This study was performed to evaluate relationship of burdened work and musculoskeletal symptoms in small-to-medium sized enterprises.

After a questionnaire survey was administered to 9,950 workers in 122 workplace, 7,626 workers(76.6%) were finally selected for the study analysis. Industrial hygienists visited 122 small-to-medium sized enterprises to investigate the presence of burdened works within the workplace. The selection of jobs with significant burden was based on the Ministry of Labor's recent notification in 11 types of job description associated with musculoskeletal disorders. The subjects of this study were then divided into three categories. 1) non-burdened white collar workers, 2) non-burdened blue collar workers, and 3) burdened workers (include some VDT workers). Multiple logistic regression was used to evaluate the relationship between burdened work and musculoskeletal symptoms.

The burdened workers reported significantly more musculoskeletal symptoms than non-burdened white collar workers and non-burdened blue collar workers(OR:1.57, 95% CI: 1.314–1.875). There was no significant difference in reports of musculoskeletal symptoms between non-burdened white and blue collar workers.

To prevent or diminish musculoskeletal disorders in small-to-medium sized enterprises, we need to better manage burdened works.