Professional advice around the workplace

Ms. Leemann, what brings people to you for counseling?

Gabriela Leemann: Most of the time, health problems are in the foreground. If I have a client with back problems, it doesn't necessarily have to be underlying physical causes. I like to approach people. With targeted questions, I get clues as to where things are "pressing".

What do customers get from you that they don't get elsewhere?

I want the customer not just to buy an ergonomic product, but also to receive targeted information on how to improve their workplace situation. If health concerns are an issue, for example muscle tension, you have to start at the root cause. Awareness that problems may not be solved just by buying a good chair must be encouraged. There are several factors that have an impact on a healthier and better physical situation and satisfaction at work.

You not only advise customers in the store in Oerlikon, but also visit companies and look at the workplace situation on site. What conditions do you encounter most often there?

I regularly see inappropriately adjusted furniture, monitors set too high and badly placed keyboards. Documents and templates are often positioned awkwardly, so that posture is negatively affected. And I often encounter ignorance regarding the chair settings. I always say: the work chair is your best colleague, nowhere else do you sit longer than on your office chair. People often don't know that you can adjust the backrest, seat tilt and seat depth, and after an adjustment they are surprised at how comfortable they can sit.

And what health problems do you notice particularly often?

Back problems. It starts in the cervical area with shoulder-neck tension that is extremely persistent. People suffer from headaches, eye complaints, herniated discs, and diffuse back problems that can't be pinpointed. Then there is numbness in the hands, motor disorders, recurring tennis elbow or tendonitis - I see and hear many stories of suffering!

How does on-site consulting work in practice?

First, I look at the situation: How does the person fit into the workstation, how does he or she use it, where, if at all, are there already harmful posture patterns? Then I take care of the correct adjustment of the chair and see if it is compatible with the table height. In a third step, I look at the work tools together with the client: Mouse, keyboard, monitor height, laptop, computer. If the workstation is paper-heavy, I look at where the documents are filed. A document holder can be a great help in this regard. After all, if the documents are placed correctly, the view is straight and you can immediately see how the person straightens up and relaxes, i.e. has a better posture overall. Everything that can be brought into the body's natural, natural posture relieves. And what relieves, relaxes.

What are the minimum requirements that modern office supplies should meet?

Today, many chairs are already well adjustable. With tables, the possibilities for height adjustment are limited. The furniture must be easy and uncomplicated to adjust, because there are people of different heights with different proportions. And even people of the same height can have different leg and arm lengths, so they have to set up the workstation differently.

Now, more and more companies are turning to desk sharing. This means that employees have a different workstation every day and therefore no longer have a "personal" office chair. What do you think of this trend?

This development is especially common in companies where employees are not in the office every day, but work at home or are often on the road. These shared workplaces are furnished in a very rudimentary and uniform way so that it fits into the overall picture of open-plan offices. The employees no longer have any personal furniture, so they can't make any individual adjustments to the material. They take the furniture as it is and don't adjust anything. This is due to people's ignorance and lack of awareness of ergonomics when working. For the employees themselves, I don't find desk sharing a positive development. There is no rest, one does not arrive properly at the workplace. The employee is constantly on the go. This harbors a considerable potential for stress.

So what's your advice to those businesses where desk sharing is unavoidable?

When purchasing new furniture, I recommend making sure that a table is height-adjustable. It should also be possible to make sufficient adjustments to the chair so that smaller and larger employees can use and operate it. Last but not least, I believe that health promotion should be implemented in a company and that employees should be trained accordingly.

More and more people are also working on laptops from home or on the road. What do you have to pay particular attention to?

Anyone who works a lot on a laptop often adopts an awkward posture. Especially if you work like this all day, the screen area is actually too small. This is because focusing on a small surface puts a strain on the posture and mainly also on the eyes in the longer term. The screen is usually too low and the screen and keyboard are too close together, especially for tall people. The distances are not right. That's why I advise frequent, short breaks and conscious movement. Eye training also helps, such as focusing on things far away, moistening the eyes. This is because the rigid, static gaze on the small screen surface puts extreme strain on the eyes, you hardly blink anymore, the eye radius decreases, which can lead to visual impairment in the long term. Vision or eye training can help to counteract this. As a preventive measure, it is worth consulting an ophthalmologist, i.e. an eye specialist.

All measures that are not only good for laptop users.

Yes, for sure. If you work mainly in a sedentary position, you don't get enough movement. The human body is dependent on movement for its functions, right down to the smallest cell. By building up and releasing pressure, for example, we mobilize the synovial fluid, the blood flow and the water balance. Our "machine" only runs optimally if we move enough. Life functions are slowed down when we sit. It is therefore important to take conscious breaks, to move consciously, to loosen and stretch the neck and shoulders with circular movements. Otherwise, bad postures develop.

In conclusion: What advice do you have for employers in general?

Companies that offer health-conscious workplaces thereby create motivation, absences can be reduced in the best case. It is important that everyone bears appropriate responsibility: While the employer has the obligation to provide a place that is not harmful to health, on the other hand, it is also up to the employee to consciously set up his place and take responsibility for his health.