A SCOTTISH entrepreneur is targeting a product aimed at easing the physical strain of working from home at remote workers.
G-Hold founder and chief executive Alison Grieve says her Working From Home Kit could help people after a survey of home workers by the Institute for Employment Studies shortly after lockdown started showed more than half were reporting new aches and pains, particularly in the neck, back and shoulders.
Ms Grieve was featured on the BBC’s Dragons’ Den four years ago with the ergonomic holders for tablet computers.
Although the Dragons turned her down she has gone on to grow the company and also develop a similar holder and stand for mobile phones.
“Not many people have a home office environment that is designed for working from eight hours a day, five days a week,” said Ms Grieve said.
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“As a result people are developing lots of back, neck, shoulder, hand and wrist problems which can plague them for the rest of their lives.
“Our Working From Home Kit encourages people to sit and stand comfortably and correctly, with good posture while working at their computers or on their mobile phone or video calls.”
She said the products were developed through considerable lab testing and “have been proven to reduce strain on arms, shoulders, wrists and hands”.
Ms Grieve said: “There has been a lot of talk about the potential impact on mental health of long-term home-working, and clearly that is really important. But it’s also important that physical health is not overlooked.
“There are significant amounts of people suffering because they do not have a proper work environment at home and our Working From Home Kit addresses that.”
The kit includes holders for phones and tablets, and enables workers to hang devices from a picture hook or kitchen utensil hanger to allow conference video calls to be viewed at whatever height and position is most comfortable.
Ms Grieve said: “Setting a tablet or phone up on your desk tends to lead to hunching over to see the screen and be picked up properly by the camera.
“This is terrible for your posture and can lead to all sorts of long-term problems in the neck, back and shoulders. Even when the pandemic is over it’s clear that home-working is going to be here to stay for a lot of people so it’s important that they have the right equipment."
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