Ergonomic Tips for Management
I have been in management to one degree or another for 26 years (yikes), I have studied it, and I have worked with or known hundreds of other managers throughout my professional career. One outstanding quality that the most successful managers and leaders have is a profound sense of caring for the people that work for them.
I learned a long time ago that if I worked hard at making sure my
employees had everything that they reasonably needed to do their jobs
well, my job became easier. If I did that really well, all I had to
do was stay out of their way. Focus is always on employees' production and
what can be done to ensure it remains unencumbered.
Well this newsletter is for the wonderful managers out there, who may not take the necessary time to ensure that their needs are being addressed.
We run departments, divisions and maybe whole companies. We are valuable due to our education, experience and innate skills that make us who we are. We had better ensure that OUR capacity to work and function is also unencumbered--remaining healthy is a top priority.
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Raise your hand if you know what each knob of your office chair does? Keep
it up if you know what position your body should be in while sitting,
keyboarding, handwriting, or speaking on the phone? Have you ever really
been taught how to lift that box at work, or lift laundry, children, and
groceries at home? Do you know what specific stretch to do if you start
getting a dull headache while looking at your monitor?
Amazingly we have never been taught basic life skills that could have a dramatic effect on our physical health and quality of everyday living. The following will put you at more "cause" over your well-being and less "effect" of your daily routines.
After all, a keyboard does not attack, it is just how we choose to use it that can be the difference in how we feel at the end of a day.
Repetitive stress injuries (RSIs) per definition do not happen overnight. They are a series of innocent physical stresses that add up over time to cause fatigue, discomfort, pain, and for the very unfortunate, painful and life-altering injuries. The symptoms may be insidious as one may feel mental fatigue caused by tired and strained muscle groups then wrongly assign the cause to emotional work-related stress.
What a difference you will feel when you eliminate the source of tense neck and shoulder muscles and learn how to keep the tension away. If you suffer from dull headaches, fatigue, a feeling of being overwhelmed, and one day seems to run into the next, this info may be just what the doctor ordered.
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Most people that work at a computer don't realize that unfortunately, due
to a lack of some simple training, their neck and shoulder muscles are
unknowingly being asked to stay "flexed" most of the day. These muscles
will inevitably rebel in the form of discomfort or pain that can, if long
ignored, lead to a lost time injury.
PHYSICAL STRESS RELIEF TIPS
The best solution of course is to prevent the physical stress from occurring and accumulating in your body. This is really simple. There are postures that your bodies like better than others.
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Make sure your monitor is at a height that keeps your head from looking down or up while typing or reading. (For laptop advice go to our website www.backsafe.com and look at a past newsletter under the "Newsroom" tab - "Is Your Laptop and Pain in the Neck?"). Neck and Shoulders - Do not reach for your mouse or keyboard! This can lead to neck and shoulder discomfort. Your upper extremities weigh up to 15% of your body weight. Imagine walking around like Frankenstein with your arms straight out? Not only would you look weird, it would hurt in very fast order. When we keep our elbows by our sides while typing, muscles do not have to work to support our arms. You are in charge of how you feel. Adjust your mouse and keyboard so that your elbows may stay by your side. This little adjustment can make a world of difference. |
I will leave you with these few tips for now. If you follow this advice
you will feel terrific in no time. It is so simple and can prevent so much
pain it is well worth your attention to make these adjustments.
We have had many examples of long time pain medication users for headaches and neck aches, not needing these pills any longer, in just a short time. We have had Carpal Tunnel surgeries cancelled due to people learning our concepts and what we all should have learned as youngsters.
Repetitive Stress Injuries are really simple to prevent if people are taught correctly what is assumed we already know. Having someone read a pamphlet or read a computer based training module seldom works to change behavior. The key is teaching body management principles in a fashion that arouses participation and gets people to realize that they can control how they feel.
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What good is ergonomic furniture if one doesn't know what positions their
bodies should be in when working? Your employees can now experience all
the comfort and benefits of their office furniture and your company can
save on workers comp for years to come.
Prevent Tomorrow's Injuries Today!
*This article may be reprinted in its entirety provided that the following resource is left intact:
About Future Industrial Technologies // Future Industrial Technologies, Inc. (F.I.T.) offers workplace safety and ergonomic training programs. BacksafeŽ combines biomechanics, ergonomics, stretching and discoveries in how to train employees, that results in a change of physical behavior at work and in life. SittingsafeŽ teaches employees how to adapt any workstation to be ergonomically correct specifically for their body types and how to stretch away physical stress common with office personnel. F.I.T. has a network of over 1200 certified Injury Prevention Specialists across North America to provide on-site trainings no matter where you have a location. F.I.T. also offers a Corporate Licensing Option if in-sourcing is preferred.
For more information contact Dennis Downing at:
Future Industrial Technologies, Inc.
4930 Cervato Way | Santa Barbara, CA 93111
Tel (800) 775-2225 |
Fax (805) 967-2487
Email: info@backsafe.com | Website:
http://www.backsafe.com