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Around 10 or 12 years ago, a phenomenon developed in the workplace, especially in personal office space whose principles can be traced back to ancient Greece in the 5th Century BC. It's called Ergonomics and the literal translation means "human factors." It involves applying certain scientific information to the environment, objects, and systems that an individual uses while working. Another way to explain the principle is that it is a way of maximizing the productivity and quality of a person's efforts based on the way that the company designs task and work areas.
However, if it involves people, it involves ergonomics in office spaces, hence the translation above. Certain industries such as health and safety, leisure and sports, and systems within company environments all incorporate ergonomic principles. By enhancing performance, increasing user satisfaction with aesthetics and comfort factors, and reducing error and risk, the goal of enhancing the interaction between humans and machines has been accomplished.
Another part of the concept of ergonomics involves maximizing productivity while at the same time reducing discomfort and fatigue. The field also gets referred to as biotechnology, as well as either factors of human engineering, or simply human engineering. Ergonomists usually perform ergonomic research by studying the relationship between human capabilities relative to the demands of the job. The research produces information which assists in the design and evaluation of jobs, products, systems, tasks, and especially office space environments in order to create and develop compatibility between a person's abilities, limitations, and needs.
In addition to the concept and discipline of the science, we are generally referring to the fundamentals of "physical" ergonomics as it relates to office space. Some examples of this would be an ergonomic desk chair or computer keyboard. Also, another critical ingredient to the whole ergonomic principle is the long-term and short-term safety of a company's employees. Costs are reduced since the working conditions are safer, which reduces the risk of injury, therefore seeing fewer medical expenses and lower premium rates for Workman's Compensation.
When it comes to office space and the workplace, companies can take either a proactive or a reactive approach to the application ergonomic techniques. The proactive approach seeks out areas within the workplace that are in need of either fixing or improving existing conditions before they become a major or even dangerous situation. Normally, either equipment design or task design will correct these issues. The following is how the process works where environments, equipment, and tasks are concerned:
- Environmental design changes only the actual office space or workplace environment, but it doesn't alter the physical equipment that people use.
- Equipment design changes the actual physical characteristics of the equipment that individuals use
- Task design changes how the individual uses a piece of equipment
In closing, the following is the list of the most commonly found problem areas within office spaces and companies needing improvement:
- Duration of work
- Lifting requirements
- Lighting
- Noise
- Number and frequency of breaks
- Posture
- Seating
- Shift scheduling
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