Abstract
BACKGROUND:
Musculoskeletal disorders are among the significant causes of disabilities and occupational injuries all over the world and can reduce the quality of life and job satisfaction. These disorders prevail among the office workers of the Iranian Oil Company, though research on the involved factors is limited.
OBJECTIVE:
The present study investigated the incidence and risk factors of musculoskeletal disorders and their association with job satisfaction among the office workers of the Iranian Oil Company.
METHODS:
The present research was a cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study on 210 male office workers of the Iranian Oil Company. The prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and the rate of job satisfaction were measured by Nordic Musculoskeletal and Minnesota job Satisfaction Questionnaires, respectively. The relationship between the variables was analyzed by the SPSS 28 software.
RESULTS:
The most prevalent musculoskeletal disorders among office workers in the past 12 months were associated with the neck, waist, and knee organs, with 45.70, 41, and 38.10 percentages. Smoking, second jobs, and physical injury histories were identified as three risk factors connected to musculoskeletal disorders (p < 0.05). Forty-one percent of the participants were moderately satisfied with their jobs, and this number was significantly related to musculoskeletal disorders in the shoulders, elbows, back, waist, and knees (p < 0.05).
CONCLUSION:
The results of this study indicate that second jobs, smoking, and physical injury histories are three risk factors for musculoskeletal disorders among office workers of the Iranian Oil Company. Thus, it is imperative to identify at-risk office workers and train and encourage them to take preventive actions and employ ergonomic job equipment.
Keywords
Introduction
Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) refer to prevalent injuries and inflammations in muscles, bones, joints, cartilage, ligaments, and the involved nerves and vessels [1, 2]. These disorders are among the main causes of occupational injuries and disabilities throughout the world and comprise 25–96% of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs), which are the most significant reasons for the loss of working time and surge of treatment costs and have increased human injuries in the labor force. They are also chief intricacies of occupational health in developing countries [3–5]. In 2017, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported a 22% rise in WRMSD-related disabilities, imposing costs equivalent to cancer treatments on the economy [6]. In Iran, WRMSDs have a 70% prevalence and encompass 48% of work-rooted disabilities [7–9].
The risk factors of these disorders are ergonomic (like unsuitable and fixed conditions), behavioral (like overweight and smoking), and personal (like age and stress) [10–12]. In the Oil and Petrochemical industry, office workers face a wide spectrum of these risk factors since working in offices and monitoring rooms is accompanied by long-term, unsuitable, and fixed body conditions, use of non-ergonomic desks and chairs, physical inactivity, occupational stress, and long working hours. In such circumstances, musculoskeletal disorders are expected to prevail with high incidence [9, 13]. It should be considered that the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders can reduce the quality of life and job satisfaction among employees by influencing their physical, mental, and social health [14].
Job satisfaction is considered with the quality of the occupational life and means a positive feeling toward the job and the social and physical conditions of the workplace [15]. Job satisfaction reduces job burnout, enhances work quality, promotes personal growth, and protects physical-mental health. However, long-term inattention to this factor decreases the quality of occupational life, leads to disobedience and revolt, lowers the sense of accountability, and brings about employee turnover and physical, mental, and social problems [16, 17].
This is while many studies in Iran and the world have separately examined the MSD incidence and related factors [2, 19] and job satisfaction among the employees of the operational and workhouse sectors of oil and petrochemical companies [20–22]. Therefore, it is imperative to further examine this domain and the interrelationships of these significant factors among the office workers of this industry.
Hence, the present study investigated the MSD prevalence and associated factors and the degree of job satisfaction among the office workers of the Pars Oil and Gas Company (POGC) and estimated the rate of these chief factors to justify respective health interventions for this community and promote their mental health and life quality. Besides, the relationship between MSDs and the degree of job satisfaction was determined for the purpose of planning corrective measures tailored to the respective health problems.
Methods
Study design, setting, and period
The present research was a cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study that employed sequential and cluster sampling to investigate the office workers of the POGC within three months (May to July 2021).
Sample size determination and study participants
The researchers used the below equation and estimated the sample size at 171 at a confidence level of 95% and an error value of 7%, based on a 68.1% incidence of MSDs reported in previous studies [18, 23].
