Ergonomic Office Equipment | Creating Workspaces That Work With You
The last thing anyone wants is to spend a hard day’s work at a setup that’s just plain hard to work in. Ultimately, office equipment and furniture that doesn’t work with you will work against you.
For those designing and managing workplaces, ergonomic office equipment is the answer to creating spaces that are not only comfortable but also conducive to productivity.
In this guide, we’ll take a look at the impacts of ergonomic office equipment on your operation and its employees. We cover:
- The high cost of bad workplace ergonomics
- Spotting bad ergonomic design
- Outfitting your office with ergonomic equipment and furniture
- The ergonomic workstation | The furniture your office needs
- The ergonomic workstation | Creating the right layout
- Where to purchase ergonomic office furniture
Let’s take a trip to your desk at work.
Right now, you probably have a setup that’s just right for you. Everything’s at the right height and within arm’s reach. Quite frankly, if anyone else were to sit there, it just wouldn’t feel exactly right – it is your desk, after all.
Now imagine if someone came in while you were gone and adjusted everything to fit them.
The next time you sit down at your desk will probably feel like you have stepped into foreign territory.
For many, adjusting to office equipment that’s rigid and static can be challenging enough. And it only becomes more difficult in shared office environments where more than one person may use the same workspace. Essentially, not being able to work comfortably can go from being a minor inconvenience to significantly impacting productivity and comfort.
Is there a solution that doesn’t require providing every employee with equipment designed specifically for them?
Absolutely!
Designed to offer a customizable user experience, ergonomic office equipment and furniture is that middle ground – and one that lends itself to creating workspaces that allow employees to work comfortably and efficiently.
The High Cost of Bad Workplace Ergonomics
Workplace ergonomics isn’t about outfitting your office with slightly curved keyboards, vertical mice, or balance ball chairs.
While those are indeed ergonomic products that help, they’re only part of a much broader picture of what makes a workspace comfortable to an individual and conducive to productivity & safety.
Ultimately, ergonomics in any workspace – from a hospital to a manufacturing floor – is aimed at improving posture and comfort while reducing repetitive strain injuries (RSIs).
The effects of poor workplace ergonomics can be far-reaching – and costly – going beyond an employee having a least favorite chair to sit in or desk to work at. Bad ergonomics can impact everything from employees having bad work days to downtime and workers’ comp claims.
- Decreased Productivity and Health: Poor ergonomic equipment causes physical strain, leading to discomfort, fatigue, and injuries like repetitive strain injuries (RSIs). This, in turn, reduces worker productivity and increases absenteeism, affecting overall workplace efficiency.
- Increased Costs: Companies face higher expenses due to medical treatments, workers’ compensation claims, and potential legal issues related to ergonomic injuries. These costs can significantly impact the company’s bottom line.
- Lower Employee Satisfaction: Discomfort and pain from poor ergonomic conditions lead to decreased job satisfaction, resulting in higher employee turnover, reduced morale, and a negative impact on workplace culture. Employees are more likely to seek employment elsewhere if they experience ongoing discomfort.
Common Repetitive Strain Injuries
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: Caused by repetitive wrist movements, leading to nerve compression.
- Tendonitis: Inflammation of tendons, often in the wrists, elbows, or shoulders, due to overuse.
- De Quervain’s Tenosynovitis: Inflammation of the tendons in the thumb, often due to repetitive gripping or twisting motions.
- Rotator Cuff Syndrome: Shoulder pain and limited range of motion caused by repetitive overhead activities.
Money Well Spent: Investing in Workplace Ergonomic Equipment
Though the reasons for investing in ergonomic equipment may seem obvious, it’s still worth spending some time to understand their benefits to your operation. It’s hard to deny the impact of what functional & effective ergonomic equipment can mean for your workplace and employees.
Healthier Employees
Ergonomics helps prevent musculoskeletal disorders and other health issues related to sedentary work.More Productive Workers
Ergonomic equipment reduces discomfort and distractions, allowing employees to focus and work more efficiently.Fewer Injuries/Workers’ Comp Claims
Investing in ergonomic solutions reduces the risk of workplace injuries and related compensation claims. Beyond Comfort: Happy Workers Work Happily
There’s another side to investing in ergonomics – as well as not investing in them: employee experience and perception.
Consider The Great Resignation that happened during pandemic times. If nothing else, the mass exodus of employees showed that they’re now prioritizing their health and well-being (both physical and mental) and want workplaces that do the same.
