Worksite International Blog

Industry organizations have developed widely accepted ergonomic guidelines for the set up of office workstations and the design of ergonomic chairs. What’s missing — and very much needed, I argue — is an objective methodology for making the decision to keep, repair or replace task chairs once they’re in the workplace.

Despite recent trends toward promoting more standing in the workplace, average sitting times now exceed 7.7-10 hours per day or longer in the workplace, not including commute time. Most employers do not yet have widespread capacity for sit-to-stand workstations. As a result, far more emphasis needs to be placed on selecting chairs and the ongoing use of an ergonomic chair.

“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.

Commodities are the raw ingredients or components of almost everything we consume or use in our everyday life. Some of the most common commodities are corn, wheat, gold, silver, copper, oil, gas, cattle, sugar, coffee and cotton. They are uniform in quality between companies that produce and sell them. Typically, you can’t tell the difference between one firm’s product and another. When considering ergonomics in this context, as a commodity, it removes the specialty expertise it takes to perform it and makes it more common place, able to be done by everyone in the same way.