Many years ago, while working as a rehabilitation consultant, I conducted a home-based ergonomic assessment for Nadine, a senior solicitor at one of Australia’s top tier law firms.

Nadine had been experiencing chronic neck and shoulder pain resulting from a combination of long working hours and poor posture while working from home. (She would frequently work from a laptop on her kitchen table or while sitting up in bed.)

The assessment was precipitated by a crisis. Nadine had missed an important deadline because the pain in her neck and shoulder had become so unbearable that she was physically incapable of continuing work, despite taking painkillers.

The ending was not a happy one. In spite of the assessment and subsequent installation of the necessary ergonomic equipment, Nadine eventually required surgery and was off work for approximately three months.

Make no mistake – working at home using inappropriate equipment can cause serious injuries.

What you should consider

With 2022 well underway and a return to ‘working from home if you can,’ employers must ensure that they are protecting the safety of their employees by providing appropriate ergonomic arrangements for home-based work.

What this looks like will differ from business to business. However, employers should at a minimum have their employees complete a working from home assessment checklist and find collaborative solutions for employees who do not have the necessary equipment to work safely.

Whether this involves inviting employees to purchase required equipment and reimbursing them, or sending equipment from the office to their homes and keeping an asset register, the end result must be that employees are able to perform computer-based work safely and comfortably under similar conditions they would experience in an office environment.

At a minimum, your employees should have a computer desk and ergonomic chair, external monitor, headset and other equipment as required on a case-by-case basis. Employers should also consider home-based ergonomic assessments for employees with pre-existing medical conditions and other special needs.

As daunting as this may seem to some, it is worth reminding ourselves that parts of an employee’s home legally become a workplace if that employee regularly works from home, and the same provisions for safety and workers’ compensation apply as they would in any other work environment.

How we can help

The Victorian Chamber’s Health, Safety and Wellbeing being team can advise you on how to provide safe working from home arrangements for your employees. Contact us on 8662 5222 to discuss the support we can provide.