MARCH 2021 21
FMJ.CO.UK
cent of new shoulder pain and 55 per cent of new back
pain. The scary fact is that now, in lockdown three, with
the cold weather and general lockdown fatigue setting in,
these poor habits are only likely to have gotten worse.
For businesses the impact of this on resources can be
severe. In 2019/20, a staggering 8.8 million work days
were lost in the UK due to musculoskeletal disorders,
costing employers over £300 million.
FM’s can therefore play a vital role in protecting both
the wellbeing of their businesses and colleagues by
facilitating suitable home working processes which
minimise the health risks. There are two key parts to this:
Advising their colleagues on the correct ways to set up
their working area, by applying the DSE assessment
concept and ensuring that this is clearly explained and
followed
Providing products and solutions to support good
home working practices
Adapting the
DSE assessment
should be relatively
routine for most
FMs and suggesting
ergonomic monitor
mounts and chairs
may be obvious
solutions, but here
are three areas
you may not have
considered.
Lighting is an
o en overlooked
element of home
working, but poor lighting a ects our eyesight, sleep and
cognitive performance. Most homes aren’t wired (pardon
the pun) to have the same levels of lighting as an o ice,
which has a minimum legal requirement of 500 lux for
detailed work.
Sta should be advised to set up the working area
side-on to a window to get as much natural light as
possible and aim lights at the workspace to avoid glare on
the screen and illuminate the entire working area. Time
saving and organisational products are also useful to
recommend to sta , many of which will complement their
home décor, which will aid their productivity and help
them maintain their work-life balance.
Colourful table top Drawer Boxes help to keeps all files
and desk equipment in one place and are perfect for
fitting into any home o ice set up because they are light
and compact.
Most home workers are sharing their ‘o ice spaces’
with children and pets, so providing cable management
helps them to tidy the hundreds of trailing cables they
now have in their living room from their work equipment.
This reduces the impact on their home lives and therefore
encourages home workers to leave their home o ice
working area ‘set up’ at all times, decreasing the urge to
WFB.
ERGONOMIC CONSULTANT’S VIEW
HANA GRAY, CEO OF THE OFFICE MANAGEMENT
GROUP AND ERGONOMIC CONSULTANT TO OBO
It's no surprise
that bad working
habits have started
to increase and
that working
from bed (WFB)
is becoming the
norm. In fact, for
many these poor
habits would have
been there from
the o , particularly
in scenarios where
there is no choice
due to living arrangements and space other than to work
from a bed. It’s crucial now more than ever for employers
to ensure they are protecting their employees no matter
where they work from, including home, in the use of
equipment and promoting positive wellbeing to remove
the risk of stress and mental health issues as well as
reduce the risk of musculoskeletal disorders.
Employers have a duty in the UK under the HSE (Health
and Safety Executive) to protect their workers from
the health risks where working with “display screen
equipment” (DSE) is concerned, this equipment includes
PCs, laptops, tablets and mobile phones.
Now that we’re more or less all working from home,
and it seems set to continue for a duration of our working
weeks, it is key employers take responsibility and act to
ensure sta are protected against the risks. Too o en,
we see people sat on their beds, at their dining table
complaining of neck ache, back ache, headaches and
more. Employers have very easy tools to use, including
training and checklists available from the HSE. Other
solutions could be to:
Hold a virtual training session with a qualified assessor
Share and encourage the completion of selfassessment
forms
Utilise so ware to do the above for you and get reports
back
Set time in everyone’s diaries as a mandatory break or
to get up and move for 10 minutes twice a day (we’re
seeing this in more and more companies now)
Mandate line manager check-ins, for a casual, virtual
co ee meeting with no business on the agenda
Have a budget ready to support suitable equipment
such as a chair, footrest, keyboard and mouse
Being ergonomically sound isn’t too challenging, and the
benefits will far out way the negative impact we’ll soon
see and are already seeing by employees and children
hunched over laptops, iPads and desk set ups from home.
If you’re in a business that hasn’t yet addressed this, now
really is the time to do so.
FM CLINIC
Hana Gray
Sam Rylands
ADVICE & OPINION
link
/www.fsifm.com
