The ergonomics tip of the week sounds unassuming – and that's exactly right. Not the big campaign that launches once a quarter and is then forgotten, but the small, consistent nudge, week after week.
Why does knowledge in small doses work better than in one big package?
A one-off ergonomics workshop is often quickly forgotten. By contrast, receiving a short tip every week – today about the right monitor distance, next week about shoulder positioning, the week after about optimal keyboard placement – gradually builds an awareness that changes behavior for good. Micro-learning isn't a buzzword; it's a well-documented teaching method.
Which format determines whether it gets used?
A well-worded tip that takes 30 seconds to read gets read. A lecture you have to sign up for gets ignored. The most effective formats: a short paragraph in the weekly newsletter, a post in the internal chat, a small poster in the break room. Anyone who packages the tip into a concrete call to action – "Now briefly squeeze your shoulder blades together and release" – usually reaches more people than a seminar. You will find more measures and how they fit in the field of action Ergonomics & occupational safety.
How do you put the measure in place?
- 1Take stock: which workstations have height-adjustable desks, which chairs are outdated?
- 2Ask an ergonomics specialist or the occupational physician (Betriebsarzt) for a workstation consultation
- 3Obtain or create an ergonomics checklist for the desk (screen height, sitting position, arm position)
- 4Clarify the budget for purchases and prepare a priority list
- 5Schedule a short training on correct posture and desk settings – live at the real workstation
- 6Show each person how to set up their own chair and desk correctly
- 7Hand out the ergonomics checklist so that everyone can check their own settings themselves
- 8Carry out the purchasing step by step and roll out new desks/chairs according to the priority list
- 9Establish a reminder to change posture (e.g. briefly stand up every hour, switch between sitting and standing)
- 10Offer individual readjustment for anyone who still does not get on with their set-up
- 11Collect feedback: have complaints (back, neck, wrists) decreased?
- 12Check which workstations are still not optimally equipped and plan follow-up purchases
- 13Make ergonomics a fixed item when setting up new workstations
What do you need for it?
- Effort
- half a day
- Cost
- with budget
- Duration
- 4–8
- Setup
- 240 min
- ✓ Sustainable impact
- ✓ Measurable results
- ✓ Legally relevant
Tax and health insurance: what is possible
Employer health benefits can be tax-free under § 3 no. 34 of the German Income Tax Act (EStG) up to €600 per employee per year — if they are provided in addition to the salary already owed and are either certified (§ 20 SGB V) or implemented within the company's health promotion process. Gym memberships and corporate fitness are not covered. For ZPP-certified courses (e.g. from Upfit), German statutory health insurers can reimburse all or part of the course fee to their insured members — then only the amount exceeding that reimbursement is tax-free. Projects within the company can be funded under § 20b SGB V, with no entitlement. Only your tax adviser can confirm the tax exemption.
How it works in EasyWHP
This Best Practice in EasyWHP: adopt it, adapt it, measure the effect
Once adopted, the measure is ready in EasyWHP — with instructions, an invitation and surveys before and after. You adapt what fits your company and see at the end what it achieved.
Screenshots with demo data, no real people.
Adopt it for your company
Register for free — and the measure is ready to go in your cockpit: invitation, feedback survey and appointment are already set up. First cycle, first numbers for the boss.
Try EasyWHP for freeRather take a look first? To the live demo →
Contributes to
Measure the impact with
Action field
Ergonomics & Occupational Safety →A fitting occasion
- World Day for Safety and Health at Work
Related Best Practices
Not sure where to start? Self-check in approx. 7 minutes →