Ergonomics has attained greater significance as more and more lifestyle and workplace-related diseases are being reported. This science deals with human beings and work – to be more precise, human health and productivity -- and it considers the anatomic, physiologic, psychological and mechanical principles which affect the human energy.

Ergonomics in the workplace deals with the safety of employees and it studies the technology and equipment used in a workplace and the worker’s interaction with these equipments. It also takes into account the user’s capabilities, the working environment, furniture, machines etc that the worker uses and it also analyses how far these elements help in maintaining the health of the employee and in improving his/her productivity. Ergonomics is employed in designing the workplace so that the workplace supports the user’s physical and mental requirements/capabilities and thus help enhance productivity.

``You have to follow a proper ergonomic design at the workplace, otherwise it will create strain injuries, joint pain, back pain, etc in the employees,’’ says Debendranath, an engineer based in Kolkatta,``A few of our employees in our company had a bad joint pain and had to undergo joint pain ayurvedic treatment for two weeks. We analysed the reason behind such a collective disease and decided to redesign the seating ergonomics at the workplace,’’ says Priyanka, the HR executive, who works with a private company in Kolkata. ``It really worked wonders and now they resume their work without any health problems,’’ she adds.