The pandemic has forever changed the way we work. No more commutes. No more unnecessary or lengthy distractions at the office. No more excess expenses out of employee pockets. The upside to the new hybrid workforce is attractive, for sure. It paints a beautiful picture of a work/life balance and greater employee focus and productivity.
But the reality isn’t such a dreamy picture. A hybrid work environment, or one that is completely remote, has had some unintended consequences. We’re finding ourselves more sedentary than before, leading to weight gain and various physical challenges. And we’re struggling to stay engaged with our colleagues and our work, making us feel isolated and more easily distracted.
These unintended consequences of the pandemic have been well documented at this point, but there’s still one area overlooked: improper at home setup. The irony in this is that the home setup is often the reason behind physical issues, pain and weight gain, all stemming from bad posture the home setup creates.
Think about where you set up your home office. For some, maybe it’s in a designated office area, most likely with a traditional desk and chair. For most others, it’s sitting on the couch, using the kitchen table or maybe even standing at a kitchen counter. None of these options provides an environment that supports employee health, wellness or productivity.
To help your employees perform at their best in our new work-from-everywhere world, it takes more than just enabling the technology to help them do their job. It requires a true investment in your employees that helps them overcome some of the challenges that have emerged as a result of the rapid shift to a remote work environment.
Why Investing in Proper Home Setup Makes a Difference
According to a recent Inc. article, 61% of white-collar employees say they would like their company to let them continue to work remotely indefinitely. With such a large percentage of the workforce requesting remote work, the unintended consequences of the pandemic, like engagement, performance and employee health, are brought to the forefront. How can an organization in good faith permit employees to continue working remotely when performance and productivity are slipping?
Organizations have talked about wellness programs for years, offering to bring in mindfulness techniques, yoga classes and even adding gyms at the office. But with the massive shift to remote work, organizations are doing very little to continue the wellness discussion, an area that is perhaps more important now than ever before.
Companies that invest in their workforce create happier employees, and happier employees are dedicated to companies. A Forbes contributing author shared that “by showing employees through your investment in them that you care about them — not just as workers, but as people — you’ll foster a work environment that inspires them to give it their all, day in and day out.”
This is an important retention technique in today’s work-from-anywhere world because the availability of remote work has expanded work options for talented employees.
So what type of investment can organizations make for employee health and wellness? Focusing on the home setup with a sit-stand desk.
StanData’s Role in Employee Wellness
StanData can help organizations set up hybrid and full-remote employee workstations to mitigate potential injury claims, reduce sedentary behavior and keep employees healthy and engaged. Through real-time workstation data, StanData equips organizations to enhance the bottom line while improving employee health, safety, office logistics and human performance.
StanData leverages information from each employee utilizing a sit-stand desk, providing guidance on when they should sit and for how long, and when to transition to standing and for how long. This guidance helps employees take advantage of the most effective sit-stand combination for them as individuals. The data is also easily transferable, so hybrid employees can track data both in and out of the office.
For that reason, employees who use a sit-stand desk combined with StanData report that their engagement and productivity increased with better transition tracking, as well as improvements in their health.
If this isn’t enough to inspire you to invest in a proper home setup for your hybrid and remote employees, consider this: studies show payback is 90 days or less for people working at home at least 3 days per week.
Interested in learning more about investing in your employees’ wellness? Try a free demo.