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Prolonged sittings in meetings

Meetings tend to mean sitting together around a table for a length of time. People can find it awkward to stand up during a meeting while everyone else is sitting.

Tips

  • Have stand up meeting areas.
  • Chairs should be adjustable.
  • Incorporate breaks into the meeting structure for people to stand and stretch.

Potential harm

  • Muscular skeletal disorders

Identified hazards and controls

Prolonged sitting

Cause

  • Lengthy meetings.
  • Participants spend meetings sitting.

What workers can do

  • Stand up and move to the wall or back of the room.
  • Adjust your chair properly to suit your requirements during the meeting - feet flat on the floor, knees and hip level and parallel to the floor.

What employers can do

  • Encourage workers to stand during meetings.
  • Try to allow for breaks when scheduling meetings.
  • Design meeting places and rooms to accommodate standing meetings.

More information

Guidance

  • Ergonomic hazards for information on physical factors in the environment that may cause musculoskeletal injuries, such as sedentary work and slips, trips and falls, and how to eliminate these hazards.

Legislation

Codes

Page last reviewed: 17 May 2021

Comcare (Office Safety tool)
GPO Box 9905, Canberra, ACT 2601
1300 366 979 | www.comcare.gov.au

Date printed 21 Nov 2024

https://www.comcare.gov.au/office-safety-tool/spaces/meeting-spaces/prolonged-sittings-in-meetings