We spend so much of our time at work.
And because of this, proper ergonomics are important to maintaining our health and productivity — especially when returning to work after an injury. However, it is also important to preventing overuse injuries.
If you or a member of your staff were injured (whether at work, in a car accident or out doing life) and is looking at returning to work, how do they know that they won’t get injured again or aggravate their current injury when they return? Unfortunately, there is a high chance that they may re-injure themselves or make the existing injury worse if nothing has changed.
That’s where an ergonomic assessment comes in.
What is an ergonomic assessment?
A specialist will evaluate the work environment and take into account the physical duties, posture requirements, workstation design, equipment, lighting, and even noise to determine if there are any health or injury risks. This could be from a variety of unsafe conditions or an overly stressed and strained work environment.
If individuals suffer consistent injuries such as back pain, neck pain, headaches, fatigue, shoulder pain, and wrist pain due to their work environment, then an ergonomic assessment is necessary to figure out the root cause and find solutions. These are only some of the health risks of poor ergonomics. Often these solutions can be very low cost and have dramatic results for the employee and the employer.
To keep individuals healthy when they return to work or even preventing overuse injuries in your line of work, be sure to request an ergonomic assessment of all workstations and include information on any injuries that have occurred — how they were injured and what they will require to stay safe and healthy while working.
Benefits of an ergonomic assessment
Not only does following the best-practices of ergonomics show that employers care about their staff’s well-being, but the motivation to go to work will improve and productivity will increase — and that goes for every employee.
The work environment will be much more comfortable for everyone, the company culture and morale will improve, productivity will skyrocket, and there will be fewer sick days and workplace injuries to cover.
After adjusting workstations to be more ergonomic, individuals will experience reduced pain and their injuries will continue to heal. Some solutions may include an adjustable standing and sitting desk for office environments, more mechanical lifting instead of manual, unloading smaller amounts, better protective clothing/footwear for different conditions, and many more.
Work environments that take ergonomics seriously and implement the right solutions are among some of the most productive out there. The workforce is comfortable, healthy, and motivated to get the job done. Without proper ergonomics, morale drops, people become or stay injured, and productivity plummets.
At Smart Rehab, we provide workplace / ergonomic assessments so that when individuals head back to work after an injury, they can be confident that their workstation will be comfortable and assist in their recovery — not hinder it. Contact us today for an in-depth ergonomic assessment.