Office workers of the future could look very different if poor working environments are not addressed, a new study has claimed.

The Work Colleague of the Future study, commissioned by office equipment distributor Fellowes, paints a rather grotesque vision of what your average office worker could look like in just 20 years time.

According to the study, office workers will likely have hunched backs, protruding stomachs and dry, red eyes due to their extensive time sat behind a desk staring at screens. And that is not all – a host of health issues could arise due to being desk-bound, the study suggests, with varicose veins likely to be commonplace due to sitting down too much.

A model created as part of the study, named Emma, shows the effects that a sedentary lifestyle could have upon office workers. While Emma appears to be an extreme depiction of these effects, displaying all of the aforementioned health issues, her appearance raises serious questions about workplace health, and acts as a warning for office workers across the UK.

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More than 90% of office workers in the UK perform poorly in their jobs due to health issues that arise because of workplace conditions, the study claimed. Additionally, poor office working environments are costing the economy a staggering £77 billion each year in work-related sick days.

Nearly half of the British respondents to the study said they suffer from repeated eye problems due to sitting behind screens, while 49% said they experience back-related issues.

The most concerning insight from the study suggests that seven out of ten workers currently resort to medication to manage health issues caused by their work environment.

William Higham, author of the study, warned that if workers fail to address health risks then long-term the impact could be highly damaging for millions across the country.

“The Work Colleague of the Future report shows that employers and workers really need to act now and address the problem of poor workplace health,” he said. “Unless we make radical changes to our working lives, such as moving more, addressing our posture at our desks, taking regular walking breaks or considering improving our workstation setup, our offices are going to make us very sick.

“As a result, workers in the future could suffer health problems as bad as those we thought we’d left behind in the Industrial Revolution.”

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