Month: October 2018

Is your classroom ergonomical?

  Musculoskeletal disorders and back pain account for 31 million of lost working days due to absenteeism. The costs to the economy are huge and perhaps that's why prevention or intervention for these issues tends to focus on adults in the workforce rather than children. However, research shows that increasing numbers of children are experiencing neck and back pain. 72% of primary and 64% of secondary school students reported that they had experienced back pain at school. There are currently no legal regulations regarding back and postural health for students that schools are required to follow. Children spend approximately 30% of their waking hours at school and much of this time is spent seated. Freedom from back pain and good postural health has been shown to have a positive impact on concentration and the ability to learn.

Luckily, there are some simple things that you can do to care for student's musculoskeletal health

 

1. The 30:30 Rule: for every 30 minutes spent seated, encourage students to stand up, move and stretch for 30 seconds
2. Limit the amount of time that students are sat cross-legged on the floor. Try to keep this time to around 10 minutes and encourage students to sit with their legs out in front of them
3. 10% of a person's body weight is recommended as the limit of safe weight for backpacks. Try to encourage students to repack their bags each night so they only bring what they need. Alternatively, consider the provision of lockers where students can store belongings that aren't required for their next lesson.
4. Make sure everybody has a clear view of the front of the classroom, the white board and where you are standing to teach. Students should not need to twist, strain or stretch to clearly see these elements.
5. If a student is regularly hunching over their work in order to read or write, consider the quality of their eyesight and consider reporting this to their parents
6. Make sure students are active during break times
7. Provide students with specially designed ergonomic chairs suitable for their age range.
8. Lead by example. Get up and move with them and make sure that you are standing and sitting with a good posture.

Research from Westfield Health has found that almost half of employees regularly turn up to work too tired to function effectively. Despite this, 86% feel that they are not able to openly communicate with their manager about how their tiredness is affecting their performance. 34% of survey respondents said that their mental well-being has suffered because of their tiredness, whilst 55% stated that their fatigue extends beyond the office and affects their home life too. 37% state that tiredness has made them forgetful at work and 30% said it has made them short tempered with colleagues. Worryingly, 22% have found themselves actively drifting off to sleep at work and 13% have drifted off while driving. Furthermore, 30% have had an accident, made a serious mistake or felt extremely stressed at work due to fatigue. Currently, 86% of employees feel that their employers or managers do not recognise the negative impacts and dangers of fatigue and only 9% believe that their employer would find fatigue a valid reason to call in sick. Director of Well-being at Westfield Health, Richard Holmes, states that "the importance of rest time both at work and home should be taken seriously and encouraged by employers, and fatigue should be considered just as important as any other physical illness or injury".

So, what can be done?

  Try to break your work schedule down into smaller chunks. This makes larger tasks seem less overwhelming and also allows you to use the Pomodoro Technique which can help you to stay focused and less stressed. Make sure you get up to move around as much as possible throughout the day. This is good for keeping your mind alert and a gentle outdoor exercise such as a short walk during your break time is proven to have a positive impact on mental health. Try to slowly cut down on sugar and carbs and swap caffeinated drinks for herbal teas or water. This helps to keep energy levels steady throughout the day rather than providing an artificial peak caused by sugar or caffeine which results in an energy crash later in the day. Make sure your work space is set up ergonomically. A good ergonomic chair and setting your monitor screen to the correct height, as well as the addition of a footrest are all great ways to keep your body free from aches, pains and strains. An ergonomically correct posture will also keep oxygen flow and circulation at an optimum to help you to stay more alert and focused. Freedom from aches and pains helps you to feel less tired and aids in keeping added stress from pain at bay. Try to get as much rest at home as possible. Develop a good night time routine with screen time ending at least an hour before you plan to go to sleep. Also, unless it is required by your employer, do not bring your work home and don't check or respond to emails whilst out of the office. Consider taking a long weekend if you have enough holiday time to use. Regular, shorter breaks can often be better than one extended summer holiday. Try to use this time to relax and unwind as much as possible and make sure that you do not spend the time checking up on work. Finally, if you feel able to, talk to your manager or employer about how your fatigue is affecting you both personally and professionally. You may, for example, be able to reach a flexible working agreement to allow you some extra time to rest, or you oculd ask for the opportunity to start and finish earlier so that you don't spend any more time than necessary commuting.  

