To keep your body from feeling achy while working at home, here are some tips for you to follow:
DON’T hunch over your laptop
Fit the backrest curvature of your chair to the small of the lower back to avoid lumbar discomfort.
It’s easy to work on your laptop for a few hours on the weekend but doing so for 40-plus hours a week can lead to back, shoulder, and neck strain. If you can, use an external monitor or laptop stand (with an external keyboard and mouse) to prop up your screen. When looking at the screen, your eye line should be level with the address bar on your web browser.
DO work at an appropriate height
Find a working height so that your elbows naturally fall flush with your table/desk height. This will promote better wrist alignment rather than impingement or carpal tunnel stress.
Illustration courtesy of Humanscale Consulting
DO use an office chair if possible
Adjustable features on an office task chair will save you from lumbar and neck discomfort.
When sitting or standing, elbows should be at a 90-degree angle to make wrists as straight as possible.
Do follow the 20/20/20 rule
For every 20 minutes spent looking at a computer screen, you should spend 20 seconds looking at something else 20 feet away. This gives your eye muscles a break and helps reduce eye strain.
Illustration courtesy of JustStand.org
Poor office ergonomics can cost you and , or your employee’s issues over the long term. We suggest that it’s a good time for you to have an Ergonomic Assessment done at your home office or standard office done. Take a look at our Ergonomic Assessment division for more information.