By assuming that 25% of the questionnaires would not be completely filled by the participants, we distributed the scales among 210 official workers (all were male) based on some determined criteria. The inclusion criteria were possessing informed consent to participate in the study, being a male due to the few numbers of female workers in the research environment, and having minimally one year of working experience in the oil company due to the long-term impacts of the job on health and job satisfaction [24]. The exclusion criteria were having a chronic disease history, like blood pressure, diabetes, depression, etc., owing to the effect of physical and mental illnesses on health and job satisfaction [25] and filling out the questionnaires incompletely.
Data collection
After referring to the employees’ rooms and checking their possession or non-possession of the inclusion and exclusion criteria, we explained the purposes of the study and acquired the informed written consent of the eligible workers. Then, the necessary directions for filling out the questionnaires were provided, and the participants were asked to complete them within 30 minutes of their break times. All 210 participants filled out the scales completely, and none were excluded.
Data collection tools
The data were collected via three questionnaires, the personal-behavioral specifications questionnaire, the Persian version of the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ), and the Persian form of the Minnesota Job Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) [26, 27].
The personal specifications questionnaire
It’s formulated based on previous texts, included seven items on the participants’ age, working experience, height, weight (for estimating Body Mass Index (BMI)), educational level, marital status, dominant hand, place of residence, smoking, second job, and physical injury history [9–12].
The translated Persian equivalent of NMQ
This tool with an intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) of > 0.7, Standard Error of Measurement (SEM) of 0.56–1.76, and kappa agreement coefficient range of 0.78–1, was at an acceptable level. NMQ has 11 yes/no questions targeting 9 regions of the body, including three upper limb regions (shoulders, elbows, wrists), three spinal column regions (neck, back, and waist), and three lower limb regions (thighs, knees, and back). The first question related to every region of the body asks about the presence of pain. If the answer is yes, the next questions that are associated with the incidence of other disorders and their consequences are responded. Indeed, the precedent for answering every question is the positive answer to previous questions. Otherwise, the answer to the rest of the questions is automatically negative, and the questions tackling other regions should be answered [26].
The Persian version of the Minnesota Job Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ)
The validity of it was confirmed by a panel of specialists. The scale also possessed acceptable reliability with a Cronbach alpha coefficient of 0.90 and ICC of 0.7. MSQ comprises 19 items and 6 subscales, including the payment system, career type, progress opportunities, organizational atmosphere, leadership style, and physical conditions, and is scored based on a 5-point Likert scale: strongly disagree (1), disagree (2), neutral (3), agree (4), and strongly agree (5). Low, moderate, and high job satisfaction is determined by the scores ranging from 19 to 38, 38 to 57, and > 57, respectively [27].
Data processing and analysis
After their collection, the data were inserted into the SPSS 28 software and numerically described by descriptive statistical tests (mean, standard deviation (SD), frequency, and percentage). Furthermore, analytical tests, including Chi-squared, independent T-test, and logistic and multiple regression, were used to examine the relationship between the variables [28].
Results
The examined employees’ age range was between 23 and 62 years, with a mean and SD of 35.77±6.93, working experiences fell between 1 and 32 years, with a mean and SD of 11.5±9.95, and BMI was in the 17.53–6.84 range, with a mean and SD of 26.06±6.08 (being overweight). Table 1 presents the other personal characteristics of the participants. A large number of the employees were married (74.3%), possessed Bachelor’s degree (41.9%), lacked second jobs (89.5%), resided in urban areas (80%), were right-handed (83.44%), lacked any physical injury histories (90.5%), and did not smoke (68.6%).
Personal-behavioral specifications of office workers of the examined oil company (n = 210)
Personal-behavioral specifications of office workers of the examined oil company (n = 210)
The musculoskeletal disorders among the employees in the past 12 months had the following prevalence: neck (45.7%), shoulders (35.2%), elbows (19%), wrists (27.6%), back (34.3%), waist (41%), thighs (21.9%), knees (38.1%), and feet (20%). The results of the independent T-test showed that age and BMI were not significantly associated with MSDs, while there were significant relationships between working experience and MSDs in the neck [t: (208): 2.43, Cohen D: 0.33, p = 0.01), shoulders [t: (208): 2.08, Cohen D: 0.51, p = 0.03], and feet [t: (208): 2.42, Cohen D: 0.43, p = 0.01]. According to Table 2, the Chi-squared results revealed no significant relationships between employees’ place of residence and MSDs in all body organs except thighs (p < 0.05).
