Doing a need analysis and involving the employees in the planning process is an imperative task while planning an office layout.
Planning office layouts can prove to be a nightmare for the HR team. Any new implementation leads to shifting employees to other workspace. No doubt there will be huge disruptions in work, but this will ultimately lead to more comfort. Most people are fussy about their personal work stations and any change comes with some resistance. Doing a need analysis and involving the employees in the planning process is an imperative task of the HR department while planning an office layout.
A valuable consequence of this approach is that people become more committed to the company. Their ‘buy in’ at the implementation phase helps them understand the issues better, since they have “ownership” of the plan. The premise is that, if the people are happy with the workplace, then it will work (or be made to work) well. If they are unhappy with it then no amount of expensive equipment or design will make it a success.
Implementing Ergonomics
Facility Managers buy anything specified as ergonomic accessory like a keyboard or a mouse without realizing what ergonomics is for one person may not be the same for another. To begin with, the workstation desk comes in various different styles maybe modular furniture or fixed one. The most crucial aspect here is that the furniture should have an adjustable height. With fixed height the biggest problem is upper back and neck pain.
Air Conditioning
At a recent study at Cornell University it was found that the office temperature can have a drastic effect on worker output. No doubt it may cost more to keep the office warm, but the incremental increase in heating costs, is far outweighed by the savings associated with increased worker productivity. The study concluded that, on average, raising the temperature when the external temperatures dip, to the ideal zone saves employers substantial savings per hour per person. If one multiplies these savings across Wipro, TCS and Infosys having around 47,000 employees apiece, we can compute what could be the financial impact.
Chair Design
You will find that a badly designed chair makes you assume a ‘C’ curve posture which is a distortion of the natural ‘S’ curve. The ‘C’ curve posture puts extreme pressure on the disc. This in turn causes the nutritive fluid to be expelled and makes the spine dry and stiff, leading to severe pain when flexed back into the original position.
|
By investing in ergonomics you are taking care of the bottom line, higher productivity, and better work quality
|
The number of hours spent sitting on a chair has dramatically increased. It is estimated that employees spend around ten hours per day in their chairs. So a right chair will be the best motivating factor for an employee to work longer hours. Any chair that is uncomfortable leads to lot of discomfort with majority complaining about the resultant back ache etc.. It is right said that a healthy seating is the result of a right chair plus right posture.
Need to invest in ergonomics
In our country there are no government regulations binding on the employers to take care of the employee’s health. So work related problems are not much of an issue for employers, but some are making an effort to be proactive. By investing in ergonomics to protect the employees’ health, can save a lot of direct and indirect loss to the company. Ergonomics should be an integral part of the interior design and not an after thought. If you have a proper office setup you would have less injuries and good ergonomics means good economics. By investing in ergonomics you are taking care of the bottom line, higher productivity, and better work quality, which finally makes a good business sense.
Importance of Ergonomics
Ergonomics has gained immediate prominence in view of productive results that gives both individual comfort as well as organizational productivity. The process puts people first - it makes the user of any system, tool, workstation, or environment the centre of the design process. If you are involved in office layout and design as a HR person do take care of these small little things which will go a long way in enhancing the productivity of the employees.
The author is a Sr. HR professional with15 years of functional experience. He is also the Chief Editor of HRudaya Indias largest e-zine for HR professionals. Mail: raghav@businessgyan.com
Issue BG53 Aug05
