The impact of remote work using mobile information and communication technologies on physical health: a systematic review

Remote e-working with information and communication technology (ICT) has long been on the rise, with its implementation accelerated by mandatory working from home regulations during the COVID-19 pandemic. This systematic literature review summarises the influencing factors of ICT-based remote e-working (device types, duration of use, user interfaces, etc.) on the physical health (musculoskeletal system and eyes) of knowledge workers. A search in four electronic databases and a manual search in four German journals resulted in 21 articles being included in this review. A bias analysis was conducted for all articles. Unfavourable postures, inappropriate working devices and certain environmental factors may cause a range of physical complaints, even after comparably short periods of time. Mostly, these complaints are greater compared to those experienced when working on a fully equipped stationary computer. Therefore, remote e-working requires careful planning, awareness, and the willingness to embrace working situations that counteract these problems. Different factors associated with remote e-working may influence physical health. This systematic literature review found that unfavourable postures, inappropriate working devices and certain environmental factors may cause physical complaints, even after short periods of time. Mostly, these complaints are greater compared to those experienced when working on a stationary computer.

依托信息与通信技术（information and communication technology, ICT）的远程电子办公长期以来呈增长态势，新冠疫情期间的强制居家办公政策进一步加快了其普及进程。本系统综述（systematic literature review）梳理了基于ICT的远程电子办公的各类影响因素（包括设备类型、使用时长、用户界面等）对知识工作者身体健康（肌肉骨骼系统与眼部健康）的影响。本综述通过检索4个电子数据库，并对4种德国学术期刊开展人工检索，最终纳入21篇文献进行分析；同时对所有纳入文献进行了偏倚风险评估。不良办公姿势、不合适的办公设备以及特定环境因素，即便在较短的办公时长内，也可能引发多种躯体不适症状。总体而言，此类不适症状的严重程度高于使用配置齐全的台式电脑办公时出现的不适。因此，远程电子办公需要进行周密规划、提升风险认知，并主动采用能够抵消上述不良影响的办公方式。与远程电子办公相关的多种因素均可对身体健康产生影响。本系统综述发现，不良办公姿势、不合适的办公设备以及特定环境因素，即便在较短的办公时长内，也可能引发躯体不适症状。总体而言，此类不适症状的严重程度高于使用台式电脑办公时的情况。