Ergonomics and Agile Working Wellbeing

The Covid-19 pandemic has completely changed how we work, our priorities and even where we work. As homeworking becomes the 'new normal' for certain roles, we want to make sure that staff are safe and supported.

As set out in the NHS People Plan, the NHS needs to be bold and commit to offering more flexible, varied roles and opportunities for different types of flexible working.

However, working desk-based and from home can take its toll on our physical wellbeing and can cause Musculo-skeletal (MSK) issues. A desk based job refers to a role where someone spends the majority of their working day sat at a workstation or desk. On average, we spend around 9.5 hours of our working day sitting down*.

Sources: NHS Looking After Our People, *British Heart Foundation

How to Sit at your Desk Correctly

Support your back

Reduce your risk of back pain by adjusting your chair so your lower back is properly supported.

A correctly adjusted chair will reduce the strain on your back. Get 1 that is easily adjustable so you can change the height, back position and tilt.

Your knees should be slightly lower than your hips. Use a footrest, if it feels necessary.

Adjust your chair

Adjust your chair height so you can use the keyboard with your wrists and forearms straight and level with the floor. This can help prevent repetitive strain injuries.

Your elbows should be by the side of your body so your arm forms an L-shape at the elbow joint.

Rest your feet on the floor

Place your feet flat on the floor. If they're not, ask if you can have a footrest, which lets you rest your feet at a level that's comfortable.

Don't cross your legs, as this may contribute to posture-related problems.

Place your screen at eye level

Your screen should be directly in front of you. A good guide is to place the monitor about an arm's length away, with the top of the screen roughly at eye level.

To achieve this, you may need a monitor stand. If the screen is too high or too low, you'll have to bend your neck, which can be uncomfortable.

Have the keyboard straight in front of you

Place your keyboard in front of you when typing.

Leave a gap of about 4 to 6 inches (100mm-150mm) at the front of the desk to rest your wrists between bouts of typing.

Keep your arms bent in an L-shape and your elbows by your sides.

Some people like to use a wrist rest to keep their wrists straight and at the same level as the keys.

Avoid screen reflection

Your screen should be as glare-free as possible. If there's glare on your screen, hold a mirror in front of the screen so you know what's causing it.

Position the monitor to avoid reflection from overhead lighting and sunlight. If necessary, pull blinds across the windows.

Adjusting the screen's brightness or contrast can make it much easier to use.

For more tips, visit here (NHS external site)

Remote Agile Workplace Wellbeing (RAWW)

All health and care colleagues in SYB were invited to attend our bitesize Remote Agile Workplace Workshops (RAWW) sessions with a focus on Desk and Remote Working, Musculoskeletal Awareness, Stretching & Relaxation and General Physical Wellbeing Awareness. All sessions were regular and 30 minutes in length, with free access to a health and wellbeing website, hosted by Halsa Wellbeing.

The site consists of further resources to support your wellbeing and self-care, such as videos, recipes, podcasts and more. You can access the site here.

Support for our Workforce in South Yorkshire and How to Stay Calm Under Pressure

As part of celebrating Healthcare Science week, SY ICB and HALSA wellbeing delivered two interactive bitesize sessions.

First session covered the mental health and health and wellbeing offers for our Health and Care colleagues across South Yorkshire.

The second session was all about how to understand the responses of their nervous system and how to control this system using breathwork and body position. This included coping strategies to help build resilience towards external stress factors and self-care techniques which are easy to apply even in challenging circumstances.

The slides from this webinar can be found below and a recording of the session can be found here

Videos

Stretch & Relaxation for Desk-Based Workers

A pre-recorded video of exercises by Halsa Wellbeing

Reflexology for MSK issues

A pre-recorded video of exercises by Halsa Wellbeing

Desk-based exercises

Useful links

7 simple tips to tackle working from home

These simple tips can help you feel more productive and motivated whilst working from home

Flexible working scenarios

The NHS Staff Council has developed a range of scenarios to help employers embed the new contractual flexible working provisions

Sitting exercises to do at home

These gentle sitting exercises can be done at home and aim to help improve your mobility and posture

On Your Feet Britain Day

The national activity awareness day when desk-based workers across Britain participate in a variety of fun and simple activities

Enabling and supporting staff to work from home

Organisations should adapt to new ways of working to support staff to work remotely where necessary

Flexible working guides for line managers and staff

NHS England and NHS Improvement, the NHS Staff Council and Timewise have published two new guides for flexible working