Dr. Roberta Bondar in conversation with CBC 99.1 Here & Now
Canada’s first female astronaut and the world’s first neurologist in space, Dr. Roberta Bondar, was the special guest at the grand opening of ergoCentric’s new downtown Toronto showroom&store. Before addressing the crowd, Dr. Bondar had the opportunity to speak with CBC Radio Toronto Here & Now’s Reshmi Nair about ergonomics in space and in everyday work environments.
“It’s always interesting when there’s a company trying to do things to make sure that diversity in the workplace is not just protected but is allowed to thrive and the one thing we all know is that if our chairs or our work tables are uncomfortable, we’re not comfortable and we can’t be at our optimum,” said Dr. Bondar when asked why she wanted to take part in the opening of ergoCentric’s new showroom.
Dr. Bondar emphasized that employees need to speak up and address the issues (poor workstations) with their supervisors, noting that in this day and age, people have a lot of options in terms of how they want to perform at their best and that those in supervisory and leadership positions should be very interested in the well-being of that individual because of its direct impact on shareholder value.
Dr. Bondar closes the interview by stating “So all around, it’s not about having a pretty chair to sit in, you want to be able to have one that’s functional.”
Read more about the Grand Opening of ergoCentric’s showroom&store here.
