The
future of work became a prominent discussion item in global occupational health
and safety conversations in the latter part of last millennium. Predictions on
the new kinds of work and changes in employment patterns were projected to 2030,
but, little did we know that the COVID-19 pandemic would come and force remote
working on the global working population. While lockdowns have relaxed in most
countries of the world, working from home seems is a working pattern that seems
to have come to stay. According to the 2021 Buffer study on the state of remote
work, 99% of the participants stated that they would prefer to work remotely,
at least some of the time, for the rest of their careers.1 A BBC
report stated that 50 of the biggest UK employees said they have no plans of
returning all of their employees to full time office work in the near future.2
Some organizations are calling for 100% remote work, without physical office
work whatsoever.
Remote
work has become a legacy of the COVID-19 pandemic. Before the compulsory
lockdowns, most organizations had no plan for remote work and, initially, many employees
struggled adjust to working from home - and many are still struggling to date.
The transition was abrupt, with little opportunities for adequate education and
training on safe and healthy remote working, and to make provisions for
adequately-equipped home offices. This has resulted in workers developing back pain that are linked to
poor remote working conditions. The growing burden of mental health issues,
increased sedentary behaviors and poor ergonomics conditions are concerns in
working populations globally. Conversations in Nigerian organisations have
revealed that there have been several discussions and engagements with
employees on mental health issues and sedentary behaviors but little has been
done on training and awareness on how to the management ergonomics conditions
while employees work from home. Increases in employee hospital visits due pain
in the lower and upper back, neck, wrist and eyes have been observed.3
We also made similar observations
in Nigerian organizations. Pain management is a delicate issue that is
better prevented than managed. Pain is linked to insomnia and this also has a
high potential to negatively impact employees’ productivity if not controlled.4
There
are still a number of struggles in understanding the true meaning of ergonomics.
Some people see it as provision of adjustable seats, desks or workstations but
the truth is that one can have these adjustable work tools and still suffer
from ergonomics conditions. In 1949, K.F.H Murrell coined the word ergonomics from
two Greek words - “ergon” meaning work and “nomo” meaning law. It is the law of
work.4 According to the International Ergonomics Association, it as the
scientific understanding of the interactions amongst human and other elements
of a system.5 It is not the sophistication of the work tools that matter but
the way in which they adjustably fit or compatibly align with the physical body
structure of the user. Office workstations can be occupational hazards worsened
by lack of ergonomics planning when working from home.
From
the interactions with employees from different organisations, we have realised that
in spite of the sudden relocation of work from the office to home, some
organizations have made impressive provisions to cushion to potential ergonomics
risks. Some have allowed their employees to buy adjustable seats and desks and reimbursed
them while other have allowed employees to relocate their work desks and seats to
their homes. Many employees have been left to work from makeshift workstations
and desks, coffee seats, sofas, kitchen seats, and beds. This was alluded to in
the recent report from BUPA which stated that over 11 million Brits are now in
pain from working from home and only 32% of them have dedicated workplaces in
their homes. 6 At the start of the pandemic, no one knew how the long lockdowns
would last, so these inappropriate work tools were manageable while within
acute stage. However, over the time workers started reporting ergonomics
illnesses and disabilities.
It
is reported that four in five workers who started working remotely during the lockdowns
have developed some form of musculoskeletal disorders. 7 The report placed low
back pain at 50%, neck pain at 36%, shoulder pain at 28% of harm to employees
while 46% of the employees said they have been taking painkillers more often
than they would like to. These outcomes are indicative of poor body postures
while using wrong sets of work tools. In the future, this may be a constant issue;
hence, the need to start addressing it from both national and enterprise levels.
Modern
workplaces and work processes are characterised by all kinds of devices and
every new technological device comes with its own set of risks. Most of these
devices, including laptops were not designed with ergonomics in mind and the
safety and wellbeing of the users were not adequately considered. So when using
these devices, we need to keep an open mind and think of ways to use them safely.
With more than four billion people accessing the internet via smart devices for
both work and leisure purposes, there is an urgent need to acknowledge that
these have a high potential for illnesses that did not exist two decades ago. 8
While work with these devices, the body is placed in awkward postures, hunching
or tilting the head downwards, which places an increased load on our vertebral
column.
