Preventive Culture Intervention

Behavior-first.
Not environment-first.

Ergonomics addresses the workstation. Human Load addresses what happens within it, through a 12-week behavioral intervention that prevents physical complaints before they reach absence reports.

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We accept a limited number of engagements each quarter — by intake conversation only.

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The Human Load position

Most organizations act when complaints are already visible.
We operate earlier in the cycle, before pain becomes policy.

The problem

Physical strain
builds in silence
until it doesn't.

#1
Across the EU, musculoskeletal complaints are a leading cause of work disability and sickness absence.
60%
Three in five workers in the EU report musculoskeletal complaints. The most common work-related health problem in Europe.
69%
Of people who recover from low back pain experience a recurrence within twelve months. Prolonged sitting is among the strongest predictors.
2%
Of EU gross domestic product is lost annually to musculoskeletal-related productivity loss.

Sources: EU-OSHA, Bevan (2015), Da Silva et al. (2019).

Screen-based work environment

Ergonomics addresses the workstation. Human Load addresses what happens within it.

In screen-based work, physical complaints are rarely caused by intensity. They are caused by duration, repetition, and the absence of variation, day after day, across an entire workforce.

By the time HR becomes aware of a problem, the pattern has typically been building for months. Employees have normalized discomfort. Managers have not been equipped to act. And the cost is already accumulating: in sick leave, lost productivity, and staff turnover.

About

Founded by a physical therapist who treated screen-based complaints for eight years.
Every single one preventable.

Crystal Haaswijk — Human Load Consultancy Crystal Haaswijk

After eight years as a physical therapist, I kept seeing the same patients. Different names, same complaints. Neck pain. Shoulder tension. Back problems. Arm issues. All from screen-based work.

By the time people came to me, the damage was already done. The pattern had been building for months, sometimes years. The advice was always the same. Sit up straight. Adjust your chair. Take breaks. Ergonomics: necessary, but nowhere near enough.

Human Load Consultancy exists because I believe physical complaints from screen-based work are largely preventable, and that prevention is more effective, more humane, and more economical than treatment. As a physical therapist and lifestyle therapist, I bring clinical expertise to a problem that has always been treated too late, by the wrong people, at the wrong moment.

The question that kept coming back: what if they had never needed to come at all?

Physical Therapist

8 years clinical practice

Lifestyle Therapist

Behavioral change specialist

Founder

Human Load Consultancy

What organizations receive

A structured intervention.
Not a workshop.

The Human Load program is a 12-week behavioral implementation that fits within the existing workday without disrupting output.

01
Intake & Assessment
We map the load before we intervene.

01 — Intake & Assessment

We map the load before we intervene.

Every engagement begins with a structured intake. We analyze work routines, identify behavioral risk patterns, and establish a clear baseline against which we measure change throughout the 12 weeks.

The intake informs a tailored implementation roadmap aligned to your team's schedule, work culture, and existing workflows.

02 — Kick-off Workshop

On-site. Practical. No theory overload.

A facilitated on-site session that launches the program. Employees learn to recognize early physical signals, understand how static load accumulates, and take ownership of their first behavioral experiment.

Designed around adult learning principles: immediate, applicable, and built around real workplace situations rather than abstract theory.

03 — Six Bi-weekly Modules

One behavior. Two weeks. Sustained repetition.

Six structured video modules, each introducing a single behavioral principle and a concrete bi-weekly experiment. Bi-weekly reminders and a 30-second check-in reinforce adoption without adding friction to the workday.

Structured to fit the workday without disrupting output, each module builds directly on the previous one.

04 — Reporting & Behavioral Data

Evidence HR and leadership can act on.

At program close, you receive a structured report covering behavioral adoption rates, self-reported physical awareness, and habit integration across your workforce.

Concrete evidence of organizational impact, and the foundation for a duty-of-care conversation with leadership.

The Human Load Method

Behavior-first.
Not environment-first.

01

Assess

Identify the behavioral risk

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Assess

We analyze where physical load accumulates in daily work routines, not just in workstation setup, but in how people actually work: how long, how often, and how they respond to physical signals.

