Since the Greeks first started using tools, the importance of comfortable design and good systems — ergonomics — has been clear. However, with modern research by Knoll showing how technology is becoming more and more ubiquitous in the workplace, the science of health, safety, and good design in business spaces has become more important than ever.
As we’ll show, ergonomics isn’t solely about well-designed equipment: it’s about taking care of your employees’ wellness through good support systems and employee benefits solutions. Showing your employees that you care about their wellbeing through benefits solutions like those we offer at TrueConnect is vital to a productive and healthy workplace.
The common wisdom of ergonomics has been accepted for years now: it can save your company money and reduce the stress and health impact of work on your employees, among numerous other benefits. Long-established ways of making your work environment safer, healthier and more sustainable include: good lighting that reduces eye strain and helps to prevent a depressed mood; well-designed equipment that promotes good posture and prevents repetitive strain injury, back pain, and other chronic health problems; and health and safety protocols that reduce the your accident rate and lessen work downtime.
Ergonomics is more than just comfy chairs
But with the growing use of computers and mobile devices in the workplace — particularly with Generation Y, who use Internet-connected devices for up to eight hours a day — the approach to creating a happy and sustainable employee environment is becoming more than just chairs, lights, and well-positioned keyboards.
Ergonomic design needs to spill over into employee relaxation areas, where good posture can be learned more ‘naturally’, and into employee training so that the fundamentals of sustainable practice can be clearly demonstrated. It should also be practised digitally: avoid legacy software and old, cumbersome, and slow hardware or devices, and teach employees how to make their work faster and more efficient with the use of modern tools such as plug-ins, extensions, and third-party applications that make their lives and work that much easier.
Taking care of all your employee needs
Finally, the principles of a sustainable and healthy employee environment need to take heed of the personal and financial circumstances of those who work there. What good is reducing carpal tunnel or eye strain if your employees are burdened by anxiety stemming from financial difficulties? If bad posture and poor lighting are a bane to the body, it’s not difficult to imagine the disastrous effects of financial difficulty on employee productivity and wellness. Employees mired in debt, struggling to meet expenses or scrambling to pay for unforeseen medical bills suffer just as bad as those with heavy job schedules or poor work environments. Smart employee benefits solutions, including loans and similar financial solutions like the ones we’ve been specialising in at TrueConnect for years, now can go a long way in reducing employee stress. Preventing unhealthy patterns of behaviour that negatively impact employee well-being can be as easy as giving us a call.
At TrueConnect, we work with employers and employees to figure out what you need to create and maintain a sustainable work environment that will keep employees healthy, happy, and productive. It’s risk-free and requires no employer fees or employee credit checks — and best of all, it’s simple to manage and totally automated. To find out more about what kinds of employee benefits solutions will help keep your employees and company sustainable, efficient, and happy, contact us for your TrueConnect consultation.
