ALKHOBAR, 15 August 2006 — Most people consider an office a pretty safe place to work — as long as it isn’t located in Baghdad, of course! But actually offices in Saudi Arabia are becoming a prime source of workplace injury. These are injuries that in general a company’s health insurance policy won’t cover because they are now known as occupational hazards. That forces disabled workers into running the maze of Saudi Arabia’s workers’ compensation system to get any coverage of their medical expenses or in some instances, permanent disability claims.
Office workers are becoming disabled because there is often no thought to their working environment. The typical office in the Kingdom is set up with steel desks that hold computers, low-backed steno chairs and overhead florescent lights. Several employees will be crammed into each office and a cacophony of ringing telephones, buzzing electronics and footfalls on hard floors create constant background noise.
The complete lack of regard for “Office Ergonomics,” with time often leads to musculoskeletal, vision and hearing problems. Examples of musculoskeletal problems that may be related to ergonomic issues include bursitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, muscle strains affecting the neck, upper back, lower back and shoulders, tendinitis and tennis elbow (epicondylitis). Numerous studies have recognized that constant low level noise increases stress and impairs job performance and vision disorders are on the rise among office workers who spend long hours in front of computer monitors.
Unfortunately, in the past, Saudi companies often thought of their work force as being easily replaceable. They viewed office furnishings as an overhead rather than an investment. That attitude is starting to bite. Several major Saudi firms have lost high-level IT professionals to disability. In every case there was a clear linkage between poor office ergonomics and musculoskeletal injuries. Repetitive stress disorders including carpal tunnel syndrome and back injuries were the most common problems.
“People need to learn that poorly designed and inappropriately furnished offices are not only unattractive, they are unhealthy,” said Anwar A. Hannan, customer relations manager, Kinnarps of Sweden-KSA (www.kinnarps.ae). “Spending eight hours daily in an environment that is abusive to a person’s physical self, cannot help but hurt an individual’s overall health and mental responsiveness. If you are going home from the office day after day, feeling exhausted, depressed and in pain, take a good look at your work environment. Chances are that the basics of office ergonomics are being ignored.”
Ergonomics is about using knowledge of human abilities and limitations to design and build for comfort, efficiency, productivity and safety. Ergonomic design is a way of considering design options to ensure that people’s capabilities and limitations are taken into account. This helps to ensure that the product is fit for use by the target users. Loads of important information about ergonomics can be found at http://www.ergonomics.org.uk.
Office workers may spend 10 hours a day seated. Here is WebMD.com’s description of an ergonomically designed chair. Does it sound like the chairs at your office?
“The chair should have adjustable seat height, back and arm rests, and a base with five wheels for easy movement without tipping. Lumbar support for the back is helpful. When an individual sits in the chair, his feet should rest flat on the floor, and his thighs should be parallel to the floor. The edge of the chair should be soft and should not touch the backs of the knees. If there are arm rests, the individual should be able to use them without slouching or having his shoulders either hunched up or drooping down.”
Kinnarps of Sweden is one of the leading office/educational environment turnkey providers and the third largest manufacturer of contract office/education furniture in the world. Their goal in designing and furnishing any office is to create “a complete workplace with an equal focus on effectiveness and personal well-being.”
“The target market for Kinnarps in Saudi Arabia is not those companies that are flush with cash,” said Hannan. “We are interested in working with those firms that understand the importance of facility management and creating an ideally functional work environment. Those employers care about the quality of the work environment because they know it will lead to high long-term productivity from their staff.”
Hannan advised that even most business owners and corporate managers don’t know how to set up comfortable, productive offices for themselves.
“A top level managers’ office in Saudi Arabia usually comes with a heavy desk, fixed in one position,” said Hannan. “That will be matched with a difficult to maneuver leather chair, which doesn’t have adjustable arm rests or lumbar support. Cables and electrical cords will be sticking out everywhere. Florescent ceiling lights are the norm. The executive cannot stand up to work as there is no table at the appropriate height. This keeps him confined to a seated position all day. Such an arrangement may look impressive for those with certain tastes, but it isn’t modern or functional and mounting evidence demonstrates that it leads to injury.”
“That is not a claim we make for marketing purposes,” said Ramzi El-Zein, GM, Kinnarps of Sweden-KSA. “Kinnarps is constantly researching the ergonomics issue in part because in many countries providing employees with ergonomically appropriate office equipment and furnishings is the law. But we don’t need a study to demonstrate the suitability of our furnishings. Just come and sit in one of our chairs. Our chairs ensure perfect sitting posture because they can be adjusted to support people of any shape or size.”
He went on to remark that the office environment should be esthetically pleasing. Cable management systems conceal computer cables and electrical wires while reducing the messy appearance of modern technological systems, and enhancing the safety and usability of any office space. Flat screen monitors mounted on arms that hold the monitor above the desktop, increase both available workspace and functionality. CPU holders that enable the computer to be mounted under the desktop make the machine more accessible and keep it out of the way and off the floor. Keyboard mats, mouse mats, armrests and CD racks are just a few of the other accessories made by Kinnarps to organize the modern office elegantly and ergonomically.
Kinnarps KSA was set up in the Kingdom in 1998 and the company has expanded to an office in Riyadh with plans to expand to another location in Alkhobar by February 2007.
“We had been doing projects in Saudi Arabia from our Dubai location, but found that a market as large as Saudi Arabia cannot be managed in such a fashion. That is why we have an increasing presence here,” said El-Zein. “We have about 35 people working for us in Riyadh and Jeddah, everything from designers, to logistics specialists and sales and marketing professionals. We have been quite successful in the turnkey projects that we undertake and these form the bulk of our work. We assume all the headache of setting up new offices from finding the location all the way through to designing the office and furnishing the space.”
Kinnarps turnkey clients in the Kingdom include Microsoft, Nokia, Savola, Effat College, Ericsson, SBM and many others. Numerous companies also come to Kinnarps for advice on the purchase of individual workstations, chairs and accessories based on existing requirements. The company claims to be coping well with the challenge from furniture manufacturers in the Far East, with Kinnarps’ emphasis on quality helping them to succeed over the low-cost producers.
“There are some firms in the Far East that make furniture that looks similar to ours, but the difference is in the quality,” said El-Zein. “Our furnishings can be dismantled, reassembled and reconfigured again and again, depending on the need of any company. Our warranty is 15 years. All of our technology, manufacturing and quality control is in Sweden. We don’t outsource and that has been a big selling point in the Saudi market.”
There are no legal requirements in the Kingdom in regards to office furnishings or environment. So out of curiosity, let me know how your office rates in terms of ergonomics, functionality and flexibility. Take a look at your co-workers. Are they hunched over or slumped in their chairs? Are their wrists straight and arms supported when they are using their keyboards? How many staff members appear tired and stressed at the end of each day? Is your office a peaceful oasis or is there constant mess, noise and disruption? Most adults spend at least a third of their lives at work Does your office space reflect inspiration or desperation?
(Comments to: [email protected].)
