office
The ergonomic home office It is becoming more and more popular to perform office activities at home – in the home office. An increasing number of employers encourage their staff (those for whom it is possible) to work part-time at their homes. The advantages are as numerous as obvious: less traffic jams, less workstations needed at the office, more freedom and responsibility for the employee, et cetera. But does the employee consider ergonomics when creating his or her home office?
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C u r a ç a o b u s i ne s s
| number 1 | 2013
Ergonomic rules The ergonomically responsible workstation is determined, apart from the main rule of ergonomics - man is the basis – by three principles: • all elements of the workstation and the total working environment (room, climate, lighting), the so-called hardware (computer, monitor, keyboard and such) and the furniture (table/desk, chair) play a role. • the separate elements should be adapted to the body size and proportions of the user and his/her tasks. • the separate elements should be matched: if you have an ergonomic chair, but your table/desk is too high or too low, you will still end up with a physical problem.
Apparently, there are still people who do their office work sitting for hours on end on a straight chair at the kitchen table or lounging in a sofa with a laptop on their knees. It’s such a pity since there are many solutions that are ergonomically safe.