FOCUS HEALTH & SAFETY
ERGONOMIC INSIGHTS
‘Ergonomics’ has been a
concept that has grown in
significance over the years. While
in the past it was simply viewed
as a necessary part of legislation
that legally obliged employers to
protect workers from the health
risks of working with display screen
equipment (DSE), such as PCs,
laptops, tablets and smartphones;
the understanding of the broader
definition of workplace ergonomics
has coincided with our increasing
appreciation of wellbeing in the
workplace. We now understand
more about the impact that our
working environments have on
us, both physically and mentally.
We appreciate that sitting under
poor quality electric lighting leads
to sallow skin and that hunching
over our workstations leads to all
sorts of health problems including
strained eyes, sore backs and
headaches.
Given that as a UK workforce we
spend the majority of our working
days sitting at our desks, we know
that we should be doing more to
improve our posture and set up our
workstations to e ectively manage
and prevent these issues.
UK employers are legally obliged
under HSE legislation(1) to protect
workers from the health risks of
working with. The recent study(2)
undertaken by FMJ and workplace
specialists DURABLE found that
90 per cent of UK companies do
carry out DSE assessments in their
workplace. This DSE assessment
is carried out in many di erent
ways either as part of the induction
44 MARCH 2020
process with new starters, annually
or via a self-assessment process
using guidance supplied by the FM
team. This positive story is slightly
undermined by the fact that almost
40 per cent of those surveyed went
on to say that the follow-up support
given to employees as a result of
the DSE assessment was ‘ad-hoc’ or
provided ‘to some extent’.
ERGONOMIC SHORTFALLS
The wider definition of workplace
ergonomics is to increase the
comfort, safety and e iciency
of employees by ensuring the
equipment they use is right for their
needs. It’s this element of ergonomics
where a lot of UK companies also fall
short of ideal.
Taking lighting as an example, a
recent white paper(3) by workplace
consultancy firm Baker Stuart stated
that 70 per cent of employees are
unhappy with the lighting in their
workplace whilst a Raconteur study(4)
found that only 57 per cent are
satisfied with the light levels in their
workplace. Given that a 60-year-old
requires approximately two to two
and a half times as much illuminance
as a mid-20-year-old to achieve
comparable vision, and as a nation
we have an ageing workforce, action
should be taken to install equipment
which can provide all sta with the
right level of comfort.
The WELL buildings standard(5)
takes into account seven di erent
elements of the workplace that
contribute to the wellbeing, safety
and e iciency of employees.
Although WELL buildings are on the
rise in the UK, many organisations
simply can’t invest in brand new high
performing accommodation for their
sta . Of course, organisations can
do more to make small changes to
their existing workplaces to make a
positive impact, but are there barriers
to achieving this?
In the Workplace Ergonomics survey
prepared by FMJ and DURABLE, 91
per cent of the survey participants
stated that they have encountered
barriers to implementing an
ergonomic workplace. The most
prevalent challenge selected was
the perceived expense (48 per
cent), closely followed by a lack of
understanding across the workforce
(44 per cent). Obvious answers to
these obstacles is for organisations
to gain more understanding of the
benefits of ergonomics and educate
the UK workforce about it.
Manufacturers of ergonomic
solutions LUCTRA, who produce
biodynamic human centric lighting,
have evidenced(6) that their light
increases its user’s productivity by
4.5 per cent, reduces errors by 1 per
cent and also absenteeism by 1 per
cent. Ergonomic workplaces can have
a positive impact on a company’s
bottom line, reducing sick days and
increasing output, so it’s really a no
brainer for companies to invest in
‘healthy’ equipment.
As for education, it seems like
we need more organisation’s to
actively gather employee feedback to
understand what their sta think of
their working environment and what
they may need to perform their roles
more e ectively whilst maintaining
their wellbeing. FM’s can play a
pivotal role in driving these changes
and making a positive impact on the
state of our workplaces.
The Workplace Ergonomics Report
2020 from FMJ and DURABLE will be
available soon.
FMJ recently carried out a survey with ergonomics specialists DURABLE to gain
insights into how FMs approach ergonomics in their organisation. Sam Rylands,
DURABLE’s Marketing Manager off ers a preview of some of the key results
90 PER CENT OF UK
COMPANIES CARRY
OUT DISPLAY SCREEN
EQUIPMENT (DSE)
ASSESSMENTS IN
THEIR WORKPLACE
NEARLY 40% ADMIT
THAT THE FOLLOWUP
SUPPORT GIVEN
TO EMPLOYEES AS A
RESULT OF THE DSE
ASSESSMENT WAS
‘AD-HOC’ OR PROVIDED
‘TO SOME EXTENT’
91 PER CENT HAVE
ENCOUNTERED
BARRIERS TO
IMPLEMENTING
AN ERGONOMIC
WORKPLACE
REFERENCE NOTES
(1) https://www.hse.gov.uk/msd/dse/
(2) https://www.fmj.co.uk/workplace-ergonomicssurvey
2020/
(3) https://bakerstuart.com/white-paper/enlightenedthinking
workplace-lighting/
(4) https://raconteur.uberfl ip.com/i/762006-thestoddart
review-the-workplace-advantage-broadsheet/4
(5) https://www.wellcertifi ed.com/certifi cation/v1/
standard/
(6) www.luctra.eu/en/news/article/new-study-aboutluctrars
innovative-lighting-technology/
GREATEST CHALLENGE
WAS THE PERCEIVED
EXPENSE (48%),
CLOSELY FOLLOWED
BY A LACK OF
UNDERSTANDING
ACROSS THE
WORKFORCE (44%)
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