Environmental Factors Sections

Flooring

Whether you work indoors or outdoors, at an office block, warehouse or retail outlet, workplace flooring can pose a host of potential risks, especially if you’re living with arthritis. 

You can be at risk of falling or feeling unsteady on your feet if the flooring you’re working on is: 

• Too polished or slippery 
• Too ‘sticky’ 
• Often wet, for example where people are regularly coming in from outside, or in food and drink settings where people are likely to spill their drinks 
• Dry and dusty 
• Uneven, for example if there are bubbles in the linoleum, or dips in concrete 

Mats and threshold strips that aren’t highly visible or properly secured can also be a trip hazard. 

Working on your feet 

If you spend a lot of your shift working on your feet, pain in the feet, ankles, knees and upper or lower back can often be a concern. 

Wearing appropriate footwear is key, but pain can also be made worse if you’re working on a non-cushioned floor surface, such as tiling or concrete. 

Approach your employer about installing cushioned flooring or rubber matting where possible to ease the strain on your joints. 

Flooring solutions 

Before you can make changes to the flooring in your workspace, it’s important to first double-check the reason for the type of flooring currently in place. For example, certain workplace settings will require specific types of flooring due to things like infection control, durability, or heat resistance. 

Once you’ve established that there are no specific requirements for the type of flooring used in your workplace, you can then start to implement solutions that will reduce risk and make working on your feet more comfortable. 

1. Replace threshold strips with low-profile strips 

Being lower in height, low-profile strips pose less of a risk to health and safety than threshold strips, as you’re less likely to trip up over them. 

2. Use rubber mats in wet areas 

If there are areas of your workplace where the floor is often wet – such as where people are regularly coming in from outside or anywhere there’s a sink/supply of running water – you can significantly reduce the risk of slips and trips by introducing a rubber mat. 

3. Keep things clean 

If you work with grease, oil or other fluids, it’s important to make sure everyone keeps on top of cleaning up any spillages. Consider introducing an hourly floor-cleaning rota to make sure this task is never neglected. 

4. Install cushioned matting 

For those who are required to stand still for most of their shift, such as on a production line, cushioned matting (or anti-fatigue matting) can help to alleviate some of the strain placed on lower-limb joints.

Temperature

Temperature can play a huge role in how comfortable you are at work. If you’re working outdoors, the temperature of your working environment isn’t really something you’ll have much control over. But if you’re working indoors, there are several things you can do to make sure the temperature of your workspace is just right. 

Solutions

1. Indoor/outdoor temperature 

Keeping a static ambient room temperature, which can be easily adjusted depending on the season (i.e. warmer in winter and cooler in summer), is a great way to keep yourself and your teammates comfortable at work. 

2. Battling the heat 

If the temperature at work is too hot, even in the cooler months, you might consider asking your employer to: 

• • Insulate hot pipes
  • Install an air conditioning system 
  • Provide desktop or standing fans for all team members 
  • Make sure all windows can be opened and closed by those working in the area 
  • Move workstations out of direct sunlight 
  • Allow for additional refreshment breaks 

3. Combatting the cold 

If the temperature at work is too cold, this can cause particular discomfort for those working and living with arthritis, as it can often cause symptoms to worsen. In this case, you should approach your manager about: 

• • Providing local heat sources, such as portable heaters 
  • Reducing draughts by upgrading doors, windows, insulation or draught excluders 
  • Installing insulated floor coverings 

4. Working in a dry or humid environments 

Whilst for some people with arthritis, it’s the wet and damp weather that affects their joints, causing them to be more stiff and painful, for others, hot and humid weather can be the trigger. 

If you find the environment at work to be too dry or too humid, speak to your employer about: 

• • Having access to a humidifier or dehumidifier — whichever will help 
  • Being allowed to work remotely or in another work location to limit your exposure to these conditions 

5. Reducing heat stress

Heat stress happens when your body is struggling to control its internal temperature. There can be a number of different causes, including: 

• • Working too quickly 
  • High humidity in the working environment 
  • Work or safety clothing 

Often, it will be caused by a combination of all three, for example where someone is doing heavy work in hot and humid conditions, with sweating being restricted by their clothing. 

Symptoms of heat stress include: 

• • Inability to concentrate 
  • Muscle cramps 
  • Heat rash 
  • Severe thirst (a late symptom) 
  • Fainting 
  • Heat exhaustion – fatigue, dizziness, nausea, headache, moist skin 
  • Heat stroke – dry skin, confusion, convulsions, and eventual loss of consciousness 

To reduce the risk of heat stress in the workplace, you can: 

• • Try to bring the temperature down by using fans, or installing an air conditioning system where possible 
  • Use mechanical aids to reduce the rate of work 
  • Regulate the length of exposure – take regular breaks 
  • Drink plenty of water to prevent dehydration 
  • Speak to your employer about PPE 

6. Keeping things consistent

Having large temperature ranges in the workplace can affect comfort and performance. Try to use some of the strategies above to limit the range of temperature at work and maintain a more consistent, and comfortable, working environment.

