by Joanne Allpress – Senior Ergonomics Consultant
When people think of a DSE assessment, they often think about chairs, desks, screens, and posture. However, one of the most important aspects of any ergonomics assessment is understanding the task itself.
In fact, one of the things I find myself explaining most often during assessments is that I am not really assessing the workstation in isolation, I am assessing how the person interacts with it throughout their working day.
And that has changed significantly over the last 20 years.
A typical office worker in the early 2000s might have spent much of their day focused on one activity at a time: drafting a document, entering data, responding to emails at set intervals, or attending an in-person meeting elsewhere in the office.
Today, many workers are expected to manage multiple communication channels simultaneously, switch rapidly between tasks, and process a much greater volume of information, all from a single workstation.
As a result, modern task analysis has become far more complex than simply asking, “How many hours per day do you use a computer?”
More tasks are happening at once
Twenty years ago, a telephone call was usually just a telephone call.
Today, during an assessment, it is not uncommon for someone to describe attending a Teams meeting while monitoring chat messages, reviewing documents, updating records, responding to emails and taking notes simultaneously.
When people describe their working day to me, I often hear phrases such as:
“I’m constantly jumping between things.”
“I don’t really get chance to finish one task before moving onto the next.”
“Most of my day feels reactive.”
From an ergonomics perspective, this matters. Not only because of the cognitive demands, but because constant task-switching can influence posture, movement patterns, concentration and fatigue.
Work has become faster
Technology has undoubtedly increased efficiency. Tasks that once took hours can now be completed in minutes.
However, what I have noticed in many assessments is that increased efficiency is often accompanied by increased expectation.
If a system allows work to be completed more quickly, the workload frequently expands to fill the available capacity. Response times shorten. More meetings are scheduled. More communication channels are introduced.
The result is that many workers report feeling busier than ever, despite having access to better technology than previous generations could have imagined.
One consequence of this is that natural recovery periods can disappear. The pauses that once existed between tasks are often replaced by another email, message or notification.
Repetition looks different
Historically, repetition might have involved entering data into the same system for several hours.
Today, repetition is often less obvious.
During assessments, I regularly see individuals using multiple systems, screens and applications throughout the day. On the surface, this appears varied. However, when we look more closely, the same physical actions are often repeated hundreds or thousands of times.
Constant mouse use. Repeated clicking. Frequent navigation between systems. Continuous scrolling.
The task may feel varied, but the physical demands can still be highly repetitive.
Information load has increased
Another trend that frequently emerges in assessments is the sheer volume of information people are expected to process.
Many employees are no longer working with one system, one inbox or one communication channel. Instead, they are managing emails, instant messaging platforms, shared documents, project management tools, calendars and meetings, often all at the same time.
Twenty years ago, much of task analysis focused on physical workload. Today, understanding information flow, interruptions and competing demands is becoming equally important.
Why does this matter for DSE assessments?
This is why a modern ergonomics assessment should not simply evaluate the workstation; it should evaluate how work is actually performed.
Some of the most valuable conversations I have during assessments are not about chair adjustments or monitor heights. They are about:
- How long tasks are sustained for
- Whether work is proactive or reactive
- How often interruptions occur
- Whether there are opportunities for meaningful breaks
- How many systems are being used
- Whether workloads fluctuate significantly
- How satisfied someone feels with the way their work is organised
In many cases, these discussions reveal risks and opportunities that would never be identified by measuring a desk or adjusting a chair.
The takeaway
Good ergonomics has always been about fitting the work to the person.
What has changed is the nature of the work itself.
While workstation setup remains important, task analysis is becoming increasingly valuable because it helps us understand not just where someone works, but how they work — and how the changing pace of work may be influencing comfort, performance and wellbeing.
Next week, we’ll continue our Changing Pace of Work series by exploring how artificial intelligence is beginning to influence cognitive load, decision-making and the way many of us interact with our work.
