More of us are working from the comfort of their own home than ever before. However, the term “comfort” should be used loosely: As all too many people have found, working from home can be an awkward and sometimes physically painful switch. This discomfort comes for many reasons, including the physical: Since many of us have never worked from home for extended periods of time, we have no sense of proper ergonomics in our home offices.
So, what are the various benefits of proper ergonomics, and how can you use these practices to increase your productivity and comfort? Here are some tips.
Benefits of Work From Home Ergonomics
- Reduce pain
- Prevent strain and injury
- Increase productivity
- Increased comfort level
- Increased energy
- Reduce fatigue & discomfort
- Keeping your spine aligned
Proper ergonomics at home have multiple benefits, even if you are working from home. First, setting up your workstation properly can dramatically reduce your pain levels and minimize the risk of developing some sort of repetitive strain injury that can come from holding your body incorrectly when writing or typing. Second, studies have found that appropriate ergonomics can increase your productivity, potentially by as much as 25%. Appropriate ergonomics can also reduce your errors and make you more comfortable.
Many people have their work offices optimized from an ergonomic perspective, but not their home office, as they never spent much time working from there. Of course, that situation has now changed dramatically, and many of us will spend the foreseeable future working from home. This heavy amount of time that we will spend in our living rooms or home offices makes work from home ergonomics even more important.
Laptop Ergonomics
Unfortunately, the design of laptops often forces users to trade between having bad neck posture or bad posture of the hands and wrists. However, there are things users can do to assure proper laptop ergonomics. External devices that alter your hand or neck position can be exceptionally helpful. Barring that, you should attempt to keep their wrists in the most neutral position possible. You should also regularly stand and stretch. Doing so will help to prevent injury and soreness.
Desktop Ergonomics
Many of us will spend more time than ever sitting at our desktop. Thankfully, proper desktop ergonomics are achievable. Some basic tips include keeping you monitor roughly an arm’s length away from your head. Just like a laptop, strive to keep your wrists in the most neutral position possible, even while using your keyboard and mouse, and try to keep them at roughly the same level as your elbow. You should also adjust your chair so it is above or the same height as your knees. Last, keep any important objects that you will use regularly as close to your body as possible. This will help to minimize the amount of awkward bending and reaching you will need to do.
Let Us Help!
We are happy to offer our virtual ergonomic assessments to you so you can make sure you are using proper ergonomics and have everything you need for a healthy work from home set up. Learn more about all of our virtual services and book today.
