Ergonomics – the way workplaces and products are designed and arranged so as to fit the requirement of the people who use them – is yet to gain momentum in India. However, American firm, Humanscale, which is into ergonomics office tools, is aiming to make the concept popular in India in a big way. The company targeting IT firms, banks and back office set ups that have a workforce which sits for long working hours in the office in front of their desktops. The New York-headquartered, Humanscale had recently done a study along with University of Pittsburgh led by Dr Bethany Barone Gibbs, that showed that alternating between sitting and standing positions at the workplace throughout the day can lower blood pressure.
According to the study, when participants alternated postures every half hour, they experienced a significantly lower diastolic blood pressure – the pressure on the arteries between heart beats when the heart is relaxed. Carotid-ankle pulse wave velocity – a measure of stiffness in the arteries of the legs – was also significantly lower when study participants alternated between sitting and standing throughout the day.
“Switching between sitting and standing postures throughout the day is not only good for energy and productivity, but for overall health. Incorporating periods of standing can burn calories, have a positive impact on well being and prevent diseases such as heart disease, obesity and high blood pressure. Many people talk about ergonomics but very few have the right tools. Infact, ergonomics is a specialisation and we have qualified ergonomists working in our US and other offices,” explained Alastair Stubbs, Country Manager India, Humanscale.
Stubbs further explained that many companies in India are least bothered to have ergonomically designed furniture and office workstations that can result in immense health and productivity benefits for their workforce. “I have seen this especially in the co-working spaces that are mushrooming all over India. Co-working spaces are shared office spaces and the co-working companies are least bothered about designing their workstations and seating as per ergonomics. This is also the case with many of the banks and other IT services companies who may have a huge turnover and have lakhs of people working for them but are least bothered to have ergonomically designed work stations. Only when their workforce start suffering from health related issues as a result of prolonged sitting hours in front of their monitors, they realise the importance of ergonomics. However, by that time the damage has been done to the spine and other parts of the body,” Stubbs told THE WEEK.
An interesting observation made by Stubbs was that, as many people have started working from home nowadays, there has to be an awareness about ergonomics in the home office environment and it should not to be restricted to office spaces alone. The company is planning a campaign to target employees who work two or three days a week from home and are looking at a healthier and more productive place to work. “Working from the couch at home could do lasting damage to one's back and productivity. Setting up a permanent workstation with a quality ergonomic chair is the first step for any home office. The next step would be to invest in other essential components such as a sit or stand desk, adjustable monitor arm and task light,” remarked Stubbs who hails from Britain but has been in India for nearly a decade.
Humanscale, a privately held firm was established in 1983 by Robert King, focuses on ergonomic tools that support a healthy and active way of working. The company has an R&D in New York that aims at designing intuitive products which improve the comfort and health of office workers.
The company has operations in more than 28 countries globally.