30 Little-Known Facts About Office Ergonomics That Could Help You Profit in 2026 (Part 2 of 2)

In Part 2, Darcie goes deeper into the business and clinical side of office ergonomics with 15 more facts most practitioners have never heard. 

Learn why most ergonomists undercharge by 40–60%, how a simple line-item change can boost your assessment revenue by 30%, and why companies will pay 2–3x more for a practitioner who can show them a systematic framework. 

On the clinical side, discover why carpal tunnel syndrome and tennis elbow require completely different pointing device strategies, why the "best ergonomic mouse" doesn't exist, and why alternating between two devices often beats using one "perfect" device all day. 

Darcie also covers why you don't need Board Certification to start earning, how virtual assessments eliminated geographic barriers overnight, and why 2026 is the single best year in history to launch an office ergonomics practice. 

Plus: last call for the free live training on February 25th — a one-time event with no replay and no recording. If you miss it, you miss it. Register now at ergonomicshelp.com/perfect_mouse.

On September 23rd join this free live training and learn the exact system ergonomists are using to build their list, get referred more, and stop undercharging for work that deserves more.  https://ergonomicshelp.com/infographic/

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Hey there. Welcome back to the show. I'm Darcy, and if you caught part one of the series, you already know that the office ergonomics market is wide open. That pointy device recommendations are the number one source of failed interventions. And that there's a massive gap between what practitioners are taught and what they actually need to know in the field. Welcome to the Business of Ergonomics podcast. I'm your host, Darcy Jeremy. I'm a board certified professional agonist with over 15 years of experience delivering ergonomics programs to employers of all different types. In this podcast, I share what other healthcare professionals are already doing and being with ergonomics assessments and how to land those clients that you dream of. Without further ado, let's jump into this episode right now. Today we're picking up right where we left off with facts 16 through 30. And honestly, some of these might be even more eye-opening than part one. we're gonna talk about pricing, about credentials, about what clients actually value and about the specific mistakes that are costing practitioners thousands of dollars per year. on February 25th, I'm hosting a live free training. and it's all about what we're talking about today. About how to actually recommend the right ergonomic mouse for your client pain. you want more details on that? Check out the description in the show notes. So let's dive into this. Fact number 16. Most practitioners under charge for ergonomic assessments. By 40 to 60%. I see this all the time. Someone launches their ergonomics practice and charges $75 for a comprehensive assessment, 75 bucks for a professional service that requires clinical expertise, specialized knowledge, and a written report with specific recommendations. A plumber charges 150 bucks just to show up. And electrician charges 200 bucks for a diagnostic visit. You have a healthcare background, specialized training, and you are potentially saving the company 30 to $60,000 per avoided workers' compensation claim. You should be charging like 200 to $500 at least per assessment minimum. and when you present it in terms of ROI or return on investment, nobody blinks at that price, especially if they're in corporate. Fact number 17, adding equipment recommendations as a separate line item can increase your assessment revenue by 30% or more. And this is really. A perspective change when it comes down to it. Now, just hear me out. Don't knock this away with a bat right away. I want you to listen to this one. So instead of bundling your equipment recommendations into the assessment fee, try breaking it out. Now hear me out here. The assessment is one fee, and if you've been in the world of ergonomics for some time, then you know that probably like 80% of clients that you see. They probably won't need very much in terms of equipment. However, if you're gonna be diving into more complex recommendations, you might wanna consider a detailed equipment recommendation report with specific products, links, justifications, and alternatives as an add on. It's something to consider, and we are thinking outside the box here on this podcast. I've only ever included recommendations inside of the report. But have I charged on the higher end for office ergonomics reports? I do. I charge my clients on the upper end, even beyond the rage that I initially introduced, a $500. I charge upwards of a thousand dollars for office ergonomic report. And remember, you're basing your price based on geography. And your experience and value that you can bring to the workplace. So something to consider if you're a little bit hesitant about charging those higher end prices for ergonomics. A way that you can address this is that you can charge a little bit extra on the backend if recommendations are actually required, and that's a way to justify it to yourself. And that's a reasonable way to be charging higher prices or actually charging how much time it takes based on your experience and the complexity of the report, right? Because we have to factor that in. The worst thing that could be done here is you not charging enough and having to get another nine to five job. A way to think of this is that you're not nickel and dimming and you're not shorting yourself either. This is a premium service deliverable that you can add to justify your hourly rate. Fact number 18, companies will pay two times to three times more for a practitioner who can show them a systematic framework. This is the difference between being seen as someone who knows about ergonomics and being seen as a clinical expert. When you walk into a meeting with a company, you can say, here's my five step assessment protocol. Here's my clinical decision matrix for equipment selection. Here's how I set expectations with your employees to maximum compliance. When you speak like that, it's almost like you're