The
average human head weighs four to six kilograms - this is a load on its own and
correct placement reduces upper back pain. 9 When we tilt our heads forward by
15 degrees, the load placed on the vertebral column increases by 13.5 kg and
this further increases to 25 kg if the heads is tilted by 45 degrees. 10 One of
the main laws in ergonomics management is proper body positioning of the neck
and head, and adoption of a neutral body posture. This is achieved through the
correct use of adjustable work tools, especially the remote work space.
Risk
exposure is always measured by duration and frequency of exposure. While remote
working has created a very blurred line between our private time and work time,
it is important to keep in mind the need to take intermittent breaks. We need resist
the temptation to be glued to our laptops all day by being intentional and
personalizing our health and wellbeing. We need to take regular breaks, where
we get off our seats stretch out, walk around gaze at some distance for a
while, to relax the tensed muscles in our limbs and eyes. The body adjusts to bad
postures developed through prolonged sitting. Such postures can become “normal”
to the body making the regaining of normal postures increasingly difficult, as the
correct position is deleted from muscle memory and replaced with the new one. This
increases the tensions on our back, neck and shoulder muscles and bones which,
in turn, brings about irreversible changes in the skeletal structure. We should
not trivialize awkward body posture or poor ergonomics conditions as they can lead
to irreparable damage. 11
Employers
are beginning to analyse and use their data to create smart interventions for
their workplaces. But where do we really begin our interventions from? There is
no one-style-fits-all approach to this. Employers need to listen to their
employees to understand the size of their concerns and where the risk lies. A
starting point is Remote Work Risk Communication. We might have missed this at
the start of the lockdowns but this should be part of continuous and daily
communication with employees. Employees need to be heard in order identify areas
where they need support. The need to profile employees is also a very key
aspect we must consider, this will help identify the employees with existing
ergonomics conditions who the organization may have even catered for already by
getting them seats and desk that ameliorated those concerns. Such employees
have been working from home for over a year now while their seats remain unused
in the office. Companies should consider allowing such employees to take those
seats home to set up their home offices. Continuous training on how to adjust
work tools is also very important. This could be done weekly for five minutes
during our meetings.
There
is a popular concept for ergonomics management called “NEW”:
N –
neutral Posture: It is expected that this posture is maintained while
sitting or standing. It keeps the pelvic out of awkward positioning to avoid
pain.
E –
ye and Elbow Height: Whatever type of desks or seats are used, ensure the
keyboard (ASDF home row) is well positioned at elbow level while the top of
monitor should be at, or slightly below eye level. This prevents tilting of
head or hunching over the monitor which are sources of body pain.
W-ork
Area: Creating both
primary and secondary work zones. The areas within your table where your hands
can reach without difficulties are your primary areas and the materials
frequently used should be kept within those areas. Secondary work zones are
areas within the outstretched arms where materials that are not frequently used
can be placed. 12
While
some employees may have decent ergonomics seats for work at home, others
improvise by creating lasting ergonomics comfort with their existing seats.
Placing a thin pillow on your seat can make an ordinary chair much more
comfortable, with the pillow offering lumber support to the spine. Many
household items can be used for work comfort, for example, putting a firm
cushion or a tightly folded towel under the buttocks will raise the hips and
increase the curve of your spine, making sitting more comfortable.
The
20:20:20 rule is also very good for control of eye strain. Learn to take micro
breaks of 20 seconds in every 20 minutes and stare at things that are at least
20 feet away. This helps reduce eye muscle tension. The need to take
intermittent “stretch breaks” within work is crucial, you use this to create
changes in body postures and also stretch out. You need to incorporate this
into your daily work plan and where possible, set reminders on your phones.
Placing your printer in another room entirely is also helpful, this makes you
to leave the seat for micro breaks to collect printing.
We
must learn to place our work equipment properly in improving awkward body
positioning and one of such critical tip
is ensuring monitors are places 20 – 40 inches (above and arm’s length) away
from the eyes. The monitor’s distance should be about 20 inches away when using
small screens and even further away as the screen size gets larger. A lap top
stand is very useful in proper monitor alignment. If the feet are not rested
properly on the floor once the seat’s height has been properly adjusted, you
may also need a foot rest to allow your hip bone sit properly and this will
help avoid the pain that will come from this part of the body. If you have no
foot rest readily available, you can always improvise by placing cartons, piles
of books or stacks of clothes under your feet.
