Is Your Workplace a Truly Great Place to Work?
Ergonomics is more than injury prevention—it's a smart, high-impact strategy for improving comfort, retention, and workplace culture.
- By Carrie Taylor
- May 08, 2025
As HR or health and safety professionals, you’re constantly evaluating what makes a workplace not just safe, but exceptional. But have you considered how ergonomics fits into that equation?
Imagine walking into work every day with a stiff back, sore wrists, or aching feet. Would you call that a great place to work? For too many employees, discomfort is the norm — and its quietly eroding job satisfaction, productivity, and retention.
1. The Cost of Discomfort
As an ergonomist, I’d argue that how well your work environment fits you has an enormous impact on how you view your employer. It’s not the only factor in employee satisfaction, of course, but if you’re uncomfortable at work, you’ll likely be unhappy too.
Maslow would have agreed — basic physical comfort is foundational to well-being. If that’s lacking, no amount of compensation or team building can fully offset it. So, ask yourself: how many employees in your organization are working in discomfort?
2. The ROI of Ergonomics
The business case for ergonomics is compelling. A study by the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries analyzed 250 case studies on workplace ergonomics and found striking results:
- Impact of Ergonomics Interventions:
- 59% fewer musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs)
- 75% reduction in lost workdays
- 68% decrease in workers’ compensation costs
- 48% reduction in employee turnover
- 67% drop in scrap/errors
- 58% reduction in absenteeism
- 25% increase in productivity
Even setting aside injury prevention and efficiency, the reduction in turnover alone is worth examining.
3. The Hidden Cost of Turnover
We often think of turnover as the cost of recruiting and training new hires. According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), employers spend an average of $4,129 and 42 days to fill an open position — and that’s just the recruitment cost.
Some roles require months of onboarding. During that time, productivity and quality may suffer, and you may be paying double labor — for the new hire and the trainer.
But that’s only half the story. Consider internal transfers: moving someone from Station 4, Line 1 to Station 9, Line 2 isn’t free. These internal reshuffles are often untracked but can be just as costly.
Most managers can identify jobs that employees consistently try to avoid — the ones that are perpetually understaffed or frequently reassigned. When these roles are poorly designed or physically taxing, the impact ripples through the whole workforce.
4. Beyond Ergonomics: What Else Makes a Workplace Great?
The Job Descriptive Index (JDI), a long-standing tool for measuring job satisfaction, evaluates six key dimensions:
People
Work
Pay
Opportunities
Supervision
The Job Itself
While the JDI may seem geared toward office settings, it’s just as relevant in industrial environments — especially the elements related to work and job satisfaction.
A well-run ergonomics program influences nearly every factor except “pay”. It’s about creating a culture that says, “Your health matters here.”
5. Practical Steps to Build a More Ergonomic Workplace
A company that values its employees will:
- Ensure workstations accommodate a wide range of body types
- Provide support for employees who can’t adjust equipment independently
- Train workers to optimize their own comfort and posture
- Encourage managers to support employee adjustments
- Integrate workplace comfort questions into surveys and feedback loops
- Promote ergonomic strategies both at work and at home
- Make ergonomic equipment and support accessible and transparent
It can be as simple as ensuring a taller employee has a chair with a longer seat pan or providing lift-assist devices to a worker with a back injury. These actions speak volumes.
Final Thought: Make Comfort Part of Your Culture
An organization that values its people will naturally attract and retain employees who value their jobs. Ergonomics is not just a safety initiative — it’s a powerful signal of respect and care.
If you’re unsure where to start, consider conducting a basic ergonomics audit or adding a “comfort” question to your next employee survey. Small changes can drive major results — in retention, morale, and overall well-being.
References:
Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).
How Much Does It Cost to Hire an Employee?
https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/talent-acquisition/pages/how-much-does-it-cost-to-hire-an-employee.aspx
Bowling Green State University.
Job Descriptive Index (JDI) Questionnaire
https://jobdescriptiveindex.info/questionnaire
Maslow, A. H. (1943).
A Theory of Human Motivation.
Psychological Review, 50(4), 370–396.