Did you know that a number of health problems actually begin in the workplace and can worsen over time if the right actions are not taken? Unfortunately, the presence of many of these problems is either overlooked or ignored, which means that more employees fall victim to them. With the right sort of office furniture design, however, you can work towards eliminating these problems completely from your workplace.

There are a number of reasons why you should be concerned with the health problems present in your workplace. Firstly, there will be a general decline in the productivity of employees who have developed these problems. Secondly, you will be forced to pay them sick leave when they have to take time off work and you may even be required to pay them compensation if it is discovered that their condition is serious enough.

There are plenty of health problems that can begin in the workplace, many of them falling into the repetitive strain category. Some of the more common problems include: bursitis (an inflammation at joints where muscles and tendons slide across bone), carpal tunnel syndrome, dystonia (also known as writer’s cramp), epicondylitis (generally an inflammation of the elbow), Raynoud’s disease (discolouration of fingers and toes), and tendinitis.

• Seating – It should be clear that no two employees are built the same, but height forms only part of the issue. Whilst you might assume that two employees who are both 170 cm tall would have the same needs, this is actually false! One may have a longer torso, whilst the other has longer legs; when these employees are sitting down their overall height becomes irrelevant because of these differences.
• Screens – A slight inclination of the neck can cause strain to our neck muscles and tilting the head back can also put compression strain on the back of our necks. It is important that your office furniture design has put screens at an appropriate height for each person. This could be achieved either by raising the screen up or lowering the seat of the employee so that they can look straight ahead.
• Resting – Whilst some of your employees will prefer chairs with armrests and some of them will prefer chairs without, it is important to keep in mind that proper support can eliminate problems with our wrists. If they are constantly bent at an odd angle, for example, you will find that they suffer from severe strain. You could also find that your arms and shoulders begin to ache over time.

The first step in solving the health problems present in your workplace is to simply realise that they do exist. Once you understand the types of problems that could be present amongst your workers, you can begin looking into office furniture designs that will help them to stay healthy. Make sure that their feet are planted firmly on the ground, that they are looking directly at the screen and that their bodies (back, arms and neck) are properly supported.