How To Protect Employee’s Posture At Work
If you’re preparing the office ready for your team to return to work, this could be the ideal time to improve your set-up. If people spend most of the day at a desk, it can do bad things to their posture. If they’re finishing the workday with a bad back from the wrong chair, stiff shoulders from hunching over a keyboard, or wrist strain from a badly positioned keyboard, they can do real damage. Help your team to protect their posture as they work.
Invest in a desk chair that offers proper support.
It should be the right height for their feet to be flat on the floor, while still being able to look directly at their monitor. Choose chairs that offer lower back support and are comfortable to sit in for long periods.
Make sure people are maintaining a neutral position as they work.
The computer screen ought to be at eye level, so they are able to work without angling their head downwards.
Encourage your team to pull their shoulders back and keep their back flat against their chair. Their feet ought to be placed flat on the ground, without crossing their legs or ankles. Offer additional lumbar support tools to keep their backs straight without slouching.
Encourage regular movement.
To prevent stiffness, allow people to take regular movement breaks. After every half an hour or so, people should get up and move around, even if only to go and make a drink. A brisk walk helps too, even if it’s only around the room.
Allow and encourage a proper lunch break so people can leave their desks, and consider offering a sit stand desk, so people aren’t sitting all day.
Set up desks to promote good posture.
The things that people use most should be within arm’s reach to avoid awkward stretching. Make sure people have plenty of room under the desk for their feet to prevent sitting at awkward angles.
It can take a while to train the body to stay in the best position for good posture, so invest in some ergonomic supports to make this easier. As well as the right chair, you can make it easier to sit in a neutral position with a footstool under the desk. Lift the monitor to the right height with a stand, and adjust keyboards to a comfortable position.
As an employer, it is part of your responsibility to make sure your employees have all the equipment and set-up that they need in order to work comfortably and safely.
Train all new starters on ergonomic desk set-up so they know how to make the most of what you have provided. Allocate budget to allow people to request extra items that they might need, like laptop stands, lumbar supports, footstools or other items. Make sure people know that they can ask for these items without being seen as a nuisance.
If people are comfortable, they will be more productive, so caring for posture benefits you as an employer too.
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