible factor contributing to a sharp rise in people leaving the labour market over the past three years. Anybody who emerged from the Covid-19 lockdowns with a frozen shoulder or a neck crick after spending hours hunched over their laptop at the kitchen table would be painfully aware of the dangers of working from home.
The Office for National Statistics said there had been a marked increase in disabilities often associated by medical experts with excessive screen use, after the increase in the number of people home working while offices were shut during the pandemic. Now the nation’s number crunchers have provided evidence that one reason for the UK’s chronic labour shortage is that tens of thousands of extra people are now long-term sick as a result of remote working.
Overall, the ONS said the number of people identified as economically inactive had increased from 2m to 2.5m in the three years from 2019, with more than 70% of the rise – 363,000 – following the arrival of Covid in early 2020. In a sign that poor ergonomics can have an impact on economics, the Office for National Statistics found a big rise in the number of people being unfit for work because of neck and back injuries. Overall, the ONS said the number of people identified as economically inactive because of long-term sickness had increased from 2 million to 2.5 million in the three years from 2019, with more than 70% of the rise – 363,000 – occurring after the arrival of Covid in early 2020.
The number leaving the labour force due to neck and back problems rose by 62,000 – the second-largest reason cited. But a breakdown of the total showed that the number leaving the labour force because of neck and back problems rose by 62,000 – the second-largest reason cited.
Hugh Stickland, ONS senior statistician, said: “The largest increase came from people with ‘other health problems or disabilities’. While this category includes people affected by long Covid, we think that’s only one of several contributing factors. The next highest rise was among people with back or neck problems; it’s possible that increased home working has given rise to these kinds of conditions. Gavin Burt, a registered osteopath and clinic director of Backs & Beyond in London, said he was unsurprised by the ONS figures because he saw a significant increase in patients coming to him with back and neck problems, particularly people in their twenties.
“Over two-thirds of those becoming economically inactive because of long-term sickness were already neither working nor looking for work for other reasons. Likewise, over three in five of those moving out of this category stayed inactive for another reason.” “In an office you have a really well-designed ergonomic set-up, which helps to reduce repetitive strain injury (RSI) and back pain. But we never really think about ergonomics at home.”
The rising number in long-term sickness has been a factor behind the labour shortages that have alarmed the Bank of England and contributed to higher interest rates this year. Burt, a member of the General Osteopathic Council, added: “People were working with one leg on the bed, one leg off the bed, in a slightly contorted position on their laptop or at uncomfortable dining chairs or sofas. Basically it is overuse injuries, in poor posture for longer than they would have done if they were working in an office.”
The ONS said older people continued to make up the majority of those inactive because of long-term sickness, but the sharpest relative increases in recent years had been among those aged 25 to 34 years old. Long-term sickness in that age category rose by 42%, compared with a 16% jump for people aged between 50 and 64. The ONS said older people continued to make up the majority of those inactive because of long-term sickness, but the sharpest relative increases in recent years had been among those aged 25 to 34. Long-term sickness in that age category rose by 42%, compared with a 16% jump for people aged between 50 and 64.
Lockdowns during the pandemic led to an increase in the number of economically inactive people reporting depression, bad nerves and anxiety as their main health condition in 2020 and 2021, but the ONS said numbers had now returned to pre-pandemic levels. Hugh Stickland, an ONS senior statistician, said: “The largest increase came from people with ‘other health problems or disabilities’. While this category includes people affected by long Covid, we think that’s only one of several contributing factors. The next highest rise was among people with back or neck problems; it’s possible that increased home working has given rise to these kinds of conditions.”
The ONS said between early 2021 and the spring of 2022, 69% of those who became inactive due to long-term sickness were already out of the labour market for another reason in the previous three months, with only 19% in employment before becoming long-term sick. Of those who were economically inactive for another reason, the most common was looking after the family or home (22%) with a further 21% temporarily sick or injured before reporting long-term sickness. Burt said he had already noticed an improvement in some of his clients, which he attributes to the part-time return to office working, and the associated commute, particularly for those who travel on public transport.
It noted the average (median) wait times from referral to NHS treatment in England had almost doubled, from around seven weeks in April 2019 to almost 14 weeks in August 2022. “The number of people on ‘referral to treatment’ waiting lists has risen sharply since the first lockdown was introduced to curb the spread of Covid, from around 4.4 million people in February 2020 to 7 million in August 2022”, the ONS said. “People often think of the commute as a chore, but it got people up and walking,” Burt said. “I’ve already seen people’s conditions improve by moving to hybrid working, getting back on to the commute and once they are up and about and going somewhere else, it gives them the emotional space to think about exercise.”
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The rising number of economically inactive people has been a key factor behind the labour shortages that have alarmed the Bank of England and contributed to higher interest rates this year.
Lockdowns during the pandemic led to an increase in the number of economically inactive people reporting depression, “bad nerves” and anxiety as their main health condition in 2020 and 2021, but the ONS said numbers had now returned to pre-pandemic levels.
Alison Carter, a researcher in HR leadership and wellbeing at the Institute of Employment Studies, said employers should focus on making sure their staff have workplace assessments for their office and home set-ups,
“From an employee wellbeing point of view, we need to encourage people back to work who are dropping off the radar and if musculoskeletal problems are the reason, there are physical workplace adjustments that can be made,” she said.