Ergonomics—the science of designing workspaces to fit the human body—goes beyond making comfortable, cozy workstations.
In the modern office, and the homes, cafes and cars in which we work, ergonomics makes workplaces workable.
And when you have workplaces centered around workers rather than their work, you’d be surprised at what can happen.
This article discusses 10 reasons to adapt your workplace to your workers, and how ergonomics can boost the health and happiness of not just your team, but your company overall.
Infographic: Why Ergonomics is Important in the Workplace
This infographic, made by Ergo Global, is a deep dive into the many benefits of ergonomics in the office and beyond.
Why is Ergonomics Important for Employees?
For employees, ergonomics is a lifeline to better health, comfort, and job satisfaction, because poor ergonomics can quietly chip away at your physical and mental well-being.
Here’s how ergonomics turns that around:
Less Pain, More Comfort 🍃
At the crux of everything ergonomics is one simple truth – sitting and moving better at work will reduce an employee’s body pain.
Some of the most common pain complaints we hear are usually in the…
- Neck
- Lower back
- Shoulders
- Wrists
Though in reality, body pain can strike anywhere as long as that part of the body is being forced to adopt non-neutral positions and perform unnatural movements.
These types of pains are way more common than you might think – the data shows that about 60% of your team are experiencing workplace pain right now.
The biggest advantage to ergonomics in this sense is to reduce existing pain and make employees more comfortable at work, which leads to a bunch of other ergo benefits that we’ll talk about below.
Lower Risk of MSDs 🩼
MSDs are musculoskeletal disorders, which describes any kind of injury to the muscles, joints or tendons that affects movement.
In the office environment MSDs are rampant, mostly stemming from employees adopting awkward postures at their desks and neglecting to get out of their chairs to stretch and refresh their bodies.
While ergonomics is great for reducing existing pain and discomfort, it’s also a highly effective way to ensure those pains don’t come back in the form of MSDs.
And if we’re asking why ergonomics is important, we can take a look at two simple numbers…
- 59% – The percentage of work-related health problems caused by MSDs – it’s the most common occupational disease in the EU! (EU-Osha, 2021)
- 61% – The average reduction in workplace MSDs due to ergonomic interventions. (Norashikin, M. et al, 2015)
To boil that down even further, just remember this:
MSDs are modern work’s biggest health problem. Ergonomics is its biggest solution.
Improved Mental Wellbeing 🪷
Comfort isn’t just physical—it’s mental, too…
…and the same goes for ergonomics.
During an ergonomics assessment, ergonomists don’t just analyse and fix posture mistakes, they address the mental side of the employee’s work and what they could be doing to reduce stress and improve mood.
Usually that involves…
- Scheduling – helping employees to avoid stress by advising how to plan tasks and virtual calls in a healthy way.
- Routine – helping employees to establish a healthy work routine involving focused work and mindful breaks.
- Movement – helping employees to adopt better positions and move and stretch throughout the day, refreshing mind as well as body.
The benefits of ergonomics in a mental capacity are often understated, and intrinsically difficult to measure, but they are nevertheless real and one of the many reasons that ergonomics is important in the workplace.
Higher Energy ⚡
Everyone has those moments of tiredness at work.
It’s totally normal for our bodies to feel fatigue within the workday, especially after having lunch or after a particularly work-heavy task is completed.
Ergonomics is all about helping employees to reduce this natural fatigue.
Some of the most common ways to do this include optimising posture, lighting, stretching and general routine, all of which can help employees manage their fatigue and have more energy within the day to produce more high-quality work.
In fact, one study found that simply optimising the lighting of a work environment lead to some big improvements…
- 27% reduction in fatigue
- 19% improvement in work performance
- 28% increase in alertness
- 14% increase in overall mental health
Why is Ergonomics Important for Companies?
Companies investing in ergonomics don’t just help their workers—they help themselves.
From cost savings to productivity spikes, the numbers tell a compelling story.
Here’s why ergonomics is a smart business move:
Lower Absenteeism 💨
One of the most direct benefits of ergonomics is the fact that it keeps workers at work.
