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Prevention
Eye test
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Getting a clear view
Eye test
Only approximately one-quarter of the total workforce has an ergonomic workplace (Gewis Hamburg). Computer monitors represent a major occupational risk.
Obligations of the employer
The Occupational Health and Safety Act (BGBl I 1996) requires the employer to ensure that employees have access to occupational health check-ups on a regular basis. Under the Ordinance Regulating Work at Monitors (G 37), employees who work at a computer screen are entitled to proper check-ups of the eyes and vision. Employees should be informed in writing of the opportunity to undergo these optional check-ups, which should take place during working hours. The costs must be borne by the employer.
Eye examination timetable
These check-ups must take place before a new employee starts working (initial check-up) and then at regular intervals (follow-up examination) and if problems arise (non-scheduled follow-up eye examination). The check-ups are not to be seen as aptitude tests. The purpose is not to select only employees with very good eyesight for positions involving work at a computer. The purpose is to ensure that the employee can see properly while working at a monitor and has ideal conditions for doing so, for instance by obtaining computer glasses or some other visual aid or through other measures. These preventive steps to preserve vision are also intended to prevent poor vision from causing other conditions.
Timetable for more check-ups
Following the first check-up, employees under 40 years of age should be checked again within five years. Employees over 40 should go back within three years. People over 50 should have an eye test every year if possible. For those employees who have symptoms that may be attributable to working at a monitor, the Ordinance Regulating Work at Monitors (G 37) stipulates an earlier follow-up eye examination. At Munich Airport the G 37 check-ups are carried out by our doctors at the medical center (MediCare).
Effects of visual impairment
Experts believe that 3040 percent of all Germans have inadequate or improperly corrected eyesight. They also believe that countless accidents in particular car accidents can be attributed to poor vision. The main reason is that the individuals concerned are themselves practically unaware of their poor or diminishing eyesight. Most visual ailments develop so slowly that the affected individual unconsciously learns to live with hidden visual deficiencies. More than two-thirds of all middle-aged Germans sit at a computer every day. Of those who spend more than three hours a day at a computer, 80 percent complain of headaches, tense back muscles or sensitivity to light (Süddeutsche Zeitung, October 21/21, 2006, page V2/14). The eyes are the most common cause because of the hard work demanded of them when working at a computer screen.
Using computer glasses
To take in the full view, it is therefore important in many cases to have the right glasses and use them properly: special computer glasses are custom-made for seeing a screen 80 centimeters away. It is important that the glasses do not slip up or down, the lenses are not too small, and the rims are as thin as possible to ensure clear peripheral vision. The distance between the eye and the computer monitor is twice as large as the distance to a book when reading. That can easily lead to neck tension and back pain. As an alternative to computer glasses, it is also possible to purchase glasses with progressive lenses that make it possible to see clearly from any distance. This type of glasses is relatively expensive, however.
