Keeping Employees Healthy

Keep Employees Healthy While Working from Home

Home-office design flaws and virus-related stress can cause health problems.

In the beginning, everyone enjoyed working remotely from home. However, after roughly three months, the issues began.

Since the pandemic forced the vast majority of office workers home, physicians and risk management experts have been responsive to the threat of work-related injuries and health problems. These problems could range from lumbar support to cracked teeth. Still, our colleagues and co-workers settled into new habits, including months of poor posture while on the computer, unhealthy nutrition patterns blended with virus-related stress. Of course, it all started crashing down.

Recent surveys have seen a massive increase in shoulder, neck, and back pain since the beginning of our quarantine efforts. Those who reported back and joint pain also indicated their discomfort was new or had gotten worse since the initial onset. Health-related issues have always come from the traditional office setting damaging the body over time. We also know that working in awkward positions, such as at the kitchen counter or typing in bed, for lengthy periods can accelerate complications, leading to soreness, discomfort, or lasting damage.

Employers can trace several conditions back to extensive laptop usage. When we focus on our screens, we force ourselves to look downward; thus, our heads’ weight pulls on the neck and back. There have even been reports of wrist pain from overuse with a mouse.

These ailments can be treated, and a work area that promotes proper posture, combined with behavioral modifications, can solve most cases. So, how do you communicate this to your team?

Here are a few suggestions:

1. Be a role model and provide reminders. You certainly cannot force your co-workers to switch out furniture, but you can remind them that an unsupportive desk chair can cause back pain. Other supportive reminders include: Positioning the top of their laptop screen, or monitors, at eye level; operate a wireless mouse and keyboard at an arm bend level; use a footrest, or at minimum sit with your feet flat on the floor, and alter positions during the workday. Do not be anxious to frequently check in on employees, ask about their home work stations, and always “practice what you preach.”

2. Make revisions to work from home policies. Create training sessions, or “Lunch n Learns,” in addition to establishing resources like workspace checklists. Making an effort to schedule one-onone virtual appointments with your employees and occupational therapists to help set up good work areas and positive habits can go a long way to building rapport and a healthy workforce.

3. Adjust your budget. Financing employee health benefits can indeed be less expensive long term. Since fewer employees can soften health insurance costs, it might be appropriate for you to fund some home-office

updates, especially if you consider closing an office space and switching to remote working full-time.

4. Do not overlook anxiety. Considering the new pressures facing employees (possible caregiving obligations, lack of social interaction, growing anxieties of the coronavirus pandemic, etc.), your team may need a compassionate check-in now and again. Some organizations have seen new problems arise due to the pandemic. For example, employees who live by themselves tend to feel overtaxed and lonely. This can lead to unhealthy activities such as drinking to excess. These individuals have been encouraged to join book clubs and even create virtual social functions. Be on the lookout should some need skilled mental health care.

5. Create an open Zoom policy. Co-workers with young kids, even older family members at home, can sometimes struggle with a different set of distractions – lack of sleep or stress-induced teeth grinding. These individuals need more flexible schedules, assistance balancing personal and professional responsibilities, and possibly new remote office equipment.

Work to create an atmosphere that your employees feel comfortable asking for help. This flexibility will ensure they make the necessary adjustments to their home and work responsibilities, scheduling, and remote workspace to be successful and balanced.