'Text neck' causes increase in staff sick days

The digital age has brought with it a new type of illness induced by hunching over an iPhone for extended periods of time.

“Text neck” is the newest affliction of the modern world and, according to Camden Council in North London, the condition is causing employees to take more and more sick days. Workers who are glued to their mobile phones may also complain of “texter’s thumb”, a complaint that is aggravated by too many hours spent typing on device’s keypads.

Deputy Chief Executive of Transformation & Partnerships at London Borough of Camden, Rachel Stopard, warned of the dangers this technology-obsessed culture could have on the British workforce. In a report entitled Camden as a Healthy Employer, she wrote: “The council needs to be responsive to the digitisation megatrend that is creating the 24/7 workforce, with employees operating anywhere, anytime on any device.

“Whilst the potential benefits are that more flexibility and more adaptability equals more wellbeing, there is a danger that “always on” may mean employees are never off. Stress, burnout and a general deterioration of wellbeing are the undesired but potentially very real consequences.”