By John Groves, DPT
Chief Executive Officer, Fit For Work
Chief Executive Officer, Fit For Work
The global work-from-home migration has led to an ergonomic awakening for many employees, most of whom are experiencing new aches, pains, and soreness previously unknown in their professional lives. For many employers, the attempted solution has been to distribute an app or checklist with guidelines on how to optimize your workstation for peak performance. For the employees, however, this remedy hasn’t quite hit the mark and has left them frustrated and struggling to truly improve their remote environment. This has to do with one key issue: variability. The problem with standardized at-home ergonomics The big issue with using an app or checklist to implement an ergonomic strategy at home is that those tools aim to provide improvements within a standardized, cookie-cutter workspace. Many will inform on proper surface heights, elbow angles, back postures, and so on. This method may have some effect in a modern office setting where conditions are standardized and can be improved on a one-size-fits-all basis – but in the home, this is rarely the case. Everyone’s home is different Some remote employees live alone in an apartment with a desk they can utilize and attempt to align with their office workspace. But many others own a house and must navigate the work-from-home scenario in the midst of a spouse and/or young children. These circumstances lead to complex human interactions in the home and greatly impact the steps a remote employee can take to optimize the ergonomics of their work environment. Every remote workday is different Not only is every home different, but many remote employees also utilize different workspaces throughout the course of a given day. It’s not uncommon for someone to start the day at the kitchen table, move to the couch around lunch, and then finish the day on the patio or in another room of the house. And then the next day may be completely different. Trying to use a work-from-home ergonomic checklist Let’s walk through an example with our friend Moe, the modern office employee from our previous post . Moe is married and lives with his wife and two young children – both of whom are also now confined to the home as daycare is on hold due to social distancing protocols. Throughout the course of the day, Moe rotates between different improvised workstations while also taking breaks to help with childcare. He starts at the kitchen counter where he experiences shoulder and neck pain, eventually moves to the couch where he experiences lower-back pain, and finishes his day on the patio where his shoulders and wrists experience discomfort. An ergonomic checklist might tell Moe to:
- Position his monitor at eye level about an arm’s length away – Moe uses a laptop at home and leverages several different work surfaces of varying heights (one of which is his lap), so this simple checkbox isn’t very helpful.
- Sit with his hips and knees at about a 90-degree angle with feet fully supported by the floor – Moe’s at-home work seating includes a backless stool, a couch, and a patio chair, not all of which are conducive to sitting this way comfortably (or at all).
- Sit in a chair with a sturdy, five-leg base – Again, given the variable locations and seating arrangements in Moe’s typical workday, this particular checkbox is unrealistic and ultimately irrelevant.
The bottom line is that each of Moe’s unique work settings requires its own ergonomic assessment in order to achieve proper comfort and productivity. This is something a boilerplate checklist simply can’t account for – but a 1:1 virtual consultation can. ErgoHome™ – The at-home ergonomics solution The solution is ErgoHome™ , Fit For Work’s virtual one-on-one service that pairs remote workers with Ergonomic Specialists dedicated to assessing their environment and providing tailored, sustainable solutions. Through easy online scheduling and personalized consultations, our experts are able to interact directly with Moe to:
- Evaluate his at-home working environment(s) – Rather than assume Moe would be able to follow a simple list of guidelines, our specialists schedule a video call to visually understand each aspect his unique remote working conditions – from variable heights and seating options to the equipment he uses.
- Analyze the ergonomic risks present – Once all elements of the workspace(s) are evaluated, the ergonomic risks associated are taken into account. A variable work environment doesn’t mean there are no risks or too many risks – it means the risks change based on situation, duration, and severity.
- Develop a structured strategy to mitigate ergonomic risks – When Moe’s environment and risks are laid out, strategies for mitigation can be developed. Maybe Moe needs to place an elevated surface under his laptop when at the kitchen counter. Maybe he needs to remove the couch from his work routine altogether. Whatever the solution, our experts can deliver.
- Train new practices for optimal comfort and productivity – The work doesn’t stop when the strategy is finalized. Our specialists then work with Moe to ensure he understands how to implement each strategy on an ongoing basis for long-term comfort and productivity.
ErgoHome™ is a scalable solution capable of supporting up to thousands of at-home workers within a single organization. Contact us today to book an at-home ergonomic consultation and start empowering your employees for optimal performance in their remote work.
