Benefits Of Ergonomics In The Workplace

Today our workplace duties often consist of repetitive motion skills. These can be strenuous and debilitating if not performed correctly as they place stress on the joints, muscles, tendons, and bones. The term ‘ergonomics’ is used to describe the science of designing the job to fit the worker, not forcing the worker to fit the job. The purpose of this memo is to discuss how ergonomic solutions can increase productivity and decrease long-term injuries, such as musculoskeletal disorders (MSD), in office settings at little to no cost.

Implementing Ergonomics in the Workplace

There are many different ways to implement ergonomics into an office workplace or any workplace for that matter. They include: the rotation of employees, ensuring adequate break times, ensuring that there are enough employees scheduled for physically demanding tasks, alterations in scheduling to ensure that employees do not perform too many demanding tasks in one shift, and proper maintenance of equipment along with proper use of equipment (Richman &

According to Mr. Downing, “It’s often about teaching people how to use their bodies. It’s the most expensive thing they’ll ever own, and they don’t know how to use it” (Ergonomics, 2015, para. 11). One may be surprised at how many employees don’t know how to properly sit at their computers or how to properly adjust their chair, for example. This can easily be solved by simply bringing somebody in to train them of the proper use of office equipment. “In the office environment, a misconception is that having a perfect chair will be better for the body. However, individuals need to have proper posture and practice stretching during breaks, which helps strengthen the muscles” (Ergonomics, 2015, para. 15). It can not only save them a lot of pain now and in the future, but it can also increase productivity in the workplace having a happy and healthy