Job stress and the VDT clerical worker

Abstract

The objective of this research was to compare the results of a recent study of the effects of VDT use on worker well-being with two other broad-based studies done previously in different areas of the United States. The populations sampled represent the millions of clerical and administrative workers whose jobs are being automated. The 140 clerical and administrative workers in the current study represent a sample of U.S. Navy civilian employees in the Washington, DC area. Our results found that: (1) there are a variety of health complaints associated with increased hours of VDT use; (2) more VDT users experience job boredom than non-users; (3) frequent users experience more work pressure and more control by management than occasional users. The authors confirm that VDT operators, especially those who use VDTs more than four hours a day, experience more stress than non-users.