Efficiency through ergonomics

In addition to a pleasant working atmosphere, well-being includes above all an ergonomic and well thought-out design.
• Back and neck pain are the most common workplace complaints
• Your well-being can be increased by making some simple adjustments
• The use of monitor mounts makes it easy to create an ergonomic workplace and alleviate pain

How is your health at work?

Let’s talk honestly. Do you too struggle with back and neck pain at work? If you’re a full-time office employee, you most likely spend around 1,700 hours a year sitting at your desk. It’s also not surprising that, according to a current health report from the German health insurer DAK, muscular and skeletal problems account for around a quarter of sick days taken in Germany – and that number is rising. According to the study, the most common complaints are back and neck pain caused by incorrect sitting posture.

One of the most crucial adjustments that can help fix these issues is the ergonomic design of your desk-based workplace. Important adjustments that can be made to optimise your workplace include height-adjustable desks and ergonomic office chairs as well as smaller aids used on and around the desk. As an expert for workplace equipment, Durable will be pleased to help you and can provide a checklist for the perfect workplace.

What can you do to increase your well-being in the office?

First of all, think about your working environment. Question what you have and what you can actively change. Find the perfect light, file your documents in a drawer box and arrange everything you need on your desk in the perfect place. Setting up your workplace ergonomically is essential for optimising your working life and thus improving your quality of life by alleviating neck and back pain.

1. Work under correct lighht conditions that can be tailored specifially to you.

Of course, from an evolutionary point of view, daylight is best suited to maximising your well-being [Study by Sleep Medicine Center Charité Berlin]. But what about full-time office employees who just don’t get outside enough due to their jobs? For all such people and also for those who appreciate good working light, daylight lamps are the perfect choice. The ideal solution is a lamp that can be adapted to suit the individual with adjustable light intensities and colour temperatures. This is possible thanks to modern LED lamps with the necessary electronics.

2. Ventilation and room temperature can also affect well-beeing.

Offices should be aired regularly; it shouldn’t be too warm, too cold or too dry. Warm, stuffy air can make you tired and reduce productivity. The ideal room temperature is between 17 and 20°C.

3. Carry out your work as quietly as possible.

According to the Federal Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, the noise level in offices should be between 55 and 70 db. This level is can be easily exceeded by the noise from conversations, telephone calls, computers, printers and air conditioning. These disturbing noises can make it hard to concentrate, which leads to lower performance. As the architecture for offices is usually predefined, a good acoustic environment can only be fitted retrospectively. Therefore, the use of sound-absorbing acoustic walls or corresponding materials for floors and ceilings is recommended. Furniture and plants can also improve room acoustics.

4. Check and improve your workplace ergonomics.

Of course, there are legal standards and regulations in place for standard-compliant desk workplaces in Germany. For offices, the Measures for the Design of DSE Workstations apply. This type of workplace includes a desk, office chair and appropriate working aids such as computer, mouse, keyboard, printer and monitor.

Here are the most important aspects for choosing ergonomically correct working equipment:

The computer should be quiet.
There are many types of ergonomic mouses to choose from depending on the type of complaint in the lower arm, wrist, fingers or neck.
Modern, ergonomic keyboards feature split and domed layouts. The ideal position of the keyboard should ensure that the lower arms are at right angles with the upper arms and are lying on the desk so as to relieve strain on the wrists. Additional keyboard and mouse accessories for creating an ergonomic workplace include wrist supports and ergonomic mouse pads.
An important component of an ergonomic workplace is the monitor. Both its height and tilt angle should be easily adjustable to suit the individual. It is important that the user can see both the upper and lower edge of the screen at the same time. The ideal solution comes in the form of monitor mounts with flexible arms, that can be attached to the tabletop. As well as individual adjustability, staff also gain a lot more space on their desks. Furthermore, these flexible mounts allow the monitors to be adjusted to the ideal viewing distance of approximately an arm’s length. Good monitor mounts can hold monitors with a minimum diagonal of 24″ (for text work) and a maximum diagonal of 27″ (for graphic designers). Sustainable monitor mounts are made from recyclable materials such as aluminium [aluminium container page]. Although this makes the manufacturing process more complex, it does ensure an extremely long service life and is 100% recyclable.

The new monitor mounts from DURABLE fulfil all these requirements.

Now it’s your turn: Check your workplace. Can you reach all the things you need without having to stretch too far? If yes, then congratulations! If not, then it’s time to invest in a more ergonomic workplace. After all, you sit at your desk for around 70 days a year.

Are there more ways to incorporate ergonomics more easily into your daily life?

Ergonomics is not limited to being a functional approach to designing workplaces; instead, it should be seen as a philosophy of life for particularly high efficiency. For the sake of your health, a behavioural change is required. Don’t just react to back and neck pain – be active in fighting them instead. Let us help you with our short guide to ergonomics:

Take the stairs instead of the lift or the escalator.
Use every opportunity to stand up and walk a few steps, for example, by placing your printer on another table and going to talk to your colleges in person rather than calling them.
Stretch every so often – you can find lots of back and neck exercises online.
Move your feet while you’re sitting at your desk.
Take a short walk during your lunch break and boost your oxygen levels.
Speaking of oxygen, be sure to air your office regularly.
If you don’t have time for a walk during your lunch break, park your car as far away from the entrance as possible or – even better – cycle or walk to work if it’s doable.

§ The law on ergonomics

Act on the Implementation of Measures of Occupational Safety and Health to Encourage Improvements in the Safety and Health Protection of Workers at Work (ArbSchG): This law stipulates how occupational safety measures are to be implemented, guaranteed and improved.

Ordinance on Workplaces (ArbStättV): The Ordinance on Workplaces tipulates in detail how a workplace should be set up. The most important points are: Appendix 6, Measures for the Design of DSE Workstations, Section 3, Risk Assessment, Section 3a, Setting up and Operating Workplaces, Section 4, Special Requirements for the Operation of Workplaces, Section 5, Protection of Non-Smokers and Section 6, Instructions for Workers.

DIN EN ISO 10075: This standardapplies internationally and shows the ergonomic principles regarding mental workload and stress in detail.

DIN EN ISO 9241: This standard is known as the “human-computer interaction” standard. It regulates the ergonomic requirements for office work with visual display terminals.

If you have any questions relating to ergonomics including its design and implementation, please request a confidential meeting with your occupational health professional, safety representative or a certified ergonomics consultant.