Office Ergonomics

For any ergonomic initiative to be successful, it needs to be backed by an organizational culture that values the health, wellness, and effectiveness of employees.  Most top-down ergonomics initiatives fail to inspire employees to maintain appropriate postures and work habits long-term.

By instituting a culture of education and creating an environment where team members feel empowered to bring up the ergonomic issues that concern them, you can foster buy-in and fully reap the benefits of any ergonomic upgrades.

You don’t need to completely renovate your office to begin realizing the value from office ergonomics.  Here are a couple quick, easy and cost-effective ergonomic upgrades you can get started with today:

1. Provide every workstation with an adjustable monitor arm and keyboard tray. ($100-$400 per workstation)
2. Add a task/desk lamp to any workstations where paper documents are used ($100-$250 per task lamp)
3. Retrofit the workstations of team members with existing ergonomic health concerns by adding a Sit-to-Stand accessory. ($600-$1000 per workstation)
4. Upgrade worn out task chairs or any without an adjustable arm and lumbar supports. ($350-$800 per chair).

We mentioned earlier that the average white-collar office worker spends seven hours of their day sitting at a desk.  That’s close to 1700 hours per year sitting in your task chair.  You had better enjoy that chair!

Aside from the bed, you sleep in; there is no other single piece of furniture with which you will spend more time in physical contact. 

Since we spend such a significant portion of our day, and our lives, sitting on our task chairs it’s imperative that those chairs are helping, not harming our bodies.  A properly designed and configured ergonomic task chair can be the difference a life plagued by nagging chronic back pain and life without.

When buying a new ergonomic task chair, you should ensure it has the following features at a minimum:

• Adjustable armrests
• Seat height appropriate for your body shape and workstation height
• Lumbar support
• A comfortable seat

There are many more features that task chairs can come loaded with these days, but those are a few of the most important.  Ultimately, what is most comfortable for one person, may not be for another, so we always recommend you test out a few chairs yourself when shopping for a new task chair.

As equally as important as choosing the right chair, is appropriately configuring your task chair.  Of particular importance is adjusting the seat and backrest to allow you to lean all the way back into the chair. 

The armrests should also be at a height and position to gently support your arms as you type, and the chair should be adjusted in height until there is minimal pressure on your thighs when your feet are flat on the ground.

Significant research has been done over the past years on the adverse health effects caused by sitting for extended periods of time.  Chronic neck and back pain heightened risks of heart disease, cancer and diabetes, difficulty focusing and general discomfort.  The list of negative outcomes derived from prolonged sitting seems endless.

Fortunately, even small bursts of activity throughout the day can significantly offset many of these negative outcomes.  It’s recommended to alternate between sitting and standing at least every 30 minutes.

At first glance, that may seem unproductive, but with the right Sit to Stand desk, table or accessory, it doesn’t need to be disruptive at all.  The right tool will allow you to quickly alternate postures without interrupting your workflow.

The bottom line of why you should buy a sit to stand desk or accessory is this: people who regularly use sit to stand work tools report feeling more energized, healthier and productive.

So what’s the difference between a Sit to Stand desk, table and accessory?

Sit to Stand Tables

A Sit to Stand table is merely any table where the entire work surface can be raised and lowered at will, and without disrupting your work.  The table may be powered by a crank, pneumatic mechanism or an electric motor.  These have traditionally been the most widespread Sit to Stand solution.

Sit to Stand Desks

Height adjustable, or Sit/Stand desks, are essentially just a Sit to Stand table that is built into a desk or workstation rather than be self-supporting like a table.  It can sometimes be more expensive to incorporate height adjustability into a workstation or desk than purchasing an adjustable height table, but it has the added benefit of seamlessly integrating into the rest of the workstation or desk configuration.

Sit to Stand Accessories

etrofittable height adjustability accessories such as the Quickstand have taken the market by storm in recent years.  The primary benefit of a Sit to Stand Accessory is that it can be added to an existing desk or workstation, enabling the user to easily alternate between sitting and standing, without the expensive process of replacing entire worksurfaces.  While they offer limited work surface space on their own, they can be an excellent addition for individuals who spend most of their time at a computer without needing to reference paper documents.

