Every company is focusing on employee eLearning these days. It’s because of the stringent rules imposed by government authorities on employees’ health.

Employees are either working from home or offices but companies have to take care of their health to avoid any health-related absence and medical expenses. Since all the employees are working on Display Screen Equipment (DSE) such as laptops or desktop PCs these days and even smartphones, since the advent of mobile apps, there has been some strict rules imposed for safeguarding their health. 

Hence the apex health organization of the UK, HSE(Health and Safety executive) has mandated some rules for employee safety while working with such devices:  

• Take breaks to avoid pain in the eyes : 

The employer must ensure that the DSE users can take some time off from work. All those employees who use DSE devices for an hour or more per day in their work schedule are called DSE users. This break time can be as brief as 5-10 minutes per hour.

For example, an employee can attend a meeting and listen to the conversation through his Bluetooth headphones to avoid sitting in front of the DSE for long. An employee who sits in front of the DSE equipment for longer hours can develop musculoskeletal disorders leading to lost workdays.

All this information about his rights can be given through employee eLearning included in onboarding.

Employers can ensure that the employees compulsorily take respite from work by installing break-monitoring software on their PCs. Employees can also stand during work for eight minutes every 30 minutes by placing the laptop on a height-adjustable laptop board whose height can be varied according to individual levels.

Employees can add positivity to the work environment by placing some potted plants in their workroom and having open windows.

• Arrange for eyewear when DSE users need them : 

Employees’ eLearning is necessary because they must know that in case, they have a problem working with DSEs due to their glare then they can ask the employer to provide them with glasses. Sometimes, working on DSE equipment for long hours can lead to eyesight issues such as myopia, and then the employers must arrange for an eyesight test.

The employees can be helped with such vision-related problems by ensuring that the lighting conditions in the cubicle are suitable. 

When an employee is required to wear glasses to look at the screen from proximity, then such expenses have to be borne by the employer. 

• Correct sitting posture : 

Employees’ eLearning is equally important when they are working from home. So they could be explained how to work correctly rather than overexerting themselves. The employees could be given a workstation checklist which they can use to see whether it has been properly set up. The employees could also change their posture frequently to avoid developing any MSD. The employees should sit straight in front of the DSE rather than bending to view the screen because it can cause a hunched back which then further aggravates an MSD.

The height of the chair should be modified to be the same as the PC because otherwise the neck gets strained. 

The employers can provide employees eLearning to ensure that they are well trained about proper sitting postures etc. Employees should know that their feet must be placed on a footrest for the duration of their work. 

Employers have to ensure that employees can shift all the equipment like keyboards and computer mouse to home. But employees can’t take ergonomic chairs home and hence should replicate them with cushions placed behind their backs while working. 

While employees take work intervals, they could do some stretching exercises to relax muscles. 

• Room ambiance : 

Employees must also focus on the room temperature for proper working. It’s because they can’t work under low temperatures as they won’t be able to move their hands due to cold. The perfect room temperature for a work environment is between 21 to 24 degrees Celsius. Moreover, employees must also refrain from checking phones after and before work hours, especially during the night when they are sleeping and the lights are off.

Apart from that, employees should also refrain from working on weekends to avoid side effects.

Employers should also hold frequent discussions with employees to know about the feasibility of their working conditions.