What this means for your organization

A clear picture of behavioral risk patterns across your workforce, before complaints become visible on sick leave reports.

02

Activate

Build capability at the individual level

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Activate

Employees develop practical skills: recognizing early physical signals, interrupting static load, and integrating variation into their existing work rhythm, without reducing productivity.

What this means for your organization

A workforce that self-regulates physical load as part of daily routine, reducing dependency on reactive occupational health interventions.

03

Embed

Make prevention part of work culture

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Embed

Through structured repetition, behavioral reminders, and data-informed check-ins, preventive habits become embedded in how your organization works, not dependent on individual motivation.

What this means for your organization

Measurable behavioral adoption, reduced musculoskeletal risk, and a demonstrable duty-of-care investment that HR and leadership can report on.

The 12-week program. Built around daily reality.

Each module introduces one behavioral principle and one bi-weekly experiment. Employees apply changes directly within their workday, supported by reminders and a 30-second check-in that takes no time away from work.

1 / 6
01 Week 1–2 · Kick-off + Module 1

Early Signals

Employees learn to recognize the first physical signals of load accumulation: tension, shoulder elevation, reduced awareness. They learn to act before these become complaints. The on-site kick-off workshop launches the program.

02 Week 3–4 · Module 2

Duration

The program addresses how uninterrupted screen time, not intensity, is the primary risk factor. Employees experiment with a 60-minute interruption check integrated into their existing workflow.

03 Week 5–6 · Module 3

Static Muscle Load

Employees learn how sustained low-level muscle activation accumulates unnoticed during screen work, and practice targeted shoulder awareness resets during natural work transitions.

04 Week 7–8 · Module 4

Work Rhythm

Physical load is shaped by how work is structured, not just by how people sit. Employees learn to use task transitions, meeting endings, and focus breaks as natural moments for variation.

05 Week 9–10 · Module 5

Micro Recovery

Short recovery moments, seconds rather than minutes, are enough to interrupt sustained muscle activation. Employees build micro-recovery into their daily routine without affecting output.

06 Week 11–12 · Module 6 + Final Check-in

Sustainable Habits

Employees choose two personal routines to carry forward independently. The program closes with a structured final check-in that measures behavioral adoption and embeds change into work culture.

FAQ

Questions from
HR and leadership.

We already have an occupational health provider. Why would we need this?

Occupational health responds when something has already gone wrong. Human Load operates before that moment and reduces the volume of cases that reach your occupational health provider in the first place. Most clients find the two services naturally complementary.

How is this different from a wellness program or ergonomic audit?

Wellness programs depend on individual motivation and run alongside the workday. Ergonomic audits change the workstation. Human Load changes what happens within the workday: structured, measurable, embedded into how people work. The closing report is an organizational deliverable, not an individual one.

How do we know this actually works?

Every organisation receives a before-and-after behavioural data report. You see exactly what shifted per team: awareness scores, adoption rates, habit integration. Even the first client receives this. The measurement system is built in from day one, not added later.

How much work is this for HR?

Less than ten minutes per module. HR sends one email on day one and one reminder on day seven. Everything else (the modules, the check-ins, the data collection) runs without HR involvement. At program close, you receive a report ready to present to leadership.

What if our employees just don't engage?

The program is designed for low motivation, not high motivation. Each experiment takes under sixty seconds. The check-in takes thirty. Engagement data is tracked per team, so if adoption drops you see it early and can act on it. The structure does the work, not individual willpower.

What does this involve as an investment?

Investment is scaled to organization size and discussed during the intake conversation. As a benchmark, the program typically costs less than two weeks of absence for a single employee. The intake is free, takes 45 minutes, and includes a cost-of-inaction calculation specific to your organization.

Take the next step

The right time to act
is before the data arrives.

Currently in pilot phase with selected organizations across the Netherlands and Aruba.

Most organizations contact us after complaints have already surfaced. The intake conversation is free, takes 45 minutes, and gives you a clear picture of where behavioral risk sits in your organization, and what a structured intervention would look like.