Unsuitable office equipment ‘putting employee health at risk’

Employers could be putting the health and wellbeing of their staff at risk by failing to invest in modern office equipment, a new survey suggests.

According to the telecoms distributor ND Data, 42 per cent of office workers using fixed-line headsets or traditional telephones have experienced neck pain in the past year as a result of the equipment.

The survey also revealed that outdated technology makes three quarters of employees feel chained to their desks, which can have a negative impact on their happiness and productivity.

Indeed, 64 per cent of those questioned said they would work more productively if their employer provided them with cordless phones and headsets that allowed them to move around the office.

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Gary Basso, director of NB Data, said: "By providing wrong, outdated equipment, companies are jeopardising their greatest asset – their staff."

He said that by investing in new technology employers could reduce "avoidable" employee sickness absence.

According to the Health and Safety Executive, sickness absence costs employers £495 a year for every worker employed.