Outfitting your workplace with ergonomic equipment is a clear demonstration to your fellow coworkers that you value what they value – and more importantly, value them. If nothing else, it shows that you’re creating an environment that gives them every advantage to do their best work and be successful.
Buyer Beware! Spotting Bad Ergonomic Design
Do a quick Google search or pay a visit to your favorite office supply store, and you’ll find thousands of workplace ergonomic products. But just like anything else you can buy, some products billed as ergonomic can still fall short of delivering what they promise.
How do you tell which ones? There are two primary red flags for products with bad ergonomic design:
- Extremely Limited Adjustable Work Surfaces: Adjustable desks and workstations that don’t go the distance force employees into static positions that can lead to discomfort, strain, and long-term musculoskeletal issues. Without the proper ability to modify the height or angle, workers may adopt poor postures, leading to decreased productivity and increased risk of injury.
- Lack of Weight-Mitigation Features: Equipment or tools that lack weight-mitigation features, such as counterbalances or spring assists, put unnecessary strain on employees. This can result in repetitive strain injuries and fatigue, particularly when repeatedly handling heavy or awkward items.
A Closer Look | Product Attributes of Bad Ergonomics
- Keyboard Arms
- Keyboard Trays
- Height-adjustable desks
- Monitor arms
- Chairs
- Computer carts on wheels
- Home workstations
Getting more granular, what bad ergonomic design elements should you look for in these products? Add these attributes to your checklist:
| Product | Attributes of Bad Ergonomic Design |
| Keyboard Arms | Inadequate height and position adjustments, lack of wrist support, limited range of motion, poor stability |
| Keyboard Trays | Limited adjustability, inadequate space for accessories, flimsy construction, poor wrist support |
| Height-Adjustable Desks | Lack of compatibility with third-party accessories, difficult to adjust, space-consuming designs. |
| Monitor Arms | Lack of articulation, limited adjustment options for multiple users. |
| Ergonomic Chairs | Poor lumbar support, limited adjustability (height, tilt, arms). |
| Computer Carts on Wheels | Non-adjustable keyboard trays, difficult adjustment mechanisms. |
| Home Workstations | Complex or non-intuitive adjustments for consumer-grade accessories like desks and monitor arms. |
Outfitting Your Office With Ergonomic Equipment & Furniture
A step up from standard workplace fixtures, ergonomic equipment and furniture often represents a larger investment. Just like the touring edition of a popular vehicle, ergonomic furniture boasts plenty more bells and whistles than the base model. Ergo, the last thing any office manager or business owner wants it to spend money on furnishings that don’t deliver as advertised.
So what workplace ergonomic equipment and furniture do you invest in?
In a general sense, the best place to start is with those that meet criteria set by American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturers Association (BIFMA).
Let’s take a closer look at both:
- Improving quality of life
- Boosting consumer confidence
- Reducing costs
- Fostering competition
- Comfort
- Safety
- Sustainability
- Durability
The Ergonomic Workstation | The Furniture Your Office Needs
While no two workstations are exactly the same, ergonomic office equipment and furniture ensure this stays true – in a good way. With its customizability, time spent at a workstation becomes a personalized experience no matter the user.
What does an ergonomic workspace look like? Outside of the nuances of aesthetics, it’s one that includes several key pieces of equipment that work harmoniously with one another.
Keyboard Arms with Trays
Adjustable keyboard arms with trays allow for comfortable typing positions, reducing strain on wrists and shoulders.
Further Reading: Correct Office Ergonomics: What’s the Best Position for a Keyboard?
Computer Monitor Arms
Computer monitor arms position screens at eye level, promoting better posture and reducing neck strain, with flexible adjustment options for various setups.
Further Reading: The Best Position for a Computer Screen in an Ergonomic Desk Setup
Ergonomic Chairs
Ergonomic chairs are designed to support the spine’s natural curves, with adjustable features to accommodate different body types and working styles.
Further Reading: 5 Tips for Employee Health and Safety for Sitting at Work
Height Adjustable Desks/Tables
These desks and tables allow users to switch between sitting and standing, reducing fatigue and promoting healthier working habits.
Further Reading: [5 Tips] Elevating Office Ergonomics With Height-Adjustable Desks
Computer Carts on Wheels
Mobile workstations that offer flexibility and ease of movement, ideal for dynamic work environments where mobility is essential.
Further Reading: 6 Benefits of Computer Carts on Wheels for Hospitals
Mouse Trays
Ergonomic mouse trays help position the mouse within easy reach, reducing strain on the wrist and arm by providing a more natural hand posture.
