The official definition of office ergonomics is matching the environment your office workers work in and the equipment they use with their skills and capabilities. The idea is that you get better productivity because of harmonising the two i.e. your workers with their environment. Everyone has heard of the idea of giving workers the right tools for the job, but few people have taken it to the next step and realised that they need to give them the right environment as well.
There are many facets to office ergonomics, but a basic need is providing your office workers with a good workstation. This means making sure that it is of the right height and has a comfortable fully adjustable chair. The desk has to be at the right height for writing and their computer screen and keyboard have to be properly positioned.
Why Office Ergonomics Are Important
Getting your office set up properly is important for several reasons. To start with, you will get the most out of your workers. If people are comfortable at their workstations, they will stay there and work steadily. They will not get a backache and have to walk around to relive it. They will not wander off in search of a piece of equipment that is missing if you make sure that everything they need is nearby.
The next important reason is health and safety. UK H&S legislation states that you must provide your workers with a safe working environment, including office workers. Making them work at a workstation that causes eyestrain or repetitive strain injuries is not acceptable. If you subject your workers to this kind of environment, you will find that you will lose a lot of workdays due to sickness.
Getting Office Ergonomics Right
Without experience getting office ergonomics right is difficult, even impossible. There are so many things that you must consider and take into account when setting up your office workers working environment. Many of the things you have to consider are not obvious, so you really need to employ someone with the relevant experience to set up your office properly.
