The Impact of Mobile Phone on Social and

Medical Problem at the Workplace

Analysis Report
September 2013

Executive Summary
The intention of this report is to investigate the increase in mobile phone use has
transformed the way human live through the method communication and do business. It
assesses the advantages outweigh the disadvantages of mobile phone. The report starts
with advantage of using mobile phones in business can be summarized by businessman
enabling organize task and work efficient, convenient internet connection and contact
with partnerships across the global. It continues with an explanation that mobile phone
can bring efficient communication at workplace includes one call availability and direct
line of communication between the client and employees. Next, the author indicates that
sending and receiving text messages and calling can cause employees loss focus on job
safety and dangerous as accident and traumatic injuries while driving and working. The
report describes mobile phone use can cause health negative issues include strain eyes,
chronic pain and mental health problem. It also analyze the impact that mobile phone use
in social and medical problem. Through the social problem, mobile phone has replaced
the traditional communications which face to face and lack genuine warmth expression.
The last medical problem is sleep disorder and cancer. The recommendation from this
research includes face to face communication; provide workers use a hands- free device,
prohibit workers from using mobile phone, off and shut down mobile phone before bed
time and reduce and minimum number of call.

1.0 Introduction
As requested by the Director of Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, this
report examines that increase mobile phone has transformed the way human live in
communication and business. The report describes the advantages outweigh the
disadvantages of mobile phone if people use it most wisely and in correct way at the right
time and in the right manner. These phone devise can get workers in trouble at workplace
and cause medical and social problems. Hence, these problems must provide
recommendation and evaluate changes to reduce the problem can occurs at workplace.
This committee was asked to submit its findings by September 10, 2013.

2.0 Finding and Discussion

2.1 The advantages of Mobile Phone
2.1.1 Organizing task efficient
Mobile phones are considerably the fastest growing devices today. Most of the
businessman prefers that mobile phones have become an indispensable part of their work.
One of the advantages of mobile phones is organizing business people daily tasks more
efficiently. Mobile phones can keep them personal organized as calendar, voice recorder,
calculator, contact list, automatic reminders and these features can help their personal and
professional life running more smoothly. For example, a businessman can hold all his or
her important contact information including clients name, phone numbers and e-mail
addresses through the address book in mobile phones. Businessmen can use it to

maintaining their schedule and keeping their reminder the date for upcoming events in
order to achieve their goals and deadlines.
By use of mobile phones, businessmen are having access to the internet without
staying at the office waiting for an email. They who compose the business as a whole are
never left unconnected. Through use of the mobile phones with internet access,
employees can received important email sent out by client or company when they are not
current working at office or travelling. This indicates that phones allow quick access to
the internet for data analysis, checking and research data on the fly.
Mobile phones can produce the world a lot smaller as it enable them to contact
with clients and supplier across the global. Businessman from different cultures can
interact on a frequent basis through making call, video and messages. Global partnerships
have become more convenient as video conferencing have facilitated meeting that cost
less to conduct than flying halfway across the world.

2.1.2 Efficient Communication

Research indicates that innovation of mobile phones was fast change the process
of human communication action such as checking and recording voicemail, sending and
receiving text messages, making and receiving call. These action communications can
enable people often contact with the clients across the globe. The majority of viewer felt
that testing messages are most of the people use it as text was carried out minimal cost
and save the time on face to face communication.

Besides, on-call availability is an important interaction as it enables business

associates and colleagues to talk without necessarily face to face to meeting at anytime
and anywhere. It also can maintain a smooth communication even their in remote areas.
Employees who have mobile phones can reach faster with unpredictable work schedules
and strict deadlines. In this way, the on- calling of phone can help them are more time to
prepare for their task when their manager was last minutes change of plans ever there
were outside office or on the road. Suppliers and other branches company preferred that
calling as it is fast communication tools to prevent their valuable time wastage,
inconveniences and less cost on their travelling expenses.
In addition, a few clients approve of mobile phones can provide the convenience
as they emphasized it can direct line of communication. Clients prefer calling a phone
instead of navigating automated answering system. Some of frustrated clients become
angrier when they were waiting employees reply information and solve some problem for
a long time in navigate the phone system. This implies that employees have mobile phone
can help clients reach them directly and easily gain more information product and resolve
the conflict as quickly as possible.

