It’s shocking to learn how many people working from home have in fact caused a new injury or kicked up an old one since COVID. Why is this happening? With the country locking down due to the COVID pandemic and following stay at home orders to socially distance ourselves, the home office turns out to be the safety-polar opposite of the office workstation.
A July 2020 survey by Lenovo reported 71% of over 20,000 remote workers became hurt from working at home since starting to work from home due to the pandemic. Some of the complaints include lower back pain and neck pain, poor posture, headaches, difficult sleeping, and eye strain. It’s no wonder this could happen because no one was prepared for the switch. What are companies and workers doing to address this problem? Learn one option here.
I’ve been talking with clients and colleagues who have been working from home since March 2020. They say their body can tell when something isn’t right about their home workstation. The real shock to me are the comments like “I just push through the discomfort” and “I’m getting good at ignoring how my body feels.”
Comments like these come with real long term consequences if they are not addressed. It’s my perception that workers in general dont like to complain to their bosses. In my line of work as a Physical Therapist and an Ergonomic Specialist, I need clients to tell me what they are feeling and where they have their “pain points”. So I hear what bosses won’t necessarily catch wind of. It makes me think, “how many remote workers are suffering in silence?”
Solving this problem is not new to me. I have worked with remote workers before COVID who were on their own to create a safe work environment. There are some quick and easy solutions that make significant improvements in posture and resistance to stressors. For complete make overs, the big up front costs for proper furniture and equipment can actually save time, money and stress for the long term remote worker.
Listening to your body is very important. Ignoring what your body tells you can hurt you in more than one way. It becomes a distraction that could make you grumpy, depressed, anxious, or short with others. Try working with a specialist who can save you time and money by removing your pain points that you feel and learn about the ones that are not aware of yet.
Office Ergo Assessments are conducted by Dr. Tom, Advanced Office Ergonomic Assessment Specialist. Learn more about a Virtual Office-Ergo Assessment or view our rates.
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