In accordance with the measures taken against the Covid-19 pandemic that has spread across the world, the ones who have shifted to working from home need to take care of their healths and their security as much as the ones who are currently working on the field. Arkas Academy gathered for you many tips on this topic ranging from working environment to electrical security, from home exercises to ergonomy.
Working From Home
- Working from home may not be as easy as working in an office.
- It would do good to preserve your routine office habits in order to keep the balance between business and home life.
Recommendations For Remote Workers
- Set up a permanent working spot (i.e. a room, a specific part of a room) in your house.
- Specify conditions over which the other people in the house can contact you while you are working.
- Inform your family and your friends about these conditions.
- Start and finish your remote work at the exact same times every day. Create the habits of starting and finishing your business day.
- You can also do simple exercises at home before starting work, in order to increase your blood circulation.
- Plan as if you were at your workplace.
- Prepare a to-do list and genuinely try to stick with it.
- Converse regularly with your colleagues and superiors.
- Inform your superior about your progress and any difficulties you may encounter.
Recommendations For Process Leaders
- It is recommended to specify the jobs that can be done remotely, while duties, expectations and work deadlines should be clearly communicated.
- It is important to regularly communicate with remote personnel.
Working Environment – Ergonomy
- Office means such as reaching for the photocopier, which causes us to change position and move, will not be available at home.
- Working in the same position and postures that is challenging for the body’s natural stance can negatively effect our musculoskeletal system.
- You can organize your work desk to prevent any such discomfort
1. Elbows: A little above the desk level and positioned at 90-110 degrees.
2. Shoulders: Should rest in their natural positions, not any higher or lower.
3. Ankles: At the same level as forearms (no bending).
4. Legs: At an angle of 90 degrees to the ground.
5. Feet: Should rest flat on the ground or on a feet support.
6. Head-Neck: Should rest flat, not inclined forward.
7. Eyes: The top of the monitor should be slightly lower than the eye level.
8. Seat: Thigh bones should rest in parallel to the ground.
9. Chair: The waist curve and back should be supported.
10. Keyboard and Mouse: Keyboard should lie directly forward and mouse should be directly accessible.
11. Laptop – If an elevator stand is used, there should be additional keyboard and mouse.
Working Environment
- Ensure sufficient thermal comfort and air flow.
- Reflections on your monitor can strain your eyes. Position your monitor and curtains so there are no reflections on your screen.
- Eliminate all sources of noise and disturbance from your work environment.
Stretching And Flexing Exercises
- Sitting still for a long time causes fatigue in muscles and blood circulation problems.
- Take short resting breaks every 15 minutes. Remove your hands and your eyes from the appliance with the screen.
- It will rest your body to get up and walk in a corridor/around your desk and get a warm tea or coffee every hour.
- You can reduce the fatigue and tension in your muscles by doing various stretching-flexing exercises during the day.
Recommendations For Working Safely At Home
- If possible, fix your lockers and shelves to the wall so they don’t tip over.
- Organize your cables so they don’t trip your feet.
- Keep combustive-flammable materials, your mobile phone and electric cables away from heat sources.
- It is a protective measure to have your electric wiring connected to a ground line and a residential current relay.
- You must also know the emergency phone numbers.
- It is also recommended to keep a first aid kit and a fire extinguisher ready and easily accessible at home.
Electrical Safety
- Damaged cables with stripped outer insulation may cause electric shocks and fire. Work with healthy cables.
- Leaving charging blocks on burnable surfaces (cloth, etc.) may lead to overheating and fire. Charge your phone and laptop while they are seated on hard surface.
- Overloading on power strips can lead to fire. Avoid using power strips as much as possible.
While Working From Home To Reduce The Risk Of A Coronavirus Infection;
- Working from home is a critical measure to break the contagion chain.
- Working from home means spending your entire life in your house, save for vital needs.
- Those having to go outside must disinfect themselves at return.
- Rules of hygiene must be followed in the house, which also requires more frequent and detailed cleaning works.
- While accepting your cargo deliveries and orders from outside keep your distance with the delivering person and do the 20-second handwash.
- Do not accept guests into your house.
- Maintain a proper diet and get adequate sleep.
- Consume one serving of fruit per meal to beef up your immunity. (Try to eat plenty of purple and red fruits and consume citrus fruits to keep up your vitamin levels)
- Eat one serving of leafy green vegetable per meal. (spinach, cabbage, broccoli, leek etc. including in-season vegetables)
Founded in 2007 with the motto “Training is for Employees” by Arkas Holding Human Resources, Arkas Academy continues providing e-learning trainings to the employees with A-Live, while postponing the in-class trainings until April 20. The trainings within the digital learning system A-Live are presented to the employees as processes. The participants are able to get the maximum benefit from the trainings by following the steps before,during and after the training videos that they chose, or that were appointed to them.