 

This is to certify that the

thesis entitled

The Effects of Chair Heights and Seat Pan Angles
Upon An Individual's Wrist Position While
Keyboarding

presented by
Swee-Huat Tan

has been accepted towards fulﬁllment

of the requirements for
The Masters of Arts

degree in

 

 

Interior Design and Facilities Management

 

 

June 24 , 1993
Date

 

0-7639 MS U is an Afﬁrmative Action/Equal Opportunity Institution

THE EFFECTS OF CHAIR HEIGHTS AND SEAT PAN ANGLES UPON
AN INDIVIDUAL’S WRIST POSITION WHILE KEYBOARDING

By

Swee-Huat Tan

A THESIS

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulﬁllment of the requirements
for the degree of

MASTER OF ART

Department of Human Ecology

1993

ABSTRACT
THE EFFECTS OF CHAIR HEIGHTS AND SEAT PAN ANGLES UPON
AN INDIVIDUALS WRIST POSITION WHILE KEYBOARDING
By

Swee-Huat Tan

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of chair heights and
seat pan angles on the individual’s wrist angle while keyboarding. Twenty
subjects were recruited to do routine keyboarding tasks at four different sitting
positions. The conditions were combinations of high and low chair, with +8
degree and -5 degree seat pan angles. At the end of the experiment wrist angles
at each of the four sitting arrangements were evaluated using photographic data.

The results reveal that individuals using the low chair tend to experience
less wrist angle deviation as compared to using the high chair. Consequently,
subjects using the -5 degree seat pan angle tend to result in less wrist angle
deviation as compared to subjects using the +8 degree seat pan angle. Individuals
using a combination of low chair with a -5 degree seat pan angle experience the

least wrist angle deviation when keyboarding.

This thesis is dedicated to my parents, my wife and all my

family members for their love, support and generosity.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

My Sincere thanks to Dr. Timothy J. Springer for his expert guidance and
continuous encouragement; I have gained greatly from his wealth of knowledge
while pursuing this research project. Special thanks also to Dr. Robert B. Snyder,
a member of the committee who assisted in getting all the necessary equipments,
setting up of laboratory and provided expert guidance in making this research
project a success. I also thank Dr. Lily T. DeLeon for serving as one of the
committee members; her contribution, constructive comments, friendship and
continuous encouragement are greatly appreciated.

I would like to thank Steelcase Corporation for contributing the Steelcase
Criterion chair and Steelcase Articulating keyboard support for this experiment.
Thanks also to Mr. Dan Slavin, President of the International Testing Service, for
the permission to use TapDance, a computer typing software program, for this
experiment.

I would like to thank my parents and my family for their generous support
and encouragement throughout my education. I would also like to thank my lovely

wife for her moral support and continuous encouragement. Special thanks also to

iv

all the subjects who participated in the experiments.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter Page
I. INTRODUCTION .......................... 1
II. LITERATURE REVIEW ...................... 3
III. HYPOTHESES ............................ 10
IV. METHODOLOGY .......................... 11
Subjects ............................... 1 1
Equipment ............................. 1 1
Experiment Procedure ...................... 15
V. DATA ANALYSIS .......................... 23
VI. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION .................. 24
VII. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ....... 32
GLOSSARY ................................ 34
REFERENCES .............................. 36
APPENDIX 1:
Document Used for Baseline Performance Test ....... 40
APPENDIX 2: Documents Used in the Experiment
Document A ............................ 41
Document B ............................ 45
Document C ............................ 49
Document D ............................ 53

vi

LIST OF TABLES

Page
Table l. The Four Sitting Arrangements Tested ...... 20
Table 2. Four Groups of Experimental Order ........ 20
Table 3. Subjects’ Descriptive Data .............. 25
Table 4. Subjects’ Anthropometric Data ........... 26

Table 5. Result of Repeated Measure Analysis of Variance 27

vii

LIST OF FIGURES

Page

Figure 1. Cross Section of Wrist Showing the Carpal Tunnel . . 2
Figure 2. Parallel Increases in Computer Users and

Compensation Claims .................... 3
Figure 3. The Steelcase Criterion Chair ............... 12
Figure 4. Overall View of Laboratory ................ 14
Figure 5. Location of the Three Body Reference Points ...... 16
Figure 6. Measuring of Popliteal Height ............... 17
Figure 7. Measuring of Elbow Rest Height ............. 18
Figure 8. Photo Illustrating the Four Sitting

Arrangements Tested ..................... 19

Figure 9. Graph: Chair Heights and Seat Pan Angles in Relation
to Wrist Angle ......................... 29

viii

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome‘ (CTS) is one of the most frequent occupational
injuries in the United States. American business lost about $27 billion in earnings
and medical expenses in 1990 due to this condition (Jean, 1992).

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, the "epidemic” of the 90s, is the fastest growing
injury among computer users who spend most of their normal working hours doing
keyboarding. Statistics Show that the number of people suffering from CTS is
multiplying at an alarming rate every year. It was estimated that there were
20,250 CTS cases in 1983, 54,750 in 1987, and 110,250 in 1989. The National
Institute of Occupational Safety and Health indicated that, according to the record
of increasing cases of CTS, unless some preventive action is taken, 50% of the
workforce in the year 2000 will suffer from repetitive motion injuries' such as
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (Gomer, 1992).

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is the result of the compression of the median nerve
that passes through the carpal tunnel, a narrow 2-3 cm long passage in the wrist
(see Figure 1) through which the nerves serving the thumb, index ﬁnger, middle
ﬁnger and ring ﬁnger pass (Fernberg, 1991; Morgan, 1991; Falkenburg, 1988).
Deviated wrist positions together with repetitive ﬁnger movements cause ﬁiction
of tendons against each other at the carpal tunnel. This can eventually lead to
swelling of the synovial sheath, a thin ﬂuid-ﬁlled sack that protects the tendons.

The swelling of the synovial sheath results in compression of the median nerve,

 

See glossary for deﬁnition.

which causes pain, lack of function and eventual disability. Compression of the
median nerve also leads to signiﬁcant increases in carpal tunnel pressure, and the
occurrence of CTS (Anderson, 1988; Rosch, 1991; Harvey, 1991).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 1. Cross Section of the Wrist Showing the Carpal Tunnel (Anderson,
1988).

CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW

Computers are essential in almost all professions in today’s technology and
information era. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, since the
introduction of the personal computer in 1981, computer use has dramatically
increased from 10 million in 1981 to over 50 million in 1991 (Proformix, 1991).

Parallel to the increasing use of computers is the increase of CTS, as shown in

Figure 2.

 

 

50 ....99MPUI.EB ........................ COMPENSATION
ussns

MILLIONS
THOUSANDS

é

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

. . 0
81 83 85 87 88 91 93 81 83 85 87 89 91 83
YEARS YEARS

Figure 2. The Parallel Increases in Computer Users and Compensation Claims.
(US Bureau of Labor Statistics, cited in Proformix, 1991).

Increases of computer use and the incidence of CTS is not coincidental. Many
researchers conclude that CTS symptoms can be traced back to the improper use
of the computer keyboard. However, why does CTS appear to be a recent
phenomenon, since people have been typing for over a hundred years? The fact
is, the typing process has actually changed. In the past, almost all typewriter users
completed a typing course, where they were taught to keep their wrists straight,
even to the extent that a coin was placed on the top side of the hand. This practice
forced them to keep the wrist straight and as close to the home row of the
keyboard as possible. The old manual typewriter required typists to send the
carriage back to the left after every line, insert a new sheet of paper after every
page, and erase after making a mistake. All of these activities caused frequent
pauses and variations of hand movements. Since the Older manual typewriter keys
were not touch sensitive, they were able to allow some support of the arm when
at rest.

Compared to typewriter operators, mOst computer operators do not get the
proper keyboarding training as compared to the typewriter operators. Computers
also encourage repetitive ﬁnger movements, since carriage return, change of
paper, and editing of errors are all done by the pressing of keys. Computers are
more touch sensitive than the old manual typewriters, and provide no support to
the arm when at rest. Most recent university graduates know how to operate a

computer, but very few are educated in the proper use of the machine without

4

causing physical injury. Fast repetitive ﬁnger movements without much pause,
together with the lack of wrist and forearm support, result in the "dropping” of the
wrist due to fatigue, and thus the deviation of wrist angle.
The review of literature reveals that the three major factors contributing to the

development of CTS for Keyboard operators are as follow:

1. Poor posture (Fernberg, 1991).

2. Highly repeated ﬁnger movements without adequate rest and the

increasing pace of work (Gomer, 1992; Schenck, 1988; Van, 1992).
3. Excessive use of force (Dainoff, 1992; Fernberg, 1991; Hedge, 1992).
CTS is most likely to result from intensive keyboarding with the wrist

deviated. It usually occurs when people rest their wrist on the table while their
hands angle up to reach the keyboard. ‘Keyboarding in that position for extended
hours results in the inﬂammation and compression of the median nerve (Dainoff,
1992; Fernberg, 1991). Ironically, the advanced technology that enables such
conveniences for the VDT operator as retrieval, editing and ﬁling of documents
gives rise to the occurrence of wrist injury, due to the tendency of the individual
to continue keyboarding without resting. In addition, excessive use of force while
keyboarding causes muscle tension and results in pain and fatigue of muscles
caused by more severe strain to the tendons that work the ﬁngers (Dainoff, 1992;
Fernberg, 1991; Hedge, 1992).

