Do not be stingy in the wrong place
The workplace - whether office or home office - should be set up in such a way that, as far as possible, no physical damage is caused. A look at the optimally designed home office.
© Depositphotos, dmytrenko.fsk
If you ask around among your friends or colleagues at work, you'll see that both men and women are experiencing pain in their backs, necks, shoulders, wrists, etc. after the pandemic-induced retreat to the home office. That this is the case is confirmed by an insurance company whose home office employees are increasingly complaining of physical complaints. A consequence of lack of exercise and poor ergonomic equipment at home? That's why it's important to get rid of improvised furniture, because working from home will not disappear completely even after the pandemic. In addition: regular exercise can provide relief from pain (1).
A few tips
The more ergonomically equipped the VDU workplace (2/3), the lower the health risk. According to Suva, the right hardware (desk, chair, etc.) for good posture (4) and optimised lighting conditions as well as good work organisation are key. Environment: Even in a home office, it should be possible to work undisturbed. Furthermore, the monitor should be placed in such a way that it is not disturbed by reflections and glare. The light should come in from the side.
Work chair and table: One of the two should be adjustable in height, because the elbow height must roughly correspond to the table height. Before equipping your home office with the next best piece of furniture, it is worth taking a look at the Suva checklist "Purchasing furniture and accessories for VDU work"(5).
Resources: Laptop or notebook are handy devices. But for longer periods of work in the home office or elsewhere, they need to be supplemented (3a, PDF from p. 16): mouse and external keyboard, external screen (if the laptop screen is small) and notebook stand to raise the laptop about 5 cm at the back.
Relaxed working: Arrange the screen, computer, keyboard and paper accordingly. The distance between eyes and screen should be about an arm's length. From 21-inch screen (diagonal of 53 cm) a little more.
Exercises and information material
(1) "Frequent sitters" are recommended by Suva to take regular exercise breaks of 2 and 15 seconds. Click here for the video (or PDF download) for exercises: https://bit.ly/3zR6wiR
(2) The short video shows how you should set up your home office. www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbV5dGvJWyo
(3 ) 'Ergonomics at the VDU workstation: Setting up the workstation', Suva-Infos: https://bit.ly/2T2RcPm
(3a) "VDU work: important information for your well-being. What to look for when setting up." Download PDF www.suva.ch/44034.don the screen.
(4) "Working at the screen. Relaxed instead of tense - the tips." www.suva.ch/84021.d
(5) Checklist for purchasing furniture and accessories for VDU work: www.suva.ch/67050.d
(6) Platform of the Federal Coordination Commission for Occupational Safety (EKAS) on prevention in the office (EKAS box). "Sitting at work", download at https://bit.ly/3wW0XxE
(7) Checklist for lighting in workplaces: wwww.suva.ch/67051.d
