Amid the many buzz words connected to office design and business in general, you will no doubt have heard one
many times over – ergonomics. 

Now, you might have heard it, and you might know it has something to do with office chairs in particular, but do you really know what it is, and what it is for? You might even be interested to know that there is more than one type of ergonomics, and it’s not all about the body! 

If you want your staff to be comfortable and supported during the time they spend sat at their office desks or workstations, it’s essential that you know about ergonomics, and that you incorporate it into your office design as much as possible.
Office seating needs to be comfortable, that’s true, but it also needs to cradle and support the body, to avoid the development of chronic pain conditions. 

Did you know that lower back pain alone affects around one third of adults in the UK, and that quite a lot of that is down to not sitting correctly? If these people had ergonomic chairs, perhaps their back pain may have been prevented. Within this, studies have shown that around 2.6 million people seek help from their GPs in the UK for back pain every single year. That’s a huge amount of doctor’s visits, and a lot of time that could be prevented. 

To take this a step further, the HSE states that in the year 2017/18 alone, around 469,000 people developed work-related musculoskeletal disorders. 

Whilst ergonomics might never completely stamp out the chances of someone suffering a strain during their working hours, it certainly cuts down the chances rather drastically. 

Within this guide, we’re going to give you the low down on what ergonomics is, and we’re also going to talk about the different types of ergonomics. It’s interesting to find out about these, and even if they don’t particularly pertain to your industry or your place of work, it’s worthwhile keeping in mind, in case any elements can be incorporated at a later date. A successful workplace relies upon its employees, and that means keeping them safe, healthy, and happy. Ergonomics can help you do that. 

What is Ergonomics, And What Does it Mean?

Ergonomics is a form of design which focuses on the people who are working within the space. For example, an ergonomic chair would focus on the person sitting in the chair, allowing them to adjust it according to their height, their width, the shape of their back, the length of their legs. It is basically a type of scientific design which personalises a person’s working environment. 

When you hear the word ‘ergonomics’ you probably simply think about chairs, but ergonomics is actually a very far-reaching deal. Ergonomics can be applied to anything which involves people, so it can be used in the sporting industry, anything to do with health and safety, even when designing cars! The overall aim of ergonomics is to minimise the chances of injury, and as a side effect, increase comfort too. 

Ergonomics hasn’t been around that long compared to many other design techniques, and was founded some time around the late 1940s. In order to create any type of office furniture which is ergonomic in design, many different factors are taken into account, including psychology, physiology, and of course, engineering design. This visits areas such as average body shapes and sizes of the general population, specific variations within it, biomechanics, and any environmental issues, such as vibration, temperature, sound, etc. 

It sounds complicated, and when any ergonomic product is made, such as contemporary office furniture items, the process is long and quite in-depth. The final result however is more than worth the time. You may find that certain ergonomic items are more expensive than those which don’t include the E word. What you need to do is weigh up the pros and cons in terms of benefit and cost, and come to a decision which suits your business, and your employees, the best.  

Different Types of Ergonomics

Before we get into the nitty gritty on how to actually incorporate ergonomics into your office space, let’s touch upon the different types available. This will help you pinpoint beneficial items for your space. 

Of course, office design is constantly shifting and changing, as is science, so there are sure to be new types appearing in the next few years. For now however, the main types of ergonomics pertaining to office design and furniture are: 

• Physical ergonomics
• Organisational ergonomics
• Cognitive ergonomics
• Holistic ergonomics

Physical Ergonomics

Physical ergonomics is the one that you think of first, i.e. the design of quality office furnishings to ensure that office workers are comfortable and supported throughout the day. This mostly includes seating, but it can also pertain to desks too, as well as miscellaneous equipment such as keyboards and a computer mouse. Physical ergonomics is the type which most employers tend to put first as a result, and it focuses on the individual and their comfort level first and foremost. 

This type of ergonomics focuses on how the body interacts with a specific piece of furniture or piece of equipment, and optimises the experience to ensure less stress and strain on joints, muscles, bones, tendons, etc. For instance, an ergonomic task chair will be adjustable on several sides, including height, chair tilt, back rest height, recline, and lumbar support. It may also have arm rests, which can be removed if necessary. All of this is designed to create less strain on the specific parts of the body, especially the lower back and neck, through a personalised sitting experience. As a result, that person’s chair is not going to be the cause of their health issues. 

