Ergonomics Training for Employees
Every employer wants to reduce the likelihood of workplace injuries, both as a means of avoiding lawsuits and a way to enhance productivity. But one area that may be easy for employers to overlook in the area of workplace safety is ergonomics. This refers to the way people interact with tools and objects, and training employees in the principles of ergonomics can help them stay healthier.
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Significance
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Ergonomic training is important for a number of reasons. Poor ergonomics can lead to repetitive stress injuries including wrist, back and neck injuries for worker who spend their days seated at desks writing or typing. Workers who stand for long periods of time are subject to leg and lower-back problems. Anyone who operates a machine continuously risks repetitive stress injury as well. This means that even some of the safest jobs in controlled environments are potentially hazardous without ergonomics training.
Elements
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Ergonomics training needs to be tailored to the employees who go through it. For office workers, this means education on the most ideal seating and viewing angles, which workers can then alter by adjusting computer monitor and chair heights. Proper posture is an important element of ergonomics training regardless of whether workers stand or sit while on the job. For those who work in physically demanding positions, hands-on training is more practical with instruction in stretching exercises that workers can perform throughout the day.
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Methods
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Memos and online tutorials serve some of the needs of an ergonomics training program at a minimal cost to employers. A guide for new employees, either in the form of a paper booklet or a viewable digital document, serves the same purpose and offers tips for setting up a work station and identifying ergonomic problems by the discomfort they cause before they become major problems. Employers also can choose to use videos that demonstrate stretching techniques and good posture for employees at higher risk. A live instructor is yet another option, though the cost to employers is significantly higher.
Follow Up
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Once employees have undergone ergonomics training, there's no guarantee they'll put their new knowledge to work. Employers should follow up with memos and reminders to ensure that employees take the simple steps that will lead to improved health over the long term. Employers who offer ergonomics training may consider working it into annual employee evaluations simply as a reminder when workers are already thinking about their performance and poised to make improvements. Employers also need to consider ergonomics and past training when they change office layouts or purchase new furnishings; for example, new chairs may present the need for additional training in how to use them to achieve maximum ergonomic benefits.
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References
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- Photo Credit office chair image by Ekaterina Sidorenko from Fotolia.com
