Logi9

In the home cleaning sector, absenteeism caused by the hard working conditions is commonplace. With the assistance of Mensura, Logi9 trained three of its home helps so that they would adopt ergonomic postures and gestures. Now, they are the ones sharing with their colleagues the ergonomic concepts and practices they have learnt. Slowly but surely, the approach is bearing fruit. Training attendance is gradually increasing. Ergonomics is a topic now being discussed. And some good practices are taking root. Feeling valued and recognised, the women workers are also becoming more self-confident.

Logi9 is a service-voucher based company offering home help services to individuals. In the Province of Liège and Luxembourg, its six agencies employ a total of nearly 500 people, mainly home helps.

Valérie Stas, prevention expert in ergonomics at Mensura: “Housekeepers are particularly vulnerable to backache and joint pain. It’s a sector where work-related disabilities are commonplace.” Logi9 is no exception: at any time, the company can only rely on two-thirds of its workforce to operate.

“Workers have little practical knowledge of ergonomics,” says Cécile Gérôme, who founded Logi9 in 2007. “The ad hoc training courses provided by external agencies bring us up to date in the eyes of the law, that’s all. They do not change the day-to-day lives of women workers, who are reduced to a position of learners in a classroom situation with a knowledge holder. To add insult to injury, sometimes the actual content of these courses cannot even be applied.”
 

In 2017, Logi9 opted for a new approach. The company asked Mensura to train three in-house trainers, who would then train their colleagues. Cecile Gérôme: “They really wanted to be up to the challenge. And the result was amazing. Valérie, the Mensura expert, not only brought her large portfolio of skills, but also demonstrated great humility. I think she enjoyed her time here, and it was contagious.”

Valérie spent several months dissecting with the three women the gestures made in their daily work, supporting her explanations with the theory of ergonomics. The three future trainers then digested these insights to create a custom training for their colleagues. “They really did that well.” Valérie confirms with admiration. “They assimilated theory and practice to formulate their own, concise and highly practice-based version: how to carry a bucket of water, lift a clothes hamper, handle tools with a handle, and so on.” With the help of a teacher/an educator, the three women also learnt to train others.
 

Initially mandatory, the training given by the three women recorded 50% no-shows. “A sick child, a flat tyre... workers would find a thousand and one reasons not to come,” explains Cécile Gérôme. “So, we took the chance of allowing everyone to choose freely. We explained the process, created a closed account on Facebook to share the training experiences... Participation has increased steadily. And above all, I hear employees say: ‘now, I place my bucket at the right height for me’. Or ‘I twist my mop, not my wrists. Practices are changing. Slowly, but surely, I hope.”

The approach also helps bring women out of their isolation. “There may be thousands of these ladies, yet they are always alone,” underlines Cécile Gérôme. “In this type of peer training, they have an opportunity to get together, to address the real issues. In my opinion, it also means that – finally – their profession is getting some recognition. What they do is a proper job, which requires specific skills, with regard to ergonomics among other things.”

Cécile Gérôme hopes that the film Au bonheur des dames, shot in part at Logi9, will also contribute to reshaping the image of these women – and men – who serve a million families in Belgium.