When someone asks you about maintaining a healthy workplace, you might think about allowing sick days, promoting healthy eating plans or offering health insurance. Creating an ergonomic office may not be at the top of the list of things you think of, but doing so will help to keep your employees healthy.
There are a number of ways for you to improve the ergonomics of your workplace, here are our top tips:
Headsets
For workers that spend a lot of time on the phones, the tendency is to cradle the phone between the shoulder and ear, whilst using their hands for typing. This is major attributer to neck pain, especially in the work environment. Fortunately, there are many alternatives to solve the problem: headsets provide the ideal solution for the crowded office as they eliminate the need to hold the phone.
Supportive chairs
With the majority of jobs now being desk-based, it is important that the right chair is chosen and set up correctly. The chair needs to have an adjustable back, seat and height. Each set-up depends on the unique requirements of each individual.
Lighting
Lighting is important in the office. Without good lighting, eyes can become strained from the glare on computer screens. Natural light is always better, but this isn’t always possible. Ensure that each desk station is within distance of ceiling lighting and that each team member has their own adjustable desk lamp.
Breaks
Physical activity is key to any health tips. As you’d expect, being sat at a desk for nine hours plus every day will have a detrimental effect on health. No matter how good the workstation set-up is, getting up and stretching is the only way of combatting health issue arising from prolonged sitting periods.
Managers may think that this is wasted time, but it’s common for a short period away from the desk to increase brain power and productivity upon return.
Creating an ergonomic workplace
Implementing some, or all, of these changes will have a beneficial effect on your team’s health. In turn, this will have a positive impact on productivity and lower the number of sick days taken due to RSI and back pain.
Positura is ideally placed to form part of your healthy workplace programme, utilising clinical experience in chiropractic, alongside detailed knowledge of ergonomics and DSE assessment, to create a healthier workplace for your staff.
For companies looking to ensure well-being across the entire staff, look at our company workstation and health assessments. You may also wish to speak to us about visiting your premises at our very competitive half or full day rates.
