Bad posture can trigger a host of maladies – the most prevalent being back and neck pain. Utilizing the right mix workplace products not only supports healthier habits, but also meets myriad office design and floor plan needs – including open plan and co-working spaces.
Business leaders wrestle with a multitude of issues and trends that impact profitability and productivity, and employee wellbeing has risen in their hierarchy of priorities. In the past, employees’ posture at their desks was rarely included in their wellness concerns. That mindset has changed as “occupational ergonomic hazards” — like slouching at your desk — have come into focus as a bottom-line business challenge.
Bad posture can trigger a host of maladies – the most prevalent being back and neck pain. According to the American Chiropractic Association, in the U.S., back pain accounts for more than 264 million lost workdays a year – two full workdays for every full-time worker. Estimates of the cost and lost revenue from neck and back pain range from $50 to $100 billion per year and the problem is escalating. According to the American Posture Institute, we’re slouching more now than ever.
One of the main reasons for poor posture is our increased use of technology – in particular mobile devices. Even in highly mobile workplaces where employees move around regularly, a person’s dominant working position —sitting or standing — poses posture related health risks whether they work in a fixed workspace or in different places throughout the office.
Prolonged sitting has been proven to be bad and many workers still spend more than half of their workday seated. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has reported that prolonged sitting is linked to various health issues including premature mortality, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer, as well as obesity. The CDC’s Take-a-Stand Project found that reducing sitting time by 66 minutes per day using sit-and-stand workspace devices reduced upper back and neck pain by 54 percent.
Based on this data, one would assume that more standing at work would be the clear solution. However, recent CDC studies indicate that prolonged standing at work can also lead to back and muscle pain, and physical fatigue. As such, the answer to better office ergonomics lies in a workplace design that is adaptive and kinetic, with no one sitting or standing in one place all day.
Businesses are starting to respond to this growing trend, but a challenge in creating office spaces that truly foster better health and ergonomics is that poor posture is not just a result of technology overuse or workspace configuration, it’s a bad habit.
Can dynamic workspace design help employees break their slouching habits? Yes, quite likely.