Repetition Strain Injury (RSI): Legacy of Technology in Changing Times or Human Resource Management Found Wanting?

Abstract

This article reviews models of causation for RSI. Emphasis is now being placed on a psychosocial explanation of causation. It is suggested that Australian managers have difficulty addressing the RSI problem at a psychosocial level. Two reasons are put foward to account for this perceived difficulty. Both are related to basic management education. A direct result of this lack of basic management education has been the growth of mechanistic and adversarial HRM practices that are best demonstrated by the mismatch between the exposed emotions of many Australian managers and the emphasis placed on ergonomic principles in the prevention of RSI.

Workplace Reform and Implications for Productivity: A Workshops Field Study

“…Unfortunately, Australian industry is burdened with mechanistic managers (Acutt, 1990) who have often been appointed for their political skills rather than their entrepreneurial achievements (Financial Review, 1991;West Australian, 1990). Workplace reform initiatives that fail to address the issue of poor management may well be illusory.…”

“…Contemporary organizations are characterized by rising task complexity, the employment of post-modern technology, and non-routinized work These features require greater co-ordination to accommodate the increased interdependence between work units. Unfortunately, Australian industry is burdened with mechanistic managers (Acutt, 1990) who have often been appointed for their political skills rather than their entrepreneurial achievements (Financial Review, 1991;West Australian, 1990). Workplace reform initiatives that fail to address the issue of poor management may well be illusory.…”

Accidents: A Study and a Strategy for A Safer Workplace

“…Industrial accidents are of increasing concern for Australian organizations (Acutt, 1990;Hetzel, 1990). Employees have an expectation that jobs should be both meaningful and rewarding (Grey & Gelfond, 1990;Marks, Mirvis, Hackett & Grady, 1986), and within this perspective workers would expect to have their workplace relatively hazard free.…”

“…One important conclusion of the Robens' (1972) report was that a priority of regulatory law should be to influence management and employee attitudes to healthier work organisations. Unfortunately, the lack of basic management education, together with a reliance on legislation and government guidelines, has seen more emphasis being placed on mechanistic human resource approaches rather than interpersonal managerial skills (Acutt, 1990;Dunoon, 1990). Thus psychosocial factors are infrequently promoted.…”

Annual Review Paper : Occupational Health and Safety: Progress and Problems

“…Accordingly, the decline in reported RSI cases may be a result of increased use of human-centred and user-friendly systems. Many other models of explanation for RSI have been presented and debated throughout the 1980s, however; Acutt (1990) had reviewed various models of RSI causation and emphasises the importance of psychosocial factors. Whatever the explanation, Acutt argues that Australian management have played only a minor role in coping with RSI and concludes that: &dquo;The real challenge for human resource managers to emerge from the RSI epidemic is, to appreciate their potential role in preparing future Australian managers to understand and cope with phenomena like RSI.…”