Workplace Health & Safety

Posture at Work

What you don’t know could hurt you

The key to preventing work-related neck and back injuries is to evaluate your workstation and make sure it is ergonomically correct and promotes good posture.

Symptoms & Causes

The discomfort and pain from slouching at a desk all day is very real, with one in every three office workers suffering pain at least once a week. If you are working at an ergonomically incorrect workstation and practice poor posture, you can suffer from neck, shoulder, wrist, and elbow discomfort.

Good Posture Tips

There are two ways to help promote good posture at work. First, focus on your posture itself, and second, concentrate on the set up of your workstation or office ergonomics. Typically, aches and pains from office work are caused by physical stress from prolonged awkward positions, repetitive motions, and overuse. The following is a list of helpful tips that when applied to your workstation will help promote good posture and correct ergonomics.

Chair position - adjust the height of your chair so that your feet rest comfortably on the floor, with your knees  about level with your hips, and make sure your seat is not pressing against the back of your knees.

Back support -  Keep your backbone straight, shoulders back, abdomen and buttocks pulled in, and chin tucked. If your chair doesn’t allow this, try placing a cushion between your inward low-back curve and the back of the chair.

Footrest - rest your feet on a flat surface. If your chair is too high consider using a footrest.

Computer monitor - position your monitor 18 to 30 inches from your eyes. The top of your screen should be at eye level or below so you look slightly down at your work. If glare is a problem, turnoff some or all overhead lights and close blinds if possible.

Key Objects - arrange frequently used objects, such as pens, phones, and coffee cup, within 10 inches of your body so you are not excessively reaching for them throughout the day.

Headsets - use a headset if you frequently talk on the phone and type or write at the same time.

Wrist rest - keep your wrists in a straight, natural position when using your keyboard. Do not use your wrist rest while typing, rather use it to take occasional breaks from typing.

Mouse - place your mouse on the side of your keyboard so you don’t have to reach too far to use it.

Prevention

It’s never too late to start practicing good posture and office ergonomics. Besides integrating the above tips into your daily routine, it is also important that management evaluates the ergonomics in your office to help reduce stress and eliminate many potential injuries associated with bad posture and poor office ergonomics. In addition to incorporating good posture tips into your daily routine, it is beneficial to take stretching breaks throughout the day. Sitting at a desk all day, even with the best posture and ergonomics in practice can still be stressful on your body. On average, your body can only tolerate one position for about 20 minutes before it needs to be readjusted. Taking a 1 minute break every 20 minutes may help.

Source: EIIA

Policy Spotlight

The Administrative/Staff Handbook can be found here or on the "V" drive at: V:\PUBLIC\HR\HANDBOOK

Overtime Rules effective January 1, 2000

CLU must pay time and a half to nonexempt employees who work:

Over 8 hours of work in a workday;

Over 40 hours in a workweek;

The first 8 hours of work on a 7 th consecutive day in any workweek......

CLU must pay double time to nonexempt employee who work:

Over 12 hours in a workday;

Over 8 hours of work on a 7 th consecutive day in any workweek.

Overtime compensation earned in a particular workweek is to be paid on the regular payday for the period in which such workweek ends. Overtime is calculated in accordance with the above schedule and is based on actual hours worked. (Holidays and sick leave are excluded from overtime earnings.)

Makeup Time:

Supervisors may approve, at their option, a written request of an employee to make up lost work at straight time, if:

The makeup work occurs in the same workweek in which work time was lost;

The work time was missed because of the employee’s personal obligations; The makeup work does not cause the employee to exceed 11 hours of work in one day or 40 hours in one workweek.

*An employee must submit a signed, written request each time a request is made to make up work time. (See form on the Human Resources Website at http://www.callutheran.edu/hr/forms.php. These forms will be available form you Director, Dean, or Human Resources Office effective January 1, 2000.)

CLU is prohibited from soliciting any employee to make up time within the same week.