Dr Lara Shemtob Interviews Insight Ergonomics: Making Desk Set-Ups Work for Everyone

8 hours ago
4 min read

A 2018 survey found that nearly half of office workers spend six to nine hours at their desk every day. With that much time spent seated, poor desk set-ups can have a significant impact on both health and productivity. So getting desk set-ups right can make a real difference to day-to-day functioning.

Despite this, display screen equipment (DSE) remains surprisingly difficult for many workplaces to manage well. All too often, employees and their managers are left to assess DSE themselves and to implement changes without specialist support. Insight Workplace Health has developed a dedicated Ergonomics Service to address this gap.

I spoke with Caroline O’Connor Podmore, DSE Product Specialist at Insight Workplace Health, about how the service came about, and what good ergonomic support really looks like in practice.

LS: Tell me about your background and how you came to establish the Insight Ergonomics Service

CO: I’ve been working with Insight Workplace Health for over five years. I started out as an account manager, and through working closely with customers it became clear that although they valued the DSE and ergonomic assessments we provided, they often struggled with what came next, sourcing appropriate equipment.

I come from a retail and customer service background, so helping customers solve that practical problem felt like a natural fit. I led the build out that enabled Insight Workplace Health to become a supplier of high-quality DSE equipment and other ergonomics products.

We started small, working with one or two companies and offering just a handful of chairs, but the service has grown steadily in response to demand. Today, Insight Ergonomics supplies everything from driving supports to sit-stand desks.

LS: What’s the advantage of offering an end-to-end ergonomics service?

CO: The importance of getting DSE and workplace equipment more broadly right really can’t be overstated. But for employers, the process can be complex and fragmented: assessment, sourcing equipment, ordering, delivery, set-up, training, and troubleshooting all come with separate challenges and contact points.

Our customers value being able to hand over the entire pathway to us. That continuity makes a huge difference. We regularly speak to employees who have been waiting months for equipment, sometimes equipment that they need to enable them to return to work.

Bringing everything in-house makes the process smoother, less frustrating, and much more timely.

LS: Why is a professional DSE assessment better than a manager-led assessment?

CO: There are several dimensions to this. First, all of our assessors are highly trained in DSE assessment. If you genuinely want to improve a workstation, an unqualified person working through an online checklist will only take you so far. How we work in our environments is human, not algorithmic.

We visit workplaces or homes, looking beyond the equipment in place to how people actually use it. What’s written on paper sometimes bears little resemblance to how people work at their workstations in reality! Trained assessors pick up subtle but key details when watching someone work at their desk, and these nuances are what make recommendations effective.

Our team also brings a wide skill mix. Some colleagues have nursing backgrounds and can advise where complex health conditions intersect with ergonomics. Others are trained in workplace needs assessments, which is particularly valuable for supporting neurodivergent employees, where assistive technology can be introduced alongside DSE improvements. This avoids unnecessary additional referrals and saves time and cost for employers.

We also have specialists in ergonomics and human factors who lead more complex cases where environmental design is part of the challenge. It’s unrealistic to expect managers to deliver that level of expertise.

A final practical consideration: since the COVID-19 pandemic, remote and hybrid working are now commonplace. Assessing home workstations can feel intrusive, and it’s entirely understandable that managers and employees may feel uncomfortable with that. A professional, external assessor can be a helpful resource to use. We have developed a whole program for hybrid and home working equipment support.

LS: How does the equipment supply side enhance the service?

CO: Supplying equipment has significantly strengthened what we can offer. First, it allows us to act quickly. And speed is often critical for enabling people to work safely or return to work.

Second, employers can be confident that the equipment we supply is high quality, ergonomically sound, and properly health-and-safety tested. Ordering online isn’t straightforward; it’s a big ask for employers to independently research which desks or chairs have been safety tested, let alone know where to source them reliably.

We also support Access to Work pathways. Where an employee has had an Access to Work assessment, they’re often given a list of recommended equipment. We can use that as a guide, source appropriate products, and liaise with the Access to Work case manager for approval before ordering. After what can be a lengthy process with long waiting times for Access to Work, this support is often very welcome.

LS: Where do you see the future of Insight Ergonomics?

CO: The future is really exciting. I see us becoming increasingly involved in office and workspace planning. Organisations are thinking much more carefully about how workspaces support productivity, and we have a lot to contribute, from managing hot-desking to ensuring people have quiet, appropriate spaces for online meetings.

We’ve recently started supplying meeting booths and acoustic equipment, and I think this broader view of ergonomics is where the field is heading. Taking an ergonomic approach to DSE is not only useful when something goes wrong. These principles should be part of how organisations think about work proactively- whatever that work is, and wherever it takes place.