Highlights:
- People in India have been working from home for almost 6 months now
- The WFH culture is causing physical problems for the employees who are complaining of back and neck pain
- Health experts tell simple things to do which will provide a big change
Since before the beginning of the lockdown in India people had started working from home due to the COVID-19 outbreak which has now become the new normal, however, people from all around the country have started complaining of back and neck pain while working for long hours and seeking help from health experts.
Health experts say this problem in people is due to improper sitting postures and they need to follow good ergonomics and working habits at home.
Employees from various corporate firms and industrial bodies have been working from home for at least six months now since the lockdown was imposed in India to contain the spread of the novel Coronavirus, and there were some who started working from home even before the lockdown was imposed.
Dr Apurv Shimpi, Head of community physiotherapy department at Sancheti Hospital, Pune said, “Initially, work from home system brought cheers among employees. But, due to long working hours and improper sitting postures, many have started complaining of neck pain, backache and other issues,” while speaking with PTI.
The doctor said that the National Institute of Personnel Management’s (NIPM) Pune Chapter, a body of HR professionals in Maharashtra, approached the hospital to conduct physiotherapy sessions for their associate members.
Dr Apurv said, “Over 700 people took part in the recent session where they were given tips on work from home ergonomics,”.
He added, “Our physiotherapists explained about the wrong postures and positions adopted by employees while working from home. We gave them tips like raising the height of laptop screen to eye-level, use of pillows, taking frequent breaks and doing exercises for relaxing the mind and eyes,”.
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Chairman of NIPM Pune Chapter Dr (Capt) C M Chitale said that countless professionals have been complaining of the spinal cord- related issues, adding, “During the webinar, physiotherapists gave participants several ergonomic tips and explained the ideal work postures to avoid backache and other health-related issues,”.
HR head of Pune based Kalyani Maxion Wheels Private Limited, Narendra Patil, said that even though their company is into manufacturing, a lot many of its employees are currently working from home and have been complaining of backache and neck pain.
Patil said, “We asked our employees to take part in the physiotherapy session organised by NIPM and it turned out to be beneficial for them,”.
Senior Manager (Human Resource) at KSH Distriparks, Anita Perla said that she, herself, attended a webinar on physiotherapy which was arranged by the Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture.
Perla said, “Working from home is very different from working in an office. Infrastructure in the office is set up to support working conditions, but it’s not possible in a work from home set up. Hence, such sessions are important,”.
A physiotherapy with Pune-based fitness startup called HealYos, Dr Sourabh Sane, said that they are educating and teaching people how to set up an appropriate work station at home.
Dr Sane said, “We guide them on what should be the ideal height of the laptop and their work screen. The table-chair arrangement should be such that the computer screen should be at the eye- level,”.
He added, “Keeping a hard pillow on the chair for back support and simple stretching exercises also help people who have a sedentary working style for long hours,”.
