CO.-DESIGN OF WORK EXPERIENCE
  • HOME
  • About
  • Culture Your Culture
    • Book
    • Culture Change Edition
    • DOWE
    • Startup Edition
    • 30DAYCHALLENGE
  • Offerings
  • News
  • Press
    • Media Kit
    • Articles
    • Podcasts
  • Contact
  • Start Now
Picture

This Is A PSA:   I SAT AT A COMPUTER ALL DAY FOR MONTHS.  ERGO, PAIN!

9/23/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
Shame on me.  I totally underestimated how much work writing a book would be, and despite working pretty regularly on it the last two years, I found the last twelve months required many days sitting at the computer for hours on end. 

One day, I went to disconnect my phone from its charger and BAM!  The muscles in my neck seized up with a massive cramp I couldn’t get out.  I desperately searched for a chiropractor to see me right away.  He stabilized it, but the damage had been done.  It would take weeks to recover.
 
Despite the pain, stiffness, and lack of mobility, I decided to attend an event at a “unicorn” company I was invited to by a new and important network contact.  I’m usually pretty transparent, but instinct kicked in that night and suddenly I felt like an injured animal in the Serengeti.  If I showed any weakness, there was this irrational fear that somehow I would be devoured.  So I told no one and pretended nothing was amiss, but boy did I suffer. 

In retrospect, I realize that this ergonomic injury was completely preventable.  In a way, I kind of deserved it.  After all, I hunched over this small laptop and let my muscles slowly weaken over time.  How could I be so stupid?  This was probably an issue years in the making, only delayed by the fact that I previously worked in offices where I had a ton of meetings that required walking and time away from my computer.  Let my pain be a lesson.  I beseech you to raise your monitor to eye level, sit up in your chair (or better yet, get a standing desk), minimize any stress on your muscles, and take frequent breaks.  Listen to your body—it will send signals if you are paying attention.  My friend posted this on Facebook this morning: “If you listen to your body when it whispers, you won’t have to hear it scream.”  That screaming--a.k.a. pain--is not just for old folks, people.  Ergonomic injuries could happen to you.  It’s just a matter of time. 

Companies—if you care about work environment, help your employees practice work safely.  Prevent work-related injuries from your warehouses to your offices.  It will go a long way in creating a healthy and productive workforce, I promise. 
0 Comments

Workspace  matters

9/10/2012

0 Comments

 
Picture
Many of us have worked in offices that took a traditional approach to office planning—you have a desk, a chair, a cube or office, your printer, and (if you are lucky) maybe a window.  Your space looks like everyone else’s, except for maybe framed pictures of your respective families and friends.  The purpose of these designs is to squeeze in as many people as possible into limited physical space, with the occasional conference room for meetings.  And guess how people worked as a result?  You could probably describe it yourself.   More and more now, there is attention being paid to workspace as a part of one’s work experience—how physical environment (and how people behave within it) could be strategically leveraged to encourage productivity, creativity, collaboration and innovation.  The high tech companies figured that one out a while back (during the dot com boom of the 90s), as a way of differentiating their employee experience and getting results.  It’s taking a while for other industries to catch up.  “The coolest workspace” in Chicago, 1871 shows us what it could be—how these workplace designs are within anyone’s reach and can be used as permanent, or temporary environments to experiment with.     Steelcase is also doing real research in this area.  It’s an interesting concept to think about when it comes to your own workspace and may be an opportunity that could yield a big difference.  Try it.  :) 

0 Comments

    purpose

    A place to share interesting concepts that will inspire, spread, and/or apply new ideas.  This page is dedicated to sharing my twitter feed, announcements, and blog posts.

    Topics will be numerous and varied! 


    RSS Feed

    Tweets by @KarenJaw

    Archives

    December 2020
    June 2020
    December 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    May 2017
    August 2016
    July 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012

    Categories

    All
    Adaptability
    Analogies
    Announcements
    Article
    Book
    Brand
    Career
    Case Study
    Change Management
    Coaching
    Collaboration
    Communication
    Creativity
    Culture
    Customer Experience
    Design
    Diversity
    DOWE
    Employee Experience
    Engagement/interactions
    Events
    Failure & Opportunity
    Human Resources
    Improvisation
    Innovation
    Inspiration
    Leadership
    Learning
    Motivation
    My Story
    New Contexts For Design
    Observation
    Persistence
    Podcast
    Recognition
    Resources
    Startup
    Strategy
    Sustainability
    Talent Management
    Thoughtful Questions
    Thought Leadership
    Workspace
    Writing

    RSS Feed

© 2020 Co.-Design of Work Experience

  • HOME
  • About
  • Culture Your Culture
    • Book
    • Culture Change Edition
    • DOWE
    • Startup Edition
    • 30DAYCHALLENGE
  • Offerings
  • News
  • Press
    • Media Kit
    • Articles
    • Podcasts
  • Contact
  • Start Now