Relationship between MSDs and personal-behavioral specifications of office workers of Pars Oil and Gas Company
*p<0.05; **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001, 1: based on φ coefficient, 2: based on Cramer coefficient.
The results of the logistic regression test used for determining personal-behavioral factors impacting musculoskeletal disorders in different body organs displayed no significant relationship between these factors and waist, thigh, and foot MSDs. Table 3 presents MSD incidence in other body organs based on personal-behavioral factors. Through smoking, the incidence rate of neck, shoulder, elbow, and wrist MSDs equals 3.13 (95% CI: 1.58–6.22), 3.08 (95% CI: 1.62–5.83), 2.48 (95% CI: 1.04–5.88), and 4.15 (95% CI: 1.85–9.30) (p < 0.05), respectively. Physical injury histories bring about an MSD incidence rate of 7.78 (95% CI: 2.37–25.60) in shoulders, 16.41 (95% CI: 4.56–58.93) in elbows, 7.01 (95% CI: 2.10–23.44) in waists, 6.33 (95% CI: 1.88–21.37) in the back, and 15.75 (95% CI: 3.51–70) in knees (p < 0.05). Besides, having a second job makes the back MSD incidence equal to 2.82 (95% CI: 1.01–7.83) (p < 0.01).
Relationships between personal-behavioral factors and MSDs in various organs of oil company employees
1Reference line is single. 2Reference line is non-smoking. 3Reference line is no physical injury history. 4Reference line is an educational level below the Bachelor’s degree. 5Reference line is the right hand. 6Reference line is no second job.
The examined employees’ job satisfaction scores fell into the 21–92 range with a mean of 48.88±15.05. Many of the participants (41%) were moderately satisfied with their jobs, while the rest enjoyed low (24.8%) and high (34.2) job satisfaction.
The results of the independent T-test (Table 4) indicate significant relationships between office workers’ degree of job satisfaction and their musculoskeletal disorders in shoulders, elbows, back, waist, and knees (p < 0.05).
Relationship between MSDs with job satisfaction score of office workers of Pars Oil and Gas Company
The results of the present study showed that neck MSDs highly prevailed among the office workers of the Oil Company. This outcome was in line with the findings of previous studies on these employees [29–32]. This is while other surveys have reported that the highest incidence of these disorders is related to the waist in this interval [33–35]. The reason for this difference should be examined deeply in the future.
Corresponding with Jai et al.’s [34] research, our study revealed that smoking, physical injury histories, and second jobs were effective factors in the incidence of MSDs. Due to the dearth of studies, it is necessary to delve into this domain to better analyze MSD-impacting factors among the office worker community.
In this study, a large percentage of the office workers of the Oil Company reported moderate job satisfaction linked to musculoskeletal disorders in different organs. This finding conformed to the results of previous studies [36, 37]. Hence, to enhance job satisfaction, it is indispensable to initiate health and corrective actions to improve employees’ physical health and ergonomic conditions.
The limitation of this study is tied to the self-report nature of the collected data. However, the data-derived biases can be reduced through further studies in this domain and the comparison of results. Furthermore, female employees in this company were very few and thus not involved in the study. Therefore, there is a need for further studies with larger female samples in oil companies in the future.
The results of this study can be used to justify the managers of oil companies or other office occupations to equip their centers with ergonomic facilities to reduce musculoskeletal disorders, hold group programs for corrective movements, and conclude contracts with rehabilitation centers for the presentation of services with suitable costs to employees.
Conclusion
The results of the present study showed that the most prevalent MSDs among employees were associated with their necks, and second jobs, smoking, and physical injury histories were three risk factors of MSDs. Therefore, by identifying at-risk office workers, we should attempt to provide preventive education to enable them to change their motor behaviors, carry out corrective exercises, and utilize ergonomic equipment. Likewise, the moderate job satisfaction of the employees was tied to a number of MSDs and indicated the need for the explained actions and effective health interventions to relieve and cure these disorders.
Ethical approval
This paper is the outcome of a research project (design code 18689-04-01-97) approved and supported by Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (ethics code IR.SUMS.REC.1398.409). All methods were performed in accordance with the relevant guidelines and regulations.
Informed consent
Written informed consent was obtained from all participants.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.
Footnotes
Acknowledgments
The authors appreciate the respectful authorities of Pars Oil and Gas Company and its office workers who participated in this research.
Funding
Not applicable.
