Everyone wants to be comfortable while at work. Sitting at a desk for eight hours a day, five days a week can take a toll on your body. If your office isn’t yet equipped with the best ergonomic office furniture or you could use a little extra support, we’re here to help.
With these four easy to follow tips, you can hack your ergonomic office furniture to better suit your individual needs.
Find Your Perfect Measurements
Everyone has a different size body, a different height, and different lengths of limbs. This is why it’s important that you take the time to find the perfect measurements for you. These measurements include how far away your keyboard should be, how high your screen should be and how high or low your chair should be to reach optimal ergonomic comfort. Here is a list of specific guidelines for you to follow, but as a general rule of thumb your screen should always be at eye level to take away the strain from your neck, your feet should rest flat on the floor, and your knees should be bent at a 45-degree angle.
Get the Support That You Need from Your Ergonomic Office Furniture
Now that you’ve figured out the perfect measurements for your specific height, it’s time to fix any problems. If you find that your feet don’t touch the ground, consider using a step stool or a stack of books as a footrest. If your posture is the problem, try swapping out your hard office chair for a workout ball a couple hours a day. An ergonomic chair or standing desk are also great options if your back and hips hurt from sitting. To avoid carpal tunnel syndrome and weak wrists, consider getting a keyboard and mouse support pad. Or construct one yourself out of foam.
Make a DIY Ergonomic Office Furniture Laptop Stand
We’ve already talked about how your screen needs to be at eye level in order to relieve the strain and pain on your neck. Not everyone can have the luxury of having ergonomic office furniture like an adjustable monitor that they can move about freely. For those with unadjustable monitors or who work on a laptop, we have just the solution for you. You can easily adjust your screen height by using old manuals, books or magazines stacked up high. For a more stable and stylish option try finding a storage box, bucket or basket that you can flip upside down. This might take some time and patience until you find the perfect height for you, but once you do your neck and shoulders will thank you.
It’s that easy! With these three helpful ergonomic office furniture hacks, you have all you need to make a comfy and supportive office space that you can sit in comfortably all day long. Watch your pain melt away and your work productivity soar when you make your office more ergonomic.
For more tips on how to make your office a unique and comfortable space, check out our blog post “How to Implement Beautiful Colors in Your Office Design.”