Our physical surroundings without doubt affect our sense of well-being, delivery at work, learning, recovery from illness and mental health. In an office (in a SOHO or big corporate environment), more often than not it’s got everything to do with the space in which we operate and the contributing ergonomic factors that come into play. This ultimately makes for a healthy office or one that’s challenged by the lay of the land – quite literally.

Have you ever sat in your office feeling lethargic, perhaps feeling somewhat demotivated and unable to focus on the task at hand? And, this is not because you went to bed late the night before - it always happens after you’ve spent a few hours at your desk. Add to that the aching muscles and a sore back, and before you know it, going to work becomes “a pain”. This in turn affects your mood, your attitude and your productivity. It’s a viscous cycle that has to be broken, but awareness of the contributors to the “condition” is the first step towards remedying the situation.

According to Sabrina Lind, CN Business Furniture Business Development Manager, the best way to avoid feeling this way is to better fit your body to your workplace, by redesigning your workspace into a more ergonomic – or comfortable – design.

“Sometimes this can be achieved by as basic a change as re-designing the tasks you do on a daily basis to eliminate overuse of the same muscles and by ensuring that your workstation is ergonomically sound. But over time, this is only a short-term solution as the same problems continue to re-surface,” explains Lind.

“It’s safe to say that when people are feeling good, they work better,” adds Lind. “Many companies are beginning to realise that by employing good ergonomic practices within the office environment they are able to improve the overall quality of the work life of their staff and help decrease the risk of injury or illness”.

As a company that designs and enables intelligent, energizing workspace, CN Business Furniture bases most of its own furniture designs and sourced products on the principles of good ergonomics.

“It is important for us to understand how people interact with machines and the man-made components of their physical environments,” says Lind. “CN Business considers personal capabilities and limitations of individuals when designing workstations for customers. If, for instance, you are of a smaller stature than the average person, it may be necessary to lower your workstation, or chair, to avoid consistently stretching your neck. Or, if you are on the taller side, you may need to raise your desk or chair to avoid slouching.”

Lighting too can be a big issue. Eyestrain can cause headaches, fatigue and irritability, which can all affect productivity and the employees’ mental health.

Says Lind: “Poor posture can also be a cause for concern, so using the right height and type of chair can be a wonderful aid to maintaining good posture and avoiding uncomfortable backaches or worse.” Back pain is endemic in South Africa. Statistics reveal that at least 80 percent of South Africa’s workforce is suffering from acute discomfort and even disability due to problems which arise from low back pain. Astonishingly, backaches, after colds and flu, cause the largest portion of work absenteeism. While there are no official figures available on the cost of disability, it is estimated that worker disability in 1999 cost the economy more than R2 billion.

Several factors work together to cause backache. Office workers spend more than 90 percent of their working time in a sedentary position. Approximately 80,000 hours of a working life span. Incorrect sitting postures are responsible for many muscular ailments resulting in reduced motivation and work output. But, there’s more to ergonomics than just the physical conditions of the workplace. Sure, if you feel cold easily, you’ll work better in a warmer temperature – after all who can be productive when they’re shivering all day? But, ergonomics also takes into consideration the psychology of the worker and their ability to think, reason and solve problems.

Lind believes that by analysing your individual job requirements against your personal strong points (and the not so strong areas), you can determine a better ergonomic way to complete the task at hand. This is achieved by redesigning it to incorporate your human needs like rest time, meals, and bathroom breaks with your strengths, to create a better working relationship with yourself and those around you.

“In this way effective ergonomic practices can help ensure that you, as a human worker, can combine the technological aspects of your job with all of your equipment and tasks, arriving at all round better productivity at the end of the day,” Lind explains.

While these concepts may seem a bit strange to some, many have found that by physically making their work environment more comfortable, as well as helping to create a more aligned psychological work environment, helps them feel better about themselves and their job.

“Ergonomic health in the office environment encompasses various elements,” explains Lind. “Workspace factors include the lighting, air quality, temperature and acoustics, which all affect our physical and mental comfort, and contribute towards delivery or non-delivery, and happy or irritable staff.”

The cognitive element is another critical factor to be taken into account when assessing the ergonomic health of an organisation.

“Cognitive ergonomics considers co-worker interactions, psychological demands, individual factors and many other sources of non-physical stress. Emotional wellness has a direct impact on how effectively we perform.”

By assessing organisational working environments, CN Business Furniture is able to design safe, effective and productive work systems to decrease the risk of injury and fatigue, and enhance productivity through the optimal use of all resources.

For further information visit the CN Business Furniture Web site: http://www.cnonline.co.za
Or call Sabrina Lind (011) 345 1500, or SIMONSAYS communications, Melanie Stevens (011) 465 9815