In an article in the Sydney Morning Herald, ergonomists, physiotherapists and even lawyers denounced the benefits of wireless networking, warning that the televised images associated with a recent push to go portable include images of people working while lounging with their computers – positions that could prove to be unhealthy.

“Advertising often portrays a device user in all sorts of compromising positions. This may encourage the workforce to adopt similar work habits," said Sydney ergonomist Grant Richter. “Lounging is a key visual when selling these products to make work seem like a holiday and hence attract the buyer into thinking that a posture or habit is safe long-term, until they experience some form of pain or discomfort which they find difficult to relate to a cause that may be obvious to an ergonomist or physiotherapist,” Richter continued.

Anna Lee, national chairwoman of the Australian Physiotherapists Association, mimicked Richter’s concerns, also offering that a recent Intel Centrino ad airing in Australia showing a woman using a laptop computer in an airport lounge was “irresponsible.”

Lee noted that in the Intel ad, the computer user has bad posture, displays poor use of the wrists and fingers in keying, uses only one hand to key, has glare on the monitor from nearby windows, and, overall, is encouraging prolonged use of computers while traveling, which may increase the risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT).

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the Intel ads portray on-the-go workers casually conducting business through wireless networking hotspots while using laptop computers at airports, coffee shops and other unconventional locations. An Intel representative interviewed said the hotspots are not intended to replace traditional office working environments.

Source: Sydney Morning Herald

Publisher’s note:
Ergoweb’s Dr. Peter Budnick offers another perspective. “Granted, I’ve never seen the ads that spurred these comments, but I will point out that ergonomics is not really about telling people how they should sit. I think the bigger picture is that the wireless industry is developing technology that has the potential to increase human performance and comfort, which is the essence of ergonomics. If wireless technologies will give us more flexibility in when and where we conduct our work, I’d find that an improvement. Rather than point fingers at these innovative companies for supposedly encouraging bad habits, I’d rather appeal to them to further embrace ergonomics, which is a user-centered design approach that will improve the usability of their products. Better usability means better customer experiences, which translates to better market penetration, which translates to success. So, the story here is not about ‘ergonannies’ scolding people for bad work habits, it’s about working with innovative companies to ensure that the user remains a central design perspective – for their own benefit. Ergonomic designs elicit good work habits.”