1300 OHS RTW
What is posture?
Posture is used to describe the position your body is in when you are sitting, standing or lying down.
Work life poses many challenges when it comes to maintaining proper posture. It is easy for employees to slouch on their office chairs assuming poor postures. Bad posture isn't just a cosmetic issue as it can lead to serious back, neck and shoulder injuries. The negative effects of bad posture go beyond the physical pain. It can also affect hormone levels as well as reduce the effectiveness of breathing.
Many of the times, posture problems are more pronounced in people who sit most of the day including office workers.
It is thus important that effective office ergonomics are implemented at the workplace to help prevent or minimise the occurrence of posture related issues. Luckily, the main factors influencing office posture and ergonomics are totally controllable and are not hard to change.
There are several ways to improve poor posture especially for workers who sit on an office chair for most of the day.
Prolonged static posture is the enemy. The healthy body can only tolerate staying in one position for as long. Holding the same position slowly diminishes elasticity in the soft tissues (muscles, ligaments, and tendons in the back). This allows stress to slowly build up causing discomfort.
The solution is to change position from time to time. Stand, stretch or even take a short walk. Alternate your posture for some time to allow your body tissues to regain the elasticity needed to protect the joints.
Office ergonomics can help you improve your posture as well as decrease fatigue, discomfort and physical stress while also increasing comfort and productivity. Although personalising your workspace may command investments in both time and money, the payoff will well be worth it.
Considerations should be given to the essential work accessories, the layout of equipment on the desk and the positioning of furniture in the room. Your office chair, desk, computer monitor and keyboard should be well positioned to avoid affecting your posture and causing undue stress to your spine.
Engaging a professional can help improve your posture as well as that of employees in the workplace. Every office worker is unique and personalised care can help overcome posture-induced conditions or chronic pain.
Good posture is essential for all office workers and it can have a positive effect on one’s general wellbeing. Bad posture has multiple negative effects on health and considering the amount of time the average office employee spends at the workstation, it is a significant workplace hazard.
At Recovery Partners, our consultants can assist you to provide postural re-education to employees as well as help improve office and workstation ergonomics. The aim is to prevent bad posture and improve the health of workers. A healthy workforce is a productive workforce.
We are available in multiple locations across Australia. If you are interested, you can enquire online here.
Alternatively, our consultants love to have a chat, so go ahead and give us a call on 1300 OHS RTW (647 789).
