An office can be full of ergonomic hazards. From fake lights, to fall risks, to outdated devices that are not ergonomically designed.
The employer can do their best to reduce injury risks. But safety in the workplace is ultimately up to us, the end user. We need to be the best advocate possible for our own ergonomic safety.
Ergonomic hazards is one of the most important considerations, when creating a safe and healthy work environment.
And so today, I’m dedicating this post to talk about how you can protect yourself from ergonomic hazards.
How Can You Protect Yourself From Ergonomic Hazards
There are many simple changes you can make to your daily office habits. These changes will lead to massive results over time. This includes results like:
- decreased pain
- improved mental clarity
- increased productivity
- increased energy
Decreasing the ergonomic risk factors (mentioned in this article) will be super helpful in improving your quality of life.
What Are Ergonomic Hazards
Ergonomic hazards can be anything that affects my quality of life, or my performance at work.
What Are The Effects Of Ergonomic Hazards
Decreased work productivity
The definition of ergonomics is “the study of people’s efficiency in the workplace.” Poor posture leads to muscle tension, which leads to computer pain. Anytime I feel physical pain, my work productivity is going to suffer.
Musculoskeletal disorders
Holding my muscles activated for long periods of time will cause excessive muscle tension. This muscle tension pulls on my tendons, which connect muscle to bones, which then pulls our bones (skeleton) out of alignment. Causing pain and dysfunction. Posture mistakes that cause this are known as musculoskeletal disorders.
Computer pain
It doesn’t matter is we’re working at a sitting or standing workstation. Holding our bodies in the exact same position for long periods of time is the main cause of ergonomic hazards. Our muscles weren’t designed to be constantly activated for 8 hours straight. This leads to chronic overuse of our postural muscles.
Foggy mental clarity
We’re only allotted a certain amount of energy each day. And the total sum of that energy must be divided between physical and mental. Anytime I have more physical pain, it takes away from my available mental energy.
What Causes Ergonomic Hazards
As far as posture goes, ergonomic hazards can be caused by poor positioning of our devices and office furniture.
I want my computer workstation to be an asset that promotes good posture as soon as I sit down. I don’t want to have to get into good posture after I sit. If that’s the case, my desk isn’t an asset. It’s a liability that will break my body down over time, both physically and mentally.
Here are some common ergonomic hazards of an office workplace.
Monitor too low
Laptop monitors are way too low. I used to look downward, holding my head tiled forward, all day long. This caused a terrible imbalance of energy in my neck muscles. My anterior (front) neck muscles shortened, while my posterior (rear) neck muscles lengthened. This caused stubborn pain and dysfunction that took a long time to fix.
Chair too low
Chair height is arguably the most important factor of all ergonomics programs (for office workers). I used to sit with my chair too low. It caused pain and dysfunction in my back, shoulders, and hips.
Poor foot position
Yes! Foot position at a computer matters. It’s actually a very big deal. Even if we’re sitting in a desk chair. I used to sit with poor foot position. It led to a torn tendon, bone chips, and bone spurs. It took 3 ankle surgeries to correct all this mess!
Tall, bulky keyboard and mouse
I used to extend my wrists upwards to lift my hands up onto my keyboard and mouse. This constant muscle activation led to carpal tunnel syndrome. This is when the median nerve gets compressed inside the carpal tunnel (in the wrist).
What Are Examples Of Ergonomic Hazards
Here are some examples of ergonomic hazards that I’ve experienced as a computer office worker:
- fake overhead lights
- staring into neon lights of my monitor screen
- dust falling from ceiling tiles
- old, broken down office furniture (chair, desk)
- outdated, non-ergonomic devices (monitor, keyboard, mouse)
- not taking a lunch break
- not taking micro breaks
- not switching to different posture positions throughout the workday (sitting, standing, reclined torso)
How To Protect Yourself From Ergonomic Hazards
A company may take a lot of precautions to protect the office worker. But in the end, the ultimate responsibility of having correct computer ergonomics falls on the end user.
Adjust your desk chair height to the correct level
I want my chair to be at a height that allows:
- my elbow height to be a couple inches above my desk level
- my hips to be slightly higher than my knees
Adjust your monitor height to the correct level
After getting my chair height correct, I want the top of my monitor to be even with my eye level.
I only make this adjustment when I’m sitting with a neutral spine, with its natural curves intact.
Always keep your feet flat on the floor (or a footrest if necessary)
Ideally, the correct chair height will allow my elbows above desk level, my hips higher than my knees, and my feet flat on the floor.
But if getting my elbow height correct causes me to raise my chair so high, that it lifts my feet off the floor, I keep that chair height. And I invest in a footrest. Then I keep my feet flat on the footrest at all times.
Switch working in different postures multiple times throughout the workday
Computer pain doesn’t only care about what position we are working in. The main ergonomic risk factor is how long we are working in the exact same position. I work in multiple different postures throughout my workday (sitting, standing, reclined torso). I do this to give my different postural muscles a break. It helps me save physical energy, which allows me more mental and creative energy for my workday.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can ergonomic hazards exist in all work environments?
Yes! Especially when it comes to computer work. It doesn’t matter if we are sitting or standing, working in the same position for long periods can easily cause repetitive strain and overuse injuries. That’s why I improve posture at computer by switching positions multiple times throughout the day (sitting, standing, reclined torso).
How can employers prevent reduce ergonomic hazards?
In an office environment, they should have an expert that knows how to improve posture while sitting at computer. Because purchasing ergonomic office furniture and technology devices is important to reduce hazards. But understanding good computer posture is essential to buying the best computer posture correction devices.
Can ppe protect you from ergonomic hazards?
This depends on how the company defines PPE (personal protective equipment). PPE commonly refers to hard hats, safety vests, work gloves, safety toe shoes, and eye protection.
In a more general sense, my opinion is that PPE stands for anything that protects my body from pain while I’m working.
Since computer users work in an office environment, I’d categorize PPE items as things like:
- height-adjustable desk
- external monitor
- flat, external keyboard and mouse
- comfortable, ergonomic desk chair
Thanks for your interest in computer posture.
Todd Bowen – Computer Posture Correction and Pain-Free Ergonomics: For Office Workers Who Want to Delete Their Sitting Pain
P.S. If you liked this article, you’ll love the digital store I just published.
🙏 Thank you for supporting my work. -Todd