When you hear stories about workplace accidents, your first thought is often probably a scenario in a more hazardous industry. For example, a construction worker falling from scaffolding or a logger getting caught in a piece of heavy machinery. What you may have never considered, is that office workers in Minnesota can also suffer from workplace injuries. Repetitive stress injuries are more common than many people realize and if you do not understand proper prevention, you could be setting the foundation for a future of uncomfortable problems.
When you get to your office, take a good look around. Are there aspects of your office that are not functional? Are there obstructions that make your work less efficient and more straining? Do you perform a lot of the same functions in a repetitive manner each day? While you may not immediately think of your constant typing as a hazard, having a workstation that is not properly outfitted to meet your needs can actually create quite a few problems in relation to the health of your back, eyes and arms among other things.
According to the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, some of the best ways that you can customize your workstation to fit your body and facilitate comfortable completion of your daily assignments includes the following:
- Do not use excessive force when doing things like typing or stapling.
- Invest in a simple document holder so you can store important papers at eye level.
- Set your chair and keyboard at appropriate heights so that your elbows are at a 90-degree angle.
- Make sure the lighting is appropriate so there is no glare on your computer screen.
The information in this article is intended for educational purposes only and should not be taken as legal advice.