Contemporary Systems and Cybernetics

VDU Working Still Creates Health Problems There seems to be little agreement about the effects on health of working at Visual Display Units (VDUs). There has been a great deal of discussion on the subject and a multitude of press reports about the dangers of the devices. In some instances litigation is pending. Recent reports from the United Kingdom note that office staff are losing thousands of working days a year through headaches and eye strain, which, it is claimed, are the results of working with VDUs. This has been confirmed by a group of opticians who advocate that firms make significant improvements in working conditions. The number of the units grew from four million in 1980 to 23 million in 1988 with users spending an estimated four hours in front of a screen being likely to suffer side effects.