For many, having worked from home for an extended period, we have realised the importance of having a good work-station set-up to keep us functioning and out of pain.  So as we continue our transition towards hybrid working we must remember that good ergonomics is vital.  As a reminder, good ergonomics is not just about furniture.  Rather, it is more focused on people in their working environment with the aim of increasing comfort and productivity. 

Although there are numerous factors that need to be taken into consideration we consider the five top tips to remember:

1. Environment: Is your environment that you work in comfortable?  This can include the lighting, the temperature, which way you are facing, noise, distractions.  Pay attention to these factors and this in itself can enhance how much work you get done.
   
   
2. You:  Good ergonomics has to take into account your body with all its attributes.  If you have a stiff neck when you look down...

For those of you that watch star trek, Captain Picard sits in the bridge for hours on end, gazing into the depths of deep space, boldly going where no man has gone before.  The story would be different if after a few minutes he got up, limped around the room with a crook neck and sore back, stopping at an inter-stellar Chiropractic clinic for some well-needed adjustments.  In the bridge of the starship Enterprise, the Captain's chair has good armrests, a headrest, soft material and well centered to the viewing screen in front.  Now take a look at yours, would you be happy to sit like you are for hours on end exploring the galaxy, perhaps not? This is where good ergonomics comes into play.

Ergonomics is the study of people in their working environment with the aim of increasing comfort and productivity.  Now as most of us are in a new, most-likely less efficient workplace, good ergonomics is vital.

Last time we discussed that poor workplace set-ups lead to pain,...

Workplace efficiency aka ergonomics is often misconstrued as a dull and perhaps pointless exercise with the sole aim of ‘Feng-Shui-ING’ our environment to get us out of pain.  For some, the addition of sparkling new furniture over-shadows the main aim of the exercise, which is to help us work at our best.

How does a new desk and higher computer monitor make us better?

Pain–relief:  The most obvious reason to optimise your workstation, whether at home or in the office is to assist with pain reduction, pain relief, or pain-prevention.  All equally useful, but on the basis that prevention is better than cure, to prevention of symptoms including, the inevitable stiff neck, disc irritation or sciatic pain has to be one of the most important benefits for workplace ergonomics.   

Function:  Within your work-environment, from kitchen, dining room or wherever that may be, we have to ensure that we can function.  Have you got room to...