Further Reading: Is an Ergonomic Mouse Tray Worth the Office’s Cheese
The Ergonomic Workstation | Creating the Right Layout
Having the correct equipment for your office is only half the battle in creating a workspace that fully embraces the power of ergonomics. The other half? Knowing how to properly integrate them into your office’s landscape.
Enter the “Hub and Spoke Model.”
The Hub and Spoke Model for office layouts is an ergonomic and collaborative design strategy that centralizes key resources and functions in a “hub” while extending individual workspaces or departments outward as “spokes.”
The hub typically includes shared resources like meeting rooms, communal areas, or tech centers, which are easily accessible from the surrounding spokes. This layout reduces unnecessary movement, promoting better physical ergonomics by minimizing repetitive strain and ensuring that employees have easy access to necessary resources without excessive walking or reaching.
The Hub and Spoke Model also fosters a balanced work environment by combining collaboration with individual focus, offering flexibility and adaptability to different work tasks. Additionally, the design supports natural movement and organization, which can lead to enhanced productivity and employee well-being.
This design is particularly effective in creating a dynamic and efficient workspace that aligns with modern ergonomic principles, ensuring that both collaboration and individual work needs are met in a harmonious layout.
Ergonomic Considerations for New(er) Offices
Not every workplace offers each of its employees a designed workspace that’s only theirs. What’s more, not every employer has a place for employees to come to.
Driven largely by the COVID-19 pandemic, two office styles have become a new normal: hot desking and the home office.
Hot Desking
With more employees opting for hybrid schedules (dividing their work week between working from home and working in-office) hot desking is a modern office strategy where employees use any available workstation instead of having a dedicated desk. This approach supports flexibility and optimizes space use. What’s more, hot desking fosters a dynamic work environment, encouraging collaboration by allowing employees to work in different areas each day.
Home Office
Some employees simply never returned to a traditional office after the pandemic. Instead, they’ve fully embraced “WFH” (work from home). As such, they’ve adapted to working from home full-time, transforming spare rooms, corners, or even kitchen tables into makeshift offices.
Regardless of where or how a workspace is, both the home office and hot desking essentials for ergonomic setups aren’t dissimilar from what any other workstation in your office should have. Your ergonomics checklists for both options should include:
| Keyboard Arms with Trays | Offers adjustable height, tilt, and swivel as well as sturdy construction, wrist support, and ample space for accessories. |
| Adjustable Monitor Stands | Allows screens to be positioned at eye level, minimizing neck strain and promoting good posture. |
| Ergonomic Chairs | Offers support for the lower back with adjustable settings to suit different body types and needs. |
| Portable Keyboard/Mouse | Enables users to maintain a neutral hand and wrist position, reducing the risk of strain injuries. |
| Cable Management Solutions | Keeps desks organized and free of clutter, preventing trips and ensuring a clean, safe workspace. |
| Sit-Stand Desks | Provides the option to alternate between sitting and standing, reducing fatigue and promoting movement. |
Where to Purchase Ergonomic Office Furniture
There’s another part of the overall effort for sourcing the right ergonomic office equipment and effectively integrating it into any work setting: finding the right supplier.
Again, while it’s easy to simply go to your favorite search engine and take things from there, that can be one of the worst ways to bring ergonomics to your office. Indeed, that is one avenue for where to purchase ergonomics office furniture, but it’s one with a lot of unknowns.
This approach can expose your business to unreliable suppliers or subpar products – and there’s nothing more annoying than having to deal with the return process.
Your best bet?
Finding a reputable supplier with expertise in ergonomic solutions who can guide you in selecting the right equipment tailored to your specific needs.
A trustworthy supplier will offer high-quality, durable products, backed by knowledge of ergonomic standards and excellent customer support. The best ergonomic office equipment suppliers are also those who manufacture their products. Your investment in ergonomics will benefit from their:
Knowledge
Suppliers with deep expertise in ergonomic solutions who understand the nuances of product selection and standards.
Responsiveness
Suppliers who are quick to respond, provide excellent customer service and offer continuous support throughout the process.
Quality
High-quality, durable products that meet or exceed ergonomic standards, ensuring long-term usability and comfort.
Cost-Efficiencies
Suppliers who balance competitive pricing with high product quality, offering the best value for your investment.
Ready to Upgrade Your Office Equipment?
Ergonomic office equipment of all sorts is one of our specialties. Get in touch with us today and we will help guide you to the best equipment and distributors for your office’s needs.