It’s also worth pointing out that ergonomics isn’t only about furniture and accessories, but also about where you place items of furniture too. For instance placing a desk right underneath a large piece of artificial lighting is going to cause glare on their computer screen, and may give that person headaches on a daily basis. In this case, you would complete an ergonomic risk assessment, to identify the cause of their headaches and then move the desk to a more specific spot. 

Physical ergonomics is quite a large subject, and encompasses the entire working environment and how the person interacts with it. 

Organisational Ergonomics 

If physical ergonomics focused on one person, organisational ergonomics focuses on the entire business, identifying ways to make things better, and ultimately, increase productivity. Organisational ergonomics is less about the design of business furniture, and more about the design of systems and ways of working. It is given the title ‘ergonomics’ because it does roughly the same thing, just in a different way; it supports the employees and makes them comfortable, through different systems and identifying areas which aren’t working well. 

Organisational ergonomics encourages collaboration and teamwork, it looks to help businesses improve how they communicate with their staff, and how staff communicate with management, as well as implementing new systems which benefit all.
The ultimate goal of organisational ergonomics is to create increased job satisfaction, and higher levels of productivity. All of this basically ends in business success. 

Cognitive Ergonomics 

Physical ergonomics, the most traditional type we think of, is of course designed for the body. Cognitive ergonomics is therefore designed for the mind, and explores how the mind collects data, processes it, understands it, and interacts with it. 

Incorporating cognitive ergonomics is about helping staff to learn, retain information and process it in a way which benefits the business. This can be increasing collaboration within the organisation and maybe incorporating working zones, breakout areas, and using contemporary modern office furniture to furnish these areas for comfort, which ultimately aids in how the brain works. It could also be about new training or implementing new working systems. 

As you can see, the last two types of ergonomics are less towards the physical design of a working environment, e.g. less about executive office furniture sets, and more about systems and support for the individual. These are still however classed as a type of ergonomics, albeit in a different direction. 

Holistic Ergonomics 

The latest type of ergonomics on the block is holistic ergonomics. Check out this infographic by Telespine for a detailed explanation. 

Source: www.telespine.com/holistic-ergonomics-why-it-matters-for-your-body-and-mind

As you can see, holistic ergonomics is a fusing together of not only the physical and cognitive types of ergonomics, but also incorporating consideration of social aspects too. It makes sense in many ways, because all three areas affect a person’s comfort level at work, and it’s not all down to modular office furniture and whether or not it is adjustable to a specific person’s needs. 

You can sit in the most adjustable chair ever designed, but if your mind isn’t on the job because of a million in-office distractions, and the social elements of the workplace lead you towards even more confusion, the whole experience is not going to be productive, and that employee is not going to be experiencing job satisfaction either. 

Ergonomics isn’t only about furniture design, it is about the workplace as a whole. This is something which many employers fail to realise, and probably don’t even connect with the whole subject of ergonomics. It’s only when you delve further into it, that you realise exactly how far-reaching ergonomics is!

The Benefits of Incorporating Ergonomic Design Into Your Office

We’ve already mentioned that furniture which is ergonomically designed does tend to be a little more expensive than other furniture, such as cheap office desks, but this doesn’t have to be a barrier. A little later we will take about how you can incorporate ergonomic furniture into your office, but for now, we need to talk about why it is a good idea, i.e. the benefits which await you. 

There are five main benefits to bear in mind here. 

Less Lost Work Days 

Lost working days cost a UK business a huge amount of money over the space of a year, and many of those days are down to problems such as lower back pain, and chronic pain conditions which are linked to how a person is sitting. An office chair can do far more damage than you might realise over time, and it’s unlikely that the person sitting in it is going to be particularly happy or productive as a result. 

By implementing ergonomically designed furniture, such as luxury office desks with adjustable features, or chairs which can be adjusted in a multitude of ways, you’re helping your staff to be more comfortable, and for their bodies to be supported throughout the working day. By helping them to understand how to sit correctly, and how to adjust an ergonomic chair to get the most out of it, and how to use accessories such as foot rests, there is far less chance of them going off sick as a result. Of course, you can’t eradicate sickness completely, but furniture which is far more supportive for the mind and body is going to do a lot to cut it down drastically. 

Increased Productivity 

It’s not only about preventing injury and lost work days, it’s about comfort too. An employee who is more comfortable in their workstation set up, and enjoys their time at their bespoke office desk is going to be far more productive than someone who has an aching back and can’t quite sit properly at their desk. Aches and pains have a habit of affecting focus and concentration over the course of the day, and also increases the chance of mistakes being made. 

