5 Most Commonly Overlooked Elements in Workplace Ergonomics—And How to Fix Them

When people think about workplace safety, they often picture helmets, high-visibility vests, and protective gloves. Ergonomics, the science of designing the job to fit the worker, is a quieter, less flashy part of safety programs, but it’s no less essential. Many companies invest in new chairs, adjustable desks, or lifting aids, believing that these purchases alone solve ergonomic problems. But real ergonomics is not just a one-time fix. Ergonomics represents a continuous process of observation, adjustment, and education.

While standard safety assessments address the most pressing matters in a workplace, there is the potential for elements that go unseen or overlooked. They’re buried beneath routines, ignored because the harm they cause is hard to trace, or potentially missed because they’re outside the standard, or unique to your workplace.

Most of these oversights can be addressed with thoughtful attention, long-term planning, and structured ergonomic evaluations. Other tools, like a gap analysis, can identify where your program is in its current state and where it is lacking.

Let’s take a closer look at five of the most commonly overlooked elements in workplace ergonomics and how to fix them.

1. The Paper Problem: Overlooking What Comes After the Assessment

On paper, many workplaces look safe. They may have completed ergonomic walkthroughs or assessments, checked boxes for compliance, and even purchased recommended tools or equipment. But the real problem often lies in what happens after the assessment.

Risks to employers: Neglecting the follow-through phase of feedback and improvement can lead to worsening injuries, higher workers’ compensation claims, and lost productivity. When employees see that issues raised in assessments never get addressed, it also reduces trust and engagement.

Solutions: Create a structured post-assessment plan. Assign specific responsibilities, set deadlines for implementing changes, and track progress. A follow-up visit or report should always be scheduled to ensure that recommended improvements were made effectively. Ergonomics software tools make managing the complete ergonomic process easier from conducting ergonomic assessments, to identifying risks, prioritizing improvement opportunities, and ongoing program monitoring.

Follow-up actions like implementing recommendations, re-evaluating workstations, updating SOPs and work instructions, and educating employees are just as important as the assessment itself. Without them, hazards identified during an assessment remain unresolved, and employees continue to work in environments that cause discomfort or injury.

2. The Non-Immediate Risk Trap: Focusing on Today and Ignoring Tomorrow

It’s easy to focus on quick wins in ergonomics. Adjusting a chair, changing a workstation height, or moving a piece of equipment can be accomplished in an hour and can create a positive long-term impact. These actions can bring fast results and immediate comfort. But non-immediate risks, such as repetitive strain injuries (RSIs), awkward postures maintained over months, or a lack of employee education, tend to build silently until they become costly and chronic. In fact, the average workers' compensation cost of a single strain injury exceeded $38,000 in 2022-2023. Focusing only on immediate improvements and overlooking these slower-building risks can lead to expensive fixes down the road.

Risks to employees: RSIs, tendonitis, and back pain can develop slowly, and by the time symptoms appear, damage may already be significant. This not only leads to time off work but can also create lifelong discomfort or reduced physical capacity.

Risks to employers: Long-term injuries result in more expensive claims, reduced efficiency, and higher turnover. Additionally, workplaces that only focus on the “here and now” miss out on preventing problems before they start.

Solutions: Build long-term ergonomics into your safety culture. Proactively perform ergonomic assessments of job tasks and implement solutions based on their risk profiles rather than waiting for discomfort to develop. Conduct annual reviews of ergonomic programs to spot emerging risks before they become recordable injuries.

3. Lack of Monitoring: The Silent Killer of Good Ergonomics

Buying ergonomic tools or equipment feels like progress. But without a plan to monitor how they’re used, even the best tools can become hazards. Employees might revert to old habits or use equipment incorrectly. Supervisors may not realize that new procedures aren’t being followed. Over time, the benefits of those investments, and the money used to invest, will practically vanish.

Risks to employees: If workers aren’t trained or reminded to use new ergonomic practices, discomfort and injuries will persist. Improper use of equipment can even create new risks, such as strain from incorrect lifting techniques.

Risks to employers: Poor monitoring leads to wasted money, as ergonomic investments fail to deliver returns. Injuries that “shouldn’t” be happening continue to appear in reports, frustrating leadership and confusing safety teams.

Solutions: Integrate ergonomic improvements and your solutions into existing processes. Designate champions or supervisors to periodically observe and coach employees. Collect feedback to identify barriers to success. Tools that are inconvenient or setups that don’t fit all body types can be fixed. Continuous monitoring and retraining ensure long-term success.

