Prevention in the office

Dhe risk of having an accident in an office environment is greatly underestimated. In reality, more than half of all recognized occupational accidents occur in service companies. One third of these are trip and fall accidents. In addition, around 1.6 million working days are lost in Switzerland each year due to musculoskeletal disorders alone. The majority of the costs are borne by the companies: A lost working day costs them an average of CHF 600.

EKAS offers support

The "Prevention in the office" campaign of the Federal Coordination Commission for Occupational Safety FCOS draws attention to the often underestimated risks in companies in the service sector with office workplaces. To this end, the EKAS Box (www.ekas-box.ch), the EKAS prevention tool, invites visitors on an informative tour of various office situations and offers managers and employees practical tips in an entertaining way.

With the topics "Ergonomic working", "Accident prevention", "Office equipment" and "Office planning", the EKAS box was successfully launched in 2012 and this

Highly acclaimed campaign

The new content is based on feedback from EKAS users. With the new content, the FCOS is taking on board feedback from FCOS Box users and is also basing its work on the facts: one third of all occupational accidents in the service sector are trip and fall accidents. A new chapter on building maintenance provides information on how to ensure greater safety in office buildings with regard to doors, stairs, floors, escape routes and cleaning. An excursus on "Trips and Falls" completes the chapter and draws attention to tripping hazards in the office such as carelessly placed work folders and waste paper baskets or laptop cables lying around. Muscle and joint pain also frequently lead to absences from work. The excursus on "Ergonomic aids" offers practical tips on how to protect the joints with a palm rest, for example, or how to relieve the neck with a document rest by positioning it between the screen and the keyboard. In this way, the keyboard, document and screen are all in the same line of vision. The neck is spared constant twisting and nodding, which can lead to tension.

Stress as a new topic in the EKAS box

Two other new chapters, "Work organization" and "Self-management", focus mainly on stress, an issue of concern to more and more service companies. According to a SECO study from 2010, it has been proven that stress causes annual costs of CHF 4.2 billion in Switzerland. The behaviour of managers has a great influence on productivity, but also on the working atmosphere in the office and thus also on the health of employees. The new chapter provides suggestions and tips on how pressure and stress situations as well as health complaints can be avoided as far as possible and what role managers can play in this. For example, words of praise from superiors often have a positive effect on work motivation. A regular review of skills and requirements can also be useful in avoiding stress.

But employees can contribute just as much. The chapter on self-organisation shows how important variety is during work. Alternating between routine work and mental work keeps concentration high and

Leadership and stress

has a less tiring effect. In addition, sufficient exercise is helpful in preventing tension - for example, making a phone call while standing up or taking a few steps outdoors over lunch.

International recognition

Since its launch in 2012, around 40,000 visitors have obtained practical information on the virtual

Office tour. And there are more every day. The EKAS Box is also gaining international recognition. At the 2013 Regional Social Security Forum for Europe, the ISSA (International Social Security Association) jury awarded the EKAS a "Certificate of Merit" for the EKAS Box, an award for good practice. A visit to the EKAS Box is now doubly worthwhile. In addition to practical tips on occupational health and safety, it offers the opportunity to win attractive prizes by taking part in the competition, which runs until the end of December 2013. To ensure that as many companies and employees as possible can benefit from the tips for better occupational safety and health protection, the FCOS is calling on managers to draw attention to the FCOS box and other prevention tools in their companies with the "Prevention in the office" campaign.