01/18/23: Home Office Ergonomics Post COVID-19: Carpe Diem

Home Office Ergonomics Post COVID-19: Carpe Diem

About the webinar:

The COVID-19 pandemic changed how knowledge work gets done. In early 2022, roughly six in ten U.S. workers with jobs that can be completed from home continue to work from home all or most of the time. As more people work from home than ever before, and as the demand for remote work increases, workplaces continue to find optimal balance for collaborating with colleagues onsite. This presentation will discuss how the pandemic changed how we work, and how the home-office work balance will continue to evolve.

Learning Objectives

At the completion of this activity, the learner will be able to:

  • Describe work from home employment trends, and how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted worker and workplace preferences around remote work

  • Discuss common ergonomic challenges with the home office

  • Discuss the work from home disparities created by the pandemic and their continued impact on workers

  • Identify strategies for workplaces to find optimal balance for remote and synchronous collaboration

Carisa Harris, PhD, CPE

Carisa Harris, PhD, CPE is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of California at San Francisco, and in the School of Public Health at the University of California at Berkeley.  She is also the Director of the UCSF/UCB Ergonomics Research & Graduate Training Program and the Director of the Northern California Center of Occupational & Environmental Health (COEH).  She received her PhD in Environmental Health Sciences at the University of California, Berkeley and teaches a variety of classes including Occupational Biomechanics and Industrial Engineering Human Factors Design.  Dr. Harris and her team perform research in a variety of areas focused on understanding and preventing work related injuries and improving human performance, productivity and health.  Her epidemiological research assesses and adjusts for healthy worker survivor bias in the assessment of physical, personal and work psychosocial factors associated with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and subsequent work disability. Additionally, her team is developing a variety of exposure assessment devices (wearables) for primary and secondary prevention purposes and performs various intervention studies on occupational tasks with high risk of musculoskeletal injuries. The lab has a history of performing research in the construction, computer, medical, hotel and manufacturing sectors.  From a global health perspective, Dr. Harris collaborates on research assessing the impact of heavy load carrying among women in developing countries (Nepal, Tanzania, Ethiopia) on associated morbidity.

ACCREDITATION

The Center for Occupational and Environmental Health designates this activity for a maximum of 1.0 Contact Hour. Participants should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation.

Certificates of Completion

Certificates of Completion will be available to webinar participants who are present for the complete, live webinar, and logged in with their registered email address. Call-in attendees are not eligible for certificates at this time - Please download the Zoom app to log in via email on your smartphone whenever possible.

In order to receive your Certificate of Completion, qualified learners must complete the post-webinar evaluation within 7 days of the webinar. A link to the evaluation will be emailed to qualified learners 24 hours after the webinar via no-reply@zoom.us. Qualified learners who submit their evaluation will receive a Certificate of Completion via email, and can also print/save the certificate from their browser after submitting their evaluation.

If you're not able to attend the live presentation, no problem! We record most presentations and will host them on our website provided we have permission to do so. Presentation recordings are not eligible for Certificates of Completion.

California Labor Lab Logo

About the CA Labor Lab:

The California Labor Lab is a collaboration among investigators at UCSF, UC Berkeley, and the California Department of Public Health. The Lab is housed at the Philip R Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies at UCSF. Our mission is to extend the pursuit of health and safety for workers in traditional employment to those in a wide range of alternative arrangements in partnership with affected communities.

Click here to learn more about the Labor Lab.

ACCESSIBILITY:

If you require an accommodation for effective communication (ASL interpreting/CART captioning, alternative media formats, etc.) to fully participate in this event, please contact Michelle Meyer at (510) 642-8365 or mmeyer@berkeley.edu(link sends e-mail) with as much advance notice as possible and at least 7-10 days in advance of the event.