Do any of the employees at your company work from home?
Even if you answered “no”, the work-from-home trend suggests your answer to that question will change in the near future.
According to the Citrix Workplace of the Future report, 83% of companies globally will have adopted mobile work styles by mid-2014.
Citrix predicts that by 2020, the average employee will access the company network from six different devices and one-third of employees will no longer work from a traditional office at all, but at home, field sites or customer/partner locations.
In fact, we have firsthand experience with the work-from-home style of work. Ergonomics Plus doesn’t have a traditional “home office”. All members of our team work remotely from their homes and on-site at our client partner locations.
Higher productivity, lower real estate costs and better collaborative technology are all driving the work-from-home trend. And those are all good things.
But one of the serious downsides of the work from home trend is that most of the mobile technology and devices that enable this work style are wreaking havoc on our bodies.
Blackberry thumb, iHurt, and smartphone elbow are names that are becoming commonplace for musculoskeletal injuries resulting from poor ergonomic practices with mobile devices.
The nature of work in today’s world makes the dining room table, airplanes, cars, couches, and coffee shops your work environment. After all, you have a tiny computer in your pocket every second of every day and, most likely, several other devices within reach that give you instant access to work.
The mobile work environment and the digital tools you use to do work were not designed with the human body in mind, putting more stress on your body and putting you at risk for musculoskeletal problems.
You and the rest of the employees at your company should be aware of the stress this puts on your body and make adjustments to your work environment (no matter where you are) to reduce ergonomic risk and promote smarter, safer, better, and more productive work performance.
Following are simple ergonomic adjustments you can make for a variety of digital devices and work environments along with a few great videos we found that were created by physical therapist Steve Meagher of SiteSolutions.
Ergonomics and Your Laptop
The problem:
By definition, laptop computers are ergonomically incorrect.
Professor Alan Hedge explains it best:
“The design of laptops violates a basic ergonomic requirement for a computer, namely that the keyboard and screen are separated. In the early days of personal computing desktop devices integrated the screen and keyboard into a single unit, and this resulted in widespread complaints of musculoskeletal discomfort.
By the late 1970’s a number of ergonomics design guidelines were written and all called for the separation of screen and keyboard. The reason is simple – with a fixed design, if the keyboard is in an optimal position for the user, the screen isn’t and if the screen is optimal the keyboard isn’t. Consequently, laptops are excluded from current ergonomic design requirements because none of the designs satisfy this basic need.
This means that you need to pay special attention to how you use your laptop because it can cause you problems.”
Advice:
When you can, use an external keyboard and mouse with your laptop. When this isn’t feasible, make a few simple adjustments to your work setup to achieve better posture.
Video:
Can’t see the video? Click here: YouTube Video Link
Ergonomics and Your Smartphone
The problem:
Holding your phone up to your ear for long periods of time can cause problems with your elbows, neck and shoulders. Also, texting or using your smartphone to create text-dense emails and documents can put excessive stress on your fingers/thumbs, shoulders and neck.
Advice:
When possible, use a Bluetooth headset or other device that doesn’t require you to hold you phone up to your ear for long periods of time.
Try not to use your phone for manually typing long blocks of text – instead, using your laptop or desktop is much more efficient and puts less stress on your body, assuming your workstation is properly set up.
Also, voice recognition software is getting better and better, so consider trying that as a hands-free option.
Can’t see the video? Click here: YouTube Video Link
Ergonomics and Your Tablet
The problem:
Tablets such as the iPad are a great multi-purpose tool for getting work done. Improperly used, however, they can cause problems in your neck, shoulders and wrists.
Advice:
One simple fix for the iPad is to purchase an inexpensive cover that doubles as a stand that allows you to adjust the iPad to a 45 degree angle and so you don’t have to hold the iPad up manually with your hands.
Can’t see the video? Click here: YouTube Video Link
Ergonomics and the Coffee Shop
If you work from home, sometimes it can be nice to get out of the house and go to your local coffee shop to get some work done. (It’s refreshing to go interact with an actual human being.)
The only problem is that most coffee shops were designed to lounge around with your coffee and friends – not for work.
Can’t see the video? Click here: YouTube Video Link
Ergonomics and the Couch
In the evening, it can be tempting to grab your laptop and head to the couch to catch up on some email while watching your favorite show or just to get out of the office and be around your family.
Unfortunately, this can be an ergonomic disaster – make a few simple adjustments for a safer, more comfortable couch workstation.
Can’t see the video? Click here: YouTube Video Link
Ergonomics and the Car
For people who work on the move, a car is a common work environment. And it’s an environment that encourages all kinds of awkward postures. Make a few simple adjustments for a more ergonomic and truly mobile work environment.
Can’t see the video? Click here: YouTube Video Link
Ergonomics and the Airplane
There isn’t much else going on at 30K feet, so it seems like a great place to get some work done. However, like the examples above, airplanes weren’t designed as ergonomic computer workstations.
To get work more work done more comfortably, just make a few simple changes to improve your posture.
Can’t see the video? Click here: YouTube Video Link
Move, Stretch, Drink Water, Take Care of Yourself
In addition to making your workstation (wherever it may be) more ergonomic, make sure you are moving, stretching, drinking water, and generally taking care of your body with a smart nutrition and fitness plan.
Intentionally begin to develop body awareness. During one of your stretch breaks or after your work day, evaluate how your body feels. Do your wrists hurt? How is your back feeling? A quick self-evaluation can tell you if adjustments to your workstation might be needed or if you need to be taking more breaks between work tasks, stretching more often, etc.
Take good care of your body and your body will help you be a happier, healthier, more productive worker.
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