Office Olympians
Ergonomics and the Olympics
I just spoke with my son, Ryan who is bouncing back and forth between Olympic events in Vancouver and snowboarding the beautiful mountain at Whistler Resort about 80 miles north of Vancouver. He is having the time of his life. 
When I watch the athletes competing in the various events, do you know what I think about? Ergonomics! Why? Because these athletes depend on the efficiency and functionality of their equipment to allow them to produce optimally. Hockey players and speed skaters sharpen their skates to get an edge (literally), and snowboarders wax their snowboards to overcome drag and resistance. In order to compete at their best, they must eliminate or overcome as many blocks, barriers and resistance as possible because these work against their peak performance.
Occupational ergonomics is the very same concept. A worker cannot perform to their peak abilities if they encounter resistance. Resistance in this case can come from poor workstation design, work tools and equipment that cannot be adjusted to the user’s specific needs.
If one of the small figure skaters that wear a size 5 had to wear a size 14 skate, do you think it might affect her ability to perform and compete against the rest of the competition? The same applies to your work environment; your computer monitor, your chair, keyboard and mouse options and the other important tools we use in the office. Without the properly adjusted equipment and properly designed workstation, you cannot get the best (physically or mentally) from your employees and office workers. Performance really falls off when the cumulative effect of the barriers and resistance results in discomfort and leads to injury. When athletes “play hurt” it detracts from their effectiveness and expertise and the same 
Office Athlete”. Look at the ergonomic issues you may be dealing with and make some changes. If you need help with identifying problems, give us a call, send us some digital photos and we’ll help you so you can operate like a true “Office Olympian”. You can help your company “bring home the gold”!
Contact us for further assistance 760-632-8350
Tags: athlete and ergonomics, athlete and safety, hockey and ergonomics, injury and ergonomics, Performance, Vancouver Olympics
I have several business that require correct ergonomic devices as well as posturing, taking breaks to stretch, etc. YOUR BLOGS IN GENERAL HAVE BEEN VERY HELPFUL OVERALL. Now that the Olympics are here, I can relate to the analogies you make. While what we do here is a far, far cry from an Olympian, lol, you make some excellent points. Having the right sizes in all their gear makes the difference in part in how well they do and who is at the top and bottom. This applies to any business, including mine, greatly.
A lot of what we all use and do can also be utilized as preventative to most potential injuries. Personally, I suffer with upper back pain and just bought one of your chairs and I love the comfort of it. I have otherwise not used any other of your services, products or resources yet and have a question. If I Send you pictures and questions, is there and what is, the cost for evaluation and ideas and corrections? It doesn’t address that in the blog. Will u be putting that up or should i just send you my info? Thanks once again, Shawn L.
This is so true. For months I was using a chair that was not the proper size for my body. When I switched to a chair that was made for my size, it made all the difference in the world!