Before covid there was a 50/50 split in OH enquiries between mental health and musculoskeletal health issues. There is even a proven link between the two subjects because musculoskeletal issues such as back pain can heighten mental health problems due to poor sleep etc.
During covid the balance changed radically, and mental health became the major problem, with EAP's reporting a massive increase in telephone calls to their support lines as employees started to work from home.
Partly due to the fact that no one knew how long covid was going to last and how long employees would be expected to work from home, there was a time lag, with organisations conducting Display System Equipment (DSE) assessments for their colleague's home offices.
What we have now witnessed is hybrid working almost becoming the norm with either a 3-2 or 2-3 split in where employees work between the office and home.
Oddly, the current trend in OH is for the hybrid working employees to be the ones requiring OH support and being a mix between musculoskeletal and mental health issues.
It's too soon to determine why it's hybrid over fully officed or fully home working employees that are turning to OH, but early indications are that it's the home offices of hybrid employees that have been forgotten about in terms of DSE assessments.
At OccHealthNow we have developed a Home DSE on the Healthyshoots platform that not only looks at the desk and chair set up but also connectivity with line management, loneliness, physical movement during the day and mental health issues.
Importantly, our clients have the facility to add-in their employee benefit solutions to our system, so that when an employee ticks a box to indicate that they have neck pain (for example) they can be directed to their organisations physiotherapy solution to receive immediate support when they need it.
The key is not to wait until the employee's health issue is so bad that they are either taking time-off work or underperforming but to help them as soon as the problem is apparent and before the issue escalates.
Why not trial the Healthyshoots Home DSE for yourself by emailing info@occhealthnow.co.uk.
