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office environment
The office environment
Health and safety at work is a huge topic - this section aims to provide some useful links to further reading and advice, as well as commonsense suggestions for employers who are looking for ways to ensure that they discharge their duty of care towards employees.
You can also find information about making the office environment suitable for the needs of all employees in our DDA access section
Some suppliers of products and services related to the office environment. If you click on a supplier's name, their page will open in a new window:
Astor Bannerman -
height-adjustable workstations and tables
Design for easier living - Verko
Keytools - ergonomic mouse
Geemarc Clearsound
- phones
The Bambach Saddle
Seat Company
Tough Furniture - height-adjustable
table
Click to go straight to more on:
Repetitive strain injury
Back care
Stress management
Repetitive strain injury (RSI)
According to the TUC, more than 330,000 people experience symptoms of RSI, and 5.4 million working days are lost due to the condition. Increasingly, keyboard use is identified as a significant cause. Help yourself to avoid it by making sure that your keyboard is at the correct working height, and taking regular breaks.
There are also products that can help.
An
ergonomic keyboard (left) looks radically different, and has many features
that reduce strain, pain and the risk of long-term damage. The keys are
tilted to minimise muscle tension, and the split design eliminates the
need to twist the wrists. Frequently used keys are positioned for use
by the thumbs, making much better use of this digit.
An
ergonomic mouse (right) positions the hand more naturally in the vertical
position, and the 'rocker-style' button on top is used easily by the thumb,
rocking downwards for a left mouse-click and upwards for a right-click.
This alternative mouse uses upper-arm movements, rather than the wrist
and lower-arm actions associated with a traditional mouse design.
Wrist
supports can be useful in maintaining the hands in a less strained position.
They can take the form of a padded support to sit in front of the keyboard or mouse mat, or padded straps to wear around the wrists (see left). The latter may also add warmth, helping to ease pain.
With 4.9 million working days lost every year due to back pain, preventing back strain and injury is a clear priority. There are some sensible precautions to take:
• Find out whether any manual handling tasks can be avoided
• Use mechanised lifting where possible, or supply manual handling
aids
• Train staff to use aids correctly and carry out any unavoidable
lifting tasks safely
You can read more about manual handling law (it will open in a new window). The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) has useful information about back care from both an employer's and employee's perspective on its website (the HSE website will open in a new window).
Apart from the risks involved in lifting and handling operations, poor seating is another common cause of back strain. Make sure that:
• Your desk/keyboard is at the right height (you should be able
to rest your arms lightly on the surface of the desk
• You can rest your feet flat on the floor, or on a footrest, so
that the weight of your legs is properly supported
• Use a chair with a proper backrest, to reduce pressure on the
lower back. A lumbar support cushion can help if your chair doesn't offer
enough support
• Get up and walk around regularly - don't spend hours glued to
your work station!
Many
individuals who suffer from back pain, find relief from one of these more
unorthodox-looking seats.
Kneeler seats such as this one, left, help to maintain correct posture, and can be adjusted to the right height for your desk or table.
Similarly, the saddle-shaped seat (right) naturally puts the pelvis into the right position to preserve the natural curve of the spine.
A
height-adjustable table, such as this one from Tough Furniture (left),
has telescopic legs which allow you to adjust its height to provide the
perfect working level for your individual needs.
For improving a less-than-ideal office chair, try a lumbar cushion to support the small of the back, or a wedge cushion, to gently tilt you forward by 11° into a more natural sitting position, where pressure on the lower back is relieved.
Work-related stress is a very hot topic for all employers, with stress being implicated in many illnesses, both major and minor, and an estimated 6 million working days being lost each year. Whilst a degree of stress (which varies from person to person) is stimulating and can be enjoyable, too much stress is debilitating and makes the individual affected unhappy and unproductive.
Excessive stress can be caused by various factors - it often builds up over time, with the sufferer becoming so used to feeling stressed that they ignore the symptoms until serious illness results.
Employers have a duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 to take action on stress; there is also a specific requirement under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992 to undertake risk assessments for potential risks including stress.
Our workshop on coping with stress will be on-line here shortly.
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