Safe and healthy working from home during lockdown

WFH intensifies the vulnerability to musculoskeletal discomfort due to poor work practices and poor work conditions

In pre COVID-19 Sri Lanka, very few worked from home (WFH). However, since the outbreak of the pandemic, WFH has become a norm. Organisations are striving to ensure safe and healthy working from home conditions. Even though, ergonomic workstations and chairs may be available at office, their unavailability at home can lead to development of adverse health effects.

WFH intensifies the vulnerability to musculoskeletal discomfort due to poor work practices and poor work conditions. Home-based workstations may not be suitable for prolonged work hours. Despite general awareness on correct posture, many are challenged in setting up safe home-workstations. 

A stable chair with adequate back support can reduce harm to the lumbar sacral area of the spine and the back muscles. Incorrect sitting can cause significant damage to the musculoskeletal system especially the back, neck and shoulders. Adjusting the chair height to enable the workstation height at elbow level can reduce the need to raise shoulders or hunch down. 

Laptops may not be safe to be used for prolonged periods. Sustained looking down at laptops, smart phones and other digital devices for an extended period of time can cause “text neck”. The flexed neck posture can induce strain over the cervical spine and adjacent muscles with long term consequences of neck discomfort, neck pain, stiffness, and headaches. Raising the top of the laptop screen or any other screen to eye level can minimise the poor posture. External keyboard and a pointer device facilitate the user to keep the forearms at elbow height with a straight wrist aligned with hands. 

Unwanted glare can cause eye strain. Glare is a visual phenomenon caused by excessive and uncontrolled brightness. Ensure that the surrounding light level is appropriately complimenting the screen lighting level. Intense prolonged focus on bright digital screens can strain the eye muscles. 

The American Acad-emy of Ophthalmology recommends the 20-20-20 rule, which is to take a 20 second break every 20 minutes by looking at things at least 20 feet away. Looking into the distance allows the eyes to relax. Intense focus on the digital screen can reduce the blink rate of eyes causing eyes to dry rapidly. Placing the computer screen approximately an arm’s length away from the user can further reduce the eye strain. 

Since sitting for prolonged periods in the same posture can cause considerable fatigue and damage to the musculoskeletal system, a best practice is to incorporate stretch breaks and changes in posture throughout the day. Excessively fatigued muscles require longer rest breaks to recover. Frequent small breaks minimize the build-up of fatigue over the muscles; thus, prevent musculoskeletal injury. 

Stressful conditions causing mental fatigue can increase the adverse impact on the musculoskeletal system. Stress and anxiety increase production of hormones which trigger hyperactivity of the body leading to rapid muscle fatigue, thereby increasing damage to the musculoskeletal system. Good health practices such as frequent exercising and strengthening of muscles, and a healthy diet have a positive effect on the musculoskeletal system. 

Use of headphones during online meetings and sessions while WFH is common. Loud noise directly transmitted to the ear through the headphones may cause short term hearing discomforts and long-term hearing loss. Thus, regulating the volume to a comfortable level of hearing and taking breaks of at least five minutes every hour can minimise the damage to hearing. 

WFH can adversely affect the mental health of the worker due to isolation, poor social interaction, ill-defined work times, poor balance of office-work and household responsibilities, and the financial constraints due to the pandemic. Hence, a more holistic support should be provided by employers to ensure both physical and mental wellbeing of the staff. 

Correct posture, proper workstation adjustments, frequent breaks, muscle strengthening and relaxing exercises, and a stress-free mind can all lead to safer WFH. 

For further information refer to https://www.som.org.uk/home-working-and-display-screen-equipment-dse-during-covid-19-factsheet

(Dr. Aseni Wickramatillake is a specialist in occupational health, industrial hygiene and ergonomics. Nick Pahl is CEO, Society of Occupational Medicine, UK. They can be reached via [email protected])