4. Hearing and Cognitive Load: The Overlooked Ergonomic Factors

Hearing:

When people think of ergonomics, they think of posture, lifting, or workstation setup. But noise is an ergonomic factor too. The acoustic environment of a workplace can dramatically affect concentration, communication, and safety. Excessive noise can cause hearing loss, but even at lower levels, studies find that distracting or inconsistent sounds can increase stress and reduce focus.

Risks to employees: Chronic exposure to loud or jarring sounds leads to fatigue and hearing damage. Distractions caused by noise also increase the risk of mistakes, especially in environments where precision or coordination is essential.

Risks to employers: Lost productivity, errors, and higher incident rates can all stem from poor acoustic conditions. Long-term hearing loss claims are also costly and difficult to manage.

Solutions: Conduct periodic noise testing. Use acoustic panels, dampen reverberation on hard surfaces, and provide hearing protection where needed. For office environments, consider noise-reducing layouts or designated quiet zones to improve concentration.

Cognitive Load:

Cognitive ergonomics focuses on mental demands—how much thinking, remembering, or decision-making an employee must do to complete a task. If cognitive load is too high, it increases fatigue, stress, and the chance of human error.

Risks to employees: Constant multitasking or unclear processes can overwhelm workers, reducing performance and job satisfaction. Over time, this leads to burnout.

Risks to employers: Excessive cognitive load increases error rates, slows production, and drives turnover. Workers who feel mentally overloaded are more likely to disengage or quit.

Solutions: Simplify workflows and remove unnecessary steps. Provide training that builds familiarity and confidence. In high-demand roles, provide rest breaks to prevent mental fatigue. Working with employees to assess what’s realistic within their roles is a common factor in many of these solutions, as it is essential to the long-term success of any program.

5. Compounding Risks: The Power of Small Changes Over Time

Some risks don’t appear overnight instead, they compound slowly over weeks or months. For example, adding just one pound to a box doesn’t seem like much, but if that box is lifted 100 times per day, that’s an extra 100 pounds handled daily. Over a month, that’s 2,000 extra pounds lifted by a single employee. The same applies to small workstation adjustments. Raising a shelf a few inches, removing a mat, or increasing reach distance can significantly affect body strain.

Risks to employees: Cumulative strain can result in overuse injuries, fatigue, and eventual disability. Because the change happens gradually, employees often don’t realize the danger until it’s too late.

Risks to employers: Even tiny workplace changes can lead to major injury trends if they’re not reviewed. Unexplained spikes in discomfort reports or injuries often trace back to small, unrecorded modifications.

Solutions: Evaluate ergonomics during every change to workplace setup, equipment, or processes. During your change or turnover processes make sure to implement ergonomic reviews. Reassess ergonomics quarterly, especially after operational changes. Partner with ergonomists or industrial therapists to track long-term effects and catch compounding risks early.

Closing the Gaps: Using a Gap Analysis to Improve Ergonomic Performance and Program Maturity

So, how do you ensure your ergonomic program doesn’t overlook these critical elements? The answer lies in performing a gap analysis.

A gap analysis is a structured review that identifies the difference between your current state (“where you are”) and your ideal state (“where you should be”). In workplace ergonomics, this means comparing existing policies, tools, and employee experiences against best practices and compliance standards.

Here’s how a gap analysis process works:

1. Evaluate current conditions – Review workstations, postures, tools, safety data, and implementation of safety procedures.
2. Identify desired outcomes – Define what a safe and efficient workplace looks like for your industry and workforce.
3. Measure the gaps – Determine where performance or safety is falling short, such as a lack of training, missing equipment, or poor implementation.
4. Prioritize improvements – Focus first on the gaps that pose the greatest risk or can deliver the biggest impact.
5. Implement and monitor changes – Apply fixes, train staff, and establish regular reviews to ensure progress.

A gap analysis turns abstract ideas about safety into actionable insights. It reveals what’s missing in your ergonomic strategy and provides a roadmap to fill those gaps before they turn into injuries or inefficiencies.

Ergonomics is about prevention, productivity, and long-term wellbeing. The most dangerous ergonomic risks are often invisible to untrained individuals until they’ve already caused damage. By addressing elements overlooked in the standard workplace safety check, you can protect both your employees and your business.

With structured tools like a gap analysis and a commitment to continuous improvement, your company can move from reactive to proactive and create a workplace where employees can perform safely, efficiently, and confidently every day.