There
are other smart prevention exercises that also help. These include:
Eye rolling and eye
rest: Close your
eyes and roll your eyes clockwise all the ways round for three times and you
repeat the same process anti clockwise for another three times. Just like the
20:20:20 rule, this helps in the release of the tensed muscles in the eyes.
Warm-up: You drop your head gently to your
chest while breathing in and slowly roll your head up to your left shoulder,
then while breathing out slowly, roll your head back to center. You repeat this
to the right and three times on each side with do. This helps relax the tensed
muscles within your neck and aids flexibility in movement of the head.
Head tilt: Maintain a neutral position and tuck
in your chin, slowly tip your head to the left hand then return to the centre,
then tip to your right and return to the vents. This should be repeated three
times on each side.
Head turn: In a neutral position, slowly turn
your head and look over your left shoulder, hold for a few seconds, go back to
the center and then repeat to the right. You can repeat this three times in
each side.
In
doing these, it gives you another opportunity for micro breaks and helps
release tensions from those parts of your body as necks, shoulder, eyes, back
and many others where you have heavy burden of ergonomics-related conditions.
Work
life is only for a season but your life must continue even after work, while we
are all busy in our different job roles today, let us keep in mind that any
harm to our bodies will have consequences in the future. The cumulative effects of poor ergonomics
behaviors should be duly considered while remote working continues. We must
continue with ergonomics education on remote working and organisations must
endeavour to offer all needed administrative support to ensure that employees
remain well and productive.
References
1. Buffer. State of
Remote Work; 2021. Available from: https://buffer.com/state-of-remote-work-2019
(accessed 26 March 2021).
2. Jack.
No plan for a return to the office for millions of staff; 2020, BBC News.
Available from: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-53901310 (accessed 26 March 2021).
3. BUPA. Hurting from Home: 11 Million Home Workers in Pain
(accessed 14th May, 2020). https://www.bupa.com/newsroom/news/hurting-from-home
4. Oliver, R. L, Taylor, A. and Oliver,
R. (2017). Chronic Insomnia and Pain. Practical Pain Management Journal https://www.practicalpainmanagement.com/pain/other/co-morbidities/chronic-insomnia-pain
5 . OSHWIKI. Ergonomics (21st
Sept. 2017). https://oshwiki.eu/wiki/Ergonomics
6.
BUPA. Hurting from Home: 11 Million Home Workers in Pain
(accessed 14th May, 2020).
https://www.bupa.com/newsroom/news/hurting-from-home
7. Webber, A. (2020). Working from home: Four in five develop
musculoskeletal disorders pain. Personnel Today. https://www.personneltoday.com/hr/working-from-home-four-in-five-develop-musculoskeletal-pain/
8. Statista. Global Digital Population (accessed Jan. 2021) https://www.statista.com/statistics/617136/digital-population-worldwide/
9. Tallinn University. Kristi Pedak-Who is Homo Computerus? (accessed 15th
April, 2016) https://www.tlu.ee/en/news/kristi-pedak-who-homo-computerus
10. Tallinn University. Kristi Pedak-Who is Homo
Computerus? (accessed 15th April, 2016) https://www.tlu.ee/en/news/kristi-pedak-who-homo-computerus
11. National Research Council
(US) and Institute of Medicine (US) Panel on Musculoskeletal Disorders and the
Workplace. Musculoskeletal Disorders and the Workplace: Low Back and Upper
Extremities. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2001. 8,
Interventions in the Workplace. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK222447/
11. Jaffar, N., Abdul-Tharin, A.H., Mohd-Kamar,
I.F. and Lop, N.S (2011). A Literature Review of Ergonomics and Risk Factors in
Construction Industries. Elsevier Ltd. Open Access under CCBY-NC-ND license. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877705811029511
12. Davincenzo, K. How Reach Zones Help Manufacturing
Employees Lead Safer Lives (accessed 21st Nov. 2018) https://www.work-fit.com/blog/how-reach-zones-help-manufacturing-employees-lead-safer-lives
