The three major words in the title of this message relate to each other in very interesting ways.
Ergonomics is the study of a person’s efficiency at work. This involves how he/she functions, what is produced, and what are the costs — particularly in terms of wear and tear on the body.
Health has many global definitions. At work, health is being in a pain-free, energetic, and creative state.
The workplace, no matter where you work and even if this is from home or on the road, is where most of us spend about ⅓ of our lives. Having this existence be comfortable and enjoyable is crucial for a happy, successful life.
I created the most recent Lifetime Body Peak Performance Program with the aforementioned statements in mind. It’s called The Healthy Workstation – Employing Ergonomics to Make Your Job Work for Your Health. This program is a video-based course that explains the science of ergonomics at the workstation and provides demonstrations and examples of how to get the most out of your workday. The Healthy Workstation provides the answers to many questions I’ve encountered in working with clients over the past several decades. Here are a few of them:
- Just what is ergonomics anyway? Beyond the science of workplace efficiency, it’s rooted in two key principles: 1.) Make the work better fit the worker, and 2.) Make the worker more fit for the specific work he/she performs.
- How does my workstation affect my health? We can boil that down to a simple stress/strain relationship. Apply too much stress to anything, and you ultimately get strain (breakdown). This is just as true on cognitive and psychological levels as the physical.
- Does posture matter and how can I improve my own? Posture is the alignment of our bodies in space and especially with respect to gravity. Normalizing and optimizing our posture significantly reduces stress/strain and magnifies daily comfort. It’s easily improved with interventions provided in the course.
- Is sitting the new smoking? We hear that a lot these days, and in reality, the answer is “not necessarily.” Sitting can be a part of our workday if we utilize the principles in The Healthy Workstation.
- Stand-up desks are all the rage…should I get one? Maybe…probably — but it doesn’t have to be elaborate or expensive to be effective.
- Everyone says I need to get more movement in my day, but how do I do that at work? By understanding the value of general daily activity and specific exercises, you can apply tactical movement breaks to your workday. And it doesn’t have to take much time or be sweat-intensive.
- How do I create more of a flow state in my workday so I don’t get so frustrated from feeling like I’m “fighting it” all the time? This answer can be a long list, but maintaining good circulation and metabolic function, being mindful and avoiding multi-tasking, using interval-based work output, and a number of other research-proven practices can enhance your creativity, productivity, and job satisfaction while simultaneously reducing fatigue, errors, injuries, and burnout.
Sound good? Pick up your copy of The Healthy Workstation today and find out how ergonomics can combine with your training, diet, sleep, and lifestyle practices to help you Make Your Body Last a Lifetime and Achieve Peak Performance at Any Age!