Working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic?
Here are some tips to make your home office more ergonomic-friendly.
Your workspace should be the perfect fit for you. For proper office ergonomics, the correct chair height, posture, and equipment placement are important as all this helps you be comfortable while you work and not too much unnecessary pressure is applied on your joints and muscles.
Working from home has many benefits. You can take a nap after lunch or just venture to the fridge and grab some snacks, take a mini-break to play with your dog, and regulate the temperature however you like. But when working from home brings with it so many benefits, it also has some cons. Now that so many people are working from home during this COVID-19 pandemic, an ergonomic setup in your home office is important.
Sitting hunched over your laptop in a dining table chair, or the floor, or even the bed for eight hours is helping no one. Your wrists, back, butt, neck, everything aches, but it’s not possible for all of us to spend so much on high-end office furniture. However, there are some changes you can implement to create a healthier, productive, and positive ergonomic environment within your home office. You might be able to pull this off with existing furniture and tools within your house or minimal and affordable additions.
There are three integral things that every workstation should comply with:
- The keyboard and mouse should be at the same level or below your elbows, not higher.
- Your feet should be on a footrest or flat on the floor, not dangling in mid-air.
- Your work should be easily visible without too much movement on your neck.
Here are some ways you can pull this off without too many purchases:
Better Angle over Your Keyboard
The biggest problem people face when working from home is the height of the chair, as a dining chair cannot be adjusted. When the height cannot be adjusted, the support to your back might not be optimal. The quickest solution, also the most effective one, albeit expensive is replacing your dining chair with an office chair, one that would let you adjust the arm and seat height to your preference.
If you already have an office chair and desk but are still not happy with the keyboard and mouse placement, keyboard trays are a good option as you can place your keyboard and mouse underneath the table, which would be better for ergonomics.
If you would not like to purchase an office chair, which is completely justified, you could add a pillow to the seat of your chair. It relieves a bit of the stress that the hard chair puts on your butt and also slightly raises you, giving you a better angle over the keyboard and mouse.
Feet Touching the Floor
Along with your arms and wrists being in an ergonomic position, your feet should also be planted on the ground. You could place a pillow at your feet, preferably a hard one, so that the floor rises up to meet you. A footrest might also be a good option, and you can easily get it from Amazon. Another option is to place a shoebox at your feet, elevating the ground for you.
Looking for an Ergonomic Evaluation in Berkeley, CA?
If you would like your home office to be of optimal comfort, contact Ergobility in the East Bay Area and schedule a consultation. You can also opt for a virtual one if you want to stay safe during the pandemic.
