Worksite International Blog

Are You Living the Ergonomic Lifestyle?

Working from home can be hard on your mind and body. Prolonged, uninterrupted sitting for hours at the computer or laptop in all the wrong places takes its toll on you!

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 Ergonomist was born! I'm the Home Ergonomist, aka Alison Heller-Ono PT, MSPT, CPE!

Studies have shown time and again that good ergonomics in the workplace produces happy, healthy, and productive employees. Many business leaders have thus invested time and money to create an ergonomic office and reap its benefits. But now that the current health crisis has pushed a huge part of the workforce into remote working arrangements, what can managers do to make sure their teams will practice good ergonomics at home? In this post, we’ll take a look at why ergonomics matters and how remote workers can achieve it.

The pandemic in America has deeply changed our work lives  Unfortunately, many people have become unemployed, others work tirelessly as they are essential to our daily lives. For those who are fortunate enough to continue to work most likely do so from home. 

COVID-19 has caused a significant and rapid paradigm shift which has resulted in rapid innovation and change in how we work, how we communicate and how we learn. It has thrust e-Learning into the forefront. 

This especially applies for remote workers. For this reason, e-Learning home-office ergonomics is an essential component of onboarding remote workers and training current workers! 

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.

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?

I've come to the conclusion, it's not so easy working from home. We just aren't used to being home 24/7. Maybe you found it to be kind of boring, too?  There are only so many times you can walk between the kitchen, living room, bathroom,  bedroom and back to the kitchen! 

Now more than ever we need a home office survival guide! Working from home is not easy. It may sound like a luxury to some, but now it is a reality for many of us. If you don't have a designated office space at home, it can be a challenge. Especially with kids running around, your spouse, the dog barking and numerous other distractions. 

Where ever you settle into, make sure you follow these simple do's and don'ts along with the five steps to setting up your workstation at home. While you are protecting yourself from contracting COVID19, you also want to avoid the common ailments associated with sitting at the computer all day. Back pain, neck tension, wrist and hand soreness can all occur at home just as easily as at work.

The New Normal, At Least For Now

It's hard to say how long the COVID-19 virus will continue to change how we do business and interact. With the shutdown of significant sporting events, university closures, lights out on Broadway, and even the closure of Disneyland, we all need to batten down, at least for now. The economy is so hard hit in just a few weeks; it's like it has the Coronavirus.

This global pandemic has made it certain government is vital in managing public health. What is unclear is why some countries have responded well, and others are in chaos. It comes down to leadership, preparedness, readiness, and a systems approach-all vital components of organizational ergonomics and human factors.