On the other hand, someone who is comfortable will be able to concentrate fully, be happy doing so, will work harder as a result, and is more likely to come up with creative and interesting ideas and solutions, because their mind isn’t stuck on how uncomfortable they are feeling. All of this creates a productivity shift which can be extremely beneficial for a business’ profit margins!

Ergonomics is also about looking at the design of the workspace and moving things around, so everything is within easy reach.
Cutting down on stretching, lifting, and moving means time saved, and that also has a huge hand in increasing productivity. 

Better Quality Work 

We’ve just mentioned that employees who are uncomfortable and in pain are not going to work as well as someone who is feeling fighting fit. Mistakes can be made easily when someone is tired, frustrated, and aching, and that doesn’t create a high quality standard of work. All of this links once more to productivity, but it also cuts down on the number of domains you may receive as a business. 

For example, a member of staff who is frustrated with their work station, and doesn’t find their functional furniture very functional at all, may easily snap at a customer, not give the right impression, or maybe hand over slightly substandard work. They won’t do this on purpose, of course, but mistakes can easily happen when staff aren’t feeling their best. By rectifying the problem at the very core of it all, work is going to be of a high quality, complaints will be less likely, and productivity once more will be on the rise. 

A Boost in Morale 

Your staff are going to notice if you’re cutting corners and not giving them the best traditional office equipment, and that’s not going to make them feel very valued. On the other hand, if your staff can see that you’re investing in high end office equipment, which helps take the strain off their back, allows them to adjust their seating requirements to their own needs, and you’re doing it all simply because it helps them, and not for any other reason, they’re going to feel very valued. 

When employees feel valued they naturally work harder. Think about it from your own personal experiences, if you’ve worked for a business in the past and you didn’t feel very valued, i.e. your employer never really focused on your health and wellbeing and was only concerned about profits and targets, did it make you want to work hard for that person, or simply do the bare minimum?
You probably only wanted to do the minimum required of you, and who could blame you?

On the other hand, if you work for a manager who asks your opinions on things, wants to know your thoughts, listens to you, and gives you the right equipment to keep you safe and comfortable during your working hours, you’re going to feel like you want to work harder, and your happiness and enjoyment in the role will show in the quality of your work. 

Morale is vital and should never be underestimated. When every single member of staff in the workforce has a high level of morale, the effects are like a small snowball turning into an avalanche, but a very positive one, rolling towards maximum productivity and profitability. 

Creates a High Level of Heath & Safety 

By choosing durable furniture materials and ergonomic design you’re committing yourself to the health and safety levels within your workplace. Again, this boosts morale, but it also cuts down on the chances of injury and accidents which may take place within your space. Obviously, if your business is found to be at fault, e.g. there was something there which shouldn’t have been, or a hazard which could have been avoided, you could be liable for costs, and this is not going to do the reputation of your business much good either. 

Ergonomic furniture helps to improve the health and safety reputation of your business, but it also helps to ensure that your staff are healthy too. 

As you can see, there are some fantastic and very beneficial advantages to choosing ergonomic furniture design within your office space. Opting to go ergonomic doesn’t actually take that much time, and is rarely going to require a total office revamp.
Creating an ergonomic office can be as simple as talking to your employees, finding out what problems they have within their workstation on a daily basis, conducing risk assessments, and then purchasing the most suitable office furnishings for the job. That is something that we, here at Calibre Office Furniture, can certainly help you with too! 

Are There Any Downsides?

We have to talk about the complete picture with any subject we cover, and that means giving you the pros and the cons too.
When it comes to creating an ergonomic office setting, there is only really one downside, and how much of a disadvantage it is really depends on the business in question. We’re talking about cost. 

Now, remember that office furniture in general does not last forever and you will need to replace and update all your chairs and desks at some point. The way to look at it is when a piece of equipment is ready to go to the office scrapheap in the sky, or more suitably, to the recycling bin, you could replace it with something ergonomic instead. That way, you’re not really spending money without need. 

You may also need to train your staff in how to use the ergonomic functions on the new furniture, but that should take nothing more than ten minutes. For instance, a new ergonomic chair may have a plethora of levers and buttons that an employee might not have a clue what to do with. The handbook which comes with the chair will explain it, so you simply need to show them and make sure they have understood. That’s all it takes, and from there, your employee will be comfortable and supported, able to adjust their chair as their needs change. 

How to Set up An Ergonomic Workspace

Now you know all there is to know about ergonomics, it’s time to get practical! 

