With the Government introducing further measures to ensure that people stay at home1, it has never been more important for your business to develop a work-from-home strategy.
Many employees are now working at home for the first time which introduces a number of new factors to consider – reliance on technology and the ability to connect being the most obvious.
One factor that should not be overlooked is workplace ergonomics – the efficiency and comfort of your employees chosen working environment.
Workplace ergonomics
Everything from how they’re seated, to what area of the home is the designated workspace can have a significant effect on not only personal comfort, but also productivity and physical health.
The following tips can help keep your staff comfortable and productive whilst working at home:
- Encourage short, regular breaks every hour to stretch and avoid cramps and eyestrain. Recommend that employees set an alarm to remind them to take enough breaks.
- Ensure that all equipment can be adjusted, and that your employees have enough space to allow for changes in posture when needed. They shouldn’t be confined to a fixed position.
- If possible, provide a sturdy, adjustable chair that supports the back with the feet placed flat on the floor to maintain good posture.
- Recommend employees position their screens slightly below eye line. And the rest of the workspace is setup so that it is a reasonable height and distance from the body, to avoid having to lean over whilst working and cause unnecessary strain on the back.
- If your employees are lucky enough to have more than one screen, recommend they move their eyes instead of their head and neck when moving attention from screen to screen.
- Share guidance on how to adjust screen brightness and resolution settings, and how to make dual screens match up where possible.
- When not in use, recommend that equipment be stored somewhere safe, so that it’s protected from damage and theft and so your employees maintain a work life balance.
For further guidance on working from home during these challenging times, download our working from home employee guide.
Sources:
1. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/full-guidance-on-staying-at-home-and-away-from-others
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