Your feet should also be flat on the floor with your arms hanging straight down from your shoulders. At its most basic, ergonomics means “fitting a job to a person,” according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. work from home ergonomics Moving from workspace to workspace brings the challenge of finding a chair that’s the right height. Adjustable chairs allow you to have the proper height no matter if you’re at your desk or the kitchen table.
If you work on a laptop, couch, bed, or other surface that is not ergonomically designed, you may tend to slouch, lean forward, hunch over, or twist your body. This makes it easy to point out habits and areas in your workspace that need improvement. Pin your checklist on the wall near your computer or place it somewhere visible to keep ergonomic principles top of mind. Before you started working from home, you probably had a dedicated space at an office. Sure, it was likely just a cubicle—if you were lucky—or a seat at a shared table, but at least you had a computer, desk, and all the other components needed to do your job.
Don’t Position Your Monitor Incorrectly
If you have an office-style chair, move the height until your thighs are parallel to the ground and your knees are bent at 90 degrees, recommends Geisel. So if your feet don’t reach the floor, go ahead and grab a footstool or rest (or even a stack of oversized books) to prop up your feet so that the soles lay flat against the surface. Again, the height should be as much as it takes to get your knees to 90 degrees, according to Geisel. All the experts agree that, ideally, a chair should have a height adjustment, to avoid unnecessary muscle strain that causes aching necks and backs.
For some, a standing desk is the ideal combination of work and exercise—without the trip to the gym. One study found that working at a standing desk burns about 88 calories an hour. That’s not much, but it is slightly better than sitting and typing, which burns 80 calories an hour. Use a keyboard that is either flat https://remotemode.net/ or has a “negative tilt.” Many keyboards tilt “up,” meaning the top row of the keyboard is raised. If the screen is arm’s length away and you still can’t see what’s on screen, enlarge the text (or wear your glasses). Larger screens may need to be farther away than “arm’s length” for you to see everything properly.
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This means more and more people are working at a location other than their business office. By Brett Sears, PT
Brett Sears, PT, MDT, is a physical therapist with over 20 years of experience in orthopedic and hospital-based therapy. One of the most important things you can do while working from home and practicing COVID-19 physical distancing is to make time to exercise. The height of your desk should be between 25 and 30 inches, with the optimum height of 28.5 inches. However, these are soft guidelines that will vary with your height.
In situations where glare cannot be eliminated, employees should use a glare screen. Also, important – employees should keep screens clean to enhance visibility. Distance from the screen will vary per person, but recommended distance is between 20 and 24 inches. Without proper ergonomics, workers can suffer back, neck, wrist, and pelvic pain. The reason you may experience back pain at work is that unfortunately, our anatomy is not designed for long periods of sitting. “When you’re in a seated position, that puts the highest amount of pressure on the discs in the lumbar spine,” explains Adam Schell, MD, a spine surgeon.
Existing Home Office
Part of maintaining good posture is making sure you stretch and move around to give your body time to adjust. When you pull out of the office parking lot, you can take a deep breath and know you’re free for the rest of the day. But, when you’re already at home, distinguishing where work ends and the rest of your life begins can be difficult. Additionally, Hedge cautions to make sure the seat is not hitting the back of your knees because it can reduce blood flow and cause your feet and ankles to swell. It may be helpful to set an alarm to ring every hour to remind you to sit up properly while working. The slouch-overcorrect exercise is also a great maneuver to do to remind yourself to sit with proper posture.
- Working from home leaves you without access to the ergonomic features and support available in the office.
- To this end, key ergonomic concepts can be summed up with one word ‘N-E-W’.
- So make the most of these movement breaks by shaking out your muscles to get the blood flowing or even doing a lap around the living room to score some extra steps, encourages Geisel.
- This is meant to relieve stress and strain on your low back and neck.
While some might think of it as a mere status symbol, a large amount of thought went into the Aeron’s design. First introduced in 1994 with over eight million sold since (including at least one to Mark Zuckerberg) according to its website, the Aeron features adjustable arms, height, seat tilt, and lumbar support. Your back is unique so one of the most important things to look for when it comes to an office chair is how much you’re able to customize it to your specific needs. This means you’ll want to see the word “adjustable” as much as possible—adjustable seat, adjustable armrests, and adjustable height.