Ergonomics programs work to improve employee morale and efficiency through the development of safe and healthy work procedures within a company. Ergonomics applications range from the creation of proper workstations with accessories, such as lights and stands, which make it easier for the employees to complete their work, to basic office furnishings that are designed to improve posture and overall health. These programs also include basic training programs involving proper use of the tools available.
Ergonomics programs have demonstrated numerous benefits for the companies that implement them correctly. Ergonomics programs work to improve the overall health of the employee while increasing productivity and efficiency. This is accomplished by supplying the employees with office furnishings that suit the tasks being completed while also promoting proper posture and positioning in the employee. By helping the employee maintain their posture with an ergonomic chair with back support, the company is reducing the likelihood that that employee will develop back pain that will decrease their ability to work well. This can also be accomplished by providing the employees with different types of workstations that fit with their work style or the type of work being done. These range from normal desks with monitor and keyboard setups that limit stress on the wrists and eye by locating the monitor and keyboard a proper distance away to standing workstations that can improve circulation and decrease the amount of time an employee spends hunched over a normal desk.
These programs often include simple training for employees as well. These training sessions involve showing the employees how to get the most benefit and use out of the equipment that is available to them. This allows the employee to both use the equipment properly and reduce the likelihood of being injured. Since injured employees are either entirely absent from the company or have limited productivity due to the injury, decreasing the chances for an injury to occur will increase the overall productivity of the company.A reduction in injuries also reduces employee compensation costs and lost work days.
While ergonomics improves employee health by decreasing the stresses placed on their physical bodies while performing a task, ergonomics also improves employee morale overall. By taking active steps to improve employee health, companies promote a healthy environment in which the employees can complete their tasks. This leads to increased loyalty and levels of job satisfaction with the employees. When the employees feel that the company is taking active steps to insure their health, they are more productive and happier at the office. This leads to improved corporate images which can lead to improved relationships between the company and the community as well as improved brand recognition for the company.
Overall, ergonomics programs help organizations achieve their business goals. By improving employee morale and lowering turnover rate, organizations can focus on growing and expanding their band instead of having to perpetually hire and re-train their employees. The implementation of ergonomics programs also reduces the costs suffered by an organization when they must compensate employees for injuries sustained in the workplace or caused by the work environment. These costs include both medical care and paying employees for sick days and other out of office recovery days. Employees are most productive when they feel the company cares about them and their wellbeing. Most importantly, a healthy employee is a productive employee and an ergonomics program ensures the health of the employees.