Cihan ÖNEN, Erhan DİNÇER, Muhammed Bahadır SANDIKÇI

Working environment-related leisure time satisfaction levels and health behaviors of university office workers and ergonomic solutions

The present study aims to investigate the health behaviors of university office workers related to the working environment, compare them with leisure time satisfaction, and suggest ergonomic solutions. Office workers at Bitlis Eren University and Munzur University, which are situated in the eastern part of Turkey, constituted the population of this study. The sample size was 196 based on the formula [n = (N*t2*p*q)/d2*(N-1)+t2*p*q)], which was applied when the number of people in the population was known. The required sample size was determined based on the estimation of a proportion of 0.5 in a finite population of 401, with a 95% confidence interval of ± 0.05 using simple random sampling. The data of Questionnaire and Leisure Satisfaction Scale (LSS) were collected from 178 participants by a face-to-face interview voluntarily. The findings obtained in this study showed that nearly half of the participants did not sufficiently support their wrists and backs and did not adjust their working posture or the screen inclination and brightness. The mean score of leisure time satisfaction was higher for those who worked in places with ideal physical conditions, including heat and sound insulation and in places with good psychological conditions without stress and work overload. The leisure time satisfaction score was significantly higher among those who engaged in leisure time activities, such as recreational activities reading books, and physical activity. It was observed that employees in offices with improved noise, heat, workload and stress had better satisfaction levels in leisure time. One cannot separate leisure activities from workplace activities and both should be conducted in harmony. As an ergonomic solution, the worktable and tools should be comfortable and designed in a way that does not require the back muscles to be strained.

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