The volume of occupational physical activity, lower back pain and workload among route salespeople in the beverage vending machine industry: a pilot study.

PURPOSE: We conducted a cross-sectional study to clarify the workload of route salespeople in beverage sales for vending-machines in Japan. Specifically, we examined the volume of occupational physical activity (PA) as an objective measure of workload and physical pain as a subjective measure of workload, and assessed whether an association was observed between physical pain and the estimated number of years the employee wanted to continue to work.

METHODS

Of 264 participants who engaged in route sales, thirty participants were asked to wear a triaxial accelerometer to measure PA during working hours, and 234 were observed for workload and physical pain using a questionnaire.

RESULTS

The average occupational PA was 12,010 ± 3,160 steps/day, 2.45 ± 0.19 PA levels/day, and 507.5 ± 245.1 moderate to vigorous PA minutes/week. Half the participants reported lower back pain (LBP) and perceived a demanding workload. Participants who had LBP and had been with the company for more than 10 years perceived heavier workloads and estimated a shorter length of future service than those without LBP and more than 10 years in the company.

CONCLUSION

This study implies that route salespeople employed in the beverage vending machine industry are subjected to a high volume of physical activity and experience physical discomfort, particularly LBP. The nature of work involved in beverage sales for vending-machines necessitates a workload classification ranging from moderate-to-high based on both subjective and objective workload criteria.