Safe Home Working

These are some considerations you can take into account to keep yourself safe and healthy whilst working from home.

The HSE has some good advice at https://www.hse.gov.uk/msd/dse/home-working.htm

Consider:

• Set up your desk/table space to support a neutral posture. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40YgrnKvI84
• Ergonomic recommendations for laptops - the NHS has some advice at https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-body/posture-tips-for-laptop-users/
• Avoid neck strain when using your phone. 'Text neck' describes a repetitive stress injury or overuse syndrome in the neck, caused by prolonged use of mobile devices with the head bent downward and not moving. Also called tech neck, text neck is commonly associated with texting, but it can be related to many activities performed on phones and tablets while looking downward, such as surfing the web, playing games, or doing work. See https://www.spine-health.com/conditions/neck-pain/how-does-text-neck-cause-pain
• Take breaks often to move and stretch, whether you are using a phone, computer or laptop. The NHS has some back stretch advice at https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-body/posture-tips-for-laptop-users/
• Check your home office environment for hazards. This includes
  • tidying away cables so they can't be tripped over;
  • electrical safety - https://www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk/media-centre/press-releases/2020/04/how-safe-is-your-work-from-home-setup/.
• Eat a healthy diet and keep hydrated.

Online Precautions:

• Use secure and different passwords for all your online activity.
• Be careful about the amount of personal information you give out whilst volunteering for Freegle.
• Avoid getting involved with difficult personal situations of Freegle members.

Help and Support:

We all work in quite isolated circumstances, but please don't feel you are your own. There are online social contacts you can make with other volunteers via the discourse national groups (click 'Us' in the menu bar on Modtools). Also, a chatty zoom meet is held most weeks, the link to that is also in the top menu bar of modtools.

If you want some advice or support within Freegle, you can contact the following:

• https://discourse.ilovefreegle.org/c/central - the national discussion group for general questions and issues.
• mentors@ilovefreegle.org - the Mentor team can offer one to one support for a range of situations.
• info@ilovefreegle.org - confidential support mailbox.
• board@ilovefreegle.org - if you feel you have not received the support you need, you should refer the matter to the Board by email. The matter will be entered on the agenda for the next Board meeting.

Events and Meetings:

There are occasions when you might extend your volunteering outside of your home. At events, please make sure you take safeguarding considerations into account for others and yourself. Safeguarding at Events

Links:

• Freegle Health and Safety Policy
• Freegle Volunteer Agreement