Worksite International Blog

When your employee tells you they have back pain from sitting, do you immediately think you need to replace his/her chair? And if you do replace it, do you worry about whether their cubicle neighbor to the right and left will want one too? Then before you know it…many employees are reporting the same; bringing in therapy balls or asking for ergonomic evaluations to justify replacing their ergonomic office chairs.

This past August, I presented my Chair Assessment Model at the International Ergonomics Association (IEA) Florence, Italy. Over 1700 ergonomists, most of whom were professors and academic researchers from more than 35 countries, were in attendance. This year’s theme was “Creativity in Practice”, the challenge of transforming the experimental, field research, and evaluation processes into the daily practices of the ever-changing working and living organizations. There was an over-abundance of lectures highlighting the latest research in ergonomics and human factors.

Everyone has a role and responsibilities when it comes to ergonomics in the workplace. To keep your process transparent, I’ve outlined my recommended procedure for supervisors and employees to follow when reviewing ergonomic evaluation reports. Supervisors should be familiar with ergonomic principles, attend Introduction to Office Ergonomics training, and understand company ergonomics process policies before reviewing the report with their employees.

Where does your company stand when it comes to transparency in sharing your individual ergonomic evaluation reports with employees? Are you transparent in your process or are you keeping the results to yourself? If you aren’t sharing the results of your ergonomic assessments with your employees, what are your concerns? You just might be missing a golden opportunity and here’s why!

Many employers ask whether they must provide sit to stand workstations when employees request them. Employers are confused about how to be fair across the board concerning the implementation of these adjustable solutions. We have all seen it… provide for one employee and suddenly, it’s contagious and they all want it… whether it will benefit them or not. What is often lacking is a clearly defined policy and procedure for providing sit to stand workstations. Having a policy and procedure gives employers and employees structure, control and a fair-minded approach to this popular workplace solution.

“Caveat Emptor” or buyer beware fits well when employers are selecting ergonomics service providers. The phrase arises from the fact buyers often have less information about the services they are purchasing than the seller is indicating to them.

Buyers of ergonomics services don’t necessarily understand the science of ergonomics and what makes a good ergonomics consultant, the differences in their education, training, and experiences which impacts the quality of service provided, the fees charged and ultimately the results the buyer or employer will achieve. These days, ergonomic credentials and certifications are like a bowl of alphabet soup!

With the growing interest in ergonomics as a corporate strategy to promote health and wellness, it’s a perfect time for employers to assure they have adequate ergonomics knowledge in-house to solve day to day employee concerns related to workstation and work practice needs.

In today’s litigious employment environment, it’s critical employers have ADA compliant job descriptions reflecting the way employees truly work. With so many new laws and regulations every year, it makes sense to review your job descriptions to assure they’re accurate and up to date.

Are your employees constantly complaining about their chairs? Are you routinely guessing at what chairs to buy employees, using cost to drive your selection? Or perhaps you’ve experienced a high volume of seated work injuries?

After many months of hard work and preparation, our member portal is ready! I’m so excited to bring our robust ergonomics process tools and strategies found in the Worksite International Ergonomics Process (WIEP) to employers who are interested to launch and use an easy, sustainable, organizational process designed to prevent injuries, improve employee productivity and save thousands in claim avoidance.