Office Designs

The increase in the demand, over the past couple of years, for work tops with a greater degree of height adjustability is quite astonishing.   This in spite of the fact that Sit To Stand technology has been around for many years. In fact over 12 years ago when we visited a huge office furniture/fitout trade fair in Koln Germany there were literally dozens of Sit To Stand desks and workstations on display. Furthermore conversations with both exhibitors and fellow visitors confirmed that this was a very popular and practical product, widely used throughout Europe.

However there was always a huge resistance in NZ due in the main to the price of these items as an electrically operated desk was selling for around $2500.00 -$2800.00  making them prohibitive for general use around the office.

 I suspect the renewed interest  has arisen, in part, due to  Awareness

• that many studies conducted around the world confirm that people do prefer to spend at least part of the day standing to work at a desk.
• that many individuals with back injuries get back to work sooner and  heal more quickly with the option of sitting and standing….. Mobilization not Imobilization….
• that the Health professionals treating people with back injuries are making recommendation of this type of product to there patients
• that productivity increases when Sit to Stand is an available option. Staff members require less breaks!!

Furthermore the price of these units has decreased significantly making  Sit to Stand desks and workstation a more realistic choice for  company managers and owners.  

Available as  Tech, Crank Handle and Fully electrically operable  models.  These units are able to be customised to individual adjustment criteria.  They will also meet the full percentile of individual heights

If you would like to know more about Sit To Stand and the benefits it could present to your working environment,  contact  John  ph 09 957 1005  fax 09 9571006 mob 021 978 057 email sales @workspaceinteriors.co.nz  for an on site meeting at your work place for some good practical solutions as to how Sit to Stand  could benefit your environment and your good health.

See also this interesting study recently received revealing some interesting conclusions

University Studies

This is a very good article detailing some of the true costs of Office Injuries and will perhaps reinforce the advantages of some corrections to the ergonomic set up of workstation that will prevent  some Office injuries .

When a person is injured in the workplace they not only suffer physically but also financially as well. The cost that are associated with a workplace injury affect the individual, their colleagues and the company. These can often be ongoing costs for treatment or medical prescriptions.

The Individual

As far as the cost to the individual goes the loss of income is the biggest. ACC will pay just 80% of the individuals pre-incapacity earnings. For example  an average administration job  with an average earnings of say $770.00 weekly per week pre tax. would drop to $616.00 per week pre tax. This figure may drop further as over time ACC reduce the ammount paid out in order to encourage people to return to the workforce. I may also be some time before any payment is received as the individuals case is assessed. Re-evaluations may also be required by medical practitioners to continue payments.

The next cost the individual will incur is that for treatment of the injury. Whilst ACC may pay for the cost of some of the treatment including travel cost associated with getting to treatment, there is often a surcharge to be paid by the individual receiving the treatment. ACC pays toward around 3.1 million physiotherapist visits each year. However , according to the Dept of Health, only 2% of the full costs of  occupational injury and illness ($20.9 billion in 2004/2004) are compensated. In Wellington City centre, TBI Health,  a physiotherapists company often used by ACC recommends a treatment course of six sessions at a total cost of $300.00. This is the average amount for someone with a strain type injury as a direct result of an incorrectly set up workstation .

Their Colleagues

The cost of an individual being injured in the workplace also affects those who work with them. Time off work for the injured person to either recover or to get treatment, if they are still able to work, means an increased workload for others. If temporary staff are employed time is needed to train them even if they are familiar with the type of work, training is still required as each business differs in their policies and procedures. Even the office layout needs to be made clear to the new staff member.

The Company

There are some major costs that fall on the company when an individual is injured in the workplace. The first cost is the first weeks wages at 80%. ACC will pay the individuals wages after this but the first week is the companies responsibility.

Th next cost to the company is to cover the injured persons workload. This may be in the form of overtime for those staff taking on extra responsibilities, or the cost of hiring a temp. To hire a temp the cost is going to be around the same amount as the person being covered. There may also be a markup on this from 25% – 100% if they come from a temp agency. The temp staff will require training which will take time from from other permanent staff members.

There will be other costs that the company may face such as a decrease in productivity and organisational difficulties.

The Bottom Line

• Individuls will loose a minimum of 20% of their wages per week whilst off work from an injury on ACC.
• This amount is likely to rise as time goes on – the individual receiving less.
• Colleagues are left with increased workloads and training of new staff.
• The company must pay the first weeks wages to the injured person.
• Companies may need to hire temp staff, or pay current staff more. Or Both

Foot note

It should also be pointed out that the injury will need to be investigated to establish who was responsible for the injury occurring. All staff should be trained  to use and work at a workstation correctly and safely following  Occupational Health and Safety guidelines. Failure to carry this out may result in heavy penalties for the employer.  However training and  compliance will prevent many injuries and the temptation by certain staff members to abuse the system!!

 If you would like to discuss any aspects of this article or arrange an inspection report and remedy of your wotkstations set ups.  Call  John 09 957 1005 or 021 978 057 or email john@workspaceinteriors,co,nz

Is there a requirement out there for Double, Triple, Quad or more Monitors on the desktop? If yes do these require to be mounted on an arm  that will hold them all?  Would this be good too if the arm did not require fixing to the the desk top?

my email address is sales@workspaceinteriors.co.nz

I can update this blog from my email, great!