As an ergonomics consultant, I am often asked by customers: "How can I become more ergonomic in the office?" Working in this field, I saw all the misuse of the word "ergonomics". . Most of the time, it will show up on products that they think are "ergonomic". What does this mean?
For me, the term ergonomics means working with workers. So, back to the original question, "How can I become more ergonomic in the office?" The first step in becoming more ergonomic in the office is to identify your behavior! Try to pay attention to your day's posture. If you feel pain or discomfort, what are you doing to cause these problems? There are always root causes. If your neck hurts you, where do you go most often? Does your monitor or paper document require you to turn your neck or do you need to look down on your laptop? Maybe you notice that you have low back pain every day. Do you have to type or mouse? Is your screen too far away from your eyes, causing you to lean forward and read the text on it?
As human beings, we are very good at developing bad habits. Unfortunately, for all of us, the more we get used to these bad habits, the more we can execute them. Most of the damage I see is not caused by repetitive tasks, but by bad habits. Do you cross your legs when you are sitting? When you are sitting, do you put your wallet in your back pocket? Habits such as this can affect the position of the spine and thus its elasticity. Once you've determined your behavior, the second step in becoming more ergonomic in the office is to determine your limits!
Let us return to the example of neck pain. Maybe you have determined that your neck is hurt because you are looking down at your laptop screen all day long. The limitation here is that the screen is set at a fixed height that is too low for your viewing angle to maintain a neutral neck position. This is the foundation of ergonomics. By placing the laptop on a stand [or even a few books] and connecting an external keyboard and mouse [because your laptop keyboard is now too high], you now solve the behavior and limit your task by using the FITS solution. Even better, expensive "ergonomic products" are not always needed to solve problems.
All in all, ergonomics is no more difficult than identifying your behavior, identifying your limitations, and then proposing a solution.
Orignal From: Ergonomic office
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