A step-by-step guide to alleviating stress related to the current economic crisis.
How to Escape Recession Related Stress

January is the beginning of the trade show season for the construction and services industry. It is when companies of all sizes get to show off their goods and or services to those they hope will begin doing business with them or to impress those that already are. Now more than every before, it is important to try to get and keep your target customers’ attention. Many businesses are fighting for every order or contract so it is nice when you can give those all important prospects something to remember you by. Promotional industry shaped stress balls could just be that ’something!’

You may not realize it but promotional stress balls are one of the most popular products available for promoting your business. They are manufactured in eco friendly polyurethane. What’s more, although they are quite inexpensive, stress balls have a perceived value that makes people want to keep them for a long time and not simply throw them away as so many business gifts are. They often take pride of place on their desktops to show off to passers by and of course to use to de-stress themselves. Each time they give them a squeeze or look at them they will see your logo and details.

Whether they actually work as a de-stressing tool is debatable, but one thing is certain, they do tend to be attention grabbers. If you are exhibiting at a trade show in the New Year, you may like to consider industry related stress balls to decorate your stand. There is no doubt that they will entice people to come to your stand and leave with one of your imprinted.

There are many different industry shaped stress balls that could work for you. Following are some of the most popular;

Construction Shapes: Houses, bricks, hammers, wrenches, skips, drills and hard hats all can be printed with your logo and details for promotion.

Plumbing: Toilets, sinks, dishwashers, bath tubs and washing machines are all very popular stress shapes for promoting plumbing merchants and plumbing companies.

Heavy Machinery: Bulldozers, cranes, cement trucks, cement mixers, dump trucks and forklifts are among the many stress ball shapes that can be printed with your logo.

DIY: There are so many possibilities that it is difficult just to name a few. Of the most popular are paint brushes, paint cans, engines, and many different tool shapes.

In order to get a good idea of all the huge possibilities open to you, you should google ’stress balls’ and see what comes up. There are a lot of good websites showing different options so look around to get a complete picture. It is important to find a company that deals directly with the manufacturer. These companies will know a lot more about the products and it will save you at least 40%.

Accidents at workplace are not uncommon. Employees may meet with an accident while being at work due to various reasons. One may suffer an injury due to faulty equipments, improper safety measures, insufficient training in handling materials or processes. The injuries can range from minor to severe. They can also lead to back injuries and other stresses and strains. Such employees can seek suitable compensation for the injuries suffered.

Employers are liable to provide adequate safety measures to all their employees. If they fail to do so and an employee meets with an accident, they are bound law to provide compensation for the injuries suffered. Not all the employees take action against their employers. They fear of losing the job or being harassed.

For those who are confused as to whether they are eligible for a claim, can approach work related accident solicitors. These solicitors specialize in providing expert guidance on work related accidents. They can guide on how to make a claim successfully. They have vast experience in handling such claims and can provide alternative means of solutions. These solicitors can help you figure out a victim of a workplace accident which accident claim may suit best. No win no fee compensation too can help a person making a claim. One needs to pay only if he or she wins the claim.

Many employees have benefited from work related accident solicitors claims. Such claims can help victims of workplace accident:

· Seek suitable claim
· Meet the expenses of post injury treatment
· Avoid losing job
· Get adequately compensated in case you lose the job

These solicitors consist of a specialist team for handling claims for compensation for injury in the workplace.

Injuries can range from a simple sprain with a few days off work to a traumatic injury that means the claimant will never work again. Their expert advice and viable solution can help a victim overcome the trying situation. They will do everything on behalf of the claimant to get the best results.

Compensation claims for personal accident is meant for those who suffer personal injury. One can make a claim for any injuries suffered due to a car accident, while walking, slips and falls, workplace injuries, etc.

Introduction

          In the general population, work related neck pain and dysfunction are common, affecting up to 67% of the general population at some time during their life. Neck pain may arise from any of the innervated structures in the neck, such as intervertebral discs, muscles, ligaments, zygapophyseal joints, and dura or nerve roots. However in the majority of cases, the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying neck pain are unclear. Such “non-specific” neck problems are costly in terms of disability and work loss. Estimates indicate that the economic consequences of treating disabling chronic neck pain are significant.

