What You Need to Know for a Healthy Law Practice

Does your firm have an ergonomics policy? Lawyers tend to spend a lot of time sitting and performing tasks such as meeting with clients, performing case research, answering phone calls, and even working on ergonomics cases. So, with a mostly sedentary work life, there are bound to be some health effects that lawyers will need to study up on too. Here’s what you need to know about law office ergonomics.

The health risks of too much sitting at work can result in musculoskeletal disorders (which may be on its way to being classified as a disease); weight gain; back, neck, and shoulder pain; carpal tunnel syndrome; repetitive injuries; and more.

Both the attorneys and support staff need to be available daily. You can’t have attorneys out sick for a big court date, and you certainly don’t want to miss out on your next client due to a low-staffed office or inadequate customer service. That’s why it’s essential to keep your team as happy and healthy as possible.

Hiring an Ergonomics Specialist for Your Law Office

Many law offices will hire an ergonomics specialist to assess the ergonomics in the office and make suggestions to improve workplace function. An ergonomics specialist will assess your office conditions to ensure you are providing a prime environment for health and happiness.
• Overhead and task lighting
• Proper ventilation
• Placement of equipment (desks, chairs, computers, phones, etc.)
• Frequent and occasional tasks/job behaviors
• Areas of risk
• Possible injury and stress indicators

Do I Have to Worry About Ergonomics?

As a lawyer, you probably already know that you are not required by law to provide an ergonomic office environment. However, it’s certainly in your best interests to do so. Giving your staff—and yourself—a comfortable place to spend eight or more hours a day contributes to both health and happiness—and reduces both downtime and turnover. That means you’ll be spending less time and energy on hiring, training, and performing double duty. And your staff will likely be working that much harder for an employer who provides the best possible office conditions. Why would they go anywhere else?

The Keys to Better Law Office Ergonomics

In order to create a better ergonomic workplace setting for your law office, you can either hire an ergonomics specialist to assess your workplace or you can do some research and manage the process yourself. (This probably involves more sitting, by the way.)

First investigate your working conditions and repetitive movements. Are staff members bending down to use file cabinets? Perhaps you should lift shorter cabinets up on a riser. Are phones within easy reach or are employees cradling the phone on their neck as they talk? Invest in headsets for all lawyers and staff to prevent shoulder and neck injuries.

Look critically at your employee workstations. Make sure that desks, chairs, computers, keyboards, and mice are all placed at the proper height for each individual and within proper reach to prevent unnecessary bending, reaching, and stretching. Do you have any dark corners in the office or places where morning or afternoon sun streams in? Add lighting and adjustable blinds where needed.

These are just a few ideas to provide a more comfortable work environment for you and your staff. McClure Ergonomics can provide an in-depth ergonomics assessment for your law firm in order to keep you prospering into the next decade.

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