Knowing that wrist deviation while keyboarding is one of the leading causes

5

of CTS, many researchers have investigated various options to prevent wrist
deviation and achieve a neutral wrist position. Some of the devices available on
the market to aid wrist support while keyboarding are the wrist-rest and the
forearm support. Having the forearm supported while keyboarding has been
scientiﬁcally proven to reduce muscle strain in certain areas of the body
(Nakaseko, et al., 1985), but there are controversial reports on how it reduces
wrist deviation. Some authors caution the use of the wrist-rest; since the underside
of the wrist is very sensitive, excessive pressure on the underside of the wrist may
result in wrist injury (Dainoff & Dainoff, 1986). After testing nine different
wrist-rests on forty full-time data operators, Parsons (1991) documented 10%
reporting ”increasing discomfort" when using a wrist-rest with a traditional
keyboard. Further more not one of the Operators considered the wrist-rest useful.
Powers, Hedge and Martin (1992) tested sixteen VDT operators, and found that
full motion forearm support did not signiﬁcantly change hand-wrist position, as
compared to the use of the negative Sloped keyboard, when keyboarding. Some
researchers propose the redesign and reshaping of the keyboard in order to
achieved a neutral wrist position. IBM indicates resistance to those changes, due
'to the fact that QWERTY keyboards are used worldwide, and making those
changes would be difﬁcult and costly (Roel, 1990).

Most keyboarding is performed at a seated position, because sitting enables

better hand-eye coordination (Herman Miller, 1990). Sitting posture has been an

6

area of interest in the ﬁeld of ergonomics for a long time. A review of sitting
posture in relation to keyboarding reveals that the chair does have an intense
impact on individual sitting posture, which in turn produces strain in certain areas
of the body (Occhipinti, Colombini, Frigo, Pedotti, Grieco, 1985). Sitting is more
demanding on the muscles and ligaments than standing, due to the rotation of the
pelvis and the shift of the lumbar spine from lordosis’ position to kyphosis'
(Cornell, 1989). When the lumbar spine is at the kyphosis position, the enormous
pressure leads to eventual disc deterioration, and, hence, back injury. Research
indicates that disc pressure is 35 96 higher in a seated without a back support
position as compared to standing upright (Cornell, 1989). Knowing that upright
sitting posture reduces back injury, the traditional upright Sitting posture—which
is back straight with legs ﬁrmly ﬂat on the floor and a 90-degree bend at elbow,
knee and trunk-thigh angle (ANSI/HFS, l988)-was once a recommended sitting
posture for the keyboard operator, supported by nearly all sources. A few authors
question the traditional proposed sitting posture (Congleton, Ayoub & Smith,
1985; Herman Miller, 1990; Lueder, 1986; Mandal, 1985). The major critical
concern about the upright sitting posture, lordosis position, is that people do not
sit upright all the time. Regardless of being taught to sit upright, people still

slumped when they got tired (Herman Miller, 1990; Mandal, 1985).

 

* See glossary for deﬁnition.

Mandal (1985) indicated that in order to achieve lordosis at the seated position,
the seat pan should be tilted forward with trunk-thigh angle at about 105 degrees.
Since Mandal ﬁrst introduced the concept of the forward sloping chair, many
studies have revealed that a forward sloping chair does induce a more upright
sitting posture and reduces back pain as compared to a conventional chair with
perpendicular or backward tilted seat pan angle (Mandal, 1985; Bridger, 1988;
Bendix & Bloch,1986; Bendix, 1984; Congleton, Ayoub & Smith, 1985).

The chair is the foundation of the ofﬁce workplace; it affects individual sitting
postures, task performance and comfort or discomfort (Bhatnager, Drury &
Schiro, 1985; Anderson, 1987; Cornell, 1988; Cornell, 1989). Wrist position is
only one of the elements. of working posture contributing to the comfort or
discomfort among workers.’ A forward sloping chair‘ is one of the factors
affecting individual posture that has received some attention in research efforts.
Even though a forward sloping chair does help in preserving lordosis while seated,
the question arises: Does such a chair also help maintain a neutral wrist position
while keyboarding? As previously cited, studies have suggested that keeping the
wrist straight (neutral position) while keyboarding reduces the risk of CTS.
However, not enough data is available to shed light on the relationship between

chair height, seat pan angle and individual’s wrist angle while keyboarding.

 

* See glossary for deﬁnition.

The purpose of this research is to study how different chair heights and seat
pan angles' affect the individual wrist angle while keyboarding. The results
obtained through this study will enable keyboard operators to better adjust their

chairs to minimize the risk of getting CTS.

 

* See glossary for deﬁnition.

CHAPTER III: HYPOTHESES

In order to investigate if chair height and seat pan angle affects individual wrist
angle while keyboarding, the following hypotheses were developed:

H1: Chair height has no Signiﬁcant impact on individual wrist angle
while keyboarding.

H2: Seat pan angle has no signiﬁcant impact on individual wrist angle
while keyboarding.

10

CHAPTER IV: METHODOLOGY

Submits
The study was performed with twenty healthy subjects. All subjects were
initially required to type with both hands at a minimum of twenty-ﬁve words per
minute, excluding errors, to be considered for the study. Subjects not meeting the
minimum required keyboarding speed were excused form the experiment. Data
describing subjects’ demographics, select body dimensions and performance on the

preliminary typing test were collected.

Equipment
The Steelcase Criterion chair (model number 453-5510AU), as shown in
Figure 3, was selected for the study. It has a cushioned seat pan and back support
both with fabric cover, and is ﬁrmly positioned on ﬁve casters, enabling it to
move easily on the carpeted ﬂoor. The arm-rest of the chair was removed during

the experiment for ease of observation and to eliminate extraneous variables.

11

 

 

Figure 3. The Steelcase Criterion Chair.

The chair is height-adjustable from 40.5 cm (min.) to 53.5 cm (max.), with
the casters on. To accommodate subjects of shorter stature, the casters of the
chair were removed in order to lower the chair height to 38 .5 cm. Since the chair
was placed on a hard vinyl ﬂoor surface, the chair without the casters did not
restrict its movement on the surface of the ﬂoor. The seat pan could be tilted

from -5 degrees (backward) to + 8 degrees (forward) over a transverse axis

12

underneath the center of the seat. For the purpose of consistency and ease of
measurement, extreme positions of a +8 degree and a -5 degree seat angles were
used for this experiment. The backrest can be tilted from -3 to +16 degrees over
a transverse axis position. For this experiment, the back rest was kept
perpendicular to the ﬂoor in all arrangements.

The computer workstation was 76 cm high with a Steelcase articulating
keyboard support that was height-adjustable from 57 cm to 71 cm. The keyboard
tray tilts from 0 degree to 15 degrees. For this experiment, the keyboard tray was
kept at 0 degrees parallel to the ﬂoor at all times. An IBM ps/2 keyboard, with
a +7 degree slope (toward the user), was used and placed directly on the Steelcase
articulating keyboard support. The keyboard thickness was 4 cm at the keys of
the home row. A 14" color monitor was placed directly on the computer
workstation. Viewing distance to the screen was about 76 cm, this being the mean
preferred distance reported by Grandjean, Hunting & Nishiyama (1984).

A 35 mm Canon A-l camera was used to photograph individual wrist positions
for measurement and analysis. The camera was supported on a tripod with a 60"
shutter cable release, which enabled the researcher to take pictures at the other
side of the room without disturbing the subjects performing the keyboarding task.
Overall view of the laboratory is as shown in Figure 4. Photographs were taken
with subjects sitting in proﬁle against the background of a 2 cm square reference

grid, as shown in Figure 8.

13

 

TapDance, a computer-aided testing system, was utilized to time and score
individual keyboarding performance. TapDance functions like any word processor
and is similar to any typing test, with the main difference being that timing and
scoring of the test is done by the computer. At the end of ﬁfteen minutes,
TapDance automatically stops any additional keyboarding entry, and the individual
typing score is printed. Performance data were used to screen subjects at the
baseline performance test. Subjects not meeting the minimum standard,
keyboarding with both hands and minimum of twenty-ﬁve words per minute,

excluding errors, in the pre-screening were dismissed.

