What do you do when you first get in and drive? Adjust the seat so you can reach the pedals, see the road, and feel comfortable. Move the mirrors to make sure you have a clear view behind you and on either side. You can also change the position of the headrests and adjust the seat belts to shoulder height. These customizations make driving safer and more comfortable.For telecommuting(opens in new tab)it is important to make similar adjustments.
With a few ergonomic tips, everyone can set up their workspace safely and comfortably. Doing so reduces the chance of injury, increases comfort, and helps you stay productive.(opens in new tab) and concentrate.
No need to spend a bundle on a special chair.right office chair(opens in new tab) Some are helpful, but you also need to consider how your feet hit the floor, whether your wrists bend when typing or using a mouse, and other factors. It can be done using items found in or inexpensive purchases.
Do you have neck or back pain?here are some tips(opens in new tab) For a better office, courtesy of PCMag’s Jill Duffy.
get by with what you have
To learn how to set up an ergonomic home office, we spoke with Alan Hedge, emeritus professor of design and environmental analysis at Cornell University. I first interviewed him in October 2020 when this article first appeared.
He asked me what setup I use in my home office. At the time, I had just moved into a new apartment and had only a laptop on my kitchen table with straight-backed chairs.
“If you can put your hands flat on the table when you sit in that chair, then that laptop with a fairly thin keyboard is probably fine,” he said. It’s often a few inches lower than your desk, he added, making things like keyboard trays unnecessary for those who work from home.
Of course, whether the table is the right height is relative. It depends on your height. Hedge also gave some tips for making your home office more ergonomically friendly with inexpensive items like rolled towels and laptop risers for lumbar support. yeah.
According to Hedge, there are four things to keep in mind when setting up an ergonomic home office, but before you start, consider what kind of work you’ll be doing and what equipment you’ll need. equally important.(opens in new tab).
What equipment do you need? What kind of work do you do?
What equipment do you need to work with? Do you have a desktop, laptop, or tablet? How many monitors do you use? Do you often look at books or physical paper? Do you need other peripherals?
And what kind of work do you do with the equipment? “A person’s sitting posture is very dependent on what they are doing with their hands,” says Hedge. So before you make any changes, consider how you spend most of your time working. Typing for hours at a time?Are you a graphic designer who relies heavily on the mouse?(opens in new tab) Or a stylus? If you have long hours of work to do, customize your setup to do it safely and comfortably. For example, if you read physical paper, you may need to add a lamp to your desk.
Four focus areas for an ergonomic office
Just as you adjust your car to fit your body over and over again, your home office needs to be similarly customized. In fact, good ergonomic posture in the office is not much different than sitting in a car. This means your feet are flat and your legs are straight and your body is tilted slightly backwards rather than vertically.
Concentrate on getting set up right by adjusting these four areas.
1. Head and neck
To avoid neck, shoulder and back injury, keep your head perpendicular to your neck. According to Hedge, this position minimizes strain.
“Unfortunately, if you’re using your laptop on your kitchen table, the screen is too low, and you’ll be bending your neck forward,” says Hedge.
In the short term, it’s probably harmless, he added. But for long-term setups, consider mounting your laptop on a laptop riser and using an external keyboard.(opens in new tab) and mouse. If you have a monitor, use a book to raise it to a comfortable eye level. This keeps the head and neck in a neutral stacked position.
2. Hand and wrist position
Your hands and wrists should be in the same neutral position as your head. Extend your arms and hands forward and lay them flat on the table. The hands, wrists, and forearms are virtually flat, which is what you want. What you don’t want is wrist hinges.
“Make sure you can use whatever input device you’re using in what’s called a neutral hand posture as much of the time as possible,” says Hedge. So adjust your workspace accordingly. You may need to change the height of your table or chair if possible, or move your keyboard or mouse closer or further away.
Hedge says to keep your arms and wrists clean and straight. Arms should not be bent across the sides or across the midline.
3. Sitting posture and back support
“There’s a myth that you should sit at a 90-degree angle so that your core is perpendicular to the floor,” says Hedge. “most of us [ergonomics experts] I’ve spent my life trying to tell people not to sit. “
Better: Find a posture that allows you to see the screen while sitting back in a way that supports your lower back. It may be similar to sitting in the driver’s seat of a car and leaning back slightly.
If you don’t have a fancy office chair with a rocking back, try placing a cushion, pillow, or towel behind your hips. It does some good things. You can buy inexpensive chair cushions designed for lumbar support. Hedge also suggests looking at orthopedic seats (see BackJoy’s line of posture seats for an example).(opens in new tab)). These saddle-like products can be used on any chair and tilt your pelvis into a more ergonomic position. Shorter people may find that having a footrest helps them maintain proper posture.
Additionally, Hedges is careful not to let the seat hit the back of the knees, as blood flow can be reduced and the feet and ankles can swell.
4. Behavior
A final focus has to do with behavior.take frequent short breaks(opens in new tab).
“According to the research we have done, the ideal routine is about every 20 minutes, take a short break where you stand and maybe a minute or two to stretch a bit or even better, walk and have a cup of tea. Brewing, or coffee,” said Hedge. Movement improves circulation, comfort and performance. It also reduces the risk of injury.
Hedge also recommends other changes that limit how long your body can do one repetitive motion. For example, if your job involves too much typing, consider using a speech-to-text app or dictation software. That way, you can reduce the total time your fingers are on the keyboard.
I asked Hedge about standing desks(opens in new tab) There are also sit-stand desks, he said, which are harmless to have, but need to be used properly.
“Standing hurts more than sitting. The reason I have a chair is because if I had to stand all day to work, it hurts my body more than sitting all day. because it takes a lot of money,” he said. “Sitting is not bad for you. Sitting all day is bad for you, just as standing motionless all day is bad for you.”
When using a sit-stand desk, the optimal cycle is to sit and work for 20 minutes, then stand for 8 minutes, then move around for 2 minutes. According to Hedge, people start leaning after standing for about eight minutes or longer. Additionally, every time you change the height of your desk, you’ll need to adjust all other workstation components, such as your keyboard and monitor, to return your posture to a neutral position.
cumulative effort
Hedge suggested that creating an ergonomic office is like putting pieces of a puzzle together. He said people often make the mistake of buying an expensive chair and calling it a day.
“I have to do all four [of the recommended customizations], will not give the best results. Even if you adjust your computer screen to the correct height, you won’t get the best results without adjusting your sitting position, or adjusting your keyboard and mouse.Keep a neutral posture and move your body throughout the day. The overall effect of continuing is far greater than the effect of individual changes.”
Perfect equipment for ergonomic home office
Here’s an overview of some of the mentioned equipment and tools that may help you customize your home office more ergonomically.
For more advice on working remotely, see how to make meetings more accessible(opens in new tab) What employers can do to make hybrid work policies successful(opens in new tab).
This article originally appeared on PCMag.com.(opens in new tab), Mashable’s sibling site. PCMag.com(opens in new tab) A technology authority, providing lab-based independent reviews of the latest products and services.