speaking a different language. It's like you've gone on this journey and you've seen all these obstacles gone through the darkest night, and then what happens at the end? You have tried and tested methodologies that follow a systematic framework that will get your clients' results. You're not competing on price anymore with this as well. You're competing on mythology and when you present what you know in a way that really connects with. End user, that person in HR or whoever you're working with, this type of strategy, when you talk about ergonomics, always wins because it highlights the expertise that you bring to the table. Fact number 19, the average practitioner loses three to five potential clients per year because they can't confidently answer questions about mice and other pointing devices. Okay. Now for all those folks, that what peer reviewed literature, this is a number I've estimated based on conversations with hundreds of practitioners in my community, and various sources throughout who might talk about ergonomics, whether I've talked to you on LinkedIn. You know what I'm saying? I like to connect. So this is a moment in an assessment where the client says, what about my mouse? My wrist hurts when I use it. And the practitioner can literally freeze, especially if you're just starting out. And this is like your very first assessment after you piece together how to do an office ergonomic assessment. Or the client might suggest a generic vertical mouse because they saw it on a blog post, or like they just saw this awesome Facebook ad that is advertising the most coolest looking mouse ever. But what does it actually mean to their performance? That hesitation, that uncertainty, the client picks up on it immediately, and they're far less likely to refer you to a colleague or a friend too. The confidence with mice and modern pointing devices is not a nice to have when you're building out your own ergonomics practice. It's a revenue multiplier. Trust me, in this Fact number 20, follow up assessments are where the real profit lives. And most practitioners never schedule them. So if you've ever listened to this podcast before, you know that I like to consider. The types of services that you offer as agronomist is almost like a value ladder, and that initial assessment is a really great way to get your foot in the door. So that's probably where most of your time is being spent doing, office ergonomics assessments. Here's another revenue generating idea that many ergonomists aren't fully leveraging, and it's called the follow up. Two or four weeks later, you follow up to check on the equipment adaption. You can refine recommendations, address new issues, and that's where you cement the relationship. It's also another billable visit. And here's the beautiful thing. Follow ups are faster, like maybe whether you're gonna call them up video or if you're in the hood and you're in the building and you're doing another assessment for someone else, you check in maybe 20, 30 minutes but you can still charge a reasonable amount you're still providing ongoing clinical value. Most practitioners do the assessment and just straight up disappear. But I want you to consider the ones who schedule the follow up, and it's all about the return on investment to this. When you talk about this to the employer, what's the return on investment when you schedule a follow up? that's where the magic happens. Not only that, it's another line item and it can keep that client. For years because you really put in the extra effort here. Okay, y'all, I gotta do a quick pause. If you're listening to these facts and you're thinking, I need to level up my ergonomics game, especially when it comes to mice, 'cause you know what that, that three to five referral facts really hit hard, Darcy. And I've got something to share with you friend. On February the 25th, that's Wednesday, 8:00 PM Eastern. I am hosting a free live training all about how to actually recommend the right ergonomic mouse for client pain. This is the training where I walk you through the exact clinical framework I use for mouse selection. I'm gonna go over all of the device categories, and I'm gonna walk you through a really useful matrix that will help with your decision based on what type of condition or pain you see out there. In the wild. This is gonna be easy. It's gonna be really useful. And if you are doing office ergonomics assessments and you're not sure about how to recommend the right mouse, you gotta be in this program. This is not going to be available later. Of course, if you're part of my programs, whether it's the Ergonomics blueprint or Accelerate, you already have access to this training 'cause it's already included. But if you're not, then there's no recording, there's no replay, there's no, I'm gonna catch it next month. This is a live event because I wanna make it real for the people that wanna get value from this. It's happening only on February 25th. So if you're serious about building a profitable ergonomics practice in 2026 and beyond, you don't wanna miss this. So all you gotta do is go to ergonomics help.com/perfect_mouse. I'm also gonna link that in the description, the show notes below, and I want you to save your seat. This literally takes 10 seconds, and as a bonus for everyone who stays to the end of this training, I'm gonna give away my free pointing device selection quick reference guide. It's so useful because it shows you exactly what Mouse to recommend that person based on what you see in that assessment. So if they have. Wrist pain. If they have arthritis, if they have lateral epicondylitis, I'm gonna tell you exactly what to recommend. No guessing whatsoever, no mistakes. Alright, let's get back to the facts fact 21. Carpal tunnel syndrome and tennis elbow require completely different pointing device strategies, this seems obvious, all right? Especially for those of you who have a background in anatomy, injuries, anything related to that. But you'll be amazed of how many people treat all upper extremity conditions the same So carpal tunnel syndrome. When you see any sort of carpal tunnel discomfort out there, it's solution is all about reducing wrist extension and compression on the carpal tunnel. You might go with a vertical mouse. That puts the forearm