Osmond Ergonomics

This article was originally emailed as issue 180 of our monthly eBulletin at 11:30 on 13/12/2024. You can register here to receive them monthly.

15 YEARS OF THE eBULLETIN

With 180 newsletters now behind us, we are proud to have shared the eBulletin on time once a month, every month for the last 15 years. When we started, sit-stand desks were an exotic Scandinavian import, the earliest laptops existed with monochrome screens and mobile phones were used for talking to people! Since that time, we have chronicled the furniture, accessories, technologies, research and innovations of the changing workplace. We shall continue to do so! The eBulletin is one of three free subscription services we offer. Product Radar provides a single page update every time we add a product to our portfolio that we think should be ‘on your radar’. It is published whenever we have something new to show you. Our Top Tips newsletter is a much more recent addition, aimed specifically at DSE and Workplace Needs Assessors, and published weekly. Each issue highlights a single topic and includes a video clip or downloadable pdf that subscribers can use themselves or share with clients or colleagues. You can update your subscription choices for any or all these services here.

NEW PODCAST SERIES

My podcast returns in January with a wide-ranging discussion about creating an Enticing Workplace. My guest, Nigel Oseland, has completed extensive research about what makes people prefer to work in the office or at home. I blogged about the research a few months ago and this podcast was a great opportunity to for us to catch up and explore some of the themes. As with my first season, new blogs drop at 6:30am on the first Monday of the month so you can access our conversation from Monday January 6th. When it’s live, you will find it with my other podcasts here.

DIDN’T I JUST SAY THAT?

Nigel is also involved with some fascinating research alongside Paige Hodsman. This is exploring how men and women hear each other differently – or maybe not at all! I first saw Paige present their literature review ‘Hearing Women in the Workplace’ at Workplace Trends a couple of months ago and they are now looking for survey participants. If you can spare 15 minutes to take part, please do so here.

WHERE HUMAN FACTORS MEETS LEADERSHIP

You may have seen me post on social media that human factors are more central to workplace conversations than at any time in the last 30+ years. Yet I hardly ever encounter ergonomics or human factors (E/HF) professionals in workplace conversations, apart from those involved in DSE assessments. As a Workplace Sector initiative, the CIEHF scheduled a webinar to discuss the interface between workplace and E/HF. I was delighted to host that conversation with Chris Allen of MONTROC Consulting. It was a very informative and entertaining session so well worth an hour of your time. The recording can be found here.

SEASONS GREETINGS

As we approach the year end, may I take this opportunity to wish you a joyous festive break, surrounded – I hope – by your loved ones. The world can be a challenging and scary place at the moment so let’s cherish and take advantage of the opportunity to count our blessings and remember those less fortunate. In order for my team to do that, we shall be closed from lunchtime on 24.12.24 until 02.01.25.

This article was originally emailed as issue 180 of our monthly eBulletin at 11:30 on 13/11/2024. You can register here to receive them monthly.

SETTING THE SCENE FOR EFFECTIVE WELLBEING ACTION
We had to rearrange our proposed London event last month so, with a change of speaker and a slight repositioning of the content, you can still attend. It is now on Thursday November 28th. I am delighted to welcome Chris Allen to the speaker panel. His topic is ‘Posture, Profile & Presence: the cult of wellbeing culture’. If you don’t already know him, you can get a good insight into his knowledge, passion and experience on Episode 4 of my podcast. Also joining me is Rosie Russell, whose talk at our Oxford event was very warmly received. At the new event, her topic is ‘So much diversity, so little time: a pragmatic approach to wellbeing’. I could go on at length about how engaging and informative these speakers will be but the best option is to book your place! There are morning and afternoon sessions to suit your diary

WILLO

By the time you read this, I shall have just returned from the Biophilic Design Conference in London. This was the first event of its type in the UK (and, possibly, the world!), so I expect to have plenty to comment about in due course. I attended both as a delegate and an exhibitor. I’ve mentioned the 3D-printed Willo tree before but this was the first workplace event where we have shown them. Being able to display a pair of trees together created an impressive feature, especially in the amazing setting of the Barbican Conservatory.

ACPOHE STUDY DAY 2024 

We are delighted to be co-sponsoring this event, which will take place in the Flokk London showroom. There are still spaces available and this page gives comprehensive details about the content and agenda. It is suitable for physios and other health professionals working in occupational health and ergonomics and you don’t have to be an ACPOHE member to attend. Our ergonomics workshop will specifically look at chairs aligned to one of the key agenda topics – pelvic pain.

PODCAST

With 12 episodes now completed, the podcast is taking a short sabbatical and will return at 06:30am on Monday January 6th, 2025. I am already in conversation with prospective guests and our 2025 season will still have the same objective: to engage in interesting conversations with fascinating people who are experts in their field. You can find the first season here. If you don’t have time to listen to them all, try Episode 11, which is my summary of the first ten encounters.

EXHIBITIONS & CONFERENCES 2025

We have stopped participating in large-scale face-to-face events since the pandemic but we are now reviewing our position again. Although we used to exhibit at two or three national events each year, we gave that up to focus on our numerous online channels and activities. We have continued with in-person client visits and our own specialist events but is it time to get back to the large-scale commercial gatherings? Showing Willo at the Biophilic Design Conference is our first ‘toe in the water’. I would love to know what events you enjoy. What are the ‘must attend’ events in your 2025 calendar? Please let me know what you think.

This article was originally emailed as issue 179 of our monthly eBulletin at 11:30 on 10/10/2024. You can register here to receive them monthly.

EDI STRATEGY & EFFECTIVE WELLBEING EVENT

Building on the recent launch of our Osmond Inclusive Wellbeing Services, I am pleased to commend to you our first in-person OIWS event. It’s actually two events because we are running a morning session and then repeating it in the afternoon on Tuesday October 22nd at the Orangebox showroom in Clerkenwell, London. We are taking a holistic approach to wellbeing and believe it sits best within the Equity, Diversity & Inclusion strategies of good employers. In conversation, we have also discovered that parts of it sit with HR, Health & Safety, Occupational Health, Recruitment, Talent Management and a variety of other professionals with an even bigger variety of job titles! If it’s on your agenda, you can find out all about the event, the choice of times, the speakers and the content on the registration page.

HSE & ERGONOMICS

Last month, I was a panel guest at the IWFM Rising FMs and Workplace SIG discussing workplace ergonomics in the hybrid workplace. It was an animated discussion with excellent questions and we touched on ‘the demise of the DSE assessment’. We have noticed that homeworkers, in particular, are getting less support and attention from many employers and (uncharacteristically!) the HSE has been responding to this with recent publications. Their new booklet about evidence relating to musculoskeletal disorders and visual problems for DSE users and their Body Mapping Tool are freely available resources.

PODCAST

Kirsty Angerer, provided some really interesting insights – and data – from more than a decade of workplace experience around the world. You can find Kirsty’s episode, along with the whole of Series 1, on this page or go directly to the Spotify, Apple or Amazon/Audible podcast platforms.

SCANDINAVIA

IN THE PRESS

On the subject of articles, we have had two further items published this month. In September’s edition of Tomorrow’s Health & Safety, I have gone into more detail about the apparent neglect of homeworkers referred to above. Meanwhile, the British Safety Council has published another piece, this time co-written by my colleague, Alex Reffell, and myself about supporting neurodiversity in the workplace.