According to the current Aeris study "Working in the Home Office", 53 percent of employees in the DACH region now have experience of working from home - not least as a result of the measures taken to contain the Corona pandemic. In some sectors, such as banking, insurance, IT and telecommunications, this figure is already 80 percent or more. Even though this has enabled many companies to successfully maintain operations, the health balance so far is sobering: 64 percent of employees complain of health problems caused by working from home. Above all, back pain, muscle aches and headaches plague the "homeworkers". For the study, Aeris, manufacturer of active chairs and movement solutions for the office, home office and home area, conducted a survey among 2,000 employees in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
The chart shows the most common complaints caused by working in a home office with the wrong equipment. More than a quarter of respondents complain of back pain. /small>
As the study further shows, the causes of many health problems are quite obviously to be found in the design of the workplace at home. Only just over one in two homeworkers (56%) has their own study at home, while the rest have to improvise at dining, kitchen or living room tables as well as in bedrooms and guest rooms. In addition, working couples often have to share a study or take turns using it.
In addition, more than one in two employees with home office experience complain that their workplace is significantly worse equipped than the actual workplace in the company, both technically (53%) and in terms of office furniture (54%). One in three employees would like an ergonomic office chair and a height-adjustable desk at home.
The health consequences of the design and equipment of the home office workplace are shown, for example, by the following results of the Aeris study: While a total of two-thirds of employees in the home office complain of health problems, the figure for those who have to use the bedroom or guest room as a workplace is as high as around three out of four.
Too many people still sit still too often.
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Josef Glöckl
Managing Director Aeris GmbH
The list of health problems caused by working from home is headed by back pain (26%). This is followed closely by muscle pain (e.g. in the neck or shoulder area) and headaches (21% each). In addition to weight gain, 20 percent of the homeworkers surveyed complain of fatigue and exhaustion as well as stress and restlessness. For more than one in ten (12%), working at home even leads to psychological problems such as fatigue and depression, according to their own statements.
"The dark season that has now begun is likely to exacerbate these health problems," Aeris founder Josef Glöckl is convinced. "Firstly, in view of rising infection figures, many companies have already noticeably increased home office quotas again, and secondly, the opportunities to engage in outdoor sporting activities do turn out to be significantly less in autumn and winter."
It is therefore all the more important to set up the home office workplace as healthily as possible. "Innovative office chairs that allow permanent movement, such as the Aeris Swopper, can incidentally ensure that the back and neck muscles are strengthened," continues Glöckl. "Too many people still sit still too often. The lack of movement robs us of concentration, energy, creativity and, above all, our health after only a short time. Back pain, for example, is now the most common cause of sick leave. They are responsible for one in ten days of absence."
