Sit up straight, for good reasons!

Safety Coordinator Paul Landgraf leads a recent Brown Bag Lunch program on “Posture and Comfort” in the West Campus Conference Room. This is the second year of Landgraf’s presentations, which are sponsored by the WUSTL Wellness Connection and the Office of Human Resources.

“My goal is to provide employees with tools they can use to eliminate bad posture and/or improper computer workstation setup,” Landgraf said. “This will help people eliminate the constant stress that can cause fatigue, discomfort and pain over prolonged periods of time. Our focus is both body position and the workstation setup. We concentrate on discomfort factors relating to the eyes, neck, shoulders and upper back, elbows, wrists and hands, lower back and legs.

“For each discomfort, we recommend a body or equipment adjustment, and/or a change in the process to help eliminate or lessen the discomfort. Self-assessment handouts are provided, which the employees can do themselves. By answering a series of questions and then following the recommendations and adjustments, employees can improve their workstations not only for their comfort and setup, but also making themselves more productive.”

The next in the series, “Propel Yourself Into Fitness,” will be Feb. 22 in Lambert Lounge in Mallinckrodt Student Center and Feb. 24 in the West Campus Multipurpose Room. Those sessions will be led by Martha Tilman, director of the fitness center.