It may come as no surprise to some of you that back pain is a killer in the office environment. Okay not exactly a killer, but its a pretty big obstacle for those in HR. When I was reading an article on back pain and ergonomic seating it was interesting to know that nearly 80% of all office workers will suffer from back pain at some time during their career.
I was a bit shocked by this figure so I done a little research myself. I started looking around health care statistics and office absence statistics but they are all at least 3 years old. Then it struck me to start looking at different ergonomic chair manufacturer websites, they sell the remedy so they should know the problem! I actually contacted one back support manufacturer directly and they were nice enough to tell me about their latest statistics (from last year). It turns out that the 80% figure has decreased slightly over the last few years, but it is still well within the 70% range. Thats still around 3 in 4 people which will be affected.
So if you are in HR then you should think about buying your staff some ergonomic chairs, standing desks or even back massagers, you wouldn't want them going sick for extended periods of time!
