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Fast Company: How to handle the challenges of a makeshift home office

UC ergonomics expert says the laptop isn’t meant to be a permanent work solution

headshot of Cedric Ricks By Cedric Ricks 260-415-8554
3 minute read December 12, 2020

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic workers across the nation have converted their basements, spare rooms, dining room tables or bedrooms into makeshift offices. Employers have asked much of their workforce to consider working from home when possible. But few workers have much guidance when it comes to making sure their work space makes the best use of ergonomics to ensure they remain physically safe and healthy.

A team of researchers at UC conducted an ergonomic assessment of employees at the university by sending an email survey earlier this year to 4,500 faculty and staff after the coronavirus pandemic prompted the university to ask workers to continue operations from home when possible. The survey had 843 people complete it and showed some trends and offered a glimpse into what many who work from home were encountering. The survey findings were detailed in the scholarly journal Ergonomics in Design.

Susan Kotowski CAHS

Susan Kotowski, PhD

Susan Kotowski, PhD, an associate professor in the UC College of Allied Health Sciences and ergonomics expert, was part of a team of researchers conducting the survey. Lead author of the research survey was Kermit Davis, PhD, professor in the UC Department of Environmental Health and Public Sciences. Kotowski spoke to Fast Company about the survey, which found a number of issues, including poor seating and lighting and eye-straining monitor placements.

“What we see is that a laptop, which isn’t meant to be a primary computer, is actually being used as the primary computer” Kotowski told Fast Company.

The takeaway was the ergonomic workplace setups many employees have become so accustomed to aren’t being replicated at home, causing muscle fatigue, tired eyes and, yes, even injuries. “This is something that companies should be taking seriously,” Kotowski told Fast Company.

Read the full story with Kotowski online.

Learn more about the research ergonomics survey conducted at UC. 

Featured office workspace is courtesy of Unsplash.

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