Companies with a keen eye on ergonomics can keep their teams healthier, leading to fewer sick days and thereby avoiding one of the most costly expenses that companies face.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics found that just carpal tunnel syndrome, an MSD in the wrists, requires a median of 28 days off, which is over three times the 8-day average for other injuries.
It’s no surprise that less pain and discomfort would keep your team away from their desks and unable to produce the beautiful work that they do.
Ergonomics has a positive, direct impact on this, as well as the next thing on our list of ergonomics benefits…
Lower Compensation Costs 🤕
MSDs are just plain pricey.
OSHA estimates that MSDs account for $1 out of every $3 in workers’ compensation costs—over $20 billion annually in direct costs like medical bills and payouts (OSHA Ergonomics).
Add in the indirect costs of things like training replacements, overtime and legal fees, and it’s up to 20 times higher.
So the bottom line is pretty simple – ergonomics reduced MSDs and saves your company money.
In fact, when the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries reviewed 250 case studies, they found that showed ergonomics solutions cut MSDs by an average of 59%, which had a direct and massive impact on the companies that implemented these solutions.
Though most companies are insured for these kinds of worker health-related issues, they would typically experience higher premiums the more that they claim on ergonomic injuries.
So if you’re asking why is ergonomics important in the workplace for companies, it’s because of both the direct and indirect savings they make on compensation claims.
Boosted Productivity 🔨
There’s one fundamental truth to ergonomics that we see time and time again on the job…
…comfortable workers simply work better.
That’s usually because of two things:
- Less pain and discomfort is less distracting for the employee, allowing them to happily focus on their work instead if their bodies crying out for help.
- New equipment in the form of second monitors and mechanical keyboards allow employees to work faster.
- A better break and stretching routine allows employees to refresh every hour, helping them to fight fatigue and produce quality work at a more consistent rate throughout the day.
A 2010 study by Smith and Bayeh found that even basic ergonomics interventions and training resulted in a 9.4% increase in productivity for staff working on computers.
Of course, this kind of elevation in productivity has a massive knock-on effect for your company’s bottom line.
Which is why ergonomics has such a great ROI.
Fewer Errors ✅
Most of the work-based errors that happen amongst your team are not down to incompetence…
…it’s simply because your team are tired.
How tired? Well a 2018 study by the National Safety Council found that 69% of your team feel the affects of fatigue throughout the day.
And according to other studies, tiredness in your team is responsible for…
- 13% of all workplace incidents (Illinois Department of Labor, 2019)
- 42% deficit in quality work (Yung et. al, 2019)
While you can’t force your employees to get more sleep (please don’t try!), what you can do is help them manage their fatigue in order to stay more alert at work.
That can include improvements in personalised workstations, lighting, noise pollution and many other factors.
Higher Retention 👩💻
Ergonomics is a type of wellness programme, and if there’s one thing wellness programmes are good for above all else, it’s keeping employees at your company.
That’s because wellness programmes show a fundamental care for the employee on the part of the employer.
They make employees feel valued, and valued employees produce better quality work for longer.
The Chartered Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors (CIEHF) found evidence of ergonomics programmes cutting staff turnover by an incredible 87%.
It’s common knowledge that reducing staff turnover is one of the best things your company can do for its bottom line; yet another reason why ergonomics programmes have such a great ROI.
Speaking of which…
Great ROI 🪙
If you’re concerned that an ergonomics programme could cost your company some serious coin, here’s where we lay that fear to rest.
Ergonomics programmes tend to have a very good ROI.
According to the CHEIF, the average return…
- is $1.78 for every $1 spent on ergonomics
- has a payback period of 0.4 years, which is just under 5 months
Cost of implementation is often the barrier for many companies when it comes to implementing an ergonomics programme, but it’s fair to say that between…
- Lower absenteeism
- Lower compensation costs
- Fewer errors
- Higher retention
- Higher productivity
…your company will financially benefit from investing in ergonomics.
So, why is ergonomics important in the workplace?
Ergonomics brings a smorgasbord of benefits for both employees and employers alike.
Healthy, happy workers, who are well-looked after both physically and mentally, are the key to great retention, great productivity, and ultimately great profits.
Contact Ergo Global to discuss how we can create this for your company!
