The State of Higher Education

We were already headed for a crisis in education before COVID hit. But that crisis has accelerated like so many other things this year.

Dozens and potentially hundreds of small four-year colleges are likely to go under within the next year, and others in the next five years, according to Frank Bruni, NY Times article (6/4/2020).

As the virus proliferates, so does online instruction, as it allows for learning in a safe environment at home, expanded enrollment, better access to financially strapped students and adults wanting continuing education.

The Era of the Remote Worker 

The era of the remote worker is here to stay. With it comes new responsibilities for all employers who are pivoting to remote work as a corporate strategy. In the last year, many have had to make the change from the office to working from home whether we had a home office or not.

Your Onboarding Process

Having a consistent onboarding process for new hires can make or break any employment relationship. In today’s new way of working, a personal, and well-designed remote onboarding process for new hires is more important than ever. Recent high growth industries that have taken off during the pandemic, such as grocery stores, manufacturing of pandemic-related products, pharmaceuticals, high-tech, digital platforms, and cloud-based services, and more rely on an effective online, on-boarding process. This is particularly important for employees working remotely at home.

When the pandemic started and we had to shelter in place, I knew it was going to be important for people to have someone to answer questions about working at home with good ergonomics.

From that moment on, the Home Office Ergonomist was born! I'm the Home Office Ergonomist, aka Alison Heller-Ono PT, MSPT, CPE, and much more. 

What will our lives be like when the virus is gone? Nothing like before, because that is not how it works. You've heard the expression, "Gone, but not forgotten!"  Our old way of living and working will be different for sure. We have no choice but to change. 

I was recently inspired to think about the future of work from an article I read by the BBC Visual and Data Journalism Team called, "This is what coronavirus will do to our offices and homes." Let's design the future of work together!

This country has been in a big “reset” lately! Everything has changed. To survive in our new economy, companies have had to become more mindful of the impact COVID-19 has had on their employees and customers. Companies thriving right now demonstrate agility, resilience, and a unifying purpose within their organizations and externally to their community. There is a significant emphasis on holistic wellbeing to include mental, physical, financial, and social wellness.

Up until a few months ago, 2020 was looking good! Many of us were at the top of Maslow's hierarchy of needs pyramid working on how we can maximize our careers, our businesses, our finances.

If you are contemplating learning how to perform ergonomics evaluations you might be asking yourself, “What is the difference between a Certificate vs. Certification in Ergonomics and are they necessary?”

The way we work is changing rapidly. We are spending so much time with our technology, it's become like a family member... AKA Alexa! But what is all this exposure doing to our brains, our eyes and our bodies?

As the pandemic continues, technology and service workers around the country continue to work at home.

The longer they work, they are discovering how uncomfortable the desk or table used for intermittent letter writing, meals, bill paying, or web searching is inadequate for the eight to twelve hours of actual computer work.

They realize the inexpensive, big-box store, home office chair, or worse, kitchen chair, is insufficient to support excessive, prolonged sitting.

A sore back and buttocks are driving the need to stand up! The quick-fix pillow hack for support is getting old!