The human head weighs approximately ten pounds, but for every inch forward you hold your head, the weight your neck has to support increases by another ten pounds!  It’s no wonder that just a small period of hunching over a laptop or leaning in to read your computer monitor can give you such a stiff neck and shoulders.

When you consider the results of a recent Microsoft study indicating that the average office-based employee spends seven hours per day using a computer, it’s clear that a work day stooped over your computer can put tremendous strain on your neck.

An adjustable monitor arm will allow you to position your monitor at the right height (top line of text just above eye level), correct depth (approximately one arm length away), and optimal orientation (the screen centred in front of your eyes but slightly titled away).

Even laptop users should consider an adjustable monitor arm.  Laptop screens are generally smaller than a regular computer monitor and are quite difficult to position in a manner that does not encourage leaning over the laptop.

If you don’t want to buy an additional monitor and monitor arm for your laptop, there are laptop holders which will help to raise the height of your built-in laptop screen to a more comfortable height.  Many adjustable monitor arms can also be equipped with accessories that facilitate lifting your laptop up to a more ergonomically correct position.

One of the most inexpensive ergonomic additions you can make to a workstation can also deliver immediate relief to people suffering from wrist or shoulder pain.  There are practically no situations where using an adjustable keyboard tray is not recommended. 

Poor hand positioning while typing is one of the most common causes of carpal tunnel syndrome, but it’s also one of the simplest to avoid.

When typing on a keyboard or scrolling with your mouse, your hands should be resting in a neutral position that is gently supported by the keyboard tray.  By positioning the keyboard tray so that your hands are resting just above your lap, you can minimize the amount of strain on your joints and pressure on your wrist. 

Now ask yourself, does your desk or worksurface sit at a height that is just about in your lap?  Unlikely, and even if it did, how difficult would it then be to read or write on paper documents from such a lowered height?

Adding an adjustable keyboard tray to a workstation allows each user adjust their keyboard and mouse height to reflect their body size, posture and work habits, eliminating the need to match users to preconfigured desks or make expensive alterations to workstations after they have been installed. 

Keyboard trays provide more bang for their buck than almost any other ergonomic accessory or tool you can buy and we recommend them to all our customers.

We spend most of our day staring at brightly lit screens and sitting under the glare of artificial overhead lighting; is it any wonder eye strain is one of the most common causes of headaches at work?

We aren’t going to spend too much time on the science behind why task lights are so beneficial, but ultimately it boils down to the fact that your eyes require different light levels for various tasks.  Seems obvious enough right?

When reading from a backlit screen, our eyes don’t require very much background light, and too much light can even cause a glare on the screen.  On the other hand, our eyes need significantly more light when working on tasks such as reading or writing on paper documents. 

A task light allows you to put light where you need it, ensuring your eyes receive the right amount of light no matter what task on which you might be working. 

Inexpensive and effective at reducing eye strain, task lights are an excellent tool for anyone who regularly works with paper documents.

Ergonomic footrests primary serves two purposes: 1) assist individuals whose work surfaces are too high to sit ergonomically, and 2) reduce the negative impact of sitting on blood circulation in the user’s legs.

To sit ergonomically, when you rest your feet flat on the ground, your knees should be at approximately a 90-degree angle, and your chair should place minimal pressure on your thighs.  If your work surface or chair is too high to allow your feet to rest flat on the floor, it can lead to poor posture and a host of ergonomic problems.

By adding an ergonomic footrest, you can compensate for this height difference and keep your body in the optimal posture all day at work, minimizing stress on your joints and improving blood flow.

If the seat cushion on your chair puts pressure on your thighs, it can gradually reduce circulation throughout your legs leading to stiffness or pain, cramping and contribute to the development of more serious health concerns such as blood clots and varicose veins.

An ergonomic footrest is the least commonly seen ergonomic accessory in most offices, and for some individuals, may be unnecessary.  However, for those who may have issues with circulation or improper worksurface/chair height, an ergonomic footrest can provide a significant benefit.