Beyond 100 days of home working: are we in danger of slouching into a productivity slump?

July 2, 2020 - PRLog -- As almost half of all UK workers have now spent 100 days working from home, a research association warns that businesses must take the health impact of remote working seriously.

If this continues to be overlooked, the Research Association suggests that the cost to the UK economy - in terms of lost productivity - could hit businesses hard, further down the line.

To encourage healthy working from home in the longer term, the Furniture Industry Research Association has produced free guides for employers and employees on ways to optimise the home working environment, as we move out of an emergency situation and into the longer term.

The two guides — one offering crucial advice for employers and another providing practical guidance for employees — have been authored by FIRA International's expert team of ergonomists and can be downloaded for free at www.fira.co.uk/homeworking.

The guide for employers covers information they should provide for staff working from home, as well as information on workplace assessments and relevant regulations.

FIRA International's Chief Ergonomist, Levent Çaglar, says that while the mutual benefits of flexible working have become clear over the last three months – such as greater productivity, less time spent commuting and a better work-life balance. For home working to succeed longer term, employer and employee must carefully consider the difference an optimised work environment would make.

"This isn't about paying out for expensive kit, but making sure that employees understand how to make their work environment as ergonomic as possible – and much of this is to do with regular breaks and movement, rather than equipment.

"An ergonomically set-up workstation promotes comfort, increases productivity and boosts mood, which is crucial in this current climate. In contrast, a poorly designed set-up can lead to inefficiency, difficulty in getting motivated and staying focussed and aches and pains from adopting poor posture, for prolonged periods of time."

The ergonomic home working guides are available to download free of charge on the FIRA website www.fira.co.uk/homeworking.

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About the Furniture Industry Research Association

Established over seventy years ago, the Furniture Industry Research Association was set up by the industry for the industry. The Association provide invaluable technical support to the entire furniture supply chain and fund research projects for the benefit of the industry. For further details go to www.fira.co.uk