 

Figure 4. Overall View of Laboratory.

14

W

The experimenter gave the same introduction regarding the experiment to each
subject entering the laboratory. After this initial introduction, each subject was
given a one-minute keyboarding baseline performance test to determine their
keyboarding speed (words per minute) and keyboarding style. The documents
used for the baseline performance test is as shown in Appendix 1. The
requirement for the experiment was a minimum typing speed of twenty-ﬁve words
per minute, excluding errors, and the subject had to type with both hands. For the
baseline performance test, the subject was free to adjust the chair and keyboard
height to his/her preferred position.

After the subject met the minimum keyboarding requirement for the study, the
three reference points on the right arm were located and marked. The subject was
required to have the right arm exposed so that the approximate location of the head
of the ﬁfth metacarpal’ bone, the lateral epicondyle’ and the pivot point of the
wrist could be located and marked with a 1 cm diameter sticker for identiﬁcation
and measuring purposes (see Figure 5 for location). A straight line connecting all
three points was treated as the neutral wrist position. The pivot between the hand
and the lower arm was located by having the subject place the right hand and

forearm in line by resting them on a horizontal worksurface. A guiding horizontal

 

* See glossary for deﬁnition.
15

line connecting the head of the ﬁfth metacarpal bone and the lateral epicondyle was
located and the intersection between the line and the wrist was marked with a
sticker. The angle formed by connecting the three lines was used for measuring

the wrist angle.

   

ateral epicondyle

Figure 5. Location of the Three Body Reference Points: Head of Fifth Metacarpal
Bone, the Lateral Epicondyle and the Wrist Pivot Point Were Marked on the Arm.

After individual descriptive and anthropometric data were recorded, the subject

was seated on the chair, which was adjusted according to one of the randomly

selected experimental trials. Seat height was adjusted, by the experimenter,

16

according to individual popliteal measurements‘, as shown in Figure 6. For this
study the seat height was categorized into low and high chairs. The low chair was
determined by individual popliteal height minus 1 cm. This is an average seat
height suggested by Bendix (1984). The high chair was determined by individual
popliteal height plus 4 cm, including shoe heels (Bendix & Bloch, 1986). Seat pan
angles were +8 and -5 degrees, which are the two extreme angles of the chair.

Subject elbow rest height', was also taken, as illustrated in Figure 7.

'mmnixawxﬁgx -

if
- i

i,

is

’ t

 

Figure 6. Measuring of Popliteal Height.

 

* See glossary for deﬁnition.
17

l gs;

 

Figure 7. Measuring of Elbow Rest Height.

The subject adjusted the keyboard height, to his/her preferred position, once
each, from the highest and lowest positions. The selected heights were recorded.
The average of the lowest and the highest position was used as a preferred height
for the subject during that experimental trial. All twenty subjects each went
through the same keyboard adjustment procedure for the succeeding experimental
trials.

In order to investigate the effect of chair height and seat pan angle upon the
individual’s wrist angle, the four different sitting arrangements were tested for

each subject, as shown in Table 1, and illustrated in Figure 8. Chair height and

18

 

1. Chair height: Low 2. Chair Height: Low
Seat pan angle: -5 degree Seat pan angle: +8 degree

 

 

3. Chair height: High 4. Chair height: High
Seat pan angle: -5 degree Seat pan angle: +8 degree

Figure 8. Photo Illustrating the Four Sitting Arrangements Tested.

19

Table 1. The Four Sitting Arrangements Tested.

 

 

 

 

 

Arrangement Seat Height Seat Pan Angle Keyboard
Height
1 Low chair -5 degree
. (Note: All to be
2 Low charr +8 degree determine by
3 High chair —5 degree subjects.)
4 High chair +8 degree

 

 

 

 

 

 

Table 2. Four Groups of Experimental Order.

 

High Chair +8; High Chair -5; Low Chair -5; Low Chair +8
High Chair -5; High Chair +8; Low Chair +8; Low Chair -5
Low Chair +8; Low Chair -5; High Chair -5; High Chair +8
Low Chair -5; Low Chair +8; High Chair +8; High Chair -5

 

 

 

AmNh—s

 

 

 

 

seat pan angle are the independent variables, each with one degree of freedom,
with the wrist angle the dependent variable. On the basis of time at entry into the
laboratory, the twenty subjects were each randomly assigned to one of the four
groups of experimental order shown in Table 2, which was arranged according to
the four different sitting conditions, as shown in Table 1. This was done in order

to counterbalance any sequential effect. Each subject participated in all four

20

arrangements, as shown in Table 1, each arrangement lasted exactly ﬁfteen
minutes. In each group of experimental order, as shown in Table 2, at least one
of the independent variables remained unchanged when the subject changed from
one sitting arrangement to the other, to keep consistency and eliminate extraneous
variables.

After the subject was seated in proﬁle against a background reference grid of
2 cm squares, a camera was placed ﬁve feet away, focused at the same horizontal
level as the subject’s wrist. The center of the camera lens was used as a
measuring point. A photograph was taken at ﬁve-minute intervals.

Four different documents were used in this experiment, as shown in Appendix
2, excluding the one used for the baseline performance test. The documents were
randomly selected at each experimental sitting, to counterbalance any sequential
effect. After the preparation procedures were completed, subjects were asked to
begin keying one of the selected documents, at each of the four sitting
arrangements.

Having the subjects going through all the four different Sitting arrangements,
with repeated measurements taken, has the advantage of allowing each subject to
serve as its own comparison group. This can help reduce the confounding

extraneous variables, such as skills, stature, physical strength or performance.

21

 

Sitting conﬁguration for the keyboarding test is summarized as follows:
Chair height: Low chair, 1 cm below popliteal height (Bendix, 1984).

High chair, 4 cm above popliteal height (Bendix & Bloch, 1986).
Seat pan angle: +8 and -5 degrees.
Viewing distance from the screen: About 76 cm (Grandjean, Hunting &

Nishiyama, 1984).
Documents: Provided by experimenter (see Appendix 2),
same for all subjects.

Keyboard height: Adjusted by subjects.

22

CHAPTER V: DATA ANALYSIS

The independent variables in this study were the chair height and the seat pan
angle, and the dependent variable was the wrist angle. Wrist deviation was
measured from the picture by connecting the three points marked on the right arm.
By the end of the experiment, twenty photos for each of the twenty subjects at
each of the four Sitting arrangements had been taken. The collected data were
analyzed using the repeated measure analysis of variance. SPSS, a computer
software program, was used to conduct the analysis. Descriptive statistics were

calculated for the demographic data collected.

23

 

CHAPTER VI: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The summary of subjects’ descriptive and anthropometric data are as shown
in Table 3 and Table 4 respectively. A total of six males and fourteen females
participated in the study. Average keyboarding speed, excluding errors, at the
four sitting arrangements tested was about thirty-six and forty-one words per
minute for the males and females respectively. Subjects participating in the
experiment consisted of the following mixed ethnic groups: nine Caucasians, seven
Taiwanese, two Koreans, one Singaporean and one Filipino. Average subjects’
preferred keyboard height was about 70 cm for both male and female participants.
Subjects participating in the study were of average Size, based on the percentile of

subject’s anthropometric measurement shown in Table 4.

24

 

Table 3. Subjects’ Descriptive Data.

 

 
   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Factors
Gender Male 6
Female 14
Dominant Right 19
Hand
Left 1
Eyesight Contact Lens 5
(Correction)
Glasses 12
None _ 3
Age Male 28
(Years)
Female 29
Keyboard Speed Male 36
(WPM)
Female 41
Preferred Male 70
Keyboard Height
(cm) Female 70

 

 

25

Table 4. Subjects’ Anthropometric Data.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Factors Mean Range Population
Percentile‘

Stature Men 177 cm (70") 185 cm - 168 cm 70

(cm) Women 162 cm (64") 156 cm - 174 cm 65

Elbow Men 23 cm (9") 21 cm - 27 cm 35

Rest

Height Women 23 cm (9") 19 cm - 26 cm 45

(cm) .

Popliteal Men 42.5 cm (16.7”) 39.5 cm - 44.5 cm 30

Height

(cm) Women 39.5 cm (15.6”) 36.5 cm - 44.5 cm 45

 

 

 

 

 

 

* Pancro J & Zelnik M (1979) Wm
W. New York: Watson-Guptill Publications.