2.2 The Disadvantages of Mobile Phones

2.2.1 Accident
All the analysis I have seen that most of people agree that mobile phone use while
driving increase the risk of an accident. Using mobile phone while driving can create
safety risk for the driver and passengers as well as other road user. Motor vehicle

collisions are harmful to them in minor, serious, crippling and even fatal injuries when
employees using phone while driving. As one viewer reported that worker was talking the
mobile phone and ran off the road into a tree. Besides, drivers often take their hand from
the wheel as they were catching phone to texting messages and it would cause an
accidents at anytime. They werent paying attention and often concentrated on the mobile
phone while driving and struck another vehicle. Thus, the motor vehicles collisions can
affect them had pay high health care costs, litigation expenses, lost work time and
insurance administration, in addition the company must bear a significant fraction of the
monetary cost to repair company motor vehicle collision.

2.2.2 Traumatic injury

Using mobile phones can cause employees serious injury at the workplace when
used at the wrong time. Research indicates that more employees able tumble down of
stairs and trip on a crack in ground while looking down the phone. They who are paying
attention in mobile phones can lead to being oblivious to their surrounding and lose focus
on doing their jobs safety. Sending and receiving text messages at workplace can be just
as dangerous and hazard to co-workers safety. Machine operation reported that a man
worker was traumatic injury as cause by mobile phones. This situation was happened too
fast. He usually keeps his phone in his locker before start working, but his wife was
checking an ultrasound that morning and then he bring his phone into the factory as to
know them were having a little girl or a little boy. He had focus checking and looked

down on his phone when him receive his wife message while operating machine. As he
tried to reply, he somehow dropped the phone into the machine and his first reaction was
to grab it before it got eaten. His hand was crushed when it was caught between the
conveyor roller and the belt.

2.2.3 Negative Health Issues

Researchers indicate that negative health effect of mobile phone had become
serious if people use it at wrong time and in wrong manner. Health risks of mobile phone
including strain eyes, chronic pain and mental health problem. One of the most recent
health problems by the mobile phones are straining eyes. The phone screen is smaller
than the size of hand and those tiny fonts in bright screen can make squint and strain
them eyes. Symptoms of strain eye are including eye redness or irritation, dry eyes,
blurred vision and difficult focusing.
It also affects chronic pain and inflammation later in life when they were typing
text with speed and repetition of the mobile phones. Majority of users phone felt that the
frequent bending of their elbow to hold phone to ear can affect a nerve arm that leads to
tingling sensations. When people spend long hours in phone, it can leads to pains in
wrist, shoulder, neck and elbow. This implies that the pressure can lead to arthritis
condition of the bones and pressure on the spine.
Recently, people became addicted to their mobile phone and in the end it possible
can make them crazy. Research indicates that mobile phone could be increasing mental
health problem. Most people are lost their phone, which is implies by the fact that 40 to

50 percent of those surveyed said that they would be restless and upset. Few people felt
panicked and anxiety if phones are taken away from them even for a day. They cant
function as well without it.

2.3 Social and Medical Problems

2.3.1 Lack face to face communication
Along

with

technological

development,

mobile

phones

became

great

communication as it brings convenience and high speed around globe. However, it can
affect people lack face to face communication and sociality. Recently, supervisor often
report that most of employees were constantly looking down their mobile phones during
dinner in cafeteria and gathering together in restaurant without the verbal communication.
They usually had seen to be more comfortable and interested in communicating through
test messages on their mobile phones.
Researches indicate that employees who spent more time in mobile phones will
become an introverted as live in their own world. This personality could damage their
capacity of managing the real problem and escape the real world. It will also affect them
inability face to face communication and in order it could losing interpersonal interaction
skill. Besides, lack face to face communication can cause them not confident to present
themselves correctly with natural body language, genuine eye contact and clear inflection
and tone when meeting and interview.

2.3.2 Lack Genuine Warmth Expression

Text messages were create laziness in todays society as language has been
shortened to save time and emoticons symbol has been directed to replace human facial
expression. These emoticon are referred to as smiley face could affect the received felt
that messages are lack the genuine warmth expression from sender. Besides, the receiver
thinks that sender is cold and indifferent as avoided meeting together to discuss the
issues. As one client reported that apology messages or phone call would not suffice to
solve problem and lack sincerity expressed in the senders message. This implies that
misunderstanding and misinterpretation the source of the messages can occur. Viewers
believe that if employees continue communication via text messages and email, then they
are less likely to builds genuine personal relationships with societies and clients that are
long lasting.

