Whether your workstation is at the office or at home, it is essential to ensure that you follow the correct workplace ergonomics to avoid fatigue and injuries. Most office workers spend up to eight hours or more sitting behind a desk every day of their lives. Prolonged sitting can cause back and spinal problems that can easily be avoided by following proper ergonomics.
What Causes Work Place Fatigue?
Poor design and incorrect posture in the work place can cause workplace fatigue. The following practices can cause work place fatigue:
Sitting with your legs hanging above the ground
Sitting without an armrest
Sitting with your head bent over
Sitting with the monitor too close to your face
Working on a screen with a glare
Sitting on a seat that is too small
Slouching which working
Craning your neck while working
Overextending your arms while working
Not giving your eyes frequent breaks in between working
Not taking breaks from sitting for extended hours
It is important to ensure that you are careful and look after the above practices if you want to avoid suffering from fatigue, exertion, postural and spinal problems, and injuries. Invest in ergonomic office furniture and equipment to ensure that you look after your health completely, as well as boost productivity and enhance your energy during work.
How Can You Avoid Workplace Fatigue?
Sitting behind a desk for up to eight hours or more every single day is bound to start causing health problems. Most people are not even aware of the correct sitting posture, which can cause serious damage to their spinal cord and back due to sitting in incorrect postures. Here are some important points to remember to avoid workplace fatigue:
Be Aware Of Your Posture
The way you carry your body is your posture. The way you sit, stand, walk, bend, move and sleep are all different postures that your body assumes. It is vital to ensure that you are aware of your posture and maintain it in the correct position at all times. The correct sitting posture is:
Sit with your legs bent at right angles and not less or more
Your feet should be resting flat and firm on the ground
Your feet should not be hanging above the ground
Your lower body and thighs should be completely resting and supported by your seat
Your back and spine should be adequately supported by a backrest and lumbar support
Your arms should be resting by your side or bent at right angles and resting on the armrest or a table
Sit With An Arm Rest
If you are working at a desk and your tasks include typing on the keyboard or using a mouse, it is important to make sure that you have armrests on your chair to rest your elbows and forearms. This supports the weight of your arms and avoids putting strain on your neck and shoulders.
Minimize Eye Strain
Eye strain presents in the following ways:
Pain when moving the eyeballs
Itchiness in the eyes
Redness in the eyes
Watery eyes
Discomfort in or around the eyes
Here are some ways that you can prevent or avoid eye strain:
The monitor screen should be placed directly in front of you at eye level, so you do not have to bend your head or crane your neck
The monitor should not be placed in front of a window or bright light to control glare on the screen
The monitor should not be placed too close to your eyes and should be at least an arm's length away
It would be best if you made it a habit to rest your eyes after every 20 minutes and look at something in the distance or something green to make your eyes feel refreshed and less tired.
Watch Your Head Position
Try to keep your head directly over your neck to put the least amount of strain on it. Bending your head down or craning it forward are ways excessive strain is put on your neck and shoulders.
Take Breaks From Sitting
Ergonomics is the study of people in the workplace. It aims to develop ways to reduce stress and strain on the body and minimize the risk of injuries to achieve maximum productivity and efficiency in the workplace.
Sitting for prolonged hours is not recommended for anyone as it can result in workplace-related fatigue and injuries. Therefore, frequent breaks from sitting can help reduce over-exertion and the risk of spinal and back problems. Standing desks are ideal for those who sit for long hours and cannot leave their workstation due to a huge amount of workload. Standing desks can move the workstation to a standing position to allow the worker to continue working while standing.
It is recommended to stand up after every 30-40 minutes and take a walk. Maybe get a drink of water or go to the restroom. You may even remain standing in your place and do a couple of stretches. All these things help break the monotony of sitting and prevent overstraining the back and spine.
Invest In An Ergonomic Standing Desk
Workplace ergonomics are extremely important, especially for those who spend most of their time working behind a desk and looking at a screen. It can be very damaging in the long term to be sitting all day long and can cause many health problems in the future. If your work requires you to sit in one place all day long, then it is essential that you pay more attention to your body and invest in good quality ergonomic office furniture.
A standing desk is a genius innovation that is great for helping people who sit for extended hours behind the desk. A standing desk is exactly the same as a regular office desk, except it has an adjustable height and can be raised to allow the person to continue working while standing up. FlexiSpot has fantastic standing desk options; you can choose one according to your preference.
Taking a break from sitting also helps to boost productivity and improve mood. Sitting in the same position for long hours can cause a person to burn out and feel lazy and drowsy, compromising their work quality. Standing makes them feel alert and energized and hence boosts productivity.
Standing while working also helps to improve circulation and is also great for lowering blood sugar levels. Taking breaks from sitting during work and standing also helps improve digestion and prevent excessive weight gain.
Invest In An Ergonomic Office Chair
An ergonomic office chair enhances productivity and reduces fatigue. It can improve your posture and minimize all sorts of postural problems you might face. An ergonomic chair has the following features:
An Adjustable Height Feature
An adjustable height feature allows the user to adjust the level of the chair according to its height. It is important that the chair height be adjusted so that your knees are not bent more than 90 degrees, and your feet are firmly planted on the ground. An adjustable height feature allows different users to use the office chair and lasts a long time.
Wide Seat Pan
The seat pan should be wide enough to allow individuals of all sizes to sit comfortably, making sure that their thighs and lower half completely rest on the seat.
Seat Fabric
The fabric of the seat must be of good quality and breathable material so that it allows air to circulate through it. Synthetic fabric does not allow air to flow within it and can cause the user to get really hot and uncomfortable.
Armrest
Armrests allow us to rest our elbows and forearms at right angles to our bodies to minimize the strain on our shoulders and neck. Extending the arms too forward can cause discomfort and pain in the neck and shoulder region as well as the lower back.
Lumbar Support
The chair should have adequate lumbar support for the correct positioning of the spine and to prevent any postural and spinal problems
Back Support
Back support is essential to provide rest to the upper, middle, and lower back as you perform your tasks while you work at your workstation.
Head And Footrest
Head and footrests are optional and may be included in the office chair for added comfort and support.
The Final Word
FlexiSpot has some fantastic options for a standing desk and office chairs as well as other ergonomic office equipment that can be used at the office as well as the home office. Switching to ergonomic furniture is definitely going to make a significant difference in your life and is worth making an effort for.
