Risk Management for Work-From-Home Employees

Posted By Brandy King
January 21, 2022 Category: WFH, Working From Home, Teleworking, Remote Work, Remote Worker Safety, Home Office Safety, Ergonomics, OSHA, Workers' Compensation, Protecting Teleworkers

We all know that workplace safety is important – but not much thought is given to those who have moved to teleworking during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many companies have found that moving to teleworking worked so well for them, that they have not insisted on people returning to the office full time.  You can’t realistically go to every employee’s home and inspect their home office set up, but you can provide some helpful guidelines that should reduce the likelihood of work-related injuries at home.    •    Seated desks should be about 29” high. For standing desks, use elbows as a guide for desk height, as it varies from person to person.  •    The top of your monitor should be at eye level, and about 20-25” from your face.  •    Try positioning yourself in an area of neutral natural light. A window behind the worker will create a glare on the screen, and a window behind their monitors can make the screen equally difficult to read – and both can lead to eye strain and headaches.  •    Chances are they don’t have a proper (ergonomically correct) desk chair at home, so they should be able to rest their back against the chair back and their feet on the floor. The employer can choose to provide ergonomic supports for any shortcomings, but the employee can usually do this at home with a phone book under the feet or a rolled t