Do you really know what makes your staff tick?

    Research by co-working developer, Areaworks, has found that flexible and comfortable working zones are a top priority to employees. Half of the workers surveyed wanted to swap fixed desks for hot desks and casual seating. 64% of office-based respondents also stated that having access to good outdoor facilities or the ability to work on a roof terrace were important productivity and well-being factors.   Other items that made the list for dream office features included:

• Good kitchen facilities
• Plants
• Games, e.g, table tennis
• Pets
• Sleeping Pods
• Water Features

  A study conducted by Perkbox, found that Generation Z - those born between the mid-1990's and 2000 - place a high importance on perks when deciding where to work.  The research also found that 32% of Gen Z prefer smaller benefits with a higher frequency that they can benefit from year round, rather than one bigger annual event such as a Christmas party. The top 3 most popular perks were annual leave on birthdays, free hot drinks and flexible working hours. These were closely followed up by free lunches and access to private health and dental care.   Capital One recently conducted a survey of 3,500 full-time US employees. The aim of the research was to understand employee's thoughts on workplace environment and design in relation to productivity, innovation and collaboration. According to the results, many employees highly value flexibility and good office design. They also value up-to-date technology, agile work spaces and personal well-being investments. These factors were found to be particularly important when employees were considering moving to a new employer. For example, 73% of workers say that a flexible schedule is a top reason for choosing to stay with or leave an employer. When it comes to office design, 57% value natural light, 37% feel they benefit from easily reconfigurable furniture, 30% value collaborative spaces and 25% place high importance on rest and relaxation zones. 66% of workers believe that the design of the office environment is more important that it's location. When asked to choose a health and well-being benefit that they would most like to keep or see implemented, 39% of respondents cited healthy food and beverage options as an important benefit, while 33% placed a high importance on on-site health and wellness centers or programs.   Next time you're considering your staff retention rates or are trying to attract a new generation of workers, consider what it is that they value and implement as many of these factors as you can.

System management: sort, straighten, shine, standardise and sustain.

  For a lot of companies this formula equates to tidiness, efficiency and uniformity. In many institutions, this system is extremely beneficial. However, it has increasingly spilled over from operating theaters and assembly lines where it makes sense, into the office, where it doesn't. This system management does not belong in the office because it does not recognise what makes a space comfortable, inviting or pleasant, nor does it inspire or stimulate productivity.  

How does the office environment affect productivity?

  Psychologists Alex Haslam and Craig Knight from the University of Exeter, UK, conducted an experiment in order to discover how the office environment affected the volume of work that people were able to complete and how they felt about the work they were doing. They set up four simple office spaces and in each office the study group were asked to carry out basic administrative tasks such as checking documents. Each office was set up slightly differently. The first office was referred to as the "spartan office" and consisted of a clear desk, a basic swivel chair, a pencil and a piece of paper. The tidiness of the space quickly affected the study group with people stating that it felt oppressive and that they couldn't relax. The second office was slightly more enriched than the spartan office. It featured large, decorative prints on the walls and potted plants were dotted around. Participants in the study said they felt that they could relax more in the space and weren't afraid to carry out their tasks more efficiently in this office. The final two office layouts were visually laid out the same as the second, enriched office. The distinction in the case of these two offices was that the study group were allowed to decide on the appearance of the space. In the first of the final two offices, participants were invited to move the plants and the prints on the wall to areas where they liked them best; they even had the opportunity to remove them from the room should they wish. This was the most successful office in terms of productivity and satisfaction and was dubbed the "empowered office". In the last office, the group was again invited to rearrange the room and contents as they wished. However, what they didn't know was that once they had finished rearranging to their tastes, an experimenter would come and and put everything back to the way it was. This was the most hated office and named the "disempowered office". Participants were also found to be the least productive and most resentful in this office.  

What were the results?

  The empowered office saw a 30% rise in productivity compared to the spartan office and a 15% rise in productivity compared to the enriched office. Three participants in the empowered office were able to complete the same amount of work as 4 people in the spartan office. The feelings that participants had about their working environment were found to be all encompassing. If the disliked the office environment, they disliked the tasks they were asked to carry out and also the company that was hosting the office.    

Office or prison?

