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Anyone who has to sit at work all day will likely be well aware of the problems caused by a badly set up desk. Poor posture can cause musculoskeletal problems, as well as eye strain, headaches and even Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) in extreme cases. But not everyone has easy access to an ergonomics consultant who can come in, analyze your working position and recommend fixes. So here’s a quick selection of DIY ergonomics tips to make your day at the desk a more comfortable one, whether at home or in the office.
Stand Up
Ideally, don’t sit all day if you can avoid it. A Lancet study found that a sedentary lifestyle could have even more significant health consequences than previously thought and recommended an hour of exercise a day for people who sit for eight hours or more. [1] Make sure to get up and move around during the day, as often as possible, and at least once an hour. Consider walking around to make phone calls, if possible, or having walking meetings, instead of sitting in the boardroom. Standing desks are one option to counteract the health effects of sitting all day, and some options will allow you to switch between sitting and standing for variety.
Sit Up
If you do have to sit all day, get your posture right. Your legs should be at a 90-degree angle, with your feet flat on the floor. You shouldn’t feel pressure under your thighs from the edge of your chair. Your elbows should also be at a 90-degree angle when you’re typing, and your wrists should be as straight as possible. Your lower back should be supported in its natural inward curve, with your upper back and neck straight and your shoulders comfortable at your sides. In this TEDx video, Esther Gokhale discusses sitting in a way that is right for your natural posture.
Sit Down
The right kind of chair is important. Having an adjustable one that allows you to move your back support, change the seat height, etc. is ideal. At a minimum, you want one with lumbar (lower back) support to prevent you from slouching and bending your spine in the wrong direction. If nothing else is available, a rolled up towel can do this. You’ll need to experiment with rolling it at the right thickness for your posture. Armrests are a good idea too, and should support your arms at a right angle, with your shoulders comfortably relaxed.
Type and Click
Getting the right keyboard and mouse for you is also important. Again, ideally, you want your arms to be straight without favoring one side or the other. Focus on having the B key directly in front of you since the letter keys will probably be used most often. If you have a job that focuses on numerical keys, like data entry, align your keyboard so that your arms are straight as much as possible.
A mouse that is comfortable in your hand while also not straining your wrist is ideal. Again, if you use it a lot, you want your arms straight. For right-handed people, one option to consider is a shortened keyboard without the numeric keypad on the right. Then you can easily have the mouse closer to the keyboard, keeping you from having to reach out to the side.
Look Ahead
If you’re sitting straight up, the top of your screen should be slightly above your direct line of sight so that you can look ahead or slightly down without moving your neck too much. If you wear bifocals, you’ll need it slightly lower to avoid having to raise your head to see through the lower half of your glasses.
If you use two (or more) screens, they should be close together and at the same height, again, to prevent having to move your head too much to view them. Angle both screens toward you, and if you use one screen more than the other, have that one slightly more to the center than the other.
This handy tool will help you see just where everything should be in relation to your height. But remember, this is based on a generic body type and may need some adjustment if you have a longer torso or legs, for example.
Look Away
Staring at a screen all day can damage your eyes, but there are a number of ways to counteract this. Follow the 20:20:20 rule by looking away from your screen every 20 minutes, for 20 seconds, at something at least 20 feet away. If you use a Windows computer, check that ClearType is switched on and set up to make your screen as easy to read as possible. Increase the zoom level in your browser if you find the text too small to read without squinting or leaning toward the screen. Think about the screen brightness, especially at night, and consider turning it down in lower light situations.
Go Mobile
Even if you’re not at your regular desk, take the time to set up your workstation as well as you can. If you work from home regularly, think about applying this advice there, too, rather than just making do with the dining table. Invest in an adjustable chair and a desk at the correct height if you can. If you’re hotdesking at work, take time at the start of the day to set yourself up comfortably. It’s easy to think, “I’m just here for a day,” but 10 minutes at the beginning of the day could ensure you don’t end it in pain. You’re also likely to work more effectively if you’re not distracted by discomfort.
See a Specialist
All of this is generic advice and shouldn’t be taken as a replacement for having an ergonomics professional assess your needs and make recommendations. If you feel your workstation could be improved for the sake of your physical health, speak to your manager, HR representative or Occupational Health department to see if this can be arranged. In the meantime, however, there’s nothing to stop you from taking control yourself and making the changes that you can.
References[1] Donnelly, L. (2016).
Office Workers Must Exercise for an Hour a Day to Counter Death Risk [online]. Available
here. [Accessed 10th August 2023.]