The results of the analysis are shown in Table 5. The analysis reveals that
both chair height (f = 17.10, p < .001) and seat pan angle (f = 5.05, p < .037)
do have signiﬁcant impact on the individual wrist angle while keyboarding, at
alpha equals .05. This allows hypotheses one and two to be rejected. The
analysis also reveals that the time (5 min., 10 min. and 15 min.) at which the wrist
angle measurements were taken, is not signiﬁcant (f = .51, p < .607), at alpha
equals .05. This implies a consistency across time of observed wrist angle. It

also suggests the 15 minutes of experiment trial did not induce fatigue. Table 5

26

Table 5. Result of Repeated Measure Analysis of Variance.

 

    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source of Sum of Degree Mean F Sig. of
Variance Squares of Squares F
Freedom

Chair Height ' 1

Seat Pan Angle 110.70 1 110.70 5.05 .037 i
Time'” 26.64 2 13.32 .51 .607
Chair Height by 38.40 1 38.40 1.08 .311
Seat Pan Angle

Chair Height 12.64 2 6.32 .32 .702

by Time I
Seat Pan Angle 16.59 2 8.29 .44 .647

by Time

Chair Height by 13.18 2 6.59 .22 .803
Seat Pan Angle

by Time

 

* The high and low chairs.
** The +8 degree and -5 degree seat pan angle.
*** The 5, 10 & 15 minutes wrist angle measurement at each sitting arrangement.

27

also reveals there is no interaction effect between either of the independent factors:
chair height or seat pan angle. In this case, it can be concluded that the chair
height and seat pan angle do have consistent impact on individual wrist angle while
keyboarding.

Statistical results also reveal that there is no signiﬁcant correlation between
either of the variables. In this present study sex, age, stature, seated elbow height,
and popliteal height have no signiﬁcant impact on the wrist angle. This ﬁnding
parallels Green, Briggs & Wrigley’s (1991) study, which found that wrist angle
was not related to either time, sex, adjustability of workstation, CTS, back pain,
or the use of computer keyboards or typewriters.

Figure 9 reveals that the higher chair height (popliteal height plus 4 cm) results
in greater wrist angle deviation than the lower chair height (popliteal height minus
1 cm). The graph also reveals that a forward sloping seat pan (+8 degrees)
results in greater wrist angle deviation than a backward sloping seat pan (-5
degrees).

The wrist deviation difference while sitting at the high chair is not as apparent
as while sitting at the low chair. This might be due to the fact that the high chair
with popliteal height plus 4 cm, together with the backward sloping seat pan angle,
resulted in the individual’s feet not being fully supported on the ﬂoor. It also

created a sustained pressure at the underside of the thigh just behind the knee,

28

 

 

 

 

 

 

High Chair/+8
Degree
2 .............
A 6 . High ChalrI-S
C Degree
(11
(D
g 24 ,. .............................................
2
D)
E (gimme
4—1 22 . . . Degree . ..
U)
E /\
20 ..................................... .iéezrfruu-s.
18 ’

O 2 4 6 8101214161820
Time (minutes)

Figure 9. Graph: Chair Heights and Seat Pan Angles in Relation to Wrist Angle.

29

which according to Cornell (1989) will inﬂuence circulation and contribute to the
potential pinching of the nerve. The above circumstances might result in
discomfort and the change in the geometry of the body position, with one
possibility the dropping of the wrist and hence the increase in the wrist angle
deviation.

According to observation of the photographs, about 80% of the subjects lean
back while keyboarding. This observation parallels Grandjean’s (1984) study.
Leaning backward helps transfer about 5% of the total body weight onto the
backrest support; this helps to maintain a relaxed body posture and reduces muscle
fatigue (Anderson, 1987; Grandjean, Hunting & Nishiyama, 1984). The
remaining 20% of the observed subjects that did not lean backward are all female;
almost all of them seem to exhibit more intense concentration in what they are
doing, which might contribute to them sitting closer to the screen.

Both Grandjean and Mandal suggest opening the trunk-thigh angle to about 105
degrees to enhance a lordosis position. Contrary to Grandjean’s backward sloping
seat pan angle, Mandal (1985) suggests a forward sloping seat pan angle. In the
present experiment a forward sloping seat pan angle resulted in a greater wrist
angle deviation than a backward sloping seat pan angle. A forward sloping seat
pan angle might shift the individual to sit closer to the screen, with the individual’s

Shoulders being higher and closer to the screen. This might result in greater wrist

30

deviation, as in the present experiment.

Average preferred keyboard height in this experiment was about 70 cm, as
shown in Table 3, 1 cm below the minimum preferred height suggested by
Grandjean, Hunting & Nishiyama (1984). The difference might be due to the
number of Asians participating in the experiment. The overall mean differences
of keyboard height (home row from the ﬂoor) adjusted from the highest and the
lowest was less than 0.5 cm. This ﬁnding parallels Springer’s study (1982); where
subjects, upon being asked to adjust the preferred chair height from the highest and
the lowest, the just noticeable differences (JND) were less than 2.54 cm (0.5

inches).

31

CHAPTER VII: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

One of the important lessons this experiment reveals is that chair height and
seat pan angle do signiﬁcantly affect individual wrist angle while keyboarding.
Although the results of this study are encouraging, this is just a preliminary study.
Knowing that chair height and seat pan angle do affect individual wrist angle while
keyboarding, future research needs to investigate the ideal chair height and seat
pan angle, in relation to human measurement, that can reduce wrist deviation while
keyboarding.

In this research the keyboard was kept at 0 degrees, parallel to the ﬂoor, at all
times, which might be one of the contributing factors to wrist angle deviation.
Future research might include sloping keyboard angles and the impact on wrist
angle deviation at a forward sloping seat pan angle.

There are a number of products designed to aid individuals to maintain a more
neutral wrist angle while keyboarding. Studies conducted by Hagberg Show that

the use of a wrist-rest results in greater wrist deviation and discomfort, due to the

32

subjects trying to avoid the uncomfortable surface (Power, Hedge & Martin,
1992). Resting on the wrist-rest also results in increased pressure exerted on the
sensitive carpal tunnel, that can contribute to the development of CTS. Many
studies have looked at the aided device to support the wrist, but have failed to
realize that if proper sitting posture is provided, wrist deviation might be lessened,
and thus the risk of CTS is reduced.
Future study, such as empirical investigation of the chair in relation to wrist
angle, should try to answer the following questions:
1. Is less wrist angle deviation also the most comfortable position?
2. Does providing operator control over seat height and seat pan
angle affect individual wrist angle while keyboarding?
3. Does proper chair height and angle, together with a negative
Sloped keyboard, further minimize the wrist deviation?
4. Does chair height and seat pan angle affect individual force
applied on the keys while keyboarding?
It is hoped that answers to these questions will further alleviate the suffering
that affects an increasing segment of the world population, as computer technology
becomes an indispensable part of not only the workplace, but of the homespace as

well.

33

GLOSSARY

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome:
An injury at the wrist resulting from the compression Of the median nerve at the
carpal tunnel, usually related to repetitive motion injury.

Elbow Rest Height:
Distance from the top of sitting surface to the bottom of the tip of the elbow, with
the shoulder at the relaxed position.

Forward Sloping Chair:
A chair with a seat pan that can be tilted forward from the horizontal position. In
this experiment, forward tilt was set at +8 degrees (see seat pan angle).

Head of the Fifth Metacarpal Bone:
Approximately the knuckle (where the ﬁnger joins the palm) of the little ﬁnger.

Kyphosis:
Backward curve of the spine. Usually occurs when a person sits in a slumped
position.

Lateral epicondyle:

A small tuberculated eminence giving attachment to the radial collateral ligament
of the elbow joint, and to the common tendon of origin of the Supinator and
Extensor muscles of the forearm (Gary, 1966). Visually, it is a small protrusion
on the outside part of the elbow when it is bent.

Lordosis:
Forward curve of the spine. Usually occurs when a person stands in an upright

position.

34

Popliteal Height:
Measurement vertically from the ﬂoor to the underside portion of the thigh just
below the knee while subject is seated with body erect and knees at right angle.

Repetitive Motion Injury:
Repetitive movement without adequate rest that leads to wear and tear of soft
tissue.

Seat Pan Angle:

If a horizontal seat pan, parallel to the ﬂoor, is a zero degree reference point, then
a forward inclination is a positive seat pan angle, a backward inclination is a
negative seat pan angle.

Wrist Angle:
Angle formed by bending of the hand and the forearm. Neutral (0 degree) wrist
angle is when the hand is in line with the forearm.

35

REFERENCES

Anderson, G. B. (1987). Biomechanical aspects of sitting: An application to
VDT terminals Behaxiomnilnfomrationlechnoloax 613) 257-269

Anderson, V. P. (Eds..) (1988). V
W New York: Taylor & Francis.

