About Ergomotion

Ergomotion helps organisations work healthily and sustainably. Since 1998 we have supported employers with courses, training, workplace assessments, coaching and advice in the field of physical workload.

We combine knowledge of the human body with insight into work, behaviour and organisation. This is how we help employees and organisations to recognise, reduce and prevent health risks.

Our approach

How it began Our principles Our approach Our network

— How did it begin?

From individual therapy to prevention in the workplace

ErgoMotion was founded in 1998 from a practice for Mensendieck exercise therapy in Amsterdam. Many patients came with complaints related to their work: complaints that arose there, got worse there or limited what someone could handle.

During a pilot with a health insurer we supported employees at their own workplace. There we got a fuller picture of the factors that influence how someone functions in relation to a complaint, illness, condition or limitation. We saw how the way someone works, loads the body and deals with load and recovery plays a role in this, but also the workplace, working conditions, work pressure and work organisation.

This experience gave insight into important questions: which factors influence someone's work capacity and employability? What can someone influence themselves? And which adjustments can employer and employee make together to make healthy and sustainable work possible?

This still forms the basis of our approach.

— Concrete and directly applicable

Our principles

Prevention over treatment

Many health complaints develop gradually and can be limited by recognising and tackling risks in time. That is why we focus not only on recovery, but above all on preventing complaints.

Body, behaviour and recovery as one system

A healthy workload arises from the interaction between physical workload, behaviour, recovery and the conditions in which someone works. That is why we look beyond the workplace alone.

Lasting change

A training course, aid or adjustment can be a valuable first step. Lasting improvement, however, only comes about when healthy behaviour becomes part of daily practice.

Healthy work is a shared result

Employers create the conditions, employees make choices and the working environment influences what is and is not possible. Lasting change arises in the collaboration between people, work and organisation.

Awareness as the first step towards change

By gaining insight into the relationship between workload, behaviour and recovery, employees can adjust sooner and make healthier choices. That forms the basis for prevention, recovery and sustainable employability.

Attention for amplition too

Health is more than the absence of complaints. Alongside prevention we also focus on amplition: strengthening what is already going well. Engagement and resilience are not a given, but something you can actively build.

— Our approach

Behaviour change takes more than knowledge

People generally know what healthy work involves. Yet applying it consistently in practice does not always succeed. That rarely has to do with unwillingness.

Our approach is based on a scientific framework that describes behaviour using three questions:

Can they do it?

Does the employee have the knowledge and skills to work healthily and ergonomically?

Is it made possible?

Do the working environment, culture and organisation support the desired behaviour, or do they stand in the way?

Do they want to?

Is there enough motivation to keep up healthy behaviour, even when it takes more effort?

If one of these three is missing, behaviour will not change for the long term. That is why we always look at all three, and not only at the employee.

— Services

What we do

Ergomotion works with organisations on three themes: the design of workplaces and working conditions, the behaviour and health of employees, and the competencies of internal ergocoaches. All programmes are tailor-made.

— Our network

Our team

Ergomotion works with a carefully built network of independent professionals. Each specialist brings his or her own knowledge, experience and way of working.