How do I deal with chairs giving me back pain in a hotdesking office?

[AngeloMysterioso]

I'm fairly new to a role in a company that has a hotdesking policy in the office. I've noticed that since I started I've been getting progressively worse aching and pain in my lower spine, and quite often during the day I have to try and work standing up as I start to feel pain in my coccyx as well.

Any suggestions for how I might remedy this? There's no point asking for a desk assessment as I don't have my own desk. I don't much want to spend a load of money on a back support that I have to faff around putting on and taking off whichever chair I'm in every day, and we also have a clear desk policy so I'd have to stuff it into a not-very big box that's already overflowing with all my other things. But I'm not really sure what else I can try.

We have special desks reserved for people with specific needs. Are you sure your company doesn’t have that?

I thought the company was required to supply you with a suitable adjustable chair if you are assessed as having a back problem caused by inappropriate seating. See your H&S officer or whoever is responsible at your workplace. I used to have a special chair which moved with me whenever I changed jobs. Obviously yours would have to be parked somewhere overnight and moved to whichever desk you are using the next day. Do not suffer in silence.

OneEpisode I haven't asked - I suppose I don't really think of myself as having a specific need. I have a touch of lumbar hyperlordosis but that really only affects me if I have to stand up for long periods of time.

We do hot desking but if there is a health and safety need a person will get a fixed desk and special chair/back support etc. I would have a desk assessment done

Special desk doesn’t mean registered disabled to me. I think it means non-average. So includes tall, left handed, any of us where the average desk might not be comfortable for a whole day/week/year.

Definitely contact occ health. I had hot desking in a previous office and got a set desk as I'm 5ft3 and (rather ridiculously) the generic chair they had was for people 5ft5 and up.

I work in a hot desk office too, there are chairs of various sorts, some given after an assessment so have a sticker on them with the persons name, desks that go up and down so folk can stand to work if that suits them too.

Would a wobble cushion be helpful as a temp help

Lots of organisations who are benefitting from the reduction of costs from hot desking are equally keen to avoid any claims for people who have been 'injured' by the environment. Have a look at their policies , I would be very surprised if they didn't insist on a work space assessment.

For example, you can't get a laptop assigned permanently here without proof of a workplace assessment. People have footstools, special chairs and all sorts. As PP said either labelled for their use or a fixed desk assigned

Start by informing yourself about their policies and take it from their. It is very definitely in their interest to have evidence that you have been accommodated.

a (kind of) hotdesking office I visited had tags on the back of chairs, as they'd been set up for specific individuals. See if you could get you "own" chair, which moves desks with you.

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Ask them how they are doing the assessments in their hot desking set up and how are you to report any issues. It is their duty of care to ensure it is done, not yours to suffer.

There's no point asking for a desk assessment as I don't have my own desk

I disagree I'm afraid. You need to raise it formally in writing with your work. They have a duty of care towards you and if they know anything will be shit scared of getting sued if you suffer injury.

Agreed, if any of my team mention back/neck problems, it's an automatic desk assessment, the assessor then recommends a fixed desk and any other adjustments needed and that's all put in place. I have a fixed desk, my own chair, keyboard etc. We put signs on the backs of the chairs to say they are set up by the assessors and not to use the desk/ adjust the chairs. You should ask, the company will be used to this and have policies in place. Contact HR if your manager doesn't know.

Bit of a specialist subject, as I'm a freelancer with a spinal injury - so will rock up to all manner of desk setups and have to try and make them vaguely ergonomic

You want to get as close as possible to the attached pic of the seating position

The company should be providing a desk assessment as per pp, and providing the relevant equipment necessary. But as a freelancer I've learned some shortcuts:

• Get a wedge cushion with a coccyx cutout. You want your hips to be slightly higher than your knees - this will help your posture. The cutout will remove pressure from your coccyx. You can get these for about £20 from amazon

• get a lumbar support - can strap round the back of the chair + give you additional lumbar support

• I know your box is already overflowing, but the wedge cushion will make the world of difference. It's £20 and it's so worth it

• laptops are the work of the devil as far as posture is concerned. They should be providing an external monitor at all desks - demand one if you don't have one. This needs to be at eye level - once your chair is at the correct height and you're boosted up on the wedge cushion, most monitors won't be at the right height. I nick a few reams of A4 from by the photocopier to put underneath the monitor to get it so it's eye level

• if you can't get a monitor for whatever reason, or as a short term measure, you need to raise the laptop high enough to use as a monitor, and use it with an external keyboard and mouse. Griffin do a laptop stand (for about £25) that you can take apart into small bits. Use this plus a load of A4 to get the screen at eye level.

• When I was working at a company with a hot desking policy, I got a special dispensation to have a permanent desk while I was working there, so I could leave my setup there. If for whatever reason this isn't possible, they should give you a locker or similar to leave your stuff in - the laptop stand folds down etc to go in even a laptop locker.

• ideally you should have a wrist support as well

I spoke to an ergonomics specialist who said so many companies would spend £££ on fancy looking Herman Miller chairs that looked snazzy, but where the desk setup was still atrocious - and that a cheap chair with a wedge cushion was often better in terms of ergonomics

If the chair isn't adjustable height then this is absolutely not on

I know hot desking is an absolute arse, but it's the company's H&S responsibility to ensure you have a workstation assessment

Equally in terms of schlepping stuff around, if you don't have a decent setup, health issues will get worse - so they need to make adjustments

My kit was because as a freelancer I wasn't an employee, but if you work at the company, they should be providing all the above

Sorry - setup pic attached

Ah, yes, @bananafish81 i think that i recognise that picture 😀

Those are all very good points. I just wanted to add that the key is to find what works for you. I know people do say that laptops are the work of the devil as far as posture is concerned. but with an external monitor and external key board, that argument does tend to fall away.

In my own case, lots of things that are often recommended like lumber support and wedges actually made the situation worse. What works for me is a footstool so that my feet and legs & pelvis and hence spine... and neck are all in the right position.

@MrsRubyMonday Have you managed to make any progress yet?

Contact your hr. at my place of work, we have an assessment once a year. Ie general questions about your work station. As a result, some people got new chairs. (Semi hot desk situation. Ie. Most people have their own desks, but due to space restrictions, you borrow peoples desks if they are away)

Agree that you should request your own chair if necessary.

However - are you definitely taking time each morning to adjust the chair and monitor at whichever desk you’re at? I work in a hotdesking office and have colleagues that complain about being uncomfortable but I’ve seen them come in and sit straight down without adjusting the chair or monitor to suit them.

I know people do say that laptops are the work of the devil as far as posture is concerned. but with an external monitor and external key board, that argument does tend to fall away.

Yes absolutely - I should have phrased that differently. Laptops used without any additional external equipment are the work of the devil!

I have only worked with laptops for the last 10 years, but I see colleagues hunched over laptops without any monitor and I want to shake them and say 'your poor back!'

That's why my 'freelancer portable setup' makes such a difference. Laptop stand plus a ream of A4, plus keyboard and mouse, and presto the laptop can be made workable even if not given a monitor

I rock up for my first day with keyboard, trackpad, fold down laptop stand and wedge cushion in one bag, and I can make any shitty setup significantly less shitty

Similar to what others have said, my office is hot desking, but there are lots of people who have a designated chair due to back problems etc.

Raise it as an issue with work and see what they advise.

I worm in an office that has hotdeskef for a least 10 years. Everyone is trained how to do their own desk space assessment, so we can do this ourselves every day. There are also laminated instructions n each bank of desks. All chairs are fully adjustable. Anyone who needs additional equipment - standing desk, footrest, wrist support etc can get one.