working from home

[Flute56]

I do office work and since lockdown two years ago I worked from home every day. This was good because It meant I did not have to travel to the office which was quite far away. However I have a mild eye condition which means I cannot see a computer screen fara way and need the screen near to my face. Unfortunately working from home on a laptop meant that in order to get as close to the screen to see what I am doing I was sitting hunched over the table. In the office we have desktop screens that we plug our laptops into and the screen is on a swinging arm which can be brought near up to your face. That is perfect for me and I can sit upright. Sitting hunched over the laptop at home day afterd day gave me a sore leg. I had an MRI scan and I have prodruding discs in my lower back so consequently I have sciatica which is mild.

My office got me an orthapedic chair and they are supposed to make you sit with good posture. I still sit hunched at home because of the laptop situatioon. I cannot go on like this because it is going to make my back worse because i cannot sit upright at home and I am unable to bring the laptop close to my face. I am starting to get very worried about this because I do not want to end up in chrinoc pain. I also play the piano and sit hunched with my face close to the music because I just cannot see the music from sitting up straight.

I wish lockdown had never happened because if it wasnt for that, I would not have sciatica because I never sat hunched up at work because we had proper equipment. I have an excellent physio which I have seen on occasions but he does not know I have an eyesight issue. I was asessed over the phone for the chair by my work place and when I told my physio he laughed and said how on earth ccan anyone diagnose the right chair over the phone. You need to see the person and study their body etc and then make a decision as to what chat is appropriate. A person who is not medically qualified who diagnoses over the phone by asking a bunch of questions is not the right way to go about it and I agree. I have an orthapedic chair at home which work got me and I am about to get one for the office but again I was assessed over the phone which susrprised me because I assumed they would come into the office and see me and my work environment and then tell me what chair to have but they are not doctors or trained physiotherapists so what the hell do they know about what chair is right for me. My physiotherapist that I still have if I need to see is absolutely excellent. I had a previous one who was rubbish and changed to the one I have now who is ten times better

Any practical advice would be greatly appreciated

Provide them then.

They don't if WFH is an option. My work place expect you to provide screens, keyboard, suitable set up of you opt to work from home. Otherwise - you go into the office.

Are you being told you must work from home OP?

Unless £100 is out of the realms of possibility for you, I honestly find it baffling that you would rather sit in pain every day causing yourself long term medical problems rather than just ordering what you need. It could be delivered today if you order now from Amazon or Argos.

@peacelemon I see yes, if WFH is an option and not mandatory then it would mean they offer the correct setup in the office already.
If OP wants to avoid the 2 hours commute, then she needs to buy her own equipment.

But OP - there's no other solution. Buy yourself a mouse, monitor and keyboard. One a month (monitor first) if it's a financial struggle - but you must be saving money on not commuting - use that.

Font size and moving about is no solution.

OP, it is worth investing this money in your health if you can possibly afford it.

Sounds like u need to pay for the equipment you need. Ur employer shld be paying this but if they won't then u need to for ur own health. It won't be that expensive for a mouse, screen and docking station for ur laptop. Well worth the money.

Exactly this. Three years! Why on earth haven't you just bought yourself a monitor?

Yes. I think it very much depends on the WFH situation and if its optional or mandated.

The laptop risers on Amazon are around £10 and will allow you to raise it up and bring it closer. Then just get a keyboard and mouse which again cost a few pounds each. If your work are not obliged to provide then the best thing for your condition is to buy them yourself.

ratuer than spending money on a laptop raiser why not put the laptop on a pile of books which will raise it up and will be cheaper. A pile of books is the same as a laptop raiser, it raises the laptop to eye level

@Flute56 you do you.

If you'd rather give yourself sciatica and be in pain than go to use a desk that is set up for your needs in the office, or equip your home desk suitably then do that.

But don't waste your and our time asking for advice. The solution is so simple and cheap you'd have to be stupid to not be able to see it.

If a laptop stand just isn't in your budget, you can use pretty much anything to raise your laptop screen to eye level. We like books—except for airflow, they're just as effective as any fixed laptop stand.

how dare you speak to me like that

This is such a frustrating thread because the OP is not responding to questions she’s asked.

OP-
Are you contractually obligated to work from your home, or is it an option? If the latter, your company is perfectly entitled to tell you to work from the office full time if you’re not comfortable working from home. The fact that you have a long commute is not here nor there.

Why haven’t you purchased a second monitor for yourself along with a wireless keyboard and mouse?

Nah, OP is full of it. I bought twin screen risers for my home office as I find it easier on two screens, but my work supplied me with a chair, desk, screen, keyboard and mouse.

Your work can supply the basics to you OP. Stop being a martyr

I am obliged to work from home as per my contrct. I have purchased a desktop screen second hand but it broke and the shop have stopped selling second hand monitors. I cannot afford a new one. I also have a keyboard and mouse. When my monitor broke I just used the laptop with its screen and used the keyboard of the laptop.

You can buy screens for peanuts on Facebook selling. That's the first few items in my area by way of example.

I agree with those who say separate screen, mouse and keyboard. I had a separate keyboard and mouse for mine, though not actually a separate screen (though work said we should and when we had to WFH over lockdown, would pay for extra equipment like, just claim on expenses with a particular code.) For me, a decent keyboard and chair are the main things, so I can sit at a suitable angle.

However, my partner is visually impaired and he uses magnifying glasses for any screen work (just gets them off Amazon, they're not prescription, though he does also have prescription glasses.) He also uses a lot of accessibility features like inverted colours, large print, speech recognition and so on. I don't expect all these things will work for you (screens that speak are really annoying if you're not the one using it in the same room,) but there are now so many accessibility features and tools and gadgets, I'm sure there will be something out there for you, and not necessarily very expensive, if it's out of your pocket rather than work's. (If they are paying, his new employer has happily forked out over two grand for a whizzy digital reader he can use for screens and paper docs, so if you do have the money for it, there are some really nice toys out there.)

This. Why haven’t you just purchased it yourself instead of having a pity party and suffering???

You are covered by the DSE regulations. Your employer is obliged to check you have a safe work station and should provide extra equipment if an assessment shows it isn't.
https://www.hse.gov.uk/msd/dse/home-working.htm

I get why you can’t take anything from the iff ice but why us work not supplying you with a screen?
And a suitable chair?

I think that when WFH started a lot if the health and safety stuff has gone through the window. I would raise the issue with your boss and HR. You have an eye issue, back problem, this should go under ‘suitable accommodation’ at work.

It is a valid viewpoint. You have had multiple pieces of very good advice and you have either refused to respond, or you have said that you won't do any of them. If not a single piece of the advice you have had is something you are willing or able to do, then your choices seem to be rather stark. You refuse to tackle your employer despite having been told that if you must work from home then they have a legal obligation to manage your working environment. You refuse to return to the office where you have the equipment available. And you refuse to buy the things you need yourself. Given you have ruled out every option, what exactly is the purpose here?

I did, however, note that you mentioned your employer had asked for equipment that has been removed from the office to be returned. That suggests to me that they give the option to work from home, not that it is a contractual obligation. You have been asked several times now, but haven't answered - are you required to work from home, or are you choosing to do so because it is allowed?

There must be the facility to work from the office as you say that there is equipment there. If your employment has the option of attending the office I wouldn't think they're obligated to provide the equipment to accommodate your work from home.
On the other hand you say your contract requires you to work from home so which is it?
You do seem to be being difficult in your replies.

it Is simple. My conrract states that we work in the office two days a week and work at home three days a week. This is not an option. This has been set by our director and he confirmed this by email