Proactive office ergonomics equals a profitable business
A proactive (i.e. before severe injury or worker's compensation claim) ergonomic assessment might cost you anywhere between $250-$400 depending on the complexity of the case. Compared to the financial consequences of failing to be proactive, this becomes small change.
Paying attention to office ergonomics can save your organisation money in two main ways.
These are:
Fewer Worker's Compensation Claims
Compared to more physical occupations, such as construction, office work results in fewer worker's compensation claims. However, they definitely still do occur. Any time an organisation processes a worker's compensation claim, expenses are incurred in three key ways.
Firstly, there are the direct costs associated with injuries. Before a worker's compensation claim is accepted, there is an excess that the organisation must have spent. This is normally around $600 - $1500, depending on the jurisdiction/state your organisation is located. These costs are incurred on medical and treatment expenses for the injured worker. If your injured employee opts not to submit a worker's compensation claim, you may be responsible for ongoing treatment costs. However, that is a negotiable with your injured employee, as they do have the option to submit a worker's compensation claim.
Secondly, there are the expenses associated with hiring new staff as a result of your injured employees being off work. According to Safe Work Australia, the average length of time an injured office worker who submits a worker's compensation claim takes off work is 4.8 weeks.* As such, you will need to find additional staff for this time period or suffer from a reduction in productivity (which is obviously another expense in itself).
Thirdly, worker's compensation claims result in increased insurance premiums. To set insurance premium rates, industry averages of past injuries are taken into consideration. However, organisations with a history of workplace injuries will be given higher insurance premiums than the industry average.
Increased Productivity
Office workers, and all workers and individuals for that matter, are more productive when they are comfortable. If a worker is uncomfortable at their desk, they will be fidgety, have difficulty concentrating, and feel the need to constantly change position. This results in less work being done. We all know this from personal experience. As such, paying attention to office ergonomics can have a direct impact on employee productivity.
Furthermore, when a person is restless due to feeling physically uncomfortable (in this case due to poor office ergonomics), the muscles in the affected body area tighten up. This a defence mechanism and is the body's attempt to protect itself from whatever the stress is that is causing the discomfort. The problem with this is that when muscles tighten up, the level of discomfort becomes even worse. As you can see, it becomes a bit of a continual downwards spiral, both for the level of discomfort and the productivity of the worker.
For example, if someone's chair is set up incorrectly, and this is resulting in them leaning forwards excessively, there is a fair chance they will develop some discomfort in their back. This sensation of discomfort will result in those back muscles going into spasm. In turn, this will make the discomfort even worse!
So, it is clear that paying attention to office ergonomics is a worthwhile investment for your organisation. Paying a few hundred dollars for a proactive ergonomic assessment is far cheaper than the alternatives discussed above. As the saying goes, prevention is far cheaper than a cure!
* Safe Work Australia, Australian Worker's Compensation Statistics 2013-14.
Paying attention to office ergonomics can save your organisation money in two main ways.
These are:
- Reduced workplace injuries means fewer worker's compensation claims; and
- Good office ergonomics results in the increased productivity of your staff.
Fewer Worker's Compensation Claims
Compared to more physical occupations, such as construction, office work results in fewer worker's compensation claims. However, they definitely still do occur. Any time an organisation processes a worker's compensation claim, expenses are incurred in three key ways.
Firstly, there are the direct costs associated with injuries. Before a worker's compensation claim is accepted, there is an excess that the organisation must have spent. This is normally around $600 - $1500, depending on the jurisdiction/state your organisation is located. These costs are incurred on medical and treatment expenses for the injured worker. If your injured employee opts not to submit a worker's compensation claim, you may be responsible for ongoing treatment costs. However, that is a negotiable with your injured employee, as they do have the option to submit a worker's compensation claim.
Secondly, there are the expenses associated with hiring new staff as a result of your injured employees being off work. According to Safe Work Australia, the average length of time an injured office worker who submits a worker's compensation claim takes off work is 4.8 weeks.* As such, you will need to find additional staff for this time period or suffer from a reduction in productivity (which is obviously another expense in itself).
Thirdly, worker's compensation claims result in increased insurance premiums. To set insurance premium rates, industry averages of past injuries are taken into consideration. However, organisations with a history of workplace injuries will be given higher insurance premiums than the industry average.
Increased Productivity
Office workers, and all workers and individuals for that matter, are more productive when they are comfortable. If a worker is uncomfortable at their desk, they will be fidgety, have difficulty concentrating, and feel the need to constantly change position. This results in less work being done. We all know this from personal experience. As such, paying attention to office ergonomics can have a direct impact on employee productivity.
Furthermore, when a person is restless due to feeling physically uncomfortable (in this case due to poor office ergonomics), the muscles in the affected body area tighten up. This a defence mechanism and is the body's attempt to protect itself from whatever the stress is that is causing the discomfort. The problem with this is that when muscles tighten up, the level of discomfort becomes even worse. As you can see, it becomes a bit of a continual downwards spiral, both for the level of discomfort and the productivity of the worker.
For example, if someone's chair is set up incorrectly, and this is resulting in them leaning forwards excessively, there is a fair chance they will develop some discomfort in their back. This sensation of discomfort will result in those back muscles going into spasm. In turn, this will make the discomfort even worse!
So, it is clear that paying attention to office ergonomics is a worthwhile investment for your organisation. Paying a few hundred dollars for a proactive ergonomic assessment is far cheaper than the alternatives discussed above. As the saying goes, prevention is far cheaper than a cure!
* Safe Work Australia, Australian Worker's Compensation Statistics 2013-14.
