Business owners believe that if they want to get the best from employees, then they have to treat them well. The positive ambience of the workplace directly leads to highly creative and productive work. Successful enterprises provide a gentle and respectful treatment to employees that enhance the work efficiency. It is essential for you to understand their concern and express gratefulness for good performance.
Employees who are given ergonomic workplaces feel cared about, and as a result, they are more engaged. When you provide an employee ergonomic equipment to work with, you say to him or her,
How you feel matters to me; I want you to be happy and comfortable, and I am here to resolve your issues.
It makes them feel that you care about them. Google, The tech giant, has mastered in ergonomics to ensure that their employees have high morale and feel free to think creatively.
How Ergonomic Assessments Benefit My Business?
1) Enlightening Productivity
Good body posture and less exertion of stress will make it easier for employees to perform their task effectively. It will also improve the quality of work produced by your employees.
2) Improving Employee Engagement
Your office staff notice when you invest in them. When you take a step to improve the health of employees, that will automatically decrease absenteeism, improve morale and increase employee contribution.
3) Reducing operations costs
By improving ergonomics, you will reduce sick days, workplace injuries, and have a healthier workforce.
The motive behind ergonomics is to create a calm environment, to diminish stress and, to embrace a positive lifestyle. To ensure that you keep your workers focussed at all times, you should make ergonomists an integral part of your design development team.
Six Impacts of Ergonomics
1) Injury
The primary motive of ergonomics is to decrease the injury and health-related issue of employees. Sitting for a long time in the same poster, working in Standing desk and continuously looking at a bright screen is risky for a human.
With the rising price of healthcare, the fees associated with work injuries are also getting expensive. Ergonomics make changes in the physical demand required for the workers. To decrease the injury chances, it is recommended you to have a change in the work atmosphere.
The ability of skilled professional relies on their physical strength and exhaustion from previous tasks. When the worker pushes their limit, they are damaging their muscles and brain.
2) Disability
Office ergonomics specially define the nature of musculoskeletal disorders (MSD). The MSD injuries can damage the joint part, can excessively lead the strained pain. MSD injuries are costly and costly to the injured person and their company. Now, most of the people are suffering from long-lasting injuries because people attempt to return to work too rapidly.
Injuries from work can affect your life. If you are suffering from chronic injuries, then there might be a chance that you will not be able to play any sports with friends. A decrease in physical ability can reduce the ability to accomplish retirement goals
3) Productivity
Ergonomics does not only prevent workers from injury but also enhances the productivity of employees. A robust ergonomics method is a good option. Employees that experience less stress will have a less chance of injury and will require less recovery time.
4) Time Off Work
The most common treatment to heal the muscle damage of employee is giving the rest time. While muscles heal quickly, other injuries, such as pain in bones, consume longer healing times. Ergonomics helps to lessen the straining before it causes an injury.
5) Workers feel better
Also, to an increase in creativity or productivity of employees, it also makes a person feel physically free. By making the workstation and employees fit, then the task becomes easier and produces less tiredness. When stress is reduced, and the pain in the body is minimised, then the worker will be less exhausted.
6) Creating a Culture of Safety
To make a safe culture, companies should be well –aware of their employees and what changes they need time to time to work comfortably. For example- companies who have good office environment tends to delivery theirs project on time. Employees feel empowered and more engaged at their work.
Managers beware: in many cases, the employee’s lack of creativity and innovation is because of leadership. The lack of productivity from employees always baffled down the managers, who in reality think that they develop the best working environment of the workplace. Rather than thinking about the root problem of organisation, they first look to employees and ask them why they no longer function as they used to do.
Related Read: How to Increase Workplace Wellbeing and Happiness
Ergonomics Hazard
Employees who work at the desk are more likely to face physical injury as they remain in the same position for a long time.
Body positioning and working culture put a strain in their body. These kinds of harms do not reflect on body immediately, and they took way more time to recover then we think
We need to keep a lot of things in mind to keep our body flexible. If you work at a standing desk, keep your shoulders in line with your hips to avoid back problems. Using a correct posture is essential.
If you’re picking things up, use correct form, so your back doesn’t get hurt. If possible, always use ergonomic designed furniture and safety equipment, so everything you need is within easy reach. Ergonomics Hazards Include Inadequately adjusted workstations equipment. Some of the main reasons are given below
1) The Phone
Your office takes a lot of use of technology throughout the whole day; most of it is a mobile phone. Employees are not well aware of the radiation coming from the smartphone these days.
We carry a mobile phone everywhere, from the bathroom to bedroom; hence, many harmful bacteria’s came in direct touch with our hand. To avoid radiation hazards in the workplace, work smartly, maintain hygiene and clean your phone screen with a dry cloth.
2) Coffee Machine
In almost in all offices, the coffee machine is used. However, a coffee machine can become a health hazard if it is not cleaned from time to time. Dozens of bacteria and germs are found in the tray of office coffee machine. It is essential for your office to clean the coffee machine from time to time to prevent your employee from diseases.
3) Work Organization Hazards
These are hazards associated with workplace issues such as workload, lack of control and respect, workload demands, lack of respect of colleague, sexual harassment, social support or relations, and flexibility.
4) Report Unsafe Conditions To Your Supervisor
If you feel any workplace hazard or risk, then don’t hesitate immediately report to your manager or supervisor. It is the company’s responsibility to ensure their co-workers have a safe working environment and will take care of the dangerous conditions.
5) Emotional and Psychological Stressors Are among the Top Hazards in the Workplace
Make sure to include the emotional reason in your workplace injury. The concern regarding, job security, financial freedom, training, incentive, and appreciation of these small things of office plays a huge role in the mind of employees.
Ergonomics should include an open door policy where an employee can discuss/counselling with experts to adhere more about the depression, substance abuse, and sudden changes in behaviour on your employees’ action in the workplace list.
6) The office chair & the keyboard
Our computer keyboard is full of germs and bacteria. It’s easy to get dirt hidden under the keys, including skin cells, germs, and crumbs from working lunches. All of this dirt can build up because of your figure touch; significantly increasing our risk of getting sick. Please clean your keyboard with cotton dipped in isopropyl alcohol to scrub between each key.
Chair – office employees sit on the chair for hours at a time each day, along with no movement for an extended period. This is the reason why most employees start feeling pain in the joint and have muscle ache.
Employees should be provided with adjustable chairs and equipment hazards in the workplace that allow each workstation to account for height differences amongst staff members, and the base of the chair should offer adequate support.
Take Away
The motive behind ergonomics is to create a calm environment, to diminish stress and, to embrace a positive lifestyle. To ensure that you keep your workers focussed at all times, you should make ergonomists an integral part of your design development team.
If your HR is not aware of “Ergonomics” then share this article with them and request to implement Ergonomics at your office at the earliest for your and your colleague’s safety and good health, and, enhanced productivity of everyone at the workplace.