  Robert Sommer, a psychologist from the University of California, spent years studying and comparing "hard" and "soft" architectural spaces. Hard spaces included areas where windows would not open, lighting and air conditioning could not be adjusted or chairs were bolted to the floor. Essentially, these areas were representatives of prisons. However, these types of factors are now frequently seen in schools, public places and offices. Repeatedly, Sommer found that having scope for autonomy in choices affecting your environment, such as adding pictures to the wall, increased happiness, satisfaction and productivity.  

There's still a way to go

  Despite these studies, control over working environments by employees is still seen globally. In late 2006, HMRC staff were instructed to remove items such as photographs or momentos from their desks. At BHP Billiton in Australia, staff were trained in keeping a tidy desk by way of an 11-page manual. Examples of policies in the clear desk manual included: nothing other than computer equipment and ergonomic aids on the desk, with the addition of a single A5 photo frame. No plants. An award is allowed, but only if swapped for the photo frame. Raising awareness about both the quality of the office environment and the autonomy that staff have over their personal and shared work space is important for two reasons. One, it benefits employers in a multitude of ways - staff satisfaction increases and thus, so does staff retention and productivity. Two, it benefits the health and well being of staff which can only be a good thing for individuals and businesses alike.

Looking to buy height adjustable desks? Need some more information about the best types of sit/stand desks? Read on.

  There is plenty of information available online regarding the multitude of ways that sit/stand desks are beneficial for both staff and employers. However, there isn't much information about what the best type of height adjustable desk may be for your business. We won't cover all of the specific benefits that height adjustable desks can offer, as this information is easily found, however, we will say that keeping the body moving throughout the day is one of the best ways to improve concentration and productivity and avoid the development of musculoskeletal issues. There is a wide range of factors that need to be considered when looking to purchase height adjustable desks. These factors are often overlooked by consumers and this leads to dissatisfaction and inefficient use further down the line. It also causes many to believe that sit/stand desks are an unsustainable "fad" for the workplace. Here, we aim to help you to choose the best type of ergonomic sit/stand desk and explain why this choice is most likely to have the best impact on staff health, well being and productivity and thus, the best ROI for your business.   Manually adjustable sit/stand desks are generally operated by a crank handle. This adjustment operation is almost always slow and laborious and often people will simply just stop adjusting the desk, particularly if it is intended for use by a sole individual. In the case of electronic height adjustable desks, there are a range of factors to consider before purchase that could cause issues with usage and integration. Electronic operating motors can be noisy both when in use and when idle. A common complaint is that even when not being actively adjusted, the motor will make an annoying humming or buzzing noise which is particularly noticeable in quiet working areas of offices or in libraries. Motors also run the risk of failure. It's not common but it is a problem that can occur and if it does it has the potential to put the desk out of use until fixed. Motor failure is particulalry problematic if the failure occurs during an adjustment as the desk will end up at an awkward and unworkable height. Multiple and frequent adjustments can wear the motor out or cause it to overheat. This is a particular issue in areas where the desk is shared by multiple users or is in a more public environment. Electrical sit/stand desks will need to be placed within the vicinity of a power outlet and there is also the issue of additional cabling to address. The placement of desks that are required to have direct access to power means that re-configuring your office space becomes much harder so your layout becomes very fixed. Making the change to using a height adjustable sit/stand desk can be uncomfortable and hard to become accustomed with for new users. The change requires the user to form a habit of changing between sitting and standing regularly in order to reap the intended benefit of the desk. Having a desk that is quick and easy to adjust, will help to make the process less of a struggle and habit forming easier. As with the point above, people should neither sit all day, nor stand all day so regular adjustments throughout the day are unavoidable. If adjustments are slow, noisy or take a lot of effort, people will simply stop changing the height and the desk's function becomes obsolete, along with the business' ROI.   Transform, is the first gas assisted height adjustable desk to come to market. This simple method of adjustment - that has been implemented in chair design for decades - could actually solve many of the issues relating to the use of sit/stand desks and their effective integration into the workplace. The desk requires no electrical power and doesn't rely on a crank handle. The gas assisted adjustment is smooth, quick and requires only fingertip touch from the user. The height is set by applying a brake to keep the desktop in place. Transform boasts a 700-1500mm height range and is available in 1200, 1400 and 1600mm top lengths. Transform is a logical and practical advancement on the height adjustable desks that are currently on the market. It solves all of the problems outlined above and is a worthwhile investment for businesses who are looking to introduce sit/stand desks into their work place.