Implications of Work from Home on the Musculoskeletal System and Stress Level in Information Technology Professionals during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic lockdown led all the companies to adopt work from home. The present study was conducted on information technology professionals to see the implications of work from home. Since information technology professionals have long working hours without proper break and workplace environment, they seem to the most affected sector in terms of physical and mental health due to work from home. The main purpose of this study was to find out the implications of work from home on the musculoskeletal system and stress level in information technology professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic. An online survey was conducted which consisted of 115 participants chosen according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Nordic musculoskeletal questionnaire and Perceived stress scale was used to evaluate the impact of work from home on musculoskeletal system and stress level respectively. The results showed that employees faced musculoskeletal pain in multiple joints in which the highest affection was seen in the lower back region and neck region along with a significant increase in stress levels, where females showed higher stress levels than males.