Ergonomics is defined as: the study of people’s efficiency in their work environment, and the science of refining the design of products to optimize them for use by humans.
Each year during National Ergonomics month, we celebrate World Spine Day on October 16. World Spine Day aims to highlight the importance of spinal health and well-being. Our recent 2022 I Care Employee Wellness Survey Report revealed that 51% of respondents from the industry said they are currently experiencing back or neck pain - and 65% of those people said that their pain had gotten worse over the last year.
Although there are ergonomic issues associated with every occupation, office and computer work are often an area of focus, given the fact that people spend approximately one third of their lives (or 90,000 hours) working. It's important to make spine health a priority at work. We’ve got a great collection of resources available on our Living Well Library to help you protect your spine now – and throughout the year.
Spine Health Insights from This Year’s Survey Report
The results published in the soon-to-be-published I Care Employee Wellbeing Survey Report indicated that those individuals working entirely on-site are less likely to report spine pain than those who are working from home, or on a hybrid schedule.
Not surprisingly, we also found that spine pain was reduced for individuals who were working entirely remotely with a designated workspace (47% had spine pain), vs. individuals who were working entirely remotely without a designed workspace (62% reported spine pain).
We also found that spine pain differed based on the area of the industry that individuals worked in, with those working as an Independent Rep reporting higher spine pain than other areas within the industry.
The Impact of Ergonomic Tools and Supports
As an industry that designs, produces, and sells ergonomic products, we have a responsibility to do all that we can to walk the talk – to make sure our people are all getting what they need in the way of spine health.
In recognition of National Ergonomic month – and considering the recent insights from our Survey Report – we encourage you to make spine health a priority - for your colleagues, teams, and customers. Download the Living Well at Work Guide – Supporting Spine Health at Work, to learn what you can do to develop a strategy to keep yourself and your team healthy - and feel free to reach out to INDEAL Cares to share questions, comments, and suggestions for additional resources.
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