Screen work

In recent years, the computer has become an often indispensable tool with the result that almost every office workstation is also a VDU (visual display unit) workstation.

In Germany, a Bildschirmarbeitsverordnung (Screen Work Ordinance) has been adopted in order to prevent the negative effects of screen work on workers' health. The Ordinance stipulates that employers must take appropriate measures to ensure that VDU workstations comply with the requirements set out in the Annex to the Ordinance and with other legislation. The requirements apply for all employees who spend a substantial amount of their normal working hours (approximately one to two hours of an eight-hour day on a daily basis) in front of a VDU.


The Screen Work Ordinance (abbreviated to BildscharbV in German and promulgated in the Bundesgesetzblatt (Federal Law Gazette) I, p. 1843 on 4 December 1996) transposes "EC Directive 90/270/EEC on the minimum safety and health requirements for work with display screen equipment" into German law. 

The requirements laid down in the Ordinance have had binding effect since 1 January 2000 - even for workstations which date back to before then.

• Information provided by the Bundesanstalt für Arbeitsschutz und Arbeitsmedizin (Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, abbreviated to BAuA in German) on the subject of screen work:

• "Bildschirm und Tastatur: Behalten Sie den Durchblick!" ("Screens and keyboards: Staying in the picture")
• "Arbeitssystem Bildschirmarbeit"  ("Screen work system")
• The "Leise Büros, gesündere Bildschirmarbeit" ("Quiet offices, healthier screen work") brochure offers readers advice on how to deal with noise and unwanted sounds at office workstations
• EU-CON II - Software-ergononic evaluation and design of VDU work - helps enterprises implement EU Display Screen Equipment Directive 90/270/EEC on man-machine comunication.