ANSI/HFS Standard 100-1988A W
W Santa Monica: Human

Factors Society.

Bendix, T. & Bloch, I. (1986, Jun.). How should a seated workplace with a
tiltable chair be adjusted? AppljegLErgoanics, 12,2, 127-135.

Bendix, T. (1984, Dec.). Seat trunk posture at various seat inclinations, seat
heights, and table heights. Human Factors, 26(6), 695-703.

Bhatnager, V., Drury, C. G. & Schiro, S. G. (1985, Apr.). Posture, posture
discomfort and comfort. W, 27(2), 189-199.

Bridger, R. S. (1988, Apr.). Posture adaptations to a sloping chair and work
surface. Humanism. 3.01.21. 237-247.

Congleton, J. J., Ayoub, M. M. & Smith, J. L. (1985, Oct.). The design and
evaluation of natural postural chair for surgeons. W, 21(5),
589-605.

Cornell, P. (1988). W. Grand Rapids, Michigan:

Steelcase.

36

Cornell P (1989) WWW
W Grand Rapids Michigan:

Steelcase.

Dainoff, M. J. (1992, Apr. 13). The Illness of the decade. W,
15, 27.

Dainoff, M. J. & Dainoff, M. H. (1986). W. Toronto,
Canada: Holt, Rinehart and Winston of Canada, Limited.

Falkenburg, S. A. (1988, Aug. 15). Carpal cure: All in the wrist? Nam
111mm. 11, 13.

Fernberg, P. (1991, Mar.). Is your terminal ill? Haaljh, pp. 36, 38.

Gray, H. (1966). Anatgmy Qf thg human bgdy. Philadelphia: Lea & Febiger.

Gorner, P. (1992, April 26). It’s all in the wrist: Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, the

malady of the computer generation. We, See. 19 (part 2),
p. 18.

Grandjean, E., Hunting, W. & Nishiyama, K. (1984, Jun.). Preferred VDT
workstation settings, body posture and physical impairments. ApplieaL

Ergonomics. 15.2. 99-104.

Green, R. A., Briggs, C.A. & Wrigley, T.V. (1991, Feb.). Factors related to
working posture and its assessment among keyboard operators. Applied

mummies, 2.2.1, 29-35.
Harvey, D. A. (1991, Oct.). Health and safety ﬁrst. Byte, 16, pp. 119-128.

Hedge, A. (1992, Jan.). Australian research showing that improved posture
reduces the incidence of keyboard-related CTS. WWII
We _1_, Ithaca, New York: Cornell University, Department of
Design & Environmental Analysis.

Herman Miller. (1990, Jun.). W. A research

summary from Herman Miller, Inc., Zeeland, Michigan.

37

Jean, T. (1992, Jan.). Stemming the ofﬁce epidemic. Risk Managgmant,
pp. 34—38.

Lueder, R. (1986, Nov.). Seat height revisited. W
Bulletin, .2142 11 , 4-5.

Mandal, A. C. (1985). Tha agate}; man; hgmg gadana Denmark:
Dafnia Publication.

Morgan, S. (1991, Oct. ). Most factors contributing to CTS can be minimized,
if not eliminated WWI): 51 50-54

Occhipinti, E., Colombini, D., Frigo, C., Pedotti, A. & Grieco A. (1985,
Sep.). Sitting posture: Analysis of lumbar stress with upper limbs

supported. Erggmgmjgs, 28, 1333-1346.

Panero J & Zelnik M (1979) MW
Wigwam. New York: Watson-Guptill Publications.

Parsons, C. A. (1991). Use of wrist rest by data input VDT operators.
11 1M; Er oonmi ” -Pr 1n fh E1“. 0 ° at

122m, Southampton, England, 16- 19 April, London:
Taylor & Francis, pp. 319- 321.

9
\

Powers, J. R. Hedge, A. & Martin, M. G. (1992). Effects of full motion
forearm supports and a negative slope keyboard support system on

hand-wrist posture while keyboarding. W
W PP 796 300

Proformix brochure (1991, Jan. ). Proper Keyboarding Posture Minimizes the
Risk of CTS.ErQ£Qm_'_x_N_em,1_(1), New Jersey. Proformix, Inc., p. 8.

Roel, Ronald E. (1990, Jan. 22). Inventor promotes new keyboard designed to
reduce hand Injuries. MW, Sec. WBIZ, p. 16.

Rosch, W. L. (1991, Nov. 26). Does your PC--or how you use it--cause health
problems? We, pp. 491-495.

38

Schenck, R. R. (1988, Dec.) Keep in touch with pain. W,
pp. 39-42.

Springer. T. J. (1986). W
thgjiejd. Illinois: Springer Associates, Inc.

Van, J. (1992, Feb. 12). Carpal syndrome reports rise Sharply.
Whittle, Sec. 3, p. 3.

39

APPENDIX 1

PO 111E“ O’BE‘. \L PE’ .RMAL E I

In this section of the book you have learned about the role of a consumer.
Some areas dealt with good methods in the wise use of money. These areas
included buying wisely, saving for various reasons, and trying not to spend
beyond your income. Wise consumer methods can assist a person in setting
aside a reserve fund for various kinds of emergencies which require a cash
outlay. Ways of saving included deducting from payroll, transferring a part of
a payroll check to savings, and allocating a part of increases in income to
savings.

A wise consumer compares the services of ﬁnancial agencies when making
a decision on the usage of such services. You may ﬁnd interest rates on loans
from a credit union frequently to be lower than the rates of a bank.

40

APPENDIX 2:

Documents Used in the Experiment

WA
(Source: Hill, N. (1965). The master-key to riches. New York: Fawcett Crest

Books.)

You have, I believe, that human urge for the better things in life which is
the common desire of all people. You desire economic security which money
alone can provide. You may desire an outlet for your talents in order that you
may have the joy of creating your own riches. Some seek the easy way to
riches, hoping to ﬁnd it without giving in return. That too is a common desire.
But it is a desire I shall hope to modify for your beneﬁt, as from experience I
have learned that there is no such thing as something for nothing. There is but
one sure way to riches, and that may be attained only by those who have the
Master-Key to Riches.

This Master-Key is a marvelous device which those who possess it may use
to unlock doors to the solutions of their problems. It opens the door to sound
health. It opens the door to love and romance. It opens the door to friendship,
by revealing the traits of personality and character which make enduring
friends. It reveals the method by which every adversity, every failure, every
disappointment, every error of judgment, and every past defeat may be
transmuted into riches of priceless value. It kindles anew the dead hopes of all
who possess it, and it reveals the formula by which one may "tune in” and
draw upon the great reservoir of inﬁnite intelligence. It lifts humble men to
positions of power, fame and fortune. It turns back the hands of the clock and
renews the spirit of youth for those who have grown old too soon. It provides
the method by which you may take full and complete possession of your own
mind, thus giving you unchallengeable control over the emotions of the heart
and the power of thinking. It bridges the deﬁciencies of those who have
inadequate formal schooling, and puts them substantially on the same plane of
opportunity that is enjoyed by those who have a better education. And lastly, it
opens the doors, one by one, to the Twelve Great Riches of Life which I shall
presently describe. No man may hear that for which he has not the preparation
for hearing. The preparation consists of many things, among them sincerity of
purpose, humility of heart, a full recognition of the truth that no man knows
everything. I shall speak to you of facts and describe to you many principles,
some of which you may never have heard, for they are known only to those
who have prepared themselves to accept the Master-Key.

Before I describe the Twelve Great Riches, let me reveal to you some of
the riches you already possess, riches of which you may not be conscious.
First, I would have you recognize that you are a plural personality, although

41

you may regard yourself as a single personality. You and every other person
consist of at least two distinct personalities, and many of you possess more.
There is that self which you recognize when you look into a mirror. That is
your physical self. But it is only the house in which your other selves live. In
that house there are at least two individuals who are eternally in conflict with
each other. One is a negative sort of person who thinks and moves and lives in
an atmosphere of doubt and fear and poverty and ill health. This negative self
expects failure and is seldom disappointed. It dwells on sorry circumstances of
life which you want to reject but seem forced to accept -- poverty, greed,
superstition, fear, doubt, worry, and physical sickness.

Your ”other self” is a positive sort of person who thinks in dynamic,
afﬁrmative terms of wealth, sound health, love and friendship, personal
achievement, creative vision, service to others, and who guides you unerringly
to the attainment of these blessings. It is this self alone which is capable of
recognizing and appropriating the Twelve Great Riches. It is the only self
which is capable of receiving the Master-Key to Riches. You have many other
priceless assets of which you may not be aware, hidden riches you have neither
recognized nor used. Among these is what we might call your ”vibration
center,” a sort of radio broadcasting and receiving set of exquisite sensitivity,
attuned to your fellow men and the universe around you. This powerful unit
projects your thoughts and feelings and receives unending swarms of messages
of great importance to your success in living. It is a tireless two—way
communication system of inﬁnite capacity.

