Advice on working from home safely during the Covid-19 pandemic

Working from home in poorly set up workstations risk serious health and safety problems in the upper body, including RSI, back injuries, frozen shoulders, etc. The situation of lock-down has changed since we ended face-to-face teaching, making e.g. home deliveries of equipment or broadband installations much more difficult. Many staff have had to also absorb childcare and other caring responsibilities.

We have had one joint consultative meeting with UCL to discuss issues arising from the Covid-19 pandemic and we will be seeking another shortly.

We therefore remind colleagues we are working under 'goodwill' circumstances, noting also that managers will also have considerable practical difficulty in exercising their duty of care towards their staff. 

Our online members' meeting on Wednesday revealed that two thirds that completed a poll were using laptops as their main work computer, 43% had no separate place to work, and 78% said other members of their household were working from home. 35% had responsibility for childcare for part of the day. 

Most troubling, 90% of members had never been given guidance on the safe use of computer equipment by their manager. 

Colleagues will inevitably have different personal circumstances, some of which exacerbate the problems with trying to work as usual in the current situation with Covid-19.

Teaching online at such short notice is a considerable burden, especially with the pressures added to the platforms and networks on which we are dependent, which has caused them to fail over the past couple of days.

We all have a responsibility to work safely irrespective of these external pressures.

What you can do

Please ensure that you are set up to work at home as safely as possible.  

All staff should complete this Display System Equipment checklist published by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). This does not replace a proper DSE assessment but it is a good place to start.

If you are one of the many people who only have a laptop, make sure you raise it to eye level, and ask your manager to provide you with a separate keyboard and mouse. Good posture is extremely important. Many staff have adjustable office chairs and workstations in their UCL office that they do not have (or have no space for) at home.

The following are risky behaviours that we cannot recommend:

• Using a computer in any arrangement other than that identified by the HSE checklist, such as sitting upright in bed with a laptop (or tablet);
• Working with a tablet or laptop’s compressed keyboard for extended periods of time (greater than two hours a day);
• Sitting in any chair / table arrangement that causes you discomfort: your body is telling you to stop.

If you are unable to work safely at home, you should speak with your manager, and not try to work in an unsafe way. Naturally, this is an exercise in your own judgement as your manager is not on hand to intervene.

UCU this week published a guide for home working under Covid-19 which is also worth reading.

We welcome UCL HR’s recently announced support pages for working from home, 'Remote, not Distant at UCL', recognising it is a work in progress. 

Please make sure you sit properly, and regularly move away from your work setup to stretch and exercise properly, to reduce the likelihood of developing musculoskeletal problems now or in the future.  

Remember to take breaks! The HSE recommend staff using computers take a 5 minute break every half an hour. Consider installing break reminder software and don’t let the working day extend until the evening. 

Recognise you are likely to be under stress from the extreme circumstances we find ourselves in. Be kind to yourself and to colleagues.

Keep safe and well.