Ergonomic Spaces at Home: Essential in the ‘New Normal’

A recent study on the importance of ergonomics in the “new normal” analyzed the workspaces of students and the academic staff of an American university during the quarantine.

The coronavirus pandemic has brought offices and classrooms into our homes. Although some countries are already returning to a presential (face-to-face) “new normal,” everything seems to indicate that telework and online teaching are here to stay. Faced with the possibility that we will not have a vaccine for COVID-19 soon, Dr. Kermit G. Davis of the International Society of Biomechanics stresses the importance of ergonomic spaces in the “new normal.”

A recent study on ergonomics’ importance in the new normality analyzed students’ and academic staff’s workspaces at a university in the United States during the quarantine. The study “The Home Office: Ergonomic Lessons From the ‘New Normal,’” co-authored by Dr. Davis, points out that today it is more important than ever to know about ergonomics to avoid the consequences that an incorrect posture and workspace may have on our health.

According to the Royal Spanish Academy dictionary, an ergonomic object is a utensil, piece of furniture, or machine adapted to the user’s physiological conditions. These can range from a desk and chair to a medical or scientific device. Ergonomics is the study of adapting machines, furniture, and utensils to the person who uses them regularly to achieve greater comfort and efficiency. Ergonomic objects are more common than we think. Some of the best known are chairs whose height is adjusted by a lever underneath the seat and desks with computers’ extensions.

Ergonomic practices arrived in Latin America in the 1960s, making their first appearance in Brazil and Mexico years later. The Society of Ergonomists of Mexico, A.C. (SEMAC), was founded in 1979 to educate on this subject. The first courses for which data were collected came from the Industrial Design program of the National Autonomous University of Mexico(UNAM) and, subsequently, from the Iberoamericana University, both in Mexico’s capital. Currently, this field plays a vital role in modern medicine. Specialized courses in this topic are taught to medical students in residency for Environmental Work Medicine and at PEMEX (a Mexican oil company).

Previously the term “ergonomic risks” was only used when considering heavy work where there could be obvious physical risks. However, thanks to the evolution and changes of the “new normal,” now an office worker, student, or teacher could suffer the same physical consequences as a worker in a petroleum plant.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced people to find spaces for work and study in their homes, in many cases, without their having the time and resources to make the necessary accommodations. To study this problem,  researchers sent a survey to students and staff at the University of Cincinnati asking them to show a photograph of their workspace in the past months and a photo of them working that space. The recommendations made by the researchers included adjusting the heights of their chairs, the amount of light, the person’s posture, the computer’s position, and even considered whether the feet touched the ground or not.

The study also makes some recommendations on making simple home modifications because many people cannot adopt more costly professional solutions. First of all, the researchers recommend becoming familiar with the functions of the furniture in the home, considering the height, the armrests, the shape, and the parts, to customize them to fit one’s body. However, if the user does not have furniture of this type, there are some solutions that people could put into practice at home.

Ergonomic solutions to apply at home

1. Use a pillow to elevate the person’s height in the chair.

2. Use a pillow or towel placed behind the back to eliminate the need to lean forward.

3. Move the chair closer or farther from the desk so that the chair fully supports the back.

4. When using a laptop, place a pillow under it to raise it to be level with the neck.

5. Use a separate mouse or keyboard to have greater mobility with those components.

The pandemic has put us to the test, especially regarding our ability to adapt. Regardless of whether this situation continues short or long term, ergonomic spaces will be indispensable to our adaptations as they represent a tremendous variable in our health during the quarantine. Proper ergonomic spaces can help us avoid skeletal-muscular diseases, acquire good posture, and perform better in our work. They represent a long-term investment to improve our health and the area of work or teaching to which we dedicate ourselves.

Translation by Daniel Wetta.

Fernanda Ibañez

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This article from Observatory of the Institute for the Future of Education may be shared under the terms of the license CC BY-NC-SA 4.0