Businesses that address the specific ergonomic requirements of their staff are going to be more efficient, effective, and productive than those that don’t. This is due to the fact that providing employees with an ergonomically friendly office environment, combined with comfortable ergonomic equipment and furniture, supports both their physical and mental wellbeing requirements. They will be physically comfortable, able to remain seated in an ergonomically safe seating position, at reduced risk of physical injuries such as repetitive strain injury, and able to fully focus on their work duties. When it comes to ensuring your workplace is ergonomically friendly, the secret is to understand that every work environment is unique, and it is not a one-size-fits-all situation. This article will discuss the secrets to getting on top of your businesses ergonomic requirements, and ensuring they are successfully met.

Provide your staff with proper ergonomic workstations

The ergonomic requirements of a call centre would be completely different to those of a packing plant, so companies need to be pro-active in identifying and meeting their staff’s ergonomic needs. To start with, businesses should ensure that their staff are provided with safe and proper ergonomic workstations that are both comfortable and conducive to productivity. This means that staff workstations should successfully meet several ergonomic requirements, including:

• Meeting the height requirements of individual staff: As anyone who has ever sat at a desk that is either too high or short for them can attest, it is crucial that desks are at a height that staff feel comfortable with. The height may differ across employees, as taller staff may feel more comfortable using a higher desk, and vice-versa. Companies can successfully address this issue by providing their staff with electric desks, where the height can be adjusted to individual staff requirements. By providing staff with this type of ergonomic desk, organisations are ensuring that their employees feel comfortable throughout their workday, which increases productivity.
• Ensuring that appropriate ergonomic accessories are on-hand: To further maximise staff comfort, businesses should provide their employees with a range of ergonomic workstation accessories, to meet individual needs. This can range from monitor stands to ensure desk monitors are elevated to an appropriate height, forearm and wrist supports to reduce the risk of physical injury whilst working, and arise deskalators, which quickly and easily provide staff with the benefits of having a standing desk, without businesses having to purchase an expensive new desk.
• Installing desk dividers between workstations to address privacy and social distancing concerns: Many people find it difficult to effectively work in a noisy environment, or in an area that may be prone to distractions. Further, the ongoing pandemic has introduced concerns regarding social and physical distancing. Businesses can successfully address both issues by installing desk dividers between workstations. They provide a physical, sight, and sound barrier between workstations and staff, which can help individual staff feel more comfortable, allowing them to fully focus on their designated duties.

Ergonomic desks are just one aspect of a proper ergonomic office

Another secret to effective office ergonomics is that its underlying principles can be applied on both a small and large scale. This means that businesses can meet individual staff ergonomic requirements by providing them with ergonomically appropriate workstations and meet the larger ergonomic requirements of their entire office, through effective strategies such as installing office dividers throughout the workplace or dividing the office by installing soundproof partitions throughout it.

Office dividers are a simple, cheap, and effective means of dividing the workplace into designated departments or areas. They act as an immediate visual signifier that the office has designated areas and can maximise staff comfort and productivity in several ways, such as by providing employees with meeting areas, minimising noise distractions, and arranging the office environment into a safe and productive layout.

Contact our ergonomic specialists for more information

This article has discussed just a few of the secrets to effective office ergonomics, and how it helps businesses meet a range of operational objectives. However, as mentioned at the start, ensuring that the ergonomic requirements of your business are effectively met is something that all businesses must address in an individualised manner. There are many factors that can affect the ergonomic requirements of your operations, including the industry you operate in, the size of your office, how many staff are typically onsite, what duties staff have as part of their workday, and so on.

Therefore, it is recommended that all businesses undergo a basic ergonomic assessment of their workplace before designing it to be ergonomically friendly and efficient. This process sees ergonomic specialists travel to your workplace, under COVID-Safe conditions, to conduct an audit of the premises to assess what ergonomic strategies could be implemented across the worksite to maximise staff comfort, safety, and productivity. They can then provide you with tailored recommendations about what ergonomic equipment is most suited to your workplace, to help it achieve its goals.

If reading this article has prompted you to take the first steps towards making your workplace ergonomically effective, then please contact our specialist consultants today at sales@anitechgroup.com or by phone on 1300 802 163. All you need to do is discuss your business with them, including its industry and worksite particulars, and they can explain to you what specific steps your business should be taking to ensure it creates a safe, comfortable ergonomic environment for everyone. Isn’t that a secret worth knowing?

Please click here to learn more about how providing staff with appropriate ergonomic accessories improves their productivity.