How can you foster a culture of ergonomic awareness and participation among your employees?

The best way to improve culture is through getting their input. Show how their input directly improves their work. Hand-in-hand with their input is communicating your strategy. Keep it simple. If a new procedure, process, method, or tool comes up, then tie that back to the strategy.

Some ways to get started is to put out a short simple questionnaire via email, slack or whatever communication channels you have available. Let the questions be as simple as this: Where are you working these days? - Working from home - Working from the office - Doing the Hybrid thing: (home and office) Are you comfortable when working from home? Y/N - if no, please describe: Are you comfortable when working from the office? Y/N - if no, please describe: What challenges are you facing if you are working hybrid? The answers will be very revealing and give you a road map on what to focus on to support your employees.

In my view, while educating and training employees on ergonomics is undoubtedly important, it might not be enough on its own to create a lasting culture of ergonomic awareness. Simply providing courses and workshops may not ensure that employees actively apply what they’ve learned in their daily routines. The real challenge lies in making ergonomics a continuous and integral part of the workplace culture, which requires ongoing support and reinforcement. Additionally, training should be interactive and practical, rather than just theoretical, to truly engage employees and encourage them to implement ergonomic practices effectively.

A centralised solution is key I'm still gobsmacked by the number of companies who carry out these tasks manually and the people who are scared to embrace technology to help! Assistive technology is a great way to streamline data for HR and EHS teams without manually trawling through a paper trail. It's a great solution for in-house teams or even outsourced consultants as it cuts down on time and money spend. Leaving you with real-time actionable data and a streamline process helping you to stay on top of any arising risks.

As mentioned before, training and feedback are essential. Little things go a long way. Are your employees armed with mobility kits? (So they can set themselves up successfully wherever they may be working?) How do you handle hoteling (shared workspaces) at the office which is a widespread practice now with hybrid working taking hold? Do you have external keyboards, mice and monitors for employees? Are they issued externals that they can carry with them? Is there storage onsite for employees to store their things?

To foster a culture of ergonomic awareness, engage and empower employees to take charge of their own well-being. Establish an ergonomic committee or champions to lead and advocate. Involve staff in decision-making by seeking their input and implementing their ideas. Recognize and reward their contributions with incentives or certificates. This approach enhances engagement and promotes a proactive ergonomic culture.

The best way to communicate is to meet your employees where they are. Choosing the right medium is based on the type of employees you have, their age, type of work and level of education. Imagine using slack to blue-collar workers of average ages 50. Or using an ergonomic app for workers on the production line. They don’t have the time. Already disinterested. There are a many mediums to choose from but it must be tailored to your employees’ needs. There is no use talking about office ergonomics to factory workers. Or putting up manual lifting posters to office workers (although relevant, it won’t apply to many). Another point to consider is the tone of the message. Nobody likes to be preached to. But people learn from people.

To build a strong ergonomic culture, communicate regularly with your employees using diverse channels like email, intranet, or posters. Share tips, best practices, and success stories to inform and motivate. Encourage feedback and respond promptly to foster engagement and continuous improvement. Effective communication and collaboration are key to a thriving ergonomic environment.

Remember, it is a complete win-win to put ergonomics front-and-center and make it an integral part of your company culture. Ergonomics = Wellness = Productivity = Longevity on the job.

Regularly reviewing and improving your ergonomic culture is essential. Conduct evaluations, surveys, or audits to assess progress and performance. Analyze data to spot trends and identify strengths and weaknesses. Use these insights to make informed improvements and corrective actions, ensuring your ergonomic culture evolves and thrives over time.

Onde atendo gosto sempre de criar a cultura de Ergonomia. Envolver sempre o trabalhador de linha para os projetos e treina-los para isso, pra mim as vezes uma pequena melhora gera grandes resultados! Envolver o trabalhador nisso e comemorar cada pequena conquista!

One thing. Education is key. Educating your employees on how important it is to look after their MSK health is so important and should be no different than looking after any other healt issues. Find a tool that educates through content and webinars not just a tool that outputs data. If your employess are been looked after its saves you time to get on with other important tasks.

A unique experience I had involved assessing employees' pain levels, which revealed areas needing improvement and established a baseline for measuring progress. This assessment not only allowed employees to see their pain levels—sometimes with shocking results—but also convinced them to adhere to ergonomic standards. It helped us identify the need for engineering and administrative solutions to address the issues effectively.