COVID-19 took the world by surprise and forced companies to make drastic changes they had never envisioned before. Virtually overnight, we were forced to adapt to a remote-work model, which led to extensive logistic challenges and required the combined effort of all our associates.

Fortunately, during 2019, we had already begun rolling out our Flexi-Work policy at MAS. This policy creates a framework for efficient and orderly remote-work; and includes flexible clock-in and clock-out times, along with options for remote-work where applicable and other arrangements for our Executive cadre. As a manufacturing organization, we provide our Team Members (shop-floor associates) flexible arrangements such as convenient shift-swapping and childcare facilities at the workplace. Thus, we were somewhat better prepared to quickly adapt to remote-work as the pandemic took hold.

Coming through this crisis, remote-work and a flexible work culture will become increasingly important for organizations and, as a progressive company, MAS is committed to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our associates.

How Poor Ergonomics Are Affecting Remote-Workers

Ergonomics is emerging as one of the most overlooked aspects of remote-work. It is easy to dismiss things like good posture and home-office layouts but, while these factors do not make an immediate impact, their negative effects add up over time. Ultimately, poor ergonomics lead to reduced productivity, increased stress and even long-term health problems.

The health risks of poor ergonomics, especially in a remote-work environment, have become a global issue that companies and governments around the world are working to address, particularly post-COVID-19.

Here are a few important things anyone who is working-remotely should consider to ensure good ergonomics. Adopting these habits and practices will help optimize your productivity, reduce fatigue and ensure a better overall remote-work experience.

Improving Your Ergonomics — What You Can Do Right Now

Many of these tips only require small, practical adjustments that do not cost anything.

Good Posture

Maintaining a neutral spine is essential to your well-being. Good posture can help you reduce back pain, headaches, abnormal wearing of your joint surfaces and tension in your shoulders and neck. It will also increase your energy levels, self-confidence and lung capacity while helping to improve circulation and digestion.

To maintain good posture:

• Avoid hunching over your laptop while sitting at your workspace.
• Keep your workspace at a good height; this is the case if your elbows are naturally flush with your table height and not much lower or higher.
• Sit comfortably but with good posture. Use a proper office chair if you can; if not, simply use a firm cushion or rolled-up towel to adjust yourself.
• Keep your feet firmly on the ground and do not let them dangle; a correct posture is achieved when you are sitting firmly in your chair with your back supported, whilst your feet are on the ground (thighs parallel to the floor) and your elbows are generally in line with your table.
• Do not use your sofa for too long; it may seem comfortable, but sofas will only make your posture worse and result in early fatigue.

Periodic Breaks, Managing Screen Time and the 20/20/20 Rule

You should take frequent short breaks during your work time. How you do this will depend on your own preferences but make sure you do it. Breaks will help you to work longer and maintain a high level of productivity. If you do not take breaks, you will simply burn out faster and take longer to recover.

Also, manage your screen time by alternating between onscreen and off-screen tasks when possible. An easy way to do this is to follow the 20/20/20 rule; for every 20 minutes you spend looking at the screen, take 20 seconds to look at something else at least 20 feet away. This will prevent the eye-strain and headaches that can come from looking at device screens for too long.

Stretch and Move About

During your periodic breaks, you should take time to do some basic stretches and exercises. Just like good posture, these help to prevent damage caused by long periods of sitting and working, while also boosting your ability to do more. At the very least, stand up and move around every once in a while, during your work time.

A Few Other Tips

Customize Your Space — Set up a special, designated workspace for yourself if possible. Make sure this space is ergonomically set up with a comfortable chair and work surface to help you maintain the right posture. Use the resources you have innovatively, there is little need for unnecessary expense. If you need more back support, consider a rolled-up towel or a simple cushion. If you need to elevate your laptop, try using some large books.

Eat and Drink Well — Do not skip meals. Eat moderately but eat well and regularly. Also, drink plenty of water. Dehydration affects productivity more than we think. The next time you are feeling “spaced out” try drinking some water and you may realize that you were just dehydrated.

Stay Motivated — Placing yourself in a well-lit and ventilated part of your home can do wonders for motivation. Additionally, you can surround yourself with motivational quotes or images of what you aspire to be. If music helps you work, make sure to have a good playlist to get you in the zone.

A Healthy, Flexible Future

With the way the world has changed over the past few months, we are more keenly aware than ever of the need for flexible work arrangements. Thus, we are working to optimize our practices to maximise the benefit for all our associates, with minimum negative impact to their health, well-being and productivity. As an organization with a global workforce of over 99,000 associates, we believe that it is our responsibility to progressively address concerns that arise from working remotely and ensure the wellbeing of our people.