Your radio station operates automatically and continuously, when you are
asleep just as when you are awake. And it is under the control at all times of
one or the other of your two major personalities, the negative personality or the
positive personality. When your negative personality is in control, your
sensitive receivers register only the negative messages of
countless negative personalities. Quite naturally, this leads to ”what’s the use?"
and I'I haven’t got a chance " thinking; perhaps not formulated in just those
words, but discouraging, if not deadly, to faith in yourself and the use of your
energies to achieve what you desire. Negative messages received when your
negative personality is in control of your receiving station, if accepted and use
as a guide, invariably lead to circumstances of
life that are the very opposite of what you would choose.

But when your positive personality is in control, it directs to your ”action
center” only those stimulating, high-energy, optimistic, "1 can do it” messages
which you can translate into physical equivalents of prosperity, sound health,
love, hope, faith, peace of mind and happiness. I wish to give you the

42

Master-Key by which you may attain these and many other riches. Among
other things, the Key places every individual radio station under the control of
one’s ”other self,” your positive personality. I Shall reveal to you the means by
which you may share the blessings of the Master-Key, but the responsibility of
sharing must become your own. Every close observer must have recognized
that all individual successes which endure have had their beginning through the
beneﬁcent inﬂuence of some other individual, through some form of sharing. I
wish to share with you the knowledge by which you may acquire riches through
the expression of your own personal initiative!

That is the greatest of all gifts! And it is the only kind of gift that anyone
who is blessed with the advantages of a great nation like ours should expect.
For here we have every form of potential riches available to mankind. We
have them in great abundance. I assume that you too wish to become rich. I
sought the path to riches the hard way before I learned that there is a short and
dependable path I could have followed had I been guided as I hope to guide
you. First, let us be prepared to recognize riches when they come within you
reach. Some believe that riches consist in money alone! But enduring riches,
in the broader sense, consist of many other values than those of material things,
and I may add that without these other intangible values the possession of
money will not bring the happiness which some believe it will provide.

When I speak of "riches” I have in mind the greater riches whose
possessors have made life pay off on their own terms. I call these the Twelve
Riches of life. And I Sincerely wish to share them with all who are prepared to
receive them. All riches of whatever nature, begin as a state of mind; and let
us remember that a state of mind is the one and only thing over which any
person has complete, unchallenged right of control. It is highly signiﬁcant that
the Creator provided man with control over nothing except the power to shape
his own thoughts and the privilege of ﬁtting them to any pattern of his choice.

Mental attitude is important because it converts the brain into the equivalent
of an elector-magnet which attracts the counterpart of one’s dominating
thoughts, aims and purposes. It also attracts the counterpart of one’s fears,
worries and doubts. A positive mental attitude is the starting point of all
riches, whether they be riches of a material nature or intangible riches.

It attracts the riches of true ﬁiendship, and the riches one ﬁnds in the hope
of future achievement. It provides the riches one may ﬁnd in Nature’s
handiwork, as it exists in the moonlit nights, in the stars that ﬂoat in the
heavens, in the beautiful landscapes and in distant horizons. And the riches to
be found in the labor of one’s choice, where expression may be given to the
highest plane of man’s soul. And the riches of harmony in home relationships,

43

where all members of the family work together in a spirit of friendly
cooperation. And the riches of sound physical health, which is the treasure of
those who have learned to balance work with play, worship with love, and who
have learned the wisdom of eating to live rather than of living to eat. And the
riches of freedom from fear. And the riches of enthusiasm, both active and
passive. And the riches of song and laughter, both of which indicate states of
mind. And the riches of self—discipline, through which one may have the joy of
knowing that the mind can and will serve and desired end if one will take
possession and command it through deﬁniteness of purpose. And the riches of
play, through which one may lay aside all of the burdens of life and become as
a little child again. And the riches of discovery of one’s ”other self", that self
which knows no such reality as permanent failure. And the riches of
meditation, the connecting link by which anyone may draw upon the great
universal supply of Inﬁnite Intelligence at will.

Yes, these and all other riches begin with positive mental attitude.
Therefore, it is but little cause for wonder that a positive mental attitude takes
the ﬁrst place in the list of the Twelve Riches.

WE
(Source: Hill, N. (1965). The master-key to riches. New York: Fawcett Crest

Books.)

An important principle of success in all walks of life and in all occupations
is a willingness to go the extra mile; which means the rendering of more and
better service than that for which one is paid, and giving it in a positive mental
attitude. Search wherever you will for a Single sound argument against this
principle, and you will not ﬁnd it; nor will you ﬁnd a Single instance of
enduring success which was not attained in part by its application. The
principle is not the creation of man. It is a part of Nature’s handiwork, for it is
obvious that every living creature below the intelligence of man is forced to
apply the principle in order to survive.

Man may disregard the principle if he chooses, but he cannot do so and at
the same time enjoy the fruits of enduring success. Observe how Nature
applies this principle in the production of food that grows from the soil, where
the farmer is forced to go the extra mile by clearing the land, plowing it, and
planting the seed at the right time of the year, for none of which he receives
any pay in advance.

But, observe that if he does his work in harmony with Nature’s laws, and
performs the necessary amount of labor, Nature takes over the job where the
farmer’s labor ends, germinates the seed he plants and develops it into a crop
of food. And, observe thoughtfully this signiﬁcant fact: For every grain of
wheat or corn he plants in the soil, Nature yields him perhaps a hundred grains,
thus enabling him to beneﬁt by the law of increasing returns. Nature goes the
extra mile by producing enough of everything for her needs, together with a
surplus of emergencies and waste; for example, the fruit on the trees, the
bloom from which the fruit is grown, frogs in the pond and ﬁsh in the seas.

Nature goes the extra mile by producing enough of every living thing to
insure the perpetuation of the species, allowing for emergencies of every kind.
If this were not true the species of all living things would soon vanish. Some
believe that the beasts of the jungle and the birds of the air live without labor,
but thoughtful men know that this is not true. It is true that Nature provides
the sources of supply of food for every living thing, but every creature must
labor before it may partake of that food. Thus we see that Nature discourages
the habit which some men have acquired of trying to get something for nothing.

The advantages of the habit of going the extra mile are deﬁnite and
understandable. Let us examine some of them and be convinced: the habit
brings the individual to the favorable attention of those who can and will

45

provide opportunities for self-advancement. It tends to make one indispensable,
in many different human relationships, and it therefore enables him to
command more than average compensation for personal services. It leads to
mental growth and to physical Skill and perfection in many forms of endeavor,
thereby adding to one’s earning capacity. It protects one against the loss of
employment when employment is scarce, and places him in a position to
command the choicest of jobs. It enables one to proﬁt by the law of contrast,
since the majority of people do not practice the habit. It leads to the
development of a positive, pleasing mental attitude, which is essential for
enduring success. It tends to develop a keen, alert imagination because it is a
habit which inspires one continuously to seek now and better ways of rendering
service. It develops the important quality of personal initiative. It develops
self-reliance and courage. It serves to build the conﬁdence of others in one’s
integrity. It aids in the mastery of the destructive habit of procrastination. It
develops deﬁniteness of purpose, insuring one against the common habit of
aimlessness. There is still another, and a greater reason for following the habit
of going the extra mile. It gives one the only logical reason for asking for
increased compensation.

If a man performs no more service than that for which he is being paid,
then obviously he is receiving all the pay to which he is entitled. He must
render as much service as that for which he is being paid, in order to hold his
job, or to maintain his source of income, regardless of how he earns it. But he
has the privilege always of rendering an overplus of service as a means of
accumulating a reserve credit of goodwill, and to provide a just reason for
demanding more pay, a better position, or both.

Every position based upon a salary or wages provides one with an
opportunity to advance himself by the application of this principle, and it is
important to note that the American system of free enterprise is operated on the
basis of providing every worker in industry with a proper incentive to apply the
principle. Any practice or philosophy which deprives a man of the privilege of
going the extra mile is unsound and doomed to failure, for it is obvious that
this principle is the steppingstone of major importance by which an individual
may receive compensation for extraordinary skill, experience and education;
and it is the one principle which provides the way of self-determination,
regardless of what occupation, profession or calling the individual may be
engaged in.

