Ergonomic environment boosts staff productivity

Two out of three employees suffer from work-related repetitive strain injury (RSI) and this costs companies a fortune in lost working hours, says a new report from the UK.

RSI – widely linked to the use of computer keyboards – costs employers in Britain £300 million (Dh2.2 billion) annually in lost productivity and sick pay, according to a study by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy. The condition accounted for an estimated 3.5m lost working days in 2006-07.

The problem is also acute in the Middle East with the hot summer preventing staff from taking breaks from their desks. And the region is not as advanced as Europe at preventing the disabling condition.

Office employees suffer from daily strains while carrying out repetitive actions such as typing and using a mouse. When combined with a poor sitting posture these small strains can lead to pain, reduced sensation or even numbness in fingers, wrists, arms, shoulders as well as in the neck area.

The number of cases is increasing as people spend more hours at their workstations due to increasing work pressure.

According to research by StrategyOne the number of workers who suffer from RSI has reached alarming levels, with 68 per cent of staff experiencing problems.

The UK's Health and Safety Executive reported 115,000 new cases of RSI in 2006-07 compared with 86,000 new cases in 2005-06. The total number of RSI sufferers has increased by more than 50,000 to 426,000 in the past year.

Experts say RSI is avoidable in most cases if companies provide staff with ergonomically designed furniture and equipment. They believe that though initially this may be more costly than ordinary furniture in the long run it will pay for itself in terms of fewer working hours lost due to RSI-induced health issues, medical bills and court cases.

Dr George, a sports medicine surgeon at Dubai's Welcare Hospital, told Emirates Business: "In today's work environment, people spend really long hours sitting at their desks working continuously.

"They can be from any field whether it is IT, the media, accounts or design. Anyone who has a desk job and spends long hours at work is at risk of getting RSI of the ligaments, muscles and bones.

"It usually starts with pain that comes and goes. Ideally any pain should go away after a day or two or at most a week, but if it goes on for longer than that it can turn into RSI.

"For instance, if you are working on a computer for very long hours and if the angle between the wrist and the hand is wrong it can lead to inflammation of the thumb tendon.

"If people work at their desks for long hours without a break and if they sit in an awkward position due to a poorly-designed chair or desk, it can lead to pain in the back of the neck, shoulders and arm due to RSI in the muscle."

He said 90 per cent of sufferers developed back pain because they adopted the wrong sitting posture.

"Sixty per cent of an average orthopedic clinic is filled with people suffering from low back pain in the age group of 25 to 45," he added. "I have seen 500 patients in the last six months who are suffering from low back pain."

Ergonomics expert Dr Charles van Schalkwyk said: "I see 50 to 60 people a week with back, neck and shoulder pain and elbow and wrist injuries.

"At least 20 per cent people in most firms I have worked with suffer from lower back pain due to badly-designed workstations."

There are more products on the market than before to deal with the problems of being seated at a desk for long periods, including chairs and desks that automatically adjust to fit each user perfectly.

Ajai Kumar Dayal, General Manager, Retail and Marketing, at Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group said: "In today's world there is so much research going into the creation of ergonomically-designed furniture and a whole lot of fabulous products are available in the market.

"Of course there is a problem of awareness here. In Europe this need has been recognised for a long time now. For example in some countries the height of the table has to be adjustable by law.

"Most manufacturers therefore provide either a manual or an electrical lift to raise or lower the height of the table to enable efficient working. In fact, in the office of Holland's Samas – one of the European leaders in office environments – they have a really interesting arrangement.

"Each person's personal access card carries details including the work height of his or her table. When the employee comes into the office he can go to any of the hotdesks, place his access card on the table and the desk will raise or lower itself to the height required.

"If you are tired of sitting and want to stand and work, the height of the table can be raised to whatever level you wish. It can also be tilted if required."

Dayal said many companies were producing chairs with height-adjustable seats and arms.

"Many are designed to give you good lower back support, the kind you have in some business class airline seats," he added. "These are good as they prevent strain to the lower back and ensure that you are maintaining the correct posture when you are sitting.

"There are chairs with a waterfall effect – the chair can tilt forward a little bit so that the blood circulation in your thighs is not restricted, especially when you are sitting and working at a computer."

"A good chair will tilt backward as well as forward to enable you to maintain the best posture for your needs and reduce the strain on the back."

One of Dayal's suppliers, Dauphin of Germany, has a device called the ergomouse which is run down an employee's back while he or she is seated.

"The mouse tracks the angle of your back and plots it on a computer against what should be the ideal angle for your spine when you are seated. It is shocking to see how often the back is completely out of alignment with the ideal and you can clearly see the areas where the spine is under pressure.

"Maintain this pressure for a short while and of course, nothing happens – but keep it going for eight hours a day for a few years and you are sure to have problems."

Often when ordering office furniture, companies do not consider buying ergonomically-designed chairs for their staff because they find the cost prohibitive.

Dayal added: "Even though ergonomically-designed chairs and tables have been available for some time the demand for them has not developed here as it exists in the West as many buyers are not willing to make the additional investment.

"Out of the Dh3.6bn worth of office furnishing products that are sold in the UAE each year only 20 per cent is ergonomic. More often than not when we tell buyers about the harm poorly-designed furniture can do to a person's health we get a very interesting response – 'OK, this chair is for me. But for the rest of the staff we want the ordinary ones – our budget does not allow us to spend the extra for the ergonomic chairs'."

This is counterproductive. Research commissioned by computer giant Microsoft discovered that 68 per cent of respondents were suffering or had suffered from back, wrist, hand or shoulder pain – key indicators of RSI.

The UK report says court cases in the West have soared by 30 per cent in the past 12 months and employers should be worried about the additional costs for temporary staff, lost man-hours and wasted time.

Dayal said: "Saving on spending on ergonomically-designed furniture is actually counterproductive. Of course if you are in the West you could probably also be sued if the furniture in the office causes an employee RSI."

Dr George added: "Offices should buy ergonomically-designed furniture as it will be beneficial for their business in the long run as it will mean less man-hours lost due to workers going on sick leave and lower medical bills."

Dr van Schalkwyk added: "If an office or workstation is not properly designed, it will ultimately result in loss of productivity because more workers will call in sick or will not be able to perform to their optimum level.

"This effects their productivity and companies have to spend more money hiring replacements and training them."

WHAT DO YOU THINK?  Do you suffer from RSI?  Is enough being done to raise awareness of the condition? Have your say by posting a comment below, or emailing us at online@business24-7.ae.

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