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Research has shown that an estimated 13.4 million working days a year are lost in the UK due to stress, anxiety and depression. A further 12.3 million days are lost to back and upper limb disorders (ULDs). As a result, UK industry is facing bills of over £11.5bn/year in wages to absent employees, additional overtime needs and temporary staff cover.
Tackling these issues is not always going to be simple but one way to give your staff the best chance of good health and support at work is to undertake a review of their workstation set up and how they use their office equipment. A poor ergonomic setup can result in back-pain, migraines, a reduction in eyesight, muscle stiffness or Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI), which is often associated with improper keyboard or mouse use causing body strain and, eventually, injury.
An analysis of posture in the workplace, workstation set-up and office ergonomics can identify where and how any potential stress points may be threatening. It may be that some re-organisation of the desk layout in relation to posture and keyboard usage is enough to make a significant difference to pressure points.
Advice on muscle exercises and regular light stretching breaks which can be done throughout the day also reduces the chance of office pains and injury. Individuals with a limited range of muscle motion, are generally more susceptible to RSI and other ULDs where regular light stretching can make a lasting impact. For example, staff may be encouraged to use these short breaks to do some brief exercises to include wrist rotations, opening & closing hands, rolling their shoulders and moving their head from side to side.
Finally, you will want to make sure that your Management is educated on symptoms and possible causes of office injury in order to identify problems at the earliest stage. Monitoring well-being in the office (ie. through regular blood pressure testing) can provide good indications of office stress levels. Once you have decided to invest this time in your staff, make sure your office assessment is carried out by a fully qualified Display Screen Equipment (DSE) assessor.
Taylor-Made Physiques Qualified Display Screen Assessors
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