It has been a year since people started working from home due to the pandemic. While some people already started to work in the office, others have continued their work-from-home arrangements with their employers.
If you are one of these employees, you are likely aware of the struggles of using proper ergonomics while you work at home. While physical activities can reduce the risk of chronic diseases and improve your immune system, you also have to make sure to maintain proper posture to avoid issues in the future.
Here are some ways to use ergonomics to make working at home comfortable for you.
Sit Properly While Working
The first thing you can do is quite practical. You should sit properly while working. Avoid hunching and keep your back straight. Maintaining a proper posture can reduce muscle strain, improve spine health and decrease strain on different parts of the body.
If you use a laptop, you can use an external monitor or prop up the laptop using a laptop stand. You can also use an external mouse and keyboard so your hands will be at the proper level while you are working. Your line of sight should be at the same level as your browser’s address bar.
Use a Suitable Desk Height
When you first worked at home, you had to make do with the table and chair you had at home. But a year into this arrangement, you should already have a suitable table or desk that promotes ergonomics. If not, you should look for a desk or table that allows your forearms to be parallel with the floor while you are working. This allows you to avoid health issues, such as carpal tunnel syndrome. You can also opt to get a desk that allows you to adjust the height if you want to stand while working on your computer.
Get an Ergonomic Chair
Aside from a good desk, you should also look for an ergonomic chair suitable for working on your computer for hours on end. A regular chair at home will not provide the support you need while working the whole day. Office chairs are specifically designed to provide lumbar and neck support to prevent discomfort. They are also adjustable, so you’ll be comfortable while you work on your computer the entire day.
When choosing a chair for your workstation at home, you should make sure you can adjust the height, and the seat has enough depth and width to allow you to sit comfortably. The padding on the chair should also make it comfortable to sit for long periods. You can also add a cushion to increase the comfort level while using the chair. The chair should also provide suitable lumbar support and has a wide backrest that is also adjustable.
Rest Every Once in a While
When people work at home, they sometimes forget to rest. But you should remember that you should take care of yourself even if you are working at home. One way for you to do this is to rest your eyes once in a while. You can use the 20/20/20 rule, where you spend around 20 seconds focusing on something around 20 feet away after working on your computer for 20 minutes.
Following this rule allows you to give your eye muscles a break while working. Resting your eyes can prevent issues with your eyes in the future. But if you develop meibomian gland dysfunction due to your work, you always have several MGD treatment options to deal with the issue. These options can help you prevent losing your eyesight due to complications in the dysfunction.
Walk Around Regularly
Standing up and walking around is also another way for you to take care of your health while working at home. Since you do not need to walk from your car to the office building or walk from your desk to the water fountain, the volume of physical activities you normally do has gone down since you started working from home.
To remedy this, you should get up once in a while and walk around the house. You can go out and breathe the fresh air and have a bit of vitamin D from the sun before going back to work. The main goal is to reduce the health risks when sitting for a long time. If you are taking a call on your mobile, you can go around the house while talking to the caller. You can also set aside five minutes to walk around the house for every hour you work in front of the computer.
Working from home highlighted the importance of ergonomics while sitting in front of the computer the whole day.
