Health and Safety Laws

Working with visual display units (VDUs), can cause headaches and pain in the arms, wrists and fingers because of the following reasons: screen glare, poor image quality, a need for different spectacles, stress from the pace of work, anxiety about new technology, reading the screen for a long period of time, poor posture or a combination of these. To avoid potential health problems, people have to set up the workplace properly:

Working with visual display units (VDUs), can cause headaches and pain in the arms, wrists and fingers because of the following reasons: screen glare, poor image quality, a need for different spectacles, stress from the pace of work, anxiety about new technology, reading the screen for a long period of time, poor posture or a combination of these. To avoid potential health problems, people have to set up the workplace properly:

·         Adjust the chair properly and keep the forearms as horizontal as possible. The eyes keep the same height as the top of the VDU.

·         Arrange the documents, keyboard, mouse and screen in the most comfortable way. Thus, avoid making awkward eye and neck movements.

·         Adjust the desk and screen to avoid light reflections on the screen.

·         Make sure there is a space under the desk so you can move your legs freely.

·     Avoid excess pressure from the edge of your seat on the backs of your legs and knees. A footrest may be helpful, particularly for smaller users.

·     Good keyboard position is very important. A space in front of the keyboard helps the arms and wrists to rest when not keying.

·     Try to keep the wrists straight and do not overstretch the fingers during keying.

·     Sit upright and close to desk so you do not have to stretch the arm while using the mouse.

·     Support your forearm on the desk and do not grip the mouse too tightly.

·     Rest the fingers on the mouse when you do not use the mouse.

·     Do not press the buttons of the mouse too hard.

·     Adjust the contrast and brightness of the screen.

·     Make sure the screen is clean.

·     In setting up the software, make sure the size of the text is readable and the colours are set appropriately.

·     The characters on the screen have to be sharply focused and not flicker or move.

·     Do not sit in the same position for a long time. Change your posture as often as practicable.

·     Do frequent short breaks rather than fewer long breaks.