Could your workstation be killing you?
On average most people spend about 30 – 35 years in active workforce before they retire. If we indeed make it to 70 years before God calls us home then it means about half of our lives will be spent working to earn a living.
What happens during this time of active duty is therefore very essential to one’s health.
Are you frequently experiencing headaches, neck, back or joint pain? Or maybe you experience numbness in your finger tips or thighs and legs.
Do you feel tired even first thing in the morning or do you have difficulty focusing on one thing as you go about your daily duties?
These are all signs of stress, most commonly from repetitive action at work. Not adhering to proper ergonomics at work can bring on all of the problems mentioned above.
Most people ignore these signs from the body and continue going about their daily affairs until something really bad happens.
I will encourage you to look at the following parameters closely to see where you can make some corrections at your workstation to enhance your health.
• Do you have an ergonomic chair that supports your body from head to toe?
• Is the top of your computer monitor at least at your eye level?
• Do you have enough legroom to extend your legs out without any obstruction?
• Are you sitting at your desk for more than 45 minutes to an hour before getting up to move about?
• Lastly, does your job require you to often pick things below your knee level or above your shoulder level?
Please answer the questions above honestly. Where there are pitfalls please take the necessary steps to fix as soon as possible because very slowly your body can deteriorate if precautions are not taken.
In my experience I have found that most employers are willing to provide the necessary accoutrements for their employees to be healthy and safe within the office space however many employees do not speak up. Please don’t let your silence kill you.
Report occupational hazards as quickly as possible because the truth is that you can only be effective and productive at your job when you are healthy and that is what every employer wants.
I strongly recommend that quarterly, managers and or C.E.Os must have ergonomists come in to do ergonomic assessments of all employees and training to ensure that everybody is doing the right thing.
This will cut down on medical bills and increase productivity because there will be less employees going on sick leaves if the right preventive measures are put in place.
Always remember that your health is indeed your wealth.
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