<?xml version="1.0"?>
<Articles JournalTitle="International Journal of Occupational Hygiene">
  <Article>
    <Journal>
      <PublisherName>Tehran University of Medical Sciences</PublisherName>
      <JournalTitle>International Journal of Occupational Hygiene</JournalTitle>
      <Issn>2008-5109</Issn>
      <Volume>14</Volume>
      <Issue>4</Issue>
      <PubDate PubStatus="epublish">
        <Year>2025</Year>
        <Month>08</Month>
        <Day>30</Day>
      </PubDate>
    </Journal>
    <title locale="en_US">Combating Fatigue in the Office: Findings of a Participatory Ergonomics Intervention</title>
    <FirstPage>180</FirstPage>
    <LastPage>187</LastPage>
    <AuthorList>
      <Author>
        <FirstName>Ali</FirstName>
        <LastName>Seyed Sharifi</LastName>
        <affiliation locale="en_US">MSc, Department of Engineering sciences, Technical and Vocational University (TVU), Tehran, Iran    |    Industrial Safety Engineering Department, Caspian Higher Education Institute, Tehran, Iran</affiliation>
      </Author>
      <Author>
        <FirstName>Mojtaba</FirstName>
        <LastName>K. Danesh</LastName>
        <affiliation locale="en_US">Associate Professor, Department of Occupational Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran</affiliation>
      </Author>
      <Author>
        <FirstName>Reza</FirstName>
        <LastName>Gholamnia</LastName>
        <affiliation locale="en_US">Associate Professor, Department of Safety Engineering, Faculty of Health, Safety and Environment, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran      |       Workplace Health Promotion Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran</affiliation>
      </Author>
    </AuthorList>
    <History>
      <PubDate PubStatus="received">
        <Year>2024</Year>
        <Month>08</Month>
        <Day>27</Day>
      </PubDate>
      <PubDate PubStatus="accepted">
        <Year>2024</Year>
        <Month>10</Month>
        <Day>23</Day>
      </PubDate>
    </History>
    <abstract locale="en_US">Introduction: The nature of unstandardized office work exposes call center agents to not only work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs), but also other mental and physical adversities. Despite this fact, in the occupational health literature, there is a surprising paucity regarding fatigue management interventions among call center agents. Accordingly, a participatory ergonomics intervention was designed to examine its resulting effects on worker&#x2019;s mental and physical fatigue.
Material and methods: A quasi-experimental participatory interventional study with a single arm pretest-posttest design was conducted among 84 call center agents of a private telecommunication company in the city of Tehran, Iran. Prior to the intervention, data regarding mental and physical fatigue were collected via SOFI questionnaires. Then, participants were assigned to a multifaceted intervention program including comprehensive office ergonomic training, work layout improvement, supervised on-site face to face visits, and provision of quality break time encompassing regular exercise program. Follow-up evaluation was done after a 6-month period. Wilcoxon sign test was applied to compare subject&#x2019;s perceived mental and physical fatigue before and after the intervention.
Results: Based on the results, intervention had a significant effect on reducing overall score of the fatigue scale 
(P &lt; 0.01). However, the results for its subscales were mixed. Lack of energy was reported to decrease meaningfully (P &lt; 0.01) while lack of motivation and sleepiness didn&#x2019;t change significantly. As for physical fatigue, physical discomfort was perceived to be alleviated by the intervention (P &lt; 0.001) although the condition of physical exertion didn&#x2019;t improve significantly.
Conclusions: Findings showed that the intervention had mixed effects on different aspects of employees&#x2019; fatigue. Customizing interventions to target different aspects of occupational fatigue would be a practicable strategy. Moreover, the contribution of this study is to the body of the literature suggesting a participatory ergonomic intervention can help bring about improvements to the work systems specifically managing occupational fatigue.</abstract>
    <web_url>https://ijoh.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijoh/article/view/638</web_url>
    <pdf_url>https://ijoh.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijoh/article/download/638/873</pdf_url>
  </Article>
</Articles>
