This article is about what ergonomics is, and frankly what it is not. Ergonomics is not about furniture that may fit a room motif or follow aesthetic standards that an interior designer would consider. It's not about matching equipment to other equipment either, such as matching the chair to a desk etc. It's also used frequently within furniture industries to help mean comfortable and designed well. While vendors and designers use this term to help with marketing, it has been used to make the sell and does not retain it's true meaning. Ergonomics is about fitting the workstation to a worker. So it's very similar to having a suit fitting to a person. You would consider anthropometrics or body segment averages and sizes that would go into a design. In the office furniture realm, ergonomists like to see as much adjustability based around the relevant median lengths. Ergonomics also considers how our body works while we are working. If we are working actively, our body functions differently than when we are sedentary. Take for instance, the very sedentary computer work lifestyle to which our eyes will have a gaze angle of 15 - 20 degrees below the horizontal. This differs when we are active and, let's say, working in a laboratory to which our gaze angle would be closer to horizontal. Ergonomics has been looked as something optional that does not matter and that's mainly because it's not sexy to most bottom lines which is saving and making dollars! Nowadays, speed and toughness are valued and these are usually not congruent with ergonomic values. In fact, speed and repetitiveness are ergonomic risk factors that can cause a repetitive motion injury (RSI). Our bodies have a tolerance and, although some people are actually more resilient than others, and when job demands exceed these tolerances, it fails and creates a pattern of cyclic inflammation that leads to a musculoskeletal disorder (MSD). We can't see our own bodies in action and the positions we assume, so having an ergonomic expert such as an ergonomic specialist with Ergobility provide an ergonomic assessment of you at your workstation is very important to truly understanding what you may be doing that can cumulate into a future disorder. Participating in an ergonomic assessment for the first time is quite fun and eye opening. People often find it much more useful than anticipated. If you or your business would be interested in knowing more about ergonomic evaluations, reach out today.