What does ergonomic mean?
“the scientific study of people and their working conditions, especially done in order to improve effectiveness”
Ergonomic assessments play a vital role in each workplace to ensure the safety of both the employee and the employer. An ergonomic assessment is tailored to each individual, in each individual workplace. They are used to prevent injury, decrease work-related injury premiums, and ultimately, increase productivity and performance of the employee. Ergonomic assessments have commonly been used in desk/admin-based roles, until more recently where they have been used in many different workplaces such as warehouses, trades, hospitality, and maritime occupations.
What are the signs of a poor ergonomic set-up?
The impacts of a poor ergonomic setup may not be felt straight away. However, long durations spent in these awkward positions can lead to potential issues down the track. Some of the common signs/symptoms of a poor ergonomic assessment are:
- Sore shoulders while at the workstation
- Leg aches while at the workstation
- Irritability/increased mental load at the workstation
- Increase in headaches/migraines while at the workstation
- Lower back pain while at the workstation
What common changes can be made to your workstation to make it more ergonomically sound?
- Adjusting the monitor height
- Adjusting the monitor positioning (for 1 or 2 monitors)
- Adjusting the desk positioning in relation to lighting
- Adjusting the seat height
- Adjusting the backrest height
- Adjusting the foot/floor positioning
- Adjusting desk items (mouse, phone, files etc)
Ergonomic assessments should be tailored to each individual just like exercise programming from an Exercise Physiologist. Don’t work in physical pain, working is already painful enough! Get in touch today to book your personalized ergonomic assessment with the Enable Health Clinic.
