While you all are practising social distancing for the greater good and working remotely amid the CoronaVirus pandemic, the situation has become a pain in the neck for most of you. Unlike the productive office work environment, you are now working in an unfavourable ergonomic condition for more than 8 hours – as you work from the couch, bedroom or hunched over your dining table. That affects your body posture – your back starts hurting, you feel a spasm in the neck and your body feels sore from the prolonged sitting in an uncomfortable position.
WFH is going to be there for a few more weeks now, so you are in for a long haul. You need to be more cognizant of the working environment and routine so that you can combat and deflect the illnesses caused by working in compromised conditions. Proper office setup will help you and your working family members minimize the strain on back, neck and shoulder. Ergonomics aids in learning the needs of your body and in creating a workstation where you can work all day long defying the discomfort and distractions.
In this blog, we will share with you the tiny tweaks you can do in your home without investing much and some shopping inspiration in case you want an upgrade. These tips will help you create a productivity-enhancing, flexible and ergonomic workstation at home. Here are the tips;
1. Invest in ergonomic furniture
In many cases, people do not have the basic ergonomic chair with standard ergonomic settings like lumbar support, synchro-tilt technology and seat depth. The chair is not functional enough to withstand 8 hrs long use. It is good to keep in mind that your productivity is directly connected to the comfort of your chair and other elements of your workstation. And for this reason alone, you need to get an ergonomic chair with the aforesaid features. The synchro-tilt mechanism changes your static position into a dynamic position. If you have a basic chair then you can add a pillow beneath to improve the height and to develop lumbar support, roll up a towel and keep it behind your lower back.
Ergonomic desks are another must-have item for the outstanding in-house workstation. Using kitchen slab and the dining table can stimulate musculoskeletal disorders. The key to avoiding such health problems is a height-adjustable desk. It is resourceful and versatile – you can work as per your preferences; it lets you do your best work without getting demotivated and exhausted.
2. Bring your equipment to the correct height
Monitors and laptops should be placed at eye level with the user. The user should not look up or down while working, these positions can cause strain in neck muscles and squinting of the eyes. As per the ergonomics, users should not move their neck left, right, up and down while looking at a display monitor.
Additionally, do not ignore the strain you feel by the excessive use of the wrist in an awkward position. Carpal tunnel syndrome is not a joke, it can cost you huge medical bills. Make sure the mouse fits well in your palm and glides well. Your keyboard and mouse should be configured in a good position. They should be in level with or below your elbows. If you have a budget, then spend on the ergonomic equipment.
3. Clock your body fatigue
Even when you sit in the world’s best ergonomic chair, after a certain period, your body will start feeling tired. The advanced chairs keep you in the upright position so that you can remain focused but the prolonged usage transmits your discomfort in the direction of pain. The solution is to ration your work schedule with stretching, exercising and walking in it. Take the opportunity to sit up after every 45 mins and provide a little relief to the stiff muscles. You can also change multiple postures with desk exercises and keep the body active. Set a timer to go off every 45 minutes and then indulge in low-level activities like preparing coffee or evening snacks for yourself.
4. Use ergonomic footrest
Keeping an ergonomic footrest under your desk is necessary for better blood circulation. It gives additional support to the rest of your body and reduces back-pain issues by enhancing a body-positive posture. While working, your feet should be flat on the floor or the ergonomic footrest.
5. Protect your eyes
In this remote working scenario, you are working and continuously interacting with your clients and colleagues with the technology. You must be spending a significant amount of your time in front of a desktop, laptop or a mobile’s screen. Screen time can heighten headaches and can affect your eyes, sleep cycle and your well-being. Keep all your apps in “dark mode” and turn down the brightness level of your desktop screen with contrast settings.
6. Wrapping up
According to an ergonomic expert, ergonomics is not just about productivity, it is also about getting meaningful work done successfully. We hope the tips we presented above enable you to create the best home office and keep you healthy. If you need to know more about our ergonomic furniture to furnish your dream home workstation, you can visit shop.hofindia.com and explore our stunning collection!
