Maintaining an ergonomic office is more than just an excuse to buy cool looking furniture, it is actually the key to better health for everyone on the job.  Work environments that are not properly thought out from an ergonomic perspective have been found to cause a variety of ailments, including: carpal tunnel syndrome, eye strain, headaches and back pain.

There are a variety of ways to improve the ergonomic standing of an office, from positioning furniture correctly to improving the lighting and ventilation around the workspace.  The following are ten tips and tricks for making your office ergonomically correct - whether you’ve got one employee or one thousand.

10 Tips for maintaining an ergonomic office

1. If your feet don’t touch the floor, always use a foot rest. Providing a simple, adjustable foot rest at every workstation will help employees maintain a strong back and avoid leg cramps or stiffness.
2. Keep all PC monitors straight ahead and at eye level. If you have to crane your neck up, down or to the side in order to get a good look at your monitor, you will pay the price over time.  Keep the viewing screen level with the direct field of vision to help erase unwanted movements that can cause long-term injury.
3. Use large-barrel pens and pencils. It may sound silly, but trying to grip thin writing instruments all day can lead to cramping and even Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.  Stock your office supply cabinets with pens and pencils that sport a half-inch diameter or greater.
4. Reduce glare throughout the office. Align your desks and workstations so that the office lighting system does not emit heavy glare on computer screens.  Proper lighting is an often overlooked aspect of ergonomic design, yet can improve worker health significantly.
5. Don’t sit under a vent. Proper ventilation plays an important role in ergonomics and good health.  Never place desks or workstations directly in the path of a heating or air-conditioning ventilation system.
6. Design with good air circulation in mind. If there is an opportunity to place workstations close to a natural breeze or well-circulated area, do it!  This can improve worker health and well-being significantly.  The more fresh air that is available in the workplace, the lesser the impact of dust mites, mold and other potentially dangerous allergens.
7. Take short breaks throughout the day.  Many studies have shown that shifting position or changing tasks occasionally throughout the day will lessen the discomfort associated with repetitive tasks.  Something as simple as a two or three minute “micro-break” every hour can be a boon to the ergonomic health of the staff.
8. Exercise during your micro-breaks. Make sure that the time you spend in between tasks is put to good use with proper office exercises.  These simple stretching exercises are designed to reduce to the chance of carpal tunnel syndrome or other repetitive stress disorders.
9. Use adjustable chairs.  For individuals who work on the PC for many hours at a time, chairs with an adjustable arm rest are recommended.  Reaching for the mouse thousands of time throughout the day can cause great arm and wrist strain if the height of the chair is not properly optimized.
10. Get the proper back support for every chair. Finally, the most important element in ergonomic seating is proper back support.  It is highly recommended that you purchase only ergonomically-approved chairs for your office, or if you are on a tight budget, add back supports to existing office chairs.

Tags: Ergonomic Office, ergonomic workstation

This entry was posted on Monday, August 25th, 2008 at 6:40 pm and is filed under Ergonomic Myths, Ergonomic Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.