Everyday your employees are hunched over a desk, typing away, completely oblivious to the fact that this seemingly innocent act will have no future effect on them. Well – they’d be wrong. This, and the fact that employees hardly ever walk about the office to give their eyes, legs and bum a break leads to some serious health implications. Here’s why ergonomics and good office design go well together and how to pull it off effortlessly:
What is ergonomics?
According to the Ergonomics Society of South Africa’s official definition, “Ergonomics is the scientific discipline concerned with the understanding of interactions among humans and other elements of a system, and the profession that applies theory, principles, data and methods to design in order to optimise human well-being and overall system performance.”
Not following a proper ergonomic system in the office leads to employee frustration, fatigue and in the worst case scenario, it has the potential to hurt your employees in the long-run. Ergonomics is made up of different aspects, such as the work environment, physical and the psychosocial environment, but for the sake of this blog we’ll focus on the physical environment that deals with ambient conditions and office furnishings.
Put lots and lots of fluffy pillows on your office couches
Having couches in the office is a great idea to entice your employees to move away from their desks from time to time, however, modern couches are usually very deep set which makes anyone sitting on them curve their backs into a C-shape. This has a detrimental effect on their backs, so make sure you adorn your couches with extra fluffy pillows so your employees can use them to straighten their backs while sitting on them, they aren’t there just to look pretty, but it does add to your office feng shui.
Avoid using a generic chair
Everyone is differently shaped; therefore, you are asking for trouble by buying generic chairs for the office. Try and get easily adjustable chairs so that each employee can move their chairs to their perfect position in line with their desk and computer. When adjusting their chair, their feet should rest comfortably on the floor and thier knees should be leveled with their hips. If possible, try to get your hands on back supports to be placed on office chairs for employees for severe back issues.
No need to stand on the ceiling
Sometimes your employees just want to stand, but standing means they will have to stop working, therefore they’d rather sit and carry on working, but if you had a few high tables incorporated in the office design, your employees can comfortably stand and work for as long as they desire.
Think about the dynamics of your office design
The same way not everyone has the same body shape, this does not exclude different office designs. Each organisation has their own distinct culture and with this comes a set of décor rules, you wouldn’t decorate a financial institution using over the top and outlandish décor, whereas an advertising agency is a different ball game. Stick the convention of what your office should look like based on your industry, but if you do want to change things up a bit, be sure to find out what your employees think first, remember they have to live with the décor too.
Vinyl frosting provides a solution for office glare
Office glare is another harmful effect of working on a computer and it may come to the point where no matter where your employees try to hide, the sun always seems to find a way to bounce off their screens. Installing our vinyl frosting anti-glare film significantly decreases the amount of glare in the office so that everyone can continue to work eye-strain-free.
Keep your eyes peeled for more blogs focused on office design and be sure to contact us if you need any further assistance from us.
Image Credit: http://www.ergonomicsolutionsaustralia.com.
