In the working world, ergonomics is part of preventive occupational safety. A non-ergonomic office workstation leads to neck and back pain in employees in the long term. Initially mild complaints can later lead to pain and sick leave. To avoid this, an ergonomic design of the workplace is recommended.
What does a workplace that has a positive effect on employees' mental health look like?
Employee satisfaction affects their productivity. In an open-plan office, companies create an employee-friendly atmosphere if each workstation has a minimum area of ten square metres. This gives employees sufficient freedom of movement. They can stretch their limbs or take a few steps to prevent tension.
For a workplace with a 'feel-good factor', the following are recommended:
- good lighting,
- a humidity level between 40 and 60 percent,
- a temperature between 20 and 22 degrees Celsius,
- low noise levels.
To sit comfortably, employees need an office chair that they can adjust to individual needs. Ergonomic models score points with adjustable armrests and backrests. This allows for a changing working posture. With a beneficial seating position, the legs are bent at a 90-degree angle and the feet rest comfortably on the floor.
For desks, a minimum height of 80 centimetres is recommended. The width is at least 160 centimetres. Height-adjustable desks have a positive impact on workplace ergonomics. How these affect employee productivity is explained in the study „ERGONOMIE-BENEFITS“ of the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA.
Can a Cobot help to avoid physical strains in everyday work?
Strenuous and non-ergonomic movements have a detrimental long-term effect on employees' health. Injuries and the associated days off mean an economic loss for the company. To relieve employees permanently, companies can consider integrating human-robot collaboration into everyday production.
In this, a collaborative robot, Cobot called, works with an employee on the same components. Without spatial separation, both share the workspace to make manufacturing processes more efficient and more economical.
Collaborative robots contribute to the mental and physical relief of human workers. By taking on strenuous and non-ergonomic tasks, they protect employees from long-term health complaints. Cobots spare humans arduous tasks through unlimited endurance and strength. They are also suitable for steps that demand an unhealthy posture from human employees.
The collaborative robots resemble a human arm in form and function. They carry heavy loads effortlessly. A Cobot from the company Universal Robots can handle a payload of up to 16 kilograms. Three students from Denmark founded the company in 2005 as the first company to produce commercially usable Cobots.
Conclusion
For work in the office or production, there are ways to increase ergonomics and thereby relieve employees. Investing in ergonomic workplace equipment or collaborative robots means a long-term economic advantage for companies.
