Ergonomics

Ergonomics

Introduction

There are various physical, mental, social and environmental responsibilities that the employer or management is bound to perform for its employees in exchange of the services of the employees. The most important of all these responsibilities or factors is to provide a safe and secure working environment to the employees irrespective of the nature of the job. It should be the top most priority of any employee or management to create an environment that is healthy and pleasant for its workers or employees. Otherwise, the consequences would not just include adverse effects on employee's health but also undesired effects on company's overall performance. Therefore, taking necessary steps to take care of employee's health is a mutual benefit for both the employer and employees. However, many companies still do not realize this really important fact and employees continue to suffer with various health issues as a result of certain work conditions. However, if the principles offered by the field of Ergonomics are applied, then various effective solutions can be obtained (Bary, 2009).

Discussion

The term Ergonomics is a Greek origin word that means “work and natural laws”. The term was first introduced in the year 1857 by Wojciech Jastrzebowski. The concept was further explained and discussed in the year 1949 as a result of which The Ergonomics Society of Ergonomics was founded (Bridger, 2008).

Ergonomics is usually defined as a field of science that deals with the study of providing healthy workplace conditions and fulfilling the job demands in order to fit the capabilities and potential of the employee population. Therefore, this ultimately means that healthier the working place environment, the greater is the productivity of the employees and workers. Hence, it is the responsibility of the management to make sure to avoid and prevent any sort of injury risks and illness and also make sure the satisfaction of the employees with the preventive measures taken (Kroemer, 2000).

Common Day Employee Practices Regarding the Ergonomics Issues in my Organization

Since the company I work at is basically an online marketing organization. This refers to the fact that the harsh labor job description is usually not required in my organization. However, I observed that my fellow workers and certain other employees, one way or the other, are forced to sacrifice on various healths related aspects. Moreover, I feel that principles of all the categories of Ergonomics are violated in my office, consciously or subconsciously.

Physical Ergonomics Aspects

My company is located at the fourth floor of a building. Although, there is an elevator operational in the building. However, the rush and the crowd that always surrounds the elevators force majority to use the stairs. Using the stairs to reach the fourth floor is usually tiring. However, the employees that suffer the most as a result of the office located at fourth are the Kitchen and Office maintenance staff who are not allowed to use the elevator. Their job description includes the responsibility of taking and lifting all the heavy equipments that include the huge mineral ...