KEY POINTS:
The twenty-first century has seen a major trend towards work-life balance. Employers have become more flexible about working hours and place of work, freeing up employees to spend more time with their family. But as we gaily plonk the laptop down on the diningroom table and get stuck into our latest project, we could be doing ourselves more harm than good.
It's obvious - the way we sit when we work has a bearing on the way our body will feel. Most of us are quite in tune with this within an office context, and employers are getting better at providing the right equipment.
And yet, when it comes to working from home, many of us use a diningroom chair and table, or cram ourselves into a tiny workstation. It is no wonder that ACC's Lorraine Gardner Wood says, "people who work from home are probably more at risk from pain, discomfort and injury than those in an office".
"They often have home furniture and a small computer desk to work with," she explains, adding that a lot of workplaces forget that if working from home is in the employee's contract, the employer is also responsible for their home workstation.
"We do know that a lot of people are reporting pain and discomfort to their GPs and employers," says Gardner Wood, who is an ACC programme manager for Workplace Injury Prevention. This reported discomfort and pain, if left unaddressed, could lead to injury, perhaps in the form of a gradual process injury, GPI (previously referred to as Occupational Overuse Syndrome or OOS).
Discomfort, pain and injury (DPI) can be caused by a range of factors, from individual issues, psychosocial reasons, task invariability and work organisation, to load and forced movements, environmental issues, and workplace layout/awkward postures.
Usually DPI is caused by a combination of all the factors; however the easiest ones to deal with are often those of workplace layout and awkward postures.
In the case of poor workplace layout and awkward postures, the pain comes from excessive strain on frequently-used muscles that can become debilitating if ignored. The most comfortable position for our bodies is the mid point of any joint.
Non-adjustable furniture can force the body into uncomfortable positions that are held over a long period of time, putting excessive strain on muscles. By changing home furniture to adjustable office furniture, muscle stress is decreased and working comfort and productivity levels increase, helping to keep work-life balance on track.
HOME OFFICE SETUP
ACC's Lorraine Gardner Wood has five top tips on making your home office safe and comfortable:
1. Make sure you have plenty of information and advice on the best adjustments for your workstation. Try the ACC's website www.habitatwork. co.nz as a starting point - it talks you through how to set up your desk, chair and monitor heights for optimal comfort, plus much more.
2. Invest in a really good chair because it is your biggest friend (it is often the easiest way to change position regularly). You'll need one that has an adjustable height and back, and if you prefer arms, they must be able to fit under your desk.
3. If you have a laptop, an external keyboard and mouse are musts. Once you have those you can elevate the monitor to the appropriate height and push it further away for better visual comfort. A combined laptop and document stand is ideal, but the Yellow Pages can work too.
4. Ensure you have plenty of space. It's important to have an area that you can spread your work out on and a place to think clearly and freely.
5.A foot rest is great as it gives you more opportunity for changes of position, because no position is good if it is held for too long.
WORKSPACE
Once you have the basics set up, you might like to further streamline your workstation by considering some of the following:
* Right-handers could switch to left-hand mousing. This will bring the mouse closer as you don't have to reach past the number pad to use it, while freeing up your right hand for other tasks. To do this, use a symmetrical mouse and switch the buttons so your index finger is still the main selector (Go to 'mouse' under 'control panel' and select 'left-handed'. You can also slow down the click speed while you are getting used to it.)
* If you are not a touch-typist, try bringing your monitor lower so that you can look between keyboard and monitor more easily.
* Likewise, if you wear bifocals, try dropping your computer screen lower so you are not craning your neck to see through your lenses.
* Touch-typists (or those who regularly use the same fingers to hit the same keys) may find an 'ergonomic' keyboard with a split keypad a comfortable addition to the setup.
* Place your printer away from your work area, as it is noisy and the short walk to collect printed material will give your body a much-needed break.
* Don't forget that you need to adjust the height of your chair to suit the task: higher for typing and computer based work and lower for reading and writing tasks.
