Osmond Ergonomics

This article was originally emailed as issue 183 of our monthly eBulletin at 11:30 on 13/02/2025. You can register here to receive them monthly.

NO BOTS HERE

I love AI. I use ChatGPT, Grammarly, NotebookLM, Perplexity and other tools for research, ideas, tidying up my thoughts and correcting my spelling, but I never get it to do the writing for me. I tried it once and it was a disaster: I thought I could get ChatGPT to write the whole article and then I could just tinker with it afterwards but I ended up abandoning the AI piece and starting from scratch. We hear that marketing is all about ‘authenticity’ but I don’t understand what’s authentic about publishing material you didn’t create. I research, prepare and write every eBulletin and will continue to do so. For more authenticity, see our two upcoming events below, my podcasts and published articles like this one for the British Safety Council.

ERGONOMICS CHALLENGES IN A HYBRID WORLD

For DSE assessors, Occupational Health, Health & Safety, Facilities Managers and Ergonomists, our first 2025 event is at the Senator Showroom in London on Wednesday March 26, 2025. From feedback and conversations, we know you want topics that take you beyond your current experience and expand your knowledge so we have two excellent speakers. Jim Taylour (formerly of Orangebox and now at Senator) will talk about today’s workplace from his perspective as an ergonomist and furniture designer. Robert Manson will summarise several neurodiverse conditions with suggestions about adaptations and products to address individual needs. Attendees will also have a discounted opportunity to attend a virtual half-day course covering this topic fully in the near future. As always, we shall also have products to show you. Find out more and register here

HOLISTIC WELLBEING: ALIGNING PEOPLE, PURPOSE & PLACE

FLOOR WALK SERVICE

Despite strong evidence supporting hybrid working (when done well), many people are now spending more time in the office. As a result, we have noticed an increasing need for ergonomics awareness services. One offer that is proving both popular and valuable is our Floor Walk Service. Typically, Stuart Entwistle, our Training Manager with 20+ years’ experience and thousands of DSE assessments completed, simply walks through your office and talks to anyone who needs assistance with chair set-up, posture, sit-stand desk settings, monitor height, etc. Often, this is tied in with a Health & Safety Awareness Day or other event, which may also include one or more of our Posture Awareness workshops. For a bespoke proposal, contact Stuart directly.

SOCIAL MEDIA

If you follow social media, you may have noticed a boost in our activity in recent weeks. We have changed agencies and tuned our output so that we align our messages better to current marketing methodology and platform demand. More importantly, we aim to increase the value and usefulness of our posts, introducing even more of the latest research and insights into our messages. One possible downside is that you may have seen much more of me on video! I am told that the social media algorithms love video. I wish I felt the same: I find the recording easy enough but watching it back is excruciating! If you can bear to watch, you can find us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.

This article was originally emailed as issue 182 of our monthly eBulletin at 11:30 on 13/01/2025. You can register here to receive them monthly.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Our 2025 focus will be on making life even easier for our clients. We know the constant pressure experienced by the managers we work with and how hard it can be to juggle responsibilities and priorities. Many organisations have bewilderingly complex processes so we often find ourselves explaining to individuals how their employer operates and what they need to do to get action. We have even been known to tell people where to find things on their corporate intranet even though we have never seen it! Those are the sort of lengths we go to in order to ensure clients get outstanding service when dealing with us or navigating their employer’s internal communications process. In particular, we shall be stressing the single point of contact to get anything done. Our highly trained Customer Service team can respond to any enquiry and, if they don’t have the answer instantly, they will know where to find it quickly. Whether you need Osmond Ergonomics or Osmond Inclusive Wellbeing Services, a phone call (0345 345 0898), an email or LiveChat on either of our websites all connect you to the same small, knowledgeable team – no bots, no buts, just answers!

THE ENTICING OFFICE – WE KNOW WHAT WORKS: WHY DON’T WE DO IT?

As promised last month, my podcast is back! After a few months break, our first episode of the year was released at 6:30am on Monday 06.01.25. This month’s guest is Dr Nigel Oseland and we explored the impact of hybrid work, the necessity for physical offices, how to make them more inviting, the essential role of well-designed spaces in creating collaboration and innovation, as well as the quest for solitude and the challenges of managing hybrid teams. The discussion stemmed from some of Nigel’s research and my two-part blog inspired by it. For the podcast, choose your platform here.

2025 EVENTS

CORECHAIR ELITE

We had an overwhelmingly positive response to this new chair at the ACPOHE Study Day. The event, for occupational health physiotherapists, addressed the diagnosis and treatment of pelvic pain and the new CoreChair Elite was shown to be just the solution for sufferers of this debilitating condition. This new model is an enhancement of the established CoreChair Classic but the backrest is a dramatic enhancement to the product (with only a small price increase) and you don’t need to suffer from pelvic pain to love the unique design, function and comfort. Full production is still a couple of months away but contact us if you want to arrange a demonstration.

DSE TOP TIPS