2.3.3 Sleep Disorder

The sources showed that those people who use an electronic gadget as mobile
phones for just two hours before bad can affect them falling asleep. As one worker report
that she often stays connected through texting and email at midnight until her had sleep
disorder and must scoffing sleeping pills. Thus, the mobile phone was robbing her a good
nights sleep and health body. The study found that sleep disturbances cause by lack of
sleep to phone use can impair concentration in performance and academic, headaches and
fatigued, personality changes and alertness.

Researches from Lighting Research Center (LRC) at Rensselaer Polytechnic

Institute indicate that the night time use of electronic devices with self- luminous and
backlit could affect melatonin suppression and delayed the bedtimes. LRC was evidence
that the light of mobile phones emit about 30 to 50 lux, only half the illumination of an
ordinary room light. Then, exposure to phone light at night can delay the timing of the
circadian clock as well as suppress the production of the hormone melatonin and
interrupting sleep. Long term suppression of melatonin by light at night has been
implicated increased risk for obesity and serious diseases like breast cancer especially for
nightshift workers do their job for many consecutive years.

2.3.4 Cancer
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) concluded that there is
no strongly evidence that radiofrequency energy from phones use can cause cancer
problem, but more research and investigated is needed. Majority of people are believe
and concerned that the mobile phones might have potential to cause brain tumors and
cancer.
They believe that use of mobile phone for five or more years was associated with
increased risk of acoustic neuromos which is tumors for hearing. Researches indicate that
mobile phone can emit radiofrequency energy, a form of non-ionizing electromagnetic
radiation. This energy can be absorbed by human tissues nearest where the phone is held.
The length of each call, the number of phone calls per day and amount time of phone

users has increased rapidly. Hence, the risk of acoustic neuroma increased with the
increasing duration of mobile use.

3.0 Conclusions
On the basis of the finding and discussion above, it would seem that there are both
advantages and disadvantages of using mobile phones. The user must use it wisely. If
people often vigilant about negative side effects, mobile phones can be the powerful tool
which allow workers have instant access to communication and information at the
workplace.

4.0 Recommendation
4.1 Face to face Communication
Employees should face to face communication at the workplace without using a
phone call or text message. Face to face communication used when employees assign and
delegate their work at workplace will build high understanding level and more efficient.
This action able the receivers feel their genuine emotion and expression, catch the
subtle tone in their voice and see their eye contact. Face to face
communication can build more confidence to the listener as them can feel
the genuineness of the sender.

4.2 Provide workers use a hands- free device

Employees must avoid using mobile phones as it able distract them attention from
the road. Driver should put their cell phone calls go to voice mail and call back again
when they put over their car on the side of the road. Company must provide workers use
a hands- free device while driving. Voice input through a hands- free phone are
significantly safety and efficient driving performance compared to a hand- held phone.
This solution can improve employee safety and prevent reputation damaging accident.

4.3 Prohibit workers from using mobile phones

Company should prohibit employees from caring mobile phones and kept it into
their own locker before start working at the workplace. They only permitted to use phone
when they are not working and on lunch and break time; in addition, use it a designated
area like cafeteria or canteen. Personal conversations, checking email, surfing the internet
or social network, playing games, and sending and receiving text messages shouldnt
permit and recommend them at the workplace. Furthermore, the company should plan for
emergency contact to allow employees to be reached an actual emergency from families.
For example, it must procedure that calling into the switchboard or it calling direct line of
the plant manager and shift supervisor, who will then come get worker from them
workplace.

4.4 Off and shut down mobile phone

People should shut down or closed off up mobile phones for two hours or at least
an hour before bed time. This solution can reduce the negative effect of light sources on
sleep. They must put away phone at least 9 inches of distance between them and their
phone as didnt affected by the radiation. Glow of phones must be stopping them sleeping
at night. The screens brightness should be dimming at night as much as possible in order
to minimize melatonin suppression in addition it will allow filtering of the worst
wavelengths . They also must limit the amount of time spent using electronic gadget and
least not be used for more than an hour at bedtime.

4.5 Reduce and minimum number of call

They must minimum number of calls per week or month, the length of each call,
and amount time of use phone. They should be used for shorter conversation in order for
important emergencies. Besides, people must use a hands- free device such as wired and
wireless headset and these hands-free devices must keep their phone away from body and
head. A small chip like cell phone microwave radiation protection device is available,
which has the ability to absorb electromagnetic energy waves from phones. It helps in
reducing the potential harmful effects of emissions to the human body.

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