Lighting

The lighting in your workplace can be a huge help or a huge hindrance, depending on its brightness and positioning. This can particularly be the case when working at a computer. 

Some of the potential challenges to keep in mind when it comes to finding the right lighting for your workspace include: 

• Glare – How big is the contrast between your screen brightness and the general level of light in the room? 
• Lighting that’s too bright (can cause headaches) 
• Insufficient lighting (can cause strain to the eyes) 
• Stroboscopic effect & flicker – a particular problem where rotating machinery is concerned 
• Veiling reflections – for example, glare on a computer screen from external ceiling lights 

Solutions 

There are a number of solutions you can implement to address specific problem areas. They are: 

1. Glare 

To reduce glare in the workplace, try: 

• • Adding or changing lights to reduce the contrast between screen brightness and the general level of lighting in the room (for example, you might wish to add a desk lamp to your workspace) 
  • Increase or decrease reflectances of the room 
  • Reposition lighting around your workspace 

2. Lighting that’s too bright, or insufficient 

Working in an environment that’s poorly lit can cause eye strain, as well as posing the risk of trips, slips and falls. On the other hand, if the lighting is too bright, it can lead to headaches and difficulty concentrating. 

You can optimise the lighting in your workspace by: 

• • Adding, removing or repositioning lights 
  • Cleaning existing lights 
  • Replacing failed lights and broken bulbs 
  • Moving your workspace to an area that’s more suitably lit 

3. Colour effect

Colour effect can also cause issues when you’re trying to concentrate on your work, particularly if the lighting is very bright or harsh. 

To combat this, speak to your manager about using ambient lighting with softer colours. The closer you can get to mimicking natural daylight, the better.

4. Stroboscopic effect

Stroboscopic effect can be particularly distracting, as well as being harmful to your vision and causing discomfort, visual fatigue and headaches. 

To minimise stroboscopic effect, you can: 

• • Introduce more lighting to your workspace using a different electricity supply 
  • Replace failing lighting to ensure the area is more evenly lit 

5. Flicker

Flicker is one form of stroboscopic effect and is often the most obvious, as it’s visible even when the light source and the eye is static. 

To reduce the impact of flicker, try: 

• • Changing lighting and light bulbs when they near the end of their life 
  • If the problem persists, use additional lighting powered through a different power supply 

6. Veiling reflections

Veiling reflections occur when objects and lighting sources from the working environment are reflected on the task you’re working on. They’re common for those who work with reflective materials, such as metals, and those who work using a computer screen. 

To minimise veiling reflections in the workspace, try: 

• • Increasing the reflectance of the room surfaces 
  • Changing lights – or their location or position – to provide more even lighting 
  • Using local or task lighting 

Noise

Certain noise can be distracting at any level of volume, while for other sounds, pitch will dictate how much it disturbs you in your work. 

Noise in the workplace can present a number of challenges, and will usually fall into one of the following categories: 

• Unwanted noise (loud or quiet) 
• Noise from machinery (including pneumatic and vibrating machinery) 
• Noise from materials used 

Solutions 

Thankfully, there are a range of solutions you can implement to reduce noise levels and disturbances in the workplace. 

You might also consider redesigning the working area to allow for designated quiet spaces, placing louder equipment in a separate area. It’s also a good idea to limit exposure in noisy areas.

1. Noise from machinery

In some workplaces, such as industrial areas and manufacturing settings, noise from machinery will be a given. However, if the noise is something that you or your teammates are struggling with, you can speak to your manager about: 

• • Using noise dampening techniques 
  • Replacing old and worn equipment with someone newer and quieter

2. Noise from materials used

Noise from materials used can again relate to the manufacturing industry, or it may also relate to technology and equipment used in other industries, such as computer keyboards or photocopying machines. 

Where possible, it’s a good idea to: 

• • Avoid metal-on-metal products 
  • Isolate machinery and where it’s used 
  • Replace noisy equipment with quieter equipment, such as upgrading your standard computer keyboard to a soft-touch one

3. Noise from pneumatic machinery

Pneumatic machinery can be very loud which, over time, can cause damage to your hearing. To limit this risk, you can: 

• • Isolate the machinery and where it’s used 
  • Regulate exposure time 

4. Noise from vibrating machinery

Vibrating machinery can likewise be very loud and cause damage to hearing if you’re exposed to it for long periods of time. To combat this, you can use noise dampening techniques and perhaps reposition the machinery to reduce vibration.