Before we get into the nitty gritty and impart our words of wisdom upon you, check out this video which gives you a little background knowledge on what ergonomics looks like in person, and how you might like to start. 

This video gives you nine tips to start with, but they might not all be pertaining to your working environment.
Remember that ergonomics is about personalisation in many ways, so you need to look at your specific working space and cover all aspects of employee comfort and support, including lighting and heating too. These are areas which many people don’t tend to lump into the ergonomic bracket, but they’re certainly part of the same subject. 

When setting up an ergonomic workspace, the first thing is to assess everything as it is, and to talk to those who use it, i.e. your employees. This will help to keep them informed in the process and will of course increase morale because they will feel that you care about their opinions. Remember, your employees are the ones who know all the answers to the process you’re trying to fix, because they know what it feels like to work in that setting on a daily basis! They will be able to tell you whether incorporating an office screen here or there could help with concentration, or whether they need acoustic panels to separate collaborative and quiet zones. 

The second thing is to do a risk assessment, to find out the areas which need your attention first of all. Are your current operator chairs causing your employees backache? In that case, seating is a priority. You should also look at where your current office desking arrangements are, e.g. are some of your desks placed in areas which aren’t suitable? This could be facing windows, under lights, etc. 

By creating a plan, you can then look towards the third step - assessing your budget. Just how much spare cash do you have to dedicate to creating this ergonomic space? This will be different for every single business. Some businesses may have enough to purchase a glass office desk for every employee, whilst others might focus on just one area at a time, perhaps with chairs being a priority for now.
If you have to do it in steps, that doesn’t matter, what matters is that you’re making progress and your employees can also see that. 

Check out this infographic by The Back Store, which highlights some of the dos and don’ts you need to be on the lookout for. 

Source: www.thebackstore.com/blog/dos-donts-workplace-ergonomics-infographic

There are many ergonomic accessories you can purchase which don’t cost the Earth and make a huge difference, such as an ergonomic mouse, ergonomic keyboards, even foot rests. All of this make a difference to the feel of a desk and how easy it is to operate.
For instance, many people have lower back pain, as we mentioned earlier, but it can be as simple as learning how to sit correctly and using a foot rest, to rectify the situation! 

Much of creating an ergonomic office also comes down to education. Once you’ve visited a few furniture showrooms and created a shortlist of the different ergonomic furniture choices you want to buy, you need to put on some trainings sessions for your staff.
Bring awareness to how to sit correctly, the need to have regular breaks, and make this part of a new health and wellness package that you offer to everyone on a regular basis. Again, this does a huge amount to boost morale, but also to reduce the chances of illness and injury for your staff members, and therefore less lost work days for the business too. 

Have an open door policy so your staff can come to you when they feel their workstation might not be up to scratch, or something is causing them discomfort. By doing this, you can spot problems early, and rectify them before they cause a larger problem in the future. 

Remember at the beginning of this guide we talked about the different types of ergonomics? We mentioned cognitive and holistic ergonomics as differences to physical, as well as organisational ergonomics? These educational and communication efforts mean that you’re also incorporating the different types too. 

As you can see, an ergonomic workspace isn’t just about the furniture you choose, it’s about creating an environment which is geared towards health and wellness overall. 

Final Thoughts

Hopefully you will have learnt a lot about the wonderful world of ergonomics by reading this guide, and you’ll be ready and raring to implement them into your existing office space. It might seem like a huge mountain to climb when you first look at the issue, but if you break it down into smaller, bite-sized chunks it’s actually not such a massive task. 

It’s possible that you already have a few ergonomic features here and there, and it’s about pulling everything together, to create an environment which is focused towards wellbeing, rather than just a few areas that are. This is something you can sit down around those meeting room tables and discuss with staff members, involving them in the discussion and asking for their opinions and input.
By doing this, you’ll probably find out more information than you could have imagined, and this will help guide your efforts towards implementing your ergonomic office space of the future. 

If you can only focus on one area for the time being, perhaps because of budget constraints, make it seating. Lower back pain is one of the most prevalent issues in the office world, and can so easily be rectified by purchasing quality office seating, and by teaching staff members how to adjust it correctly. Educational sessions into how to sit properly and the effects of not doing so are also vital, and don’t cost a penny. Lighting is also something you can fix without spending cash, simply by moving desks around, to avoid glare and headache-inducing situations. 

In terms of boosting morale and therefore boosting productivity, ergonomics may really be where the answer has been hiding all along.  

Thank you for reading!