Many people believe office jobs are safe because they do not involve heavy lifting, yet millions of office employees develop ongoing pain in their necks, shoulders, backs and wrists every year.
Researchers at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) now believe artificial intelligence could help change that. T
heir new study, published in Scientific Reports, shows that AI can estimate the chance of an office worker developing muscle and joint problems in different parts of the body by studying many aspects of their work and daily life at the same time.
Work-related musculoskeletal disorders are among the leading causes of discomfort and lost productivity across the world. Sitting in front of a computer for hours, repeating the same movements and using poorly fitted desks or chairs can slowly place stress on the body.
These problems often develop gradually, making them difficult to notice until pain becomes serious. Many workplaces rely on simple ergonomic checklists, but these methods cannot fully explain why two people doing the same job often experience very different health outcomes.
To improve prediction, PhD researcher Mehrdad Hassani and his team analysed information from 810 office workers gathered from four public databases.
They compared six machine learning systems to see which could best estimate injury risk in nine different body regions. Unlike older approaches, the AI models looked beyond physical posture.
They included age, height, weight, body mass index, work experience, sleeping hours, workload, job control, emotional demands, workplace support and several other personal and organisational factors.
The analysis revealed that every body region had its own pattern of risk. Neck pain was linked to a different mix of factors than wrist or knee pain. This finding suggests that prevention plans should be personalised instead of treating every office worker the same way. The study confirmed that poor posture and sitting for long periods without regular breaks remain important concerns, but they are only part of a much larger picture.
One of the most interesting discoveries involved sleep. Sleeping time ranked among the strongest predictors for neck, hip and lower back problems. Researchers believe poor sleep may reduce the body’s ability to repair small amounts of tissue damage that build up during daily work while also making people feel pain more strongly.
Height also emerged as an important factor for several body regions. This supports the idea that adjustable chairs, desks and computer screens should be matched to each person’s body size whenever possible.
The research also showed that the workplace environment matters. High workloads, limited control over tasks, unclear job responsibilities and weak support from managers or colleagues were linked with higher risks of neck and lower back pain.
Although emotional demands and job meaning were not the biggest influences overall, they still contributed to upper back and shoulder problems for some workers.
According to the researchers, AI offers a way to combine many small pieces of information that traditional methods often ignore. This could allow workplaces to identify workers who are at greater risk and introduce practical changes before long-term pain develops. Such changes could include improving workstation setup, encouraging regular movement, promoting healthy sleep and creating a more supportive workplace culture.
This study provides a broader understanding of office injuries by showing that physical, personal and psychological factors work together.
The results are encouraging because they move beyond simple explanations and recognise that injury risk is different for every individual. However, the work was based on existing datasets, so further research in real workplaces will be important before these prediction tools are widely adopted.
Even with that limitation, the findings suggest AI could become a valuable partner in preventing common office injuries and improving employee wellbeing in the future.
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Source: Queensland University of Technology.
