“Ergonomic” is a word we never heard of until about 15 years ago. It was discovered that many office equipments, computers or chairs were not built so that you could work on your computer without getting back, arm, or neck problems. The research was done and found that working in our new office environment needed the computer user to be sitting correctly in ergonomic chairs to stop this problem.
Companies
Now companies such as ErgoMounts were created to manufacture various pieces of equipment that would stop these problems from happening. For example, ErgoMounts manufactures a range of ergonomic monitor arms for the computer desk.
Working at home
It is wise for anyone who works at home to improve their home office ergonomically, so they don’t develop any problems. At work, there are supervisors that make certain everything are ergonomically correct, but at home working – most people don’t do what is needed to stop problems from developing.
What to remember
Here are some important ideas to remember:
- Be sure that the monitor screen is at eye level and at arm’s length and free from glare.
- Place work equipment used frequently at easy reach.
- Adjust your computer screen brightness and contrast at a comfortable level.
- Organize workload so you can vary tasks during the day.
- Mini breaks are important, get up, move around.
- Change between various neutral positions, regularly.
- Make certain your home office is comfortable as to temperature, natural and artificial light, with a task lamp for reading documents.
- You need an adjustable office chair that is comfortable and that you fit in well. It needs to have good back support as well as being height adjustable.
- Use a rest for a wrist with a keyboard that is adjustable and pad for your mouse with a rest for your wrist rest to evade wrist strain either down or up.
- Use a footrest or adjust your chair so you can rest the soles of your feet flat on the ground with knees bent at a 45-degree angle.
This will improve how comfortable you are and reduce any chances of musculoskeletal injuries and most of the time improves the quality of your work.