HR Management & Compliance

Are Your Workers Trained on the Latest Ergonomic Best Practices?

Today, workers are experiencing a global assault on physical, social, and cognitive well-being. Worldwide, rates of heart and lung diseases, as well as diabetes and obesity, are rising sharply.

We are cognitively overloaded and distracted by new technologies, multitasking from e-mail to social media. At the same time, stress has become a global epidemic costing $300 billion annually.

So it’s clearer than ever before that organizations need to approach physical, cognitive, and emotional well-being not just as an employee issue, but as a bottomline issue for organizational success.

Steelcase and turnstone recently completed a 2-year study of well-being in the workplace in which they found that fostering a workforce of employees who are productive, collaborative, and creative requires more than just the physical health of their employees. Rather, companies should take a holistic approach to well-being to understand the emotional, cognitive, and physical needs of employees.


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Bolstering this push for greater well-being are the breakthrough discoveries scientists are making about the mind and body as an interrelated system. Recent studies have identified the negative effects of long-term sitting, both on the body and the mind. Muscle inactivity produces a series of harmful metabolic effects, including a slowdown of the flow of nutrients to the brain, affecting alertness.

Clearly engaging the body in movement is essential for supporting physical and mental vigor at work. Here are six tips to make small changes to engage both your body and your mind at work:

1. Stand up. As we’ve noted and the media has extensively reported, movement throughout the day is as important as ever. Did you know that you should get up and move every 60 minutes? To help promote mobility, many workplaces are offering standing-height desks as an option to get people on their feet. That’s a great first step, but even standing requires mindfulness on the part of the worker. Avoid locking your knees and make sure the table height is comfortable and allows for good posture. Even though you’re on your feet, it’s still important to shift positions often.

2. It’s no wonder your work is a pain in the neck. Many of us are so used to slumping over our laptops that we don’t realize it’s still important for the screen to be at the right viewing height. To avoid neck strain and shoulder cramping, add a monitor platform or set of books to raise your computer to eye level. Using the right work surface at the correct height is critical to physical comfort—don’t overlook it.

Kevin Butler is a board-certified professional ergonomist. A graduate of Arizona State University, he earned a master’s degree in industrial engineering from Ohio State University.


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In tomorrow’s Advisor, we’ll get the last three ergonomic tips, and we’ll showcase an online training resource prestocked with ready-to-use, interactive courses on more than 100 key HR topics.

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