Hacker News Reader

Comment by eska | Hacker News Reader

I started to learn vim when I was 20 because I was made aware of these issues. Recently I bought a keyboard without a numpad block in order to position the keyboard in front of me without the mouse being too far away.

Recently two of my coworkers are suffering from these issues, one even had to go to therapy and missed a couple weeks of work in total. Luckily he seems to be fine now, but he doesn't seem to have changed his habits..

I think spreading awareness helps and is something that senior developers should do for their juniors.

View on HN

Spreading awareness is something that management should do for their employees, but won't because we're expendable.

Seems like a rash generalization instead of taking responsibility and confronting the problem yourself.

Ergonomics is something that seems like a mystery to almost everyone. People might pretend they have it figured because testing claims is so difficult. I have been at companies that cared about ergonomics and would buy split keyboards, standing desks and more if people requested them.

You can't expect other people to solve problems that most are barely aware of.

I couldn't disagree more about companies being unaware. I've seen more then one smart, physically fit developer have to pull back or be reassigned from development entirely. This is a direct loss for my employer, especially when hiring is so difficult.

It's bewildering to me that it's not taken more seriously. Though I agree it's not expendability.

Edit to clarify.

I wasn't saying companies are unaware of the problem, I'm saying they don't realize that they aren't doing enough. I would say that it isn't at all clear what the solutions really are. Vertical mice, elbow wrests, an expensive chair, etc, might help, but I don't think this is something that is really figured out, let alone mainstream knowledge.

> taking responsibility and confronting the problem yourself. > You can't expect other people to solve problems that most are barely aware of.

You contradict yourself. I am software engineer. I have specialized in my field. The firm that employs me employs many experts across many fields. That they choose not to hire an ergonomics expert to provide us with an ergonomic workplace is a testament to their will, and priorities.

Should I cut my own hair, fix my own car, build my own house, sew my own clothes, and prescribe me own medicine?

You could expect an ergonomics 'expert' to come in but I don't think that will solve your problem. If the company calls someone in and they accomplish nothing, the company will have tried to do something, relinquished their liability and probably not have any more ideas even if they wanted to do more.

If that doesn't work, then what? Do you want your problem solved or do you just want to be at a company that takes a shot in the dark? You can probably find a company that will do that for you, there are plenty out there.

If you want to actually solve your problem though, you are going to have to confront it yourself from as many angles as possible. The first step is realizing there is a lot of trial and error and that few people really know what they are talking about. I've seen 'ergonomics' experts before, they will say to sit up straight and look forward. They don't have deep knowledge built up from trial and error with a understanding of underlying principles, they just have a certificate that gets the company off the hook.

As for your clothes, if no one makes clothes that fit you, then yes, maybe you should learn to sew.

> As for your clothes, if no one makes clothes that fit you, then yes, maybe you should learn to sew.

Absurd. And should I also grow food that's fit to eat, play the music that suits me, and provide my own shelter, as well?

We sacrifice our entire lives to these firms–studying for them, then working for them, all backed by the same few investors–and it's not too much to ask for clothes, shelter, food from the society they claim to serve.

If your food makes you sick, maybe you should grow your own. If your job doesn't value you, maybe you should search for what it takes to be somewhere that does value you.

You are in control of these situations. Feeling sorry for yourself and wasting energy being frustrated that a particular group of people don't value you is just wallowing in your own self pity instead of confronting your problems.

Huh, my company is basically throwing ergonomic things at us if we ask for them (chairs, standing desks, keyboards etc), as they know the cost is minuscule compared to us even being only a single day away from work.

And the impact is minuscule compared to our lifetimes chained to the desk.

Here in Denmark, it seems pretty much standard that office workers have an adjustable height desk.

We also have an "ergonomicist" visit occasionally and check everyone has appropriate equipment, is using it correctly, and knows how to adjust it.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com