How to make your work from home ergonomically friendly

It’s no secret that the entire world is working from home, and you’re definitely not the first person to complain about the comfort of your dining room chairs and the use of your kitchen table as a home office desk. People who never thought it would be possible to work from home are now faced with the challenge of turning the area they once associated with Christmas dinners and home baking into a productive place of work.

If you’ve managed to get rid of all the distractions, which is challenging in itself, the next thing you’re probably looking to do is maximise your comfort during this time. Recently, the Guardian published a piece highlighting how people are adapting to home working life since lockdown. Most places of work have invested in ergonomic furniture to maximise your comfort, but this isn’t always an option at home. In this blog post, we’ve highlighted some of the key cheap, homemade ergonomic hacks visible below.

Home Ergonomic Hacks

Pillow under your feet

An ergonomic footrest is a feature under many a desk. The footrest encourages constant movement of your feet to encourage circulation. If you haven’t got an ergonomic footrest in the house, put your feet up on a box, a chair or worst case scenario, a pillow. Just make sure your thighs are still at a right angle to your hips.

Create a make-shift standing desk

Changing your posture throughout the day will help to remove any pain that comes from staying in one position throughout the day. We recommend creating a make-shift standing desk so you can vary between sitting and standing. This might mean stacking your largest books onto the ironing board but it will benefit your back in the long run!

Use a lumbar in the form of a rolled towel

Keeping you spine in that curved position is in all the ergonomic positioning pictures, not hunched but arched. This is especially important if you struggle with lower back pains. A rolled up towel is said to do the trick; simply roll the towel up and place it at the bottom of your spine.

Elevate your laptop

Laptops are never going to offer you the best ergonomic position but raising the top of your screen to eye height will reduce strain on your neck. When you are using the screen more than the keyboard, such as while reading something, it is highly beneficial to elevate the laptop. When you are typing a long document, you should place the laptop at the same height as your wrists to limit repetitive strain injury. Laptop placement is central to a strong ergonomic posture and should not be taken lightly.

Invest in Accessories

Although certain ergonomic features are expensive and can be hard to install, there are many form of ergonomic accessories that are affordable and easy to install. For example, if you are lucky enough to have a desktop, a monitor arm will help to position your computer screen in the perfect ergonomic position. A wrist rest might also help reduce any aches when typing or using the mouse.

If necessary, invest in a chair

If all of these tactics don’t work, sometimes it is necessary to invest in a home office chair. There are many affordable options that will dramatically improve your ergonomic structure and keep your productivity level up.