Musculoskeletal discomforts among urban bankers in Sri Lanka

Background & Aim: Improper working postures, including flexed or rotated trunk, overreaching, and repetitive tasks, are known contributors to musculoskeletal (MSK) disorders in office workers. During the COVID-19 pandemic, working from home (WFH) gained attraction across multiple sectors in Sri Lanka, including banking, to ensure public service continuity. Post-pandemic, WFH remained prevalent alongside onsite work, primarily due to reduced infrastructure demands. However, the health implications of this shift are not fully understood hence, this study aimed to determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal discomforts among urban bankers and describe their impact on possible musculoskeletal discomforts.

Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study surveyed 376 urban bank officers randomly selected from branches of nine private banks in the Colombo District, Sri Lanka. A multi-stage random sampling method was employed to recruit participants aged 18–60 years with over three months of work experience and daily working periods exceeding five hours. Data on MSK discomfort levels were collected using the Cornell Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaire (CMDQ). Ethics approval was obtained from the Ethics Review Committee, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Results: The Mean age of the participants was 32 (9) years. Of all the participants (n=212), 139 worked onsite, while 73 engaged in hybrid (onsite and WFH) mode. The majority worked more than eight hours daily. Onsite officers predominantly had shorter tenures (3–12 months), whereas hybrid mode officers typically had longer tenures (more than 12 months). Hybrid mode officers reported a higher prevalence of musculoskeletal discomfort in the neck (12.3% vs. 7.9%) and hip/buttocks (11.0% vs. 1.4%). Work ability interference was notably higher among hybrid mode officers, particularly in the neck (17.8% vs. 12.2%) and the wrists (17.3% vs. 2.2%).

Conclusions & Recommendations: Findings suggest that hybrid work environments may exacerbate musculoskeletal discomforts, which can interfere with work ability, particularly in the neck and shoulder regions. Targeted ergonomic interventions are recommended to enhance the health of bank officers.