Workplace Ergonomics - Significance & Design

Workplace Ergonomics

Sitting and lack of movement can have long-term negative effects on employee performance. An ergonomic workplace promotes health and increases productivity. In our guide, you will learn everything you need to know about ergonomics and ergonomic workplace design.

What does ergonomics mean?

Ergonomics is derived from the Greek terms ergon (meaning “work”) and nomos (meaning “law” or “rule”) and can be understood as the study of the relationship between humans and their work. Ergonomics is about adapting working conditions to people (and not the other way around) so that work can be carried out in the best possible way.

What does ergonomics mean in the workplace? And why is it important?

An ergonomic workplace is therefore about designing the workplace in such a way that it is optimally adapted to the worker and that the worker can achieve his or her maximum performance. This should always be done while maintaining mental and physical health. Ergonomics is therefore of essential importance for preventive occupational safety and health.

What is the workplace?

In principle, the workplace is the place where employees perform their duties in accordance with their employment contract. This can be on the employer's premises, but it can also be a home office workplace. When we talk about the workplace, we can mean the computer workstation in the office, the assembly line in the factory or the kitchen in the restaurant.

Why is ergonomics in the workplace so important?

An ergonomically designed work environment has direct and indirect positive effects on employee performance. By avoiding negative impacts on the health of employees, the working atmosphere is improved and the number of cases of illness is reduced.

At the same time, an ergonomic arrangement of work equipment and aids directly increases performance by enabling tasks to be carried out more efficiently.

As a result, an ergonomic workplace has advantages for both employees and employers.

Legal regulations on ergonomics in the workplace?

The findings of ergonomics should also be applied in practice. However, since ergonomic workplace design has long been neglected by employers, various laws and regulations now govern the requirements for ergonomic workplaces.

The most important laws, regulations and guidelines are:

In addition to specific requirements for the design of ergonomic workplaces, it defines in particular the obligation for employers to ensure an ergonomic workplace for all employees and to "strive to improve the safety and health protection of employees".

What does an ergonomic VDU workstation look like?

Ergonomics at the computer workstation must meet several requirements. An ergonomic workstation offers:

Ergonomic Office Equipment

Why do we need ergonomic office furniture? Quite simply, they offer the possibility of being individually adapted to the respective body dimensions in order to enable optimum posture. The following points are therefore important:

When it comes to the ergonomics of office furniture, the correct adjustment and positioning is important. We explain below how to set up an ergonomic workstation.

Office Chairs

Anyone who wants to work with focus for several hours will appreciate a comfortable office chair. An ergonomic office chair promotes upright sitting, thereby strengthening the back muscles, improving breathing, and preventing back pain, which can otherwise lead to persistent pain and sick leave among employees.

Adjusting our Caro desk chair

To ensure ergonomic sitting, the following criteria should be taken into account when choosing the right desk chair:

Office Desks

The office desk is the centerpiece of the workplace. As with choosing the right office chair, there are a number of things to consider when selecting an office desk:

"Sitting is the new smoking" – Since prolonged sitting can have a negative impact on health in the long term, you should regularly alternate between sitting and standing positions. Electric or mechanically height-adjustable desks are ideal for this purpose. They can be raised and lowered to a height between 68 and 120 cm, depending on your body size.

Height-adjustable desks are ideal both for normal employee turnover, which is common, and for flexible desk-sharing workstations used by different employees. Each workstation, including the screen and office chair, is therefore suitable for every body size. This eliminates the previously tedious task of replacing office furniture or the need to buy new office furniture.

Filing systems and cabinets

Once the desk and office chair have been set up, storage and management systems follow. Sufficient storage space at the workstation means that all items that restrict freedom of movement can be stowed away.

In general, all important and regularly needed compartments and filing systems should be easily and quickly accessible from the workplace. Intelligently placed storage on the desk makes all required work equipment easily and quickly available.

For all other items, office cabinets provide additional storage space. From an ergonomic point of view, these cabinets can be placed on the opposite side of the workplace. This promotes regular movement during working hours.

Sufficient space to move around

Occupational health and safety regulations stipulate a minimum area per workstation. This must be at least 1.5 m². In addition, a depth and width of at least 1.2 m must be available. This ensures that employees always have easy access to all work equipment, can change their posture during work, and can make compensatory movements to avoid a monotonous working posture.

Arrangement of work equipment

The appropriate placement of work equipment and aids supports an ergonomic posture and efficient work.

The monitor is an essential part of a VDU workstation. To avoid tension, it should be positioned straight and at a distance of 50 - 70 cm in front of the user. The upper edge of the screen should be approximately at eye level and the lower edge of the screen should be visible at an angle of 35°.

Keyboard, mouse and other input devices should be positioned at a distance of 10 - 15 cm from the front edge of the desk to ensure a comfortable posture. Frequently used work equipment should be positioned as centrally as possible in the field of vision and reach.

Counteracting environmental factors

Environmental factors are external influences that affect people and influence their performance. At a VDU workstation, these include, for example

To counteract these environmental factors, a general ergonomic room design is required, supplemented by specific measures at the computer workstation.

Ergonomic lighting

Lighting conditions are also among the legally regulated requirements for an ergonomically designed workplace. Ergonomic lighting has numerous positive effects, which are often underestimated, however.

Ergonomically optimized lighting leads to:

Ergonomic lighting starts with sufficient daylight through the windows. It is supported by indirect ceiling or wall lighting. A desk lamp provides direct lighting at the desk.

Noise protection at the workplace

Noise is one of the most frequently mentioned disruptive factors at work, which can also have consequences for mental health in particular. Particularly in open-plan offices, which have been popular for a long time, a background noise quickly develops that makes focused work almost impossible.

For this reason, appropriate precautions should be taken and technical measures implemented at every workplace to ensure effective noise reduction. Sound-absorbing partitions and desk dividers are an effective way of reducing noise by absorbing sound waves. If reducing background noise is not sufficient, headphones with active noise cancellation can provide additional protection.

Indoor climate

Room temperature, humidity, air movement and heat radiation can have a major impact on performance. The optimum temperature is 20 - 22 degrees Celsius, but should not exceed 26 degrees. Above a temperature of 30 degrees, the employer must take suitable cooling measures, such as providing fans or cold drinks. Above a temperature of 35 degrees, the place is no longer suitable for working.

To guarantee sufficient humidity, the room should be aired regularly. To do this, the windows should be opened to provide fresh air. Excessive heat radiation should be avoided. Sun protection must be installed in direct sunlight.

Even though the topic of health protection and ergonomics in the workplace is becoming more and more conscious among companies, we are finding that many companies still do not pay enough attention to the topic. However, it is in the interest of every company to promote the topic in its own office and production rooms, as an ergonomic workplace ultimately leads to higher productivity and is therefore advantageous - for employees and employers.

Lendis is the expert for professional workspaces. We help companies to provide their employees with the best possible working environment. With our ergonomic office equipment, you can equip your colleagues with everything they need for a modern workplace and maximum performance.