Ergonomics by definition is the study of people’s efficiency in their working environment. The sole purpose of office ergonomics is to have your office workstation designed so that it fits you, providing you with a comfortable working environment so you can be productive and efficient as an employee.
We’ve all heard that the average working adult spends 50-70% of the day sitting at work. We’ve written about the dangers of sitting all day and how the sedentary lifestyles of today’s workers pose serious health issues and challenges to people and businesses. The solution to that is office ergonomics.
Employers should know that if you want to get the best out of your employees or other people you work with, you have to treat them well and actively listen to their concerns, express gratitude when they do a good job and be willing to meet employees halfway when an issue arises. The mental and emotional health of employees should be kept positive for a more motivated atmosphere and a productive and efficient workforce.
However, it isn’t just the mental and emotional well-being of your employees you should be concerned about. The physical health and well-being are equally as important, if not, more because the physical factors have a direct effect emotionally as well as mentally. Entrepreneurs should realise that providing an office environment that is ergonomically designed can fuel productivity in a lot of ways.
Ergonomic Workstations Reduce Injury-Related Absences
While several business owners or entrepreneurs are conscious of the fact that the best threat to productivity is worker absence as a result of injury, too few folks understand that many work injuries don’t occur as a result of falls or lifting serious equipment, but rather due to repetitive strain.
In fact, over 40% of work injuries are sprains and strains.
Repetitive strain injuries take an extended time to develop, an example of this would be a sore back. These types of injuries generally take an extended time to treat, and can, therefore, cause a long absence of trained staff. This results in lost productivity and typically prices businesses a good deal of cash with compensation payments.
There are a few more added costs to think about as well such as a lower rate of worker retention because of injury and discomfort, which results in the expense of hiring and training new staff often and the overtime pay that is given to employees who cover for absent workers. For cases like a strained back or neck aches, you can look at getting ergonomic chairs for the office. Ergonomic chairs are designed to support the back and promote good posture.
Ergonomic Workstations Will Make Your Employees Feel Cared About and Are Thus More Engaged
Providing workers with an ergonomic workplace shows that you simply take their health and welfare seriously, a message that has been powerfully connected to increased productivity which is in line with a worldwide study conducted by Towers Watson
“The single highest driver of employee engagement is whether or not employees feel their managers are genuinely interested in their wellbeing.” – Why Appreciation Matters so much, Tony Schwartz
When you offer a worker ergonomic furniture to work with, you tell him or her, “How you’re feeling matters to me; I want you to be happy and cozy and I also want to shield you from hurt.”
A number of the foremost widely known thriving organisations in the world, notably Google, have perfected the creation of ergonomic and enriched workspaces during a bid to make sure that their staff have high morale and be at liberty to think creatively. Nowadays, a lot of tech companies provide their employees with sit-stand desk mounts which allow them to get up off their seats without moving away from their desks so they can still continue to work.
Comfortable Employees Have More Energy and are Capable of Working More
Workers who are in pain usually report feeling exhausted and drained, that makes them less ready to work quickly and effectively. They have to additionally take frequent breaks so as to stretch, walk around, or change posture in an effort to cut back muscle strain and ease aches.
Physical pain negatively impacts your mental well-being, too; it’s arduous to feel motivated, solve issues, or generate new concepts once perpetually distracted by physical discomfort.
However, if your employee is comfortable, they are more than likely going to work more. An employee who’s aching all evening won’t be as productive. An adjustable desk provides the perfect solution to protecting your spine and reducing the risk of strain and aching.
Employees with Ergonomic Furniture Can Work More Quickly
Ergonomic office furniture usually makes an employee’s work easier to try and do because it cuts down on repetitive motions and optimizes posture.
For example, ergonomic keyboards will facilitate an employee to type quicker and with fewer breaks, ergonomic cleaning tools will enable cleanup personnel to clean massive areas using fewer passes and without having to bend so often, and pc monitors that are designed to scale back eye strain will enable staff to concentrate on their screens for extended periods of your time without developing headaches (and they’ll browse a bit more accurately). All of this results in larger productivity and a better quality of labor.
When you add up the assorted costs incurred when you fail to take a position in ergonomics, it quickly becomes clear that having ergonomic office furniture isn’t a luxury, it is a necessity. If you are concerned regarding the initial investment office ergonomics need, make an attempt to look at other choices like buying furniture second-hand; with a little to a lot of research, it’s usually doable to purchase ergonomic office furniture for an additional cost to the value of your standard equipment.
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