As well as conducting workstation assessments to help employees feel more comfortable at work, a big focus of ours is to assist people with long-term or progressive mobility disabilities or medical conditions by making their workplace suitable.
95% of the time a workstation assessment involves making suitable alterations, recommendations and education on how to make the most from their workspace. However, 5% of the time it will require a specialist solution to give the individual the confidence to continue working with their disability or mobility challenge.
Conditions such as multiple sclerosis (MS), cerebral palsy, chronic arthritis and Ehlers Danlos syndrome can come with mobility challenges. When it comes to choosing an office chair, we would recommend a solution with a central brake to ensure stability when getting in and out of the chair such as the VELA Tango range.
This range of highly customisable chair has stable armrests, making it easier to get into and out of the chair from a wheelchair or standing. The user can confidently lean on the armrest and the chair will not move, benefitting users who have problems regarding mobility or balance.
The option to specify this range with manual or electronic height adjustment and stability belt means that the user can rise to a ‘standing’ height if working or reaching for higher surfaces, or lowered to allow for the safe transfer to a wheelchair or mobility aid if necessary.
In addition to a multitude of additional variations to suit the individual’s disability, from our perspective, it offers an ergonomic sitting position to allow for a comfortable working day:
- The electronic or manual height adjustment (and optional foot-plate if necessary) allow the individual to sit at the right height at their desk whilst keeping their feet supported. This can go higher than your average office chair allowing the user to work from standard desk height to counter height. This makes it particularly useful for people who work in laboratories.
- The armrests whilst fixed for extra stability, also enable the user to comfortably rest their forearms whilst sitting as close to the desk as possible
- Available in 14 base models with the ability to specify bespoke hard-wearing fabrics and bariatric weight limits, the VELA tango range also allows us as assessors to build a chair that suits the condition from the ground up, regardless of the shape and size of the person. This ‘buildability’ also gives the chair we specify longevity, as we can adapt it for progressive disabilities.
For us, this is beyond making reasonable adjustments at work or compliance, but about creating a workspace where the individual feels comfortable and confident at work regardless of their mobility challenge.
How else can employers make employees with disabilities feel comfortable in the work place
Please contact us if you have any questions or would like some advice on choosing a chair. Call us on 0330 332 0880 or email us at enquiries@posturepeople.co.uk
