Office work is definitely not associated with hazards, especially if we compare it to construction or agriculture. Contrary to appearances, however, threats do exist and may be limited by proper organization and proper arrangement of the workplace.

What is office work?

The issue of the security of office work overlaps to a certain extent with the rights and obligations associated with other types of work. This includes regular health and safety training, familiarisation with risk assessment and preventive health measures. At the same time, it is worth noting that office work, although it has been included in our dictionary for good, does not have a legal definition, and therefore does not allow for the inclusion of specific tasks performed by employees to office work. The term is therefore broad in scope and includes both simple activities, such as data input, and those requiring greater intellectual involvement, such as programming, analysis and design. However, it is usually associated with a forced sitting position and, due to the use of a computer, also with eye strain.

Adequate conditions

Under current law, it is the employer's responsibility to ensure that the people it employs are provided with adequate working conditions. This is a result of several factors, including computer equipment with a monitor that puts as little strain on the eye as possible, a chair and a desk that do not cause excessive strain on the musculoskeletal system or proper ventilation in the room where office work is carried out. The comfort of work is certainly also influenced by the lighting. Poorly selected design, poorly positioned light sources or failure to adapt them to architectural conditions can lead to glare, which is a heavy load on the eyesight. It is also important that the light intensity is not too strong or too weak - both too low and too high a contrast between the light emitted by the monitor screen and the environment is also tiring for the eyes. In relation to the risks mentioned above, the employer should assign duties in such a way that employees can combine work in front of the monitor with work performed in a different body position and not obstructing sight, or provide employees with at least 5 minutes of break included in the working time after each hour spent in front of the monitor.

Fire protection

Fire safety issues are another important issue in office work. Good quality smoke and heat detectors from renowned manufacturers, such as Awex, powder extinguishers for extinguishing electrical equipment, or appropriate marking of escape routes, are solutions to reduce the number of casualties and victims in the event of fire. It should be remembered that burning plastic enclosures emit smoke that is harmful to health. Appropriate security measures are therefore essential in offices.