in a neutral handshake position or a centrally located device that reduces reach. But tennis elbow, that's about reducing forearm pronation and gripping force. A track ball operated by the fingers and not the thumb. Might be a better starting point. Different condition, different biomechanics, different device. If you're recommending the same thing for both, then you're guessing. Remember, I have a really handy dandy matrix that you're gonna get when you join that training. So check out the show notes to see how you can be part of it. Fact number 22, The best mouse is the one matched to the individual. I get this question constantly. Darcy, what is the best ergonomic mouse? And my answer is always the same. It depends, legit. How many of my Ergon practitioners out there have been asked a question like this in your life when do you have done a training or a presentation or a lunch and learn? Is always, it depends and specifically related to the mouse, there is no single best mouse. There is the best mouse for this person with this condition, with this hand size. Doing this type of work for this many hours a day. A graphic designer using a mouse eight hours a day with thumb pain needs something completely different from an accountant with wrist extension issues. Who mouses intermittently. This is the clinical reasoning, not product recommendation, and it's the fundamental skill that separates those who know from those who don't know. Fact number 23, males script style, Palm Claw or fingertip directly affects which conditions develop and which devices work. There's three primary grip styles. Palm grip when the entire hand rests on the mouse claw grip when the fingers are arched and fingertip grip where only the fingertips contact the mouse. Each grip style loads different tissues differently. Obviously, palm grippers tend to develop wrist extension issues. Claw grippers are more prone to finger and forearm tension. Fingertip grippers often develop issues related to precision strain. If you don't assess grip style, a critical diagnostic variable. They can literally take five seconds to look at this and having this sorted out while you're coming to a decision type is so useful in the long run. Fact, 24 most ergonomic, my sold on Amazon are designed for marketing, not for clinical outcomes. Y'all, I don't say this to be cynical. I say it because it's true. The consumer ergonomic mouse market is driven by what looks really good, what photographs well, what looks cool, and what gets a five star review from people who don't have clinical conditions or a clinical background, an actual clinical grade pointing device might not look the coolest. It might not look sleek. It might not have the RGV lighting that those gamers absolutely love, but it's designed based on biomechanical research. As a practitioner, your job is to cut through the marketing noise and recommend based on evidence. That's what your clients are paying for, and that's what sets you apart from someone who just Googled best ergonomic mouse 2026. Fact 25, switching between two different pointing devices throughout the day. Is Optum better than using one perfect device? Y'all, this is counterintuitive, but supported by research. You know, your girl loves research. Using the same input device in the same position for eight hours creates repetitive strain on the same tissue structures. But if you say. Alternate, like you can either do right-handed, left-handed mouthing, which I absolutely love. If you're new here, I think it's genius. Or if you wanna look at different types of mice that someone may have for some reason or another. Let's say they have a vertical mouse and they like to use that in the morning, and then they have a centrally located track ball in the afternoon. So what's going on here is that there's gonna be different postures because that mouse is being used in a different position with different grips, and because of that, the joints are gonna be positioned in different angles as well. It is kind of like the same principle as a job rotation schedule, but with mice, or simply with changing between dominant and non-dominant mounting arms, which again is such a useful tip, especially if someone has overuse injuries in their right or more dominant hand. And it's the same principle too, as rotating shoes or cross training in athletic. The variety reduces the long-term strain and long-term tissue stress. Fact number 26, you don't need BCPE certification to start doing profitable office ergonomics work. Lemme be really clear about this because it stops a lot of people from getting started. The board certification in professional ergonomics is absolutely fantastic. I have that certification for a variety of reasons, and I've thoroughly enjoyed what value it's brought in my professional career. And if that's your goal too, I wanna really encourage you to pursue it. But you do not need it to start doing office ergonomics assessments. If you are a licensed pt, ot, chiropractor, or others sort of health and safety professional, you already have a clinical foundation that is more than sufficient to begin. What you need is a structured framework, practice and mentorship. That's where. My program, the Ergonomics Blueprint comes into play. It's the bee's knees actually, when it comes to learning how to do office ergonomics assessments, the Ergonomics Blueprint gives you the complete guide to do office ergonomics assessments, and then it gives you mentorship ongoing. So if you have questions about mice, about process. Then I have your back too. so if you have any interest when it comes to this, then I wanna encourage you to take the next step forward with me being your mentor. Fact number 27 Virtual office ergonomics assessments opened a market that didn't exist more than five years ago. Check this out, and I. Can attest to this because I was in this situation before 2020. Remote assessments were basically unheard of straight up. I tried to get insurance for this and it was unheard of. Unheard of. There was nobody in their right mind that wanted to support me from a professional standpoint of me doing that. So that's really interesting because now they are straight up mainstream and if you're not offering remote assessments and not advertising that, then I think