          It has been reported that the prevalence of work related neck pain among Library Professionals is much higher than in the general population. The costs to the worker, employer and society associated with work-related neck pain are known to be considerable and are escalating. The factors that place library professionals at greater risk of developing neck pain are not understood. Therefore the present study was conducted to study the incidence and risk factors of work-related neck pain among Library Professionals in Academic Library in and around Chennai.

Significance and need of the study

          Many studies have investigated the relationship between neck pain and working conditions. Previous research has identified that people working in offices are a specific population at high risk of developing neck pain, with one year prevalence rates much higher than in the general population. While neck pain is generally believed to be of multifactorial origin, it remains unclear which factors place office workers, in particular, at higher risk. Postulated factors in this occupational group include: individual factors (e.g. sex), work environment factors (e.g. repetitive work, exposure level) psychosocial factors (e.g. stress,

high job demands, and low decision latitude) and perceived muscular

tension.

          Physical risk factors (such as prolonged sitting and neck flexion) have been identified as predictive of neck pain in the study of a mixed population of workers from various industry, health and professional settings. These and other physical factors (such as posture and neck muscle endurance) have not been prospectively investigated specifically among Library Professionals. Physical risk factors are useful to investigate as they are potentially reversible with exercise-based intervention. It has been argued that both physical and psychosocial contributors to work-related neck pain need to be assessed, to evaluate their relative contribution to the onset of work-related musculoskeletal pain. Such studies are lacking, especially in a population of Library professionals. The incidence and risk factors for work-related neck pain among library professionals especially in Indian context remain unknown. Hence the present study was undertaken.

Objectives of the study

          The aims of this study were to determine risk factors that predict neck pain among Library professionals working in Academic Library in and around Chennai city, and to attain an estimate of the incidence of neck pain among the selected population.

Materials and Methods

 

          Expost facto research design was adopted as the researcher had no control over what has happened. 50 library professionals working in academic environment at Chennai were randomly selected for the study for the measurement of potential risk factors. The categories of risk factors being evaluated were physical (cervical spine posture, range of movement, muscle endurance and exercise frequency), demographic (age, sex), work environment (sitting duration, frequency of breaks) and psychosocial (psychological distress and psychosocial work factors).

Recruitment

          A convenience sample of 50 participants was drawn from a population of library professionals from the academic environment. This sample of convenience was chosen because library professionals were shown to have higher prevalence of neck pain than the general community. Sampling was achieved by using a randomization schedule which was computer generated.

Results and findings

The results of the present study are presented under the following headings.

 

Prevalence of neck pain among library professionals

Table 1 shows prevalence of neck pain among Library Professionals librarians.

                                                   TABLE-1

PREVALENCE OF NECK PAIN AMONG LIBRARY PROFESSIONALS

SECTIONS

PERCENTAGE

TOTAL

 %

MALE

FEMALE

Reference section

4

8

12

Circulation section

6

30

36

Technical section

4

4

8

TOTAL

14

42

56

 

 

    The prevalence of neck pain among library professionals as founb to be 56 percent. Those who were working in circulation section expressed the incidence more than the staff working inother  sections.Gender wiseanalysis revealed that females sufferedmore neck pain compared to males.   This indicates that these staff require behaviour modifications to reduce pain in neck.

Risk factors of neck pain among Library Professionals

Risk factors of neck pain among Library Professionals are given in the table-2.

TABLE-2

RISK FACTORS OF NECK PAIN AMONG LIBRARY PROFESSIONALS

RISK FACTORS

PERCENTAGE

Wrong Neck posture

72

Age above 40 years

45

Female gender

56

Presence of psychological distress

60

Increased duration of daily sitting at work

58

Inadequate breaks during work

68

Lack of exercise

41

 

Note: Total exceeds 100 due to multiple responses

 

Wrong neck posture was found to be the main risk factor for neck pain followed by inadequate breaks, presence of psychological distress, increased duration of daily sitting at work and being female.

Conclusion

The prevalence of neck pain among library professionals was found to be 56 percent. Wrong neck posture, inadequate breaks, presence of psychological distress, increased duration of daily sitting at work and female gender were the risk factors among the library professionals. The results of this study would be useful for determination of factors that predict neck pain among Library Professionals that would be critical in the development of preventative workplace interventions and potentially occupational health and safety policy.

 

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