In America, anyone may earn a living without the habit of going the extra
mile. And many do just that, but economic security and the luxuries available
under the great American way of life are available only to the individual who

46

makes this principle a part of his philosophy of life and lives by it as a matter
of daily habit. Every known rule of logic and common sense forces one to
accept this as true. And even a cursory analysis of men in the higher brackets
of success will prove that it is true.

The leaders of the American system are adamant in their demands that
every worker be protected in his right to adopt and apply the principle of going
the extra mile, for they recognize from their own experience that the future
leadership in industry is dependent upon men who are willing to follow this
principle.

It is a well known fact that Andrew Carnegie developed more successful
leaders of industry than has any other great American industrialist. Most of
them came up from the ranks of ordinary day laborers, and many of them
accumulated personal fortunes of vast amounts, more than they could have
acquired without the guidance of Mr. Carnegie. The ﬁrst test that Mr.
Carnegie applied to any worker whom he desired to promote was that of
determining to what extent the worker was willing to go the extra mile. It was
this test that led him to the discovery of Charles M. Schwab. When Mr.
Schwab ﬁrst came to Mr. Carnegie’s attention he was working as a day laborer
in one of the steel master’s plants. Close observation revealed that Mr. Schwab
always performed more and better service than that for which he was paid.
Moreover, he performed it in a pleasing mental attitude which made him
popular among his fellow workers.

He was promoted from one job to another until at long last he was made
president of the great United States Steel Corporation, at a salary of $75,000 a
year. Not through all the ingenuity of man, or all the schemes that men resort
to in order to get something for nothing, could Charles M. Schwab, the day
laborer, have earned as much as $75 ,000 during his entire lifetime if he had not
willingly adopted and followed the habit of going the extra mile. On some
occasions Mr. Carnegie not only paid Mr. Schwab’s salary, which was
generous enough, but he gave him as much as $1,000,000 as a bonus in
addition to his regular salary.

When Mr. Carnegie was asked why he gave Mr. Schwab a bonus so much
greater than his salary, he replied in words that every worker, regardless of his
job or wages, might well ponder. "I gave him his salary for the work he
actually performed," said Mr. Carnegie, "and the bonus for his willingness to
go the extra mile, thus setting a ﬁne example for his fellow workers.”

Think of that! A salary of $75,000 a year, paid to a man who started as a
day laborer, and a bonus of more than ten times that amount for a good
disposition expressed by a willingness to do more than he was paid for. Verily

47

it pays to go the extra mile, for every time an individual does so he places
someone else under obligation to him. No one is compelled to follow the habit
of going the extra mile, and seldom is anyone ever requested to render more
service than that for which he is paid. Therefore, if the habit is followed it
must be adopted on one’S own initiative. But, the Constitution of the United
States guarantees every man this privilege, and the American system provides
rewards and bonuses for those who follow this habit, and makes it impossible
for a man to adopt the habit without receiving appropriate compensation.

The compensation may come in many different forms. Increased pay is a
certainty. Voluntary promotions are inevitable. Favorable working conditions
and pleasant human relationships are sure. And these lead to economic security
which a man may attain on his own merits. There is still another beneﬁt to be
gained by the man who follows the habit of going the extra mile: It keeps him
on good terms with his own conscience and serves as a stimulant to his own
soul! Therefore it is a builder of sound character which has no equal in any
other human habit.

You who have young boys and girls growing into adulthood might well
remember this for their sake! Teach a child the beneﬁts of rendering more
service and better service than that which is customary, and you will have made
contributions of character to that child which will serve him or her all through
life.

The philosophy of Andrew Carnegie is essentially a philosophy of
economics. But it is more than that! It is also a philosophy of ethics in human
relationships. It leads to harmony and understanding and sympathy for the
weak and the unfortunate. It teaches one how to become his brother’s keeper,
and at the same time rewards him for so doing.

48

WENT—C
(Source: Golin, M., Bricklin, M., Diamond, D. and The rodale center for

executive development. (Eds.) (1992, Mar.). Beat those career blues. Reader}
nggst, PP. 39-42.)

Four out of ﬁve people dislike something major about their job. That is the
conclusion of Richard Germann, a career management consultant who has
counseled workers for 25 years. The trouble is that liking your job is essential
for success. ”Those who don’t enjoy their work will ultimately fail,” says
Germann. Why are so many people unhappy in their jobs? There are two
primary reasons. First, some people are convinced that earning a living is
wasting time that they could spend enjoying themselves or uncovering their true
talents.

If this is the case with you, recall your last long vacation. Was it two
weeks of complete enjoyment? More likely it was a week and a half of fun in
the sun, with another half a week of "Boy, I can’t wait to get back to work."
If you didn’t feel such vacation blues, then imagine taking a leave of absence.
You could use it to work on a novel, enroll in classes or just sit around
watching TV. At the end of three months, in all likelihood, your self-esteem
would be at an all-time low. While all work and no play is not good, all play
and no work is disastrous. We need to feel we are accomplishing something.
We also need some form of order in our lives.

The second and perhaps more prevalent reason for people not to like their
work is that they feel trapped. Once you’ve been at a company for ﬁve years
and have a spouse, a mortgage and a child, you often feel you have very little
choice about jumping ship if things aren’t turning out as you’d planned. A
steady paycheck can be the biggest manacle of all. People resent having to do
something because they have no other choice.

If you ﬁnd yourself resenting your job because you can’t afford to quit, it
may be time to prepare what one career counselor humorously calls a "cyanide
capsule." He recalls spy movies in which the secret agent has such a capsule
hidden somewhere on his body. If he’s captured and tortured unbearably, he
has an option. And having an option gives him the strength to hold on a little
longer in the hope that the situation may change. Rather than cyanide, your
option takes the form of an up—to—date resume. You might also take a weekly
glance through the help-wanted section, and make some visits to industry
functions where low-key networking can take place. You’re not giving up on
your current job. Rather, you are providing yourself with an option. If things
get unbearable at work, you could jump ship. Being in this position can do

49

wonders for your attitude. It allows you to enjoy your work since, in reality,
you are there only because you want to be.

At the core of adopting a positive attitude to your workplace is, above all,
assuming responsibility for your own situation. ”Most people feel controlled by
their environment, but they really aren’t,“ says career management consultant
Diane Blumenson. "They have to learn to manage that environment so they can
get from it what they need. "

Remember, nobody is likely to have the time or inclination to help you
overcome your career blahs. It’s largely up to you to do what you can to
initiate a change in attitude. Here are give ways to get started:

1. Dream a little, plan a lot. Richard Gerrnann often tells unhappy clients
to fantasize about their dream job, everything from what they would really like
to be doing to what sort of ofﬁce environment they prefer. This encourages
people to formulate their own deﬁnition of job satisfaction. Without that
deﬁnition or goal, it’s easy to feel down at work. To do this exercise, break
your ideal job into the smallest possible parts. If you see yourself as a junior
executive working under a great boss in marketing, when in fact you’re a clerk
working under a tyrant in purchasing, look for ”steppingstone” goals that will
advance you to the next position. For example, you might ﬁrst see whether
you can get a transfer to a different section of purchasing to escape the tyrant’s
clutches. Or why not go for a low-level position in marketing? Then get some
additional training or schooling under your belt so that you look like a good
executive candidate. At the very least, ﬁnd out what qualiﬁcations you will
need to move up the ladder. Developing and following your own plan of action
is one of the biggest ways to improve your attitude.

2. Think of yourself as autonomous. Imagine that you are an independent
contractor, You-Yourself Enterprises, with one major client, your employer.
Then allocate your time so that you not only meet the demands of your client
but also have room to develop aspects of your business that you see as
necessary for your own future growth. Let’s say you’re working at a job that
requires you to write reports and you ﬁnd out you can produce nice phrases.
That may not matter to the folks upstairs, but you, as an independent
contractor, should realize that your writing skills may open a whole new area
Of sales. So rather than turn in the ordinary verbiage expected in reports, you
Should take the time to make your sentences glow and thereby perfect your
product for a broader market. The most useful part of this concept is that it
moves you from an outwardly controlled motivation of simply pleasing your
boss to one where you recognize and improve your skills for your own reasons.

3. Separate work and play. Picture this: You invite a friend to stay at your

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place for a few days. The second day, his clothes are everywhere. On the
third day, his Saint Bernard has taken up residence on your couch. By the
fourth day, you can’t park in your garage because his car is there. Are you
getting annoyed? The same thing happens with some people and their careers.
At ﬁrst they work the occasional extra hour or two in the evening. Then they
start taking work home regularly during the week. Soon, weekends have
become nothing more than ofﬁce hours. In effect, work becomes the ill—
mannered guest that takes up more and more space and time. Suddenly people
don’t have a life apart from work, and they resent it. This is not to say that
taking work home is taboo. But doing it all the time is. If you do have a
heavy workload, alternate evenings of intensive work and intensive leisure. On
Monday, Wednesday and Friday evenings, for instance, do your work and try
not to get sidetracked. But on your leisure nights, don’t even bother taking
work home.

