An Outline of Successful Office Ergonomics (A Beginning)
People First
An ideal ergonomic intervention must ensure the desk / environment / culture are adapted to suit a specific person. Most programs fail as a result of following a recipe / handout designed for easy distribution / implementation instead of prioritizing issues in those 3 areas.
A large number of factors play a role in ergonomics, including:
Body posture and movement (sitting, lifting, pulling and pushing)
Environmental factors (noise, vibration, illumination, climate, chemical substances)
Information and operation (information gained visually or through other senses, controls, relation between displays and control)
Work organization (appropriate tasks, interesting jobs, staff dynamic)
Social Significance of Ergonomics
Medicine has known for a very long time - since 1777! - that many work and everyday life situations are hazardous to health.
Wrote Ramazzini then:
"Yet ’tis certain that in each City and Town, vast Numbers of Persons still earn their Bread by writing. The Diseases of Persons incident to this Craft arise from three Causes; first, constant Sitting; secondly, the perpetual Motion of the Hand in the same manner; and, thirdly, the Attention and Application of the Mind.
Now ’tis certain that constant sitting produces Obstructions of the Viscera, especially of the Liver and Spleen, Crudities of the Stomach, a Torper of the Leggs, a languid Motion of the refluent Blood and Cachbexies. In a word, Writers are depriv’d of all the Advantages arising from moderate and salutary Exercise.
Constant writing also considerably fatigues the Hand and whole Arm, on account of the continual and almost tense Tension of the Muscles and Tendons. I knew a Man who, by perpetual writing, began first to complain of an excessive Weariness of his whole right Arm, which could be remov’d by no Medicines, and was at last Succeeded by a perfect Pally of the whole Arm. That he might sustain as little Loss as possible by the Accident, he learn’d to write with his left Hand, which was soon after seiz’d with the same Disorder."
(translated from Latin by De Foureau)
(Full honesty, I can't actually remember diagnosing “Cachbexies” in my office workers...)
In modern western countries, diseases of the musculoskeletal system (mainly lower back pain) and psychological illnesses (for example, due to stress) constitute the most important cause of absence due to illness, and of occupational disability. These conditions can be partly blamed on poor design of: equipment, technical systems and tasks. What I think is really interesting is if we look at the Greek roots of that rare word Ramazzini used, it spells out “Bad Habit.”
Employers should prioritize the staff benefits of breaking away from bad habits from a big picture view. Interesting enough, this is not just a social responsibility, but also as a capital-efficient investment in productivity / efficiency / staff happiness.
Everybody wins when everybody wins!