Unashamed Sympathy Trawling

[Gravekeeper]

If you're wondering where I am, the answer is injured! Again. I won't get into the 48 hours where I couldn't walk or sleep or the long, horrific nights alone with my own worries and an uncaring cat. Suffice to say, damage was sustained again due to work equipment and I don't have the faintest idea what to do about it anymore. As this is the third injury in a row in the last 2 months from work. Even my physiotherapist is getting irked.

Every time I go back to work I make it 1-4 weeks before getting harmed again due to our chairs and desks all being too short for my gangly frame. I live and move like I'm 92 and quite sick of it, honestly. But I can't seem to escape the damage long enough to fix the damage.

/end pitiful venting.

[MoonCat]

Can't they acquire a chair and/or desk that would suit you better? I know it's an additional expense but if they want you to be able to do your work, it would be in their best interest.

[Chromatix]

If you're that tall and lanky, you probably just need a taller desk and chair. Many office desks and chairs are adjustable in height to some degree. If yours aren't adjustable, however, you'll need to get new ones.

[Gravekeeper]

The tallest desk inthe office is about 3 inchs above my lap -.-

[Gizmo]

I don't know your country's rules but in mine we *have* to be adequately accommodated with suitable equipment. Yes, many employers will sweep it under the rug and try to stop employees asking for it but at the point of having injuries due to it they can't ignore it any more.

I've admittedly not seen someone go beyond the point of saying to HR "your equipment is causing me harm, get me suitable stuff" but I believe it is possible to do.

[sms001]

Oddly, something about my own desk/chair combo at home really helps my back. Hope you can get this resolved soon, I know how frustrating and painful it can be.

and an uncaring cat.

Yeah, no. Cat cares. "Hey! If you just lie there, who's gonna feed me?"

[Seshat]

The company my husband worked at made the stupid error of having built-in desks when they moved to a new site. I walked in, took one look, and grabbed Matt and Dan - the owners/bosses - and pointed out how stupid it was.

They didn't fix it properly, but they DID have D's desk changed to suit him; and a couple of the others.

But yes - I agree with everyone else. It's a health-and-safety issue, no less so than having guards on a bandsaw or safety glasses and hats for construction workers.

If all else fails, bring in your own chair and desk.

[Andara Bledin]

You know, it can't possibly cost them more to get a desk and chair combo that would suit your frame than it costs to have you go on disability leave all the time.

I know that in the US, OSHA would require that a properly-proportioned work station be provided. I would be shocked if Canada didn't have the same type of requirement.

^-.-^

[retailworker7]

I was working as a temp at company and the job started giving me pain in my wrist. The company had bought nicer mouse pads with the wrist pad for some of their employees. Since I was a temp I did not feel it was appropriate for me to ask them to buy me one. I went and bought my own. When was taking it out of the box to set up on my desk my supervisor asked me how much I had spent on my supplies. I told him and it turned out I had spent less money than what the company was spending on their employees. My boss asked me to bring in the receipt and he gave me cash out of his own pocket for my supplies. He was going to try to turn in the receipt as part of his expenses to get his money back. I paid cash for it so my name was not on the receipt any where. I never did find out if he got his money back but it was nice of him to do that for me.

[Gravekeeper]

All of our desks are a fixed height, and its pretty low. The highest is 3 inchs above my lap, the lowest literally is in my lap. I know now from being in physiotherapy that my original major back injury 3 years ago was from the desks. I hadn't any problems in the 6 years prior but then our office got renovated and we got these new lower desks. Within a year or so of sitting awkwardly at them my back went after I developed a pelvic tilt.

Ironically its avoiding what caused the tilt that started hurting my SI joint which is the problem I have now. But the tilt wasn't fixed to begin with, I had only just started physiotherapy for my back and pelvis when this happened.

Learned today that one of symptoms I'd been blaming on the injury was actually heart palpatations from anxiety. So now I'm developing an anxiety disorder. Which I guess isn't much of a surprise as this is the third injury in 2 months.

[Sapphire Silk]

The tallest desk inthe office is about 3 inchs above my lap -.-

Does Canada have a version of the Americans with Disabilities Act?

In the US, employers have to provide reasonable accommodation. Desk/office equipment fits the definition; here they would HAVE to provide you with a desk and chair to meet your physical needs.

Can you check with a labor advocate to see if Canada has a similar law? I doubt your employer will tell you.

[Chromatix]

Can you measure the height of these desks for comparison?

At home I have a non-adjustable crescent-shaped computer desk which has 70cm under the top - less than that to the underframe, but that is relatively far back. Sitting at this in my usual chair, I can just fit my balled fists between my legs and the top - although I'm almost certainly not nearly as tall as you are.

I also have a much larger desk which is 71cm under the top, which is basically defined by the underframe clearing my tallest PC case. This one is technically adjustable, although it is so large that actually doing so would be a challenge.

Meanwhile my Clavinova has 64cm under the keyboard - no underframe. I believe the stool is lower than most office chairs, though, and a confident pianist is supposed to lean back somewhat. For an office desk, this would be unacceptably low except for a very small person.