that you are doing a disservice to all those people that need your help. There are still many, many people who are working remote and, they need expertise to ensure that their workers are working safely and because they're still getting the job done, being remote, their workers are still being exposed to the same ergonomic risks. You can do an effective assessment over Zoom if you know what to look for and how to guide the client through self measurement. I have a full other course called How to Do Remote Ergonomics Assessments in the Office and I. Walk you through exactly what to do, how to schedule the appointment, what to write in the report. I even walk you through an office ergonomic assessment over Zoom so you can see what exactly is going on because there are some tips that you need to know about. And the big thing here is that you are not. Limited by geography. you just need some sort of video call. You can serve clients across the country, across the continent, Many, many members of my programs are doing it. And they're doing it successfully. So you can be a practitioner in rural Louisiana, and you can assess a tech worker in San Francisco. The barriers to entry have never been lower. That number 28, the best referral source for ergonomic practitioners, not doctors or HR departments. It's actually satisfied clients I've tracked. Referral sources across our community for years, and the pattern is consistent. Your best marketing channel is always the person whose risk pain that you fixed. The person who can now work a full day without shoulder tension because you recommended the right device and set the proper expectations is absolutely gold. When that person goes back to their team meeting and says. You have to try this agonist I worked with. That's way more powerful than any cold email you could ever send. which brings us back to why getting mouse recommendations right is so critical. It's your fastest path to referrals. FAP 29, the practitioners who invest in structured training earn back their investment within two to three client engagements. That's bonkers, right? Can you get that from like a bachelor's degree? can you get that from your Master's degree? It's pretty tough. How about your doctorate? So I'm gonna be transparent because this relates to my Ergonomics Blueprint program I kinda mentioned this in the past on this show, but I need to tell you because it works and I think that you should be going through this. When someone goes through a structured training program, they learn the framework, they practices the assessments, and they understand the business model. They're not starting from zero with their first client anymore. They're gonna be walking in with confidence. Can you imagine if you can do that? Do you have the support in your back pocket to ensure that you're absolutely gonna crush it? 'cause they have a protocol, they have a decision matrix, and that confidence translates directly into higher prices. Better outcomes and faster referrals. The return on investment on structured training. It's not theory here. It's straight up measurable within the first month of practice. Fact, 30 20, 26 is the best year in history to start an office, ergonomics practice or service if you're already in the space and you just wanna add a service to what you're doing. So if you're like a chiropractor. Or PT or Norty. It's just another service to what you're doing professionally. You don't have to close down your shop. It's something that's totally aligned with what you're already doing. I genuinely believe it. The factors are all coming together. You've got millions of remote and hybrid workers with terrible, absolutely terrible home setups. You've got employer liability expanding to cover those workers. You've got a dramatic shortage of qualified practitioners. You've got companies willing to pay premium prices for someone who can demonstrate a systematic approach. And you've got technology, virtual assessments, digital jewels, online training that makes it easier than ever to build and scale a practice. There has literally never been a better time to start, and I do not say this lightly, my friend. Alright, so that's 30 facts across two episodes, and I hope what's coming through loud and clear is this office ergonomics isn't just a nice clinical skill. It is a business. It's a real profitable, scalable business. That you can build alongside your existing practice or as a standalone venture. The demand is there, the money is there and the competition. Frankly, it's not. and the detail that trips people up more than anything else is pointing device or mouse selection. So let me give you a chance to fix that for free. On February the 25th, that's Wednesday at 8:00 PM Eastern. I'm hosting a free live training called. How to actually recommend the right ergonomic mouse for client pain in 60 minutes. I'm gonna give you the complete framework for pointing device selection. We're covering all seven device categories. I'm giving you the condition to device matching matrix so you know exactly which. To start for whatever condition you need, whether it's carpal tunnel, tennis, elbow to corbin's, whatever, you're gonna get it. I'm walking you through everything that you need to succeed in this. This is the training I wish existed when I started, and I'm giving it away for free because I want you to see what's possible. I want you to experience what it feels like to have a clinical framework to walk into the assessment with real confidence. but here's what I need you to understand. This is happening once. I'm not offering a replay, I'm not. I'm going to do this again next month, February 25th, 8:00 PM If you're there, you're there. If you miss it, you miss it, so all you gotta do is go to ergonomics help.com/perfect_mouse right now. Save your seat. It'll take 10 seconds, and if you stay until the end, I'm gonna give you really awesome freebies too. Listen, friend, if you've made it through both of these episodes, you're not a casual listener. You're someone who's serious about this. You're someone who wants to build something real, and I wanna help you do that. So show up February 25th, bring your questions, bring your notebook, and we're gonna get you to where you need to be. Ergonomic health.com/perfect_mouse.