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Given how much has been written about RSI in the past few years, employers are still surprisingly ill-prepared to deal with it. The Americans with Disabilities Act requires companies to make "reasonable accommodations" for disabled RSI victims. This means the burden is on the employers to prove they can't afford to take whatever measures are required -- from hiring typists to installing voice-activated computers -- to enable stricken employees to do what they were hired to do. But RSI sufferers complain that employers often make only token efforts to comply. "Corporations are extremely reluctant to spend even $100 for an employee with symptoms because they're frightened that if they do it for one person, they'll have to do it for everyone," says Neal Taslitz, president of BackCare Corp., a Chicago-based manufacturer of ergonomic equipment.
Employees may inadvertently allow their conditions to deteriorate. Some may not recognize the fatigue and minor aches that are the early signs of RSI. Others, knowing that jobs are scarce, may try to hide their symptoms. Or, worse still, they may try to work through the pain, causing further damage to their arms and wrists. "Employees get all wrapped up in keeping a good relationship with the employer," says Barnes. "They know that if they can't perform, there's always someone to take their job."
The tragedy of RSI is that it is relatively easy to prevent but hard to cure. Most people can avoid the ailment by taking a few precautions -- doing warm-up exercises, maintaining good posture (but not sitting too rigidly), keeping their arms loose, holding their hands properly, stretching occasionally and taking frequent rest breaks. On the other hand, once people get full-blown cases, they will be susceptible to reinjury for the rest of their lives. "You can control it," says Pascarelli, "but it's always there haunting you."
Whether out of concern for their staff or fear of legal reprisals, a number of firms are starting to apply an ounce of prevention. When two employees at Macworld magazine were sidelined with severe RSI, the San Francisco-based publisher tried to root out the problem. The company bought a lot of adjustable, modular equipment, and then hired a consultant to show the staff how to use it. "We took the approach that it was a partnership between the employees and the company," says Shelly Ginenthal, Macworld's director of human resources. "The employees have to do some things, like take breaks and take care of themselves, and we have to provide them with the tools, equipment and education."