Around 18 million people in Germany go to the office day after day for a
sit-in; they take their place at their desk, on which there is normally a
computer screen.

The average office worker spends about 80,000 hours seated in the course of his
working life. The consequences of this motion deficiency are well known; 80% of
those who work at the computer every day regularly suffer from health problems.
Two thirds suffer from tension and pain in the shoulder and neck, more than
half have back problems and around 45% suffer from eye problems and headaches.

This brochure, made available by the German Initiative New Quality of Work,
gives advice on how to alternate work postures and thereby contribute to health
at work. The brochure is not intended to replace collective workplace measures
and the provision of ergoomical working equipment.

The aim of this brochure is literally to get you jumping to your feet. And not
only while you're reading it, but several times a day. Why? Quite simply
because we all spend too much time sitting. In our free time, at work, during
training - modern man has neglected his talent for standing and has got used to
the sitting position (at work as well). This has become possible thanks not
least to computers and similar devices which have tied many people permanently
to their desks. In former times it was still necessary to move around a bit in
the office - fetching a file, taking some documents into the next office - but
now all that's required for most jobs is a mouse click.

This development makes things comfortable for us, but it doesn't do much for
our health. In fact our whole organism needs movement to stay healthy in the
long run. Something that is ignored in the daily routine of many people. And
that's why around 8 % of those who work at the computer screen day after day
suffer from a range of different health disorders, from sore eyes and tense
shoulders through to back problems.

None of this is any good, for the individual, for the company or for the
economy. What we should look for is dynamic solutions which really get us
moving. As often as possible, as regularly as possible and whenever possible
also at work (in the office). The present brochure will show you how to do this. It follows on from
the previous brochure "The ups and downs of sitting - Sitting at work and
elsewhere", which was devoted to the subject of sitting in all its forms. One
or other of the things dealt with in this brochure will be repeated briefly here for those readers who
are unfamiliar with "The ups and downs of sitting". But the focus is on the
"dynamic office", in other words basic information is given on how to design
the office workplace by appropriate work organisation and with "dynamic"
furniture to make it more motion-friendly.

More information

AplusA-online.de - Source: European Agency for Safety and Health at Work