GD9 CTW fileÒ  Business 05, ç Ergonomics is no longer just a label used in selling office furniture. In the last decade, it has become quite an issue to be addressed by labor and management and the government in coping with a changing work environment. Ergonomics is the study of the link between employees, their jobs, and their workplaces. Its application to the workplace is to make the tools, tasks, and workstations more user friendly for workers. Its goal is to minimize injuries to workers while increasing their productivity. Businesses often pay out billions of dollars each year to compensate for lost earnings and medical expenses that are incurred beacuse of workplace injuries. The current focus on ergonomics is based on a select group of worker injuries, illnesses, and complaints that are coupled with poorly designed work settings. The hazards in an unhealthy workplace include faulty air circulation, poor lighting, and improperly designed workstations. The effect of these problems has been linked to complaints of nausea, lethargy, headaches, backaches, eyestrain, and stress. Recently experts have been studying specific problems associated with the workplace. The study analyzes injuries to body tissue that progress over time because of regular, repetitive motions. The most familiar types of disorders of this kind are tendonitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, neck pain, lower back pain, and bursitis. These conditions have increased to the point that they are considereed a major health issue for office workers.