4. Look for success outside of work. Take your hobbies and leisure
activities as seriously as you do your work and take the same kind of pride in
them. Too many people fall into the trap of getting their whole sense of
identity from the ofﬁce. This is great when things are going well, but if your
self-esteem is a direct outcome of your work situation, you will feel humiliated
when the going gets rough. If you can tie your self-esteem to your outside
endeavors, you can maintain a positive attitude even if the ofﬁce forecast calls
for thunderstorms.

5. Change your attitude toward others. If you dread going to work each
morning, it’s probably partly because you’re not getting along with those
around you. You don’t have to like the people you work with, but at the very
least you should be able to interact positively with them. When you smile in a
elevator, your fellow passengers respond with a smile. The same thing can
happen in the Ofﬁce. "If you initiate positive interaction, you’re inviting
positive reaction,” says Diane Blumenson. ”It’s human nature to react in
kind.” Don’t worry that suddenly striking up relationships with people you
heretofore ignored will come across as insincerity. The fact is, you are being
sincere in your efforts to improve work relations, and that will be felt by your
co—workers.

Try to have more interactions. Step outside your ofﬁce and join your co-
workers’ discussion about the exploits of the hometown team. If you don’t
know much about the obscure ﬁlm everybody’s criticizing, express an interest
by asking someone who does know. If you’ve lapsed into a pattern of
complaining start talking to people in a more positive way. Talk about things
you enjoy. It’s likely you’ll ﬁnd something in common with at least some of

51

your coworkers. Change your attitude, and you’re likely to change how people
feel about you. They may actually like having you around. And you may
actually start to like being around.

You can sit around bemoaning that you are not in the fast lane, that you’re
underpaid, that the corporate world is not treating, you the way you’d like, but
it won’t do you any good. Cash, power and prestige must come to you from
you employer. But self-esteem, pride in a job well done and a sense of
importance are all bonuses you can give yourself. You’ve got nothing to lose
and everything to gain by learning to ﬁnd enjoyment in your work.

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W12
(Source: Yale, M. J. (1987). W. Boston: Bob Adams, Inc.)

Have you heard the one about the poor man who wanted to become a
famous bear Slayer? Once upon a time, in a town plagued by bears, lived a
man. The man had always wanted to travel but had neither the right job nor
the money. If he could kill a bear, then he could travel to other places plagued
with bears and make his living as a famous bear slayer. Every day he sat on
the porch and waited for a bear to come by. After many weeks of waiting, he
thought he might go looking for bears. He did not know much about them,
except that they were out there. Full of hope, he rose before dawn, loaded his
single-shot musket, and headed for the forest. On reaching the edge of the
forest, he raised the musket and ﬁred into the dense undergrowth.

Do you think he hit a bear, or anything else, for what matter? Why was he
bear-hunting with a single-shot musket, and why did he shoot before seeing a
bear? What was his problem? Our hero could not tell dreams from reality.

He went hunting unprepared and learn what he deserved. The moral of the tale
is: when you look for a job, keep a grip on reality, go loaded for bear, and do
not go off half-cocked. Out there in the concrete "forest” of your profession
hide many companies. Some major corporations, some small family affairs,
and some in between. They all have something in common, and that is
problems. To solve those problems, companies need people. Anyone who
ever get hired for any job is a problem-solver. Think about your present job
function: What problems would occur if you were not there? That is why you
were hired, to take care of these problems.

Being a problem-solver is good, but companies prefer to hire someone who
also understand what business is all about. There are three lessons you should
remember:

Lesson One: Companies are in business to make money. People have loyalty to
companies; companies have loyalty only to the bottom line. They make money
by being more economical and saving time. And if they save time they save
money, and they have more time to make more money.

Lesson Two: Companies and you are exactly alike. You both want to make as
much money as possible in as short time as possible. This allows you to do the
things you really want with the rest of your time.

Lesson Three: When the economy is good, you have the whip hand and can
dictate the terms. This is called a seller’s market. When the economy is bad,
the employer has the whip hand and can dictate the terms; this is call a buyer’s
market.

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Lesson one tells tell you the three things every company is interested in.
Lesson Two says to recognize that you really have the same goals as the
company. Lesson three says that anyone with any sense wants to be in a
seller’s market.

If you look for a jobs one at a time, you put yourself in a buyer’s market.
If you implement my advice, you will have multiple interviews because you
will be able to handle the toughest questions, and you will get multiple job
offers. This will give you the whip hand and will put you in a seller’s market.
Operating in a seller’s market require knowing who, where, and what your
buyers are in the market for, then being ready with the properly packaged
product.

In this section, you will see how to identify all the companies that could be
in need of your services. You will discover name of the president, those in the
board, those in management; company sales volume; complete lines of
company services or products; and size of the outﬁt. You will evaluate and
package your professional skills in a method guarantee to have appeal to every
employer. And you will discover highly desirable professional skills you never
thought you had. A well-stock briefcase requires more than looking idly
through the want ads. It means a little discipline, a little effort. But are not
your professional goals worth the effort? It will take a couple of days’ work to
get you loaded for bear. Your ﬁrst action will be a trip to the library. On the
way, purchase push-pins, a large-scale area map, and some stick-on labels.
Take some sandwiches; there is no feeling in the world like eating lunch on the
library steps.

At the library, walk in purposefully and ask for the reference section.
When you ﬁnd it, wander around for a few minutes before staking a claim.
You will discover that libraries are a good place to watch the human race, so
get the best seat in the house. Make sure you have a clear view of the
librarian’s desk. When you need a rest, that is where all the comic relief takes
place. There are a number of reference books you can consult, and they are
listed in the Bibliography. I would not waste space teaching you how to use
them here, the librarian will be happy to do that. Your goal is to identify and
build personalized dossiers on the companies in your chosen geographic area.
Do not be judgmental about what and who they might appear to be: you are
ﬁshing for possible job openings, so cast your net wide and list them all. Take
a pad of paper, and using a separate sheet for each company, copy all the
relevant company information onto that piece of paper. SO that we agree on
”relevant,“ take a look at the example on the following page.

Here, you see the names of the company’s president and chairman the

54

board, a description of the complete lines of company services and products,
the size of the company, and the locations of its various branches. Of course,
if you ﬁnd other interesting information, copy it down, by all means. For
instance, you might come across information on growth or shrinkage in a
particular area of a company; or you might read about recent acquisitions the
company has made. Write it down. All this information will help you shine at
the interview in three different ways. Your knowledge creates a favorable
impression when ﬁrst meeting the company; that you made an effort is noticed.
That no else bothers is a second beneﬁt. And third, the combination says that
you respect the company, and therefore, by inference, the interviewer; this
helps set you apart from the herd.

All your effort has an obvious short-term value in helping you win job
offers. It also has value in the long term, because you are building a
personalized reference work of your specialty that will help you throughout
your career whenever you wish to make a job change. Adequate research and
preparation is the very foundation for performing well at interviews. And the
more interviews you have, the more your research skills will increase; they are
the ﬁrst step to putting yourself in a seller’s market.

Interviewers today are continually asking for detailed examples of your past
performance. They safely assume you will do at least as well on the new job
as you did on the old one, and so the examples you give will seal your fate.
Therefore, you need to examine your past performance in a practical manner
that will assume you handle these questions correctly.

This chapter will Show you how to identify the examples from your past
that will impress any interviewer. There is a principle bonus: you will also get
the correct packaged information for an excellent resume. Two birds with one
stone. Resumes are important, and there are two facts you must know about
them. First, you are going to need one. Second, no one will want to read it.
The average interviewer has never been trained to interview effectively,
properly ﬁnds the interview as uncomfortable as you do, and will do everything
possible to avoid discomfort. Resumes are therefore used more to screen
people out than screen them in. So your resume must be all things to all
people. Another hurdle to leap is to avoiding the Specialization of your skills in
the resume. A cold hard fact is that the ﬁrst person to see your resume is often
in the personnel department. This ofﬁce screens for many different jobs and
cannot be expected to have an in-depth knowledge of every specialty within the
company. For this reasons, your resume must be easy to read and understand,
short, and use words that are familiar to the reader and that have universal
appeal. Most important, it should portray you as a problem-solver. .

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While this chapter covers ways to build an effective resume, its main goal
is to help you perform better at interview. You will achieve this as you
evaluate your professional Skills according to the exercises. In fact, you are
likely to discover skills and achievements you didn’t even know you had.

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