3 Ergonomic Risk Factors You May Not Know About

3 Ergonomic Risk Factors You May Not Know About

That’s why it’s quite important to educate your remote employees (and yourself) about the various ergonomic risks that could affect them. This will help prevent workplace injury and reduce the burden on your health insurance plans and the health care system in general. It will also increase and improve employee productivity by reducing injury and improving efficiency. 

Let’s read on to see some ergonomic risks that aren’t so well known. 

1. Awkward Postures

Sitting in an awkward posture where your spine, neck, legs, or feet are twisted in unusual ways will leave a toll on one’s body. Workers might be able to sit like this for a few days or even a few weeks, but after a while, the body is going to feel the ravages of sitting in a way that’s not natural to its structure and workers will feel pain, and/or get injured. 

Remote workers must not get in the bad habit of sitting on a couch or armchair to work for long periods. These places are not designed to be ergonomically friendly. A couple of hours, now and then, is fine, but not 8 or 10 hours a day for an extended period. 

The obvious remedy is to invest in a proper desk. Furthermore, an ergonomics assessment can be done remotely by an ergonomics consultant to design a home office that creates a safe and productive environment for a specific remote worker’s setup.

Related article: “The Ergonomic Way to Sit at Your Desk and View Your Monitor”

2. Ignoring Worker Fatigue and Skipping Breaks

When working from home, it is easier to forget to take a break. Workers should never work the entire day without taking a single break.

Whenever our body feels tired or our mind feels like it needs a break, it’s a sign that we need to stop, walk around, drink some water, and take that time out. Taking frequent stretch breaks throughout the day will improve productivity! Share apps or encourage workers to use a timer to remind them to get up and take a break.

Related article: “3 Free Apps that Serve as  Break Reminder at Work”

3. Digital Eyestrain

Remote workers all have one thing in common – tons of screen time. There is no way to cut out screen time in this digital age, but there are some tools available to help.

One tool to help prevent digital eyestrain is ”computer glasses.” Computer glasses look the same as regular glasses but are designed to reduce eye strain associated with staring at a screen. The lenses in these glasses filter out the blue light that your screen emits and can help prevent headaches, eyestrain, blurred vision, dry eyes, or even neck and shoulder pain caused by straining. Many prescription glasses also offer this protection, and it is well worth looking into.

You may also want to start doing some “eye exercises.” Read our blog “4 Eye Exercises to Rest Your Eyes at Work” to learn more.

Ergonomic Risk Should Not Be Ignored, No Matter What

It’s important to emphasize to remote employees the importance of avoiding all ergonomic risk factors, no matter what they might be. A great way to do this is by doing an advanced ergonomic risk assessment. It will give a clear indication to your employees how their current work desk setup fails and how it could be improved. 

If you wish to do virtual ergonomic assessments, our company can help. Contact the experts at Solutions Northwest Inc. today to check up on the ergonomic risks of all your remote employees. This will pay off a great dividend for your company in the future. 

Using remote workers? The ergonomics experts at Solutions Northwest Inc. are now offering affordable Virtual Ergonomics Assessments specifically for remote workers (all you need is access to e-mail or a smart phone).

At SolutionsNW.com we value the importance of a positive workplace culture. Part of a positive workplace is a safe workplace, Contact Us to schedule an ergonomics consultation or ergonomics assessment for your office today.

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