Just a rant, I am at work and need to vent.

[Sarcelle]

Just been issued with laptops at work which means carrying back and forth. About 5 years ago we had to do this, but they withdrew them after a few years when they put permanent devices on hotdesks with meant you could leave your laptop at home. So now we are back to schlepping back and forth with heavy laptops, albeit they are lighter than the ones used before. The old ones we had at home had to be returned so if you are in the office you need to bring your laptop.

I and most colleagues commute and of course it is cumbersome and you have to keep your eye on it.

One of my male colleagues, a caring sharing one, said how you getting on with your new laptop. I said the laptop was fine but a pain to carry back and forth. He said, its not too bad. I said it is if you are a smaller person, which I am. He said come off it, you are not much smaller than me. He is about a foot taller, a couple of stones heavier and his arm/reach is longer. Talk about seeing things from your own perspective, the minimising twat.

I had to leave my desk and type this out. Otherwise I am ready to tell somebody/anybody to fuck off.

And breathe.

Sorry but you are being ridiculous. Laptops are not that heavy these days! Just get a decent backpack.

get a backpack or ask company to provide one.
your colleague is an arse.

Laptop bags are a pain to carry, and are as heavy as the laptops themselves. I've a sleeve for mine and I put it in a big handbag that has long enough straps to go over my shoulder.
(colleague is an idiot by the way)

The company provided either a backpack or a trolley bag for us. Trolley bag was big enough for all my stuff and could even be used as carry-on luggage when travelling.

Colleague is wrong. My laptop and bag is so heavy and really strains my back, not fun with osteoporosis. Backpack one is similar, plus you have the added security nightmare of someone reaching in and trying to take it whilst you are standing on the bus/train etc.

I don't want a back pack, shoulder injury at the mo. Work have provided a protective sleeve but no other bag, so I am going to carry it in a tote or a Bag For Life!

HeresWally is another minimising twat. And patronising too.

I find it heavy, and so do other female colleagues. We all experience life differently. It's ridiculous if you think your experience of the world is the only way.

The point of this thread was not a whinge per se about laptops, but the minimisation.

op with your injury can you speak to oh to ask for a contribution towards a trolley bag?

There are 13 in our team and so far 3 women and 2 men are currently having physio (paid for through a work scheme) due to shoulder/back injuries caused by humping laptop bags/backpacks/pulling trollies all over the place.

We work in different offices across the city and are encouraged ordered to use public transport to reduce our environmental foot print.

Just because he has no issue with it doesnt mean you are not allowed to be. Hes an arse.

Laptops are not that heavy these days!

They are also not a standard weight. I have a MacBook air which is light enough to carry around quite easily. My husband's work laptop is like a concrete block and I would absolutely not want to carry that on a public transport commute.

I would raise the issue with the decision makers, OP. If they've changed the system before and this is newly implemented they might be willing to change back, or allow some flexibility? If this isn't forthcoming, maybe take in a copy of INVISIBLE WOMEN by the brilliant Caroline Criado Perez.

my work laptop isn't heavier than a book that size but too heavy to carry on one shoulder.
but I am tall and a backpack suits me. plus it enables me to work from home occasionally, which wouldn't be possible without the work laptop.
you colleague is still an arse.

Its a done deal. They brought it in despite objections. They won't be going back. The Invisible Woman book came into my head as soon as the arse said it.

I have a shoulder injury, but that fell on deaf ears! I am going to use a Bag for Life. It is by far the lightest option. I don't care about the laptop or what it looks like. A trolly bag can also be difficult for commuting. A backpack/shoulder bag are out for me at the mo due to shoulder. I need a light back with handles I can carry straight down.

My DH laptop is half the weight if the new ones they have issued at my work, they all differ. I am half the weight of the twatty colleague, we all differ! But not according to him.

If you have specific physio requirements can you put forward a case so that you can have a lighter laptop or two laptops? One for home and one kept in a locker in the office? Would your physio provide a letter for you?

We have to carry our laptops home and to client meetings. My suggestion is to get a decent backpack. This will reduce the strain, I know as I also carry my gym kit, lunch and breakfast to work and without a backpack, I would really struggle. My backpack from Fact Fiction is amazing and I really couldn't do without it. So much space and it doesn't pull on my neck like others.

Can they not provide a locker at work so you could leave it there?

Ah just seen you also work from home sometimes.
In that case if you are really struggling and have an injury, I’d go back and ask either for a second laptop or for a decent backpack or trolley bag.
I carry my laptop everywhere but it’s a smaller, lighter model. I use a backpack.

Could you leave laptop at work?

Do you have to carry it back and forth daily? If so you’re right it is quite an extra weight.

In a previous role (whilst contracting) my boss suggested that as he did I should take my laptop home with me daily rather than lock it in my locker. I laughed and said no, I would take it home when I was WFH but otherwise I was not carrying it back and forth. I should add his role was v senior management and there may be a need for him to have emergency system access out of hours, my role did not.

Classic invisible woman territory!

OP I’d go down the “health & safety” route - having ppl with neck, shoulder & wrist injuries from carrying heavy laptops (most of whom seem to be women) is a bad idea for any company. If you have to carry one between home & work then it is up to them to ensure you can do it safely & without damaging your health

I found it wasn't just the laptop but all the other bits and pieces I ended up carrying.

I use a trolley bag due to a shoulder injury but OP is right, they are also a pain when commuting.

Your colleague sounds a twat. Fancy presuming your experiences are the same when you're different heights/weights etc. and the smaller of you is injured.

I try to reduce the carry weight as much as I can and one way to do that was to order a separate power lead/adapter as they're surprisingly heavy. I keep one at home and one at work so I don't need to carry that back and forth.

My old one was really heavy - carrying it (as I walk) for an hour was bad for my back. They guys got wheelie bags as some do the techs had heavier ones.

I now have a dinky surface which I plug into a screen and keyboard at work (similar set up at home) and it fits into my handbag.

I'm sarcopenic (clinically low levels of muscle mass). Carrying pretty much anything can start to be a problem very quickly.

And:
*despite the usual phrase of sarcopenic obesity, I'm the lower end of BMI;
*yes, I weight-train and it takes a lot of effort to retain the muscle mass that I do have and some reasonable quality to it.

I've yet to find a backpack that fits me (and I'm slightly above average height).

Firms/organisations need greater responsiveness to the needs of all their workers.

They really should have done an assessment on the laptops that have been purchased, and bought something light. Carrying something heavy back and forth is a recipe for damage or loss of the device (so much for environmental impact at that point). Do they at least give you multiple power packs so you don't have to hump that around? Because those can be bricks too. Not to mention of course the impact on the person carrying - which of course is different person to person. My DP is 6 foot. He can regularly carry much heavier weights than I can, which is obvious to anyone.

Every time I or DP had to carry a laptop regularly, we asked for and got a light one - a macbook air, or a little Dell or whatever the company used. I currently have a macbook pro (not my choice, all that was available at the time), and it is bulky and heavy (I put it in a sleeve in my work bag which is just a handbag with handles and a shoulder strap), and I'll be switching back to an air as soon as I can.

I was so happy when I read Invisible Women and thought “it’s not ME!”. I’ve spent years feeling like I’m “too short” or “my hands are too small” (like when you’ve got to operate a tool/unlock a door/anything that involves fingers that are somewhat longer than mine” or “I’m too short for this car” (when the seatbelt always rubs my collarbone even on the lowest setting and I have to have my chair so far forward for the pedals my knees touch the steering wheel). It’s not ME! I’m a perfectly acceptable and normal size and strength, it’s everything else that wasn’t designed for me. And yes, this is a perfect example of it.