ERGONOMICS MANAGEMENT IN REMOTE WORKING IN POST COVID ERA

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 14^th 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 (21^st Sept. 2017).   https://oshwiki.eu/wiki/Ergonomics

6.  BUPA. Hurting from Home: 11 Million Home Workers in Pain (accessed 14^th 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 15^th April, 2016) https://www.tlu.ee/en/news/kristi-pedak-who-homo-computerus

10. Tallinn University. Kristi Pedak-Who is Homo Computerus? (accessed 15^th 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 21^st Nov. 2018) https://www.work-fit.com/blog/how-reach-zones-help-manufacturing-employees-lead-safer-lives