There was a time when working from home was a privilege that not many had but today, it's the new normal. Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world, things haven't been the same. All employers, even those who never imagined allowing their workers' such flexibility, had to make arrangements for their employees to work from home to ensure that business doesn't stop. While that did keep the businesses running, it also increased the incidence of health problems due to poor ergonomics.
When you're working at an office, you're provided with a proper workstation, a work chair, storage drawers, and everything else that you need to work comfortably. However, when you're working remotely, you either work from the couch, your bed, or the kitchen counter. Not many people consider setting up a proper home office, not because they don't know the impact of having a designated work area but because they are unaware of the risk they're putting themselves in.
If you've been working from home ever since the COVID-19 pandemic shook the world, you may already have started to feel the consequences which include pain in the lower back, shoulders, and neck, and consistent headaches. That, my friend, is because your home office is not fit for your health. If you don't take the right steps to make your home office ergonomic working space, you'll soon fall too unwell to work.
Why is Setting Up a Healthy Workstation at Home Important?
You may think that the chance to work from home is the best you could have asked for but trust us when we say that you might not like it very much a few years down the lane. The consistent neck, shoulder, and back pain that you've been experiencing lately might be because of an unhealthy work environment at home.
We're here to make you understand how important it's to set up a healthy workstation if you're working from home.
Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSD)
Not many remote workers consider setting up an ergonomic home office. One of the most common risks of working in an unhealthy home office is the higher chance of developing Musculoskeletal Disorders. If you're using a makeshift workstation and using the kitchen stool to sit while you're working, you can't even imagine the amount of stress you're putting your body in. Sitting in an incorrect posture for long hours puts excessive strain on the muscles of your body that can lead to chronic musculoskeletal problems. MSD will begin from pain in the back, neck, and shoulders and will exacerbate chronic musculoskeletal injuries that will make tasks as simple as sitting extremely painful.
Eye Strain
Another factor that not many remote workers think about is the lighting in their home offices. One aspect of setting up a healthy workstation at home is to install adequate lights to ensure your home office is lit just right. If the lights of your home office are too dim or too bright, they'll put excess stress on the eyes and lead to eye strain. Even the glare of the computer screen can cause eye strain. If you don't do anything about it, you'll first experience throbbing headaches that don't seem to settle with painkillers and later, weakening eyesight.
Productivity
If your workstation at home isn't comfortable, you might not be able to focus on your work. Your attention will keep wandering off because you're just not fully invested in your work. If your home office isn't equipped with an ergonomic desk and chair, your body will be in a constant state of discomfort. If you don't do something about it, the discomfort will start taking shape of pain, and you just can't expect the maximum productivity out of yourself if you're in pain. As a result, your productivity and efficiency will take a blow and that'll put you under more stress than you already are in.
You see, setting up a healthy workstation at home isn't just about having a designated working space at home where you can work without disturbance. There's so much more to it. Your health and physical and mental wellbeing are at a massive risk which should be a good enough reason to invest in the right equipment for your home office.
How Healthy is Your Home Office?
If we ask us how healthy do you think your home office is, how much would you rate it on a scale of 1 to 10? Even before you consider answering this question, you'll immediately wonder what home office? We know most of you don't even have a designated space that you can call a home office. You start working from wherever you feel like; from the bed, couch, kitchen counter, terrace, or the porch!
However, we've already discussed what you could be putting yourself in if you don't pay attention to the ergonomics of your home office. To help you with it, we've put together a checklist for home offices so that you know exactly what's missing in your home office and what you need to ensure your home office is ergonomics-friendly.
Is the Chair You're Using Ergonomic?
Since you'll be sitting in a chair most of the day to work, the first item on our home office checklist is the office chair. Are you using a chair that was lying around in your home? Or are you using your couch to sit and work? Or worse, sitting on the kitchen stool all day long while you use the kitchen counter as a temporary workstation? If the answer to any of these questions is a yes, you're at the highest risk of MSD and chronic health problems.
The first thing that you need in your home office to make it a healthy working space is an ergonomic chair like the Premium Ergonomic Office Chair (C7) that enables you to adjust the height as per your comfort. The chair should also have an option to adjust the seat depth and the armrest height. The backrest must be flexible and contoured to offer maximum support to your back. All of these features of a chair will ensure you're seated in the correct posture and aren't at risk of developing many serious health problems.
Are Your Feet Flat on the Floor?
Not many people working from home pay much heed to ensuring their feet aren't dangling in the air. Not having proper support for the feet puts the muscles and nerves behind the knees under excessive stress and may even lead to nerve compression. It can even compromise the blood flow to the lower extremities. This would lead to muscle fatigue. Make sure you're using a proper footrest.
Is There Sufficient Leg Space under the Desk
If your feet are flat on the floor, you don't need a footrest. But you've got to make sure there's enough leg space under the desk that enables you to stretch your legs between work. If there's not much space for the legs, your legs will soon get stiff from being placed in the same posture for several hours straight.
Is Your Work Desk at the Right Height?
This is one of the most important features of a healthy home office. Many individuals use anything available at home as a work desk be it a center table in their living room, kitchen counter, or a pile of pillows. You've got to make sure that the level of your work desk is suited to your height. Your best bet is to invest in a sit-stand workstation that allows you to use the desk as a regular work desk and convert it into a standing desk after intervals so you aren't sitting all day long. You can adjust the height of such workstations to suit your comfort and ensure that you don't have to stretch your neck and back or bend your back too much to reach the tabletop.
Can You View Your Computer Screen Easily?
Your computer screen must be arranged at an appropriate height and distance. It shouldn't be too high that you've to raise your head to read what's on display and it shouldn't be too low that you've got to bend your neck to view it. If your workstation is at the right height, your computer screen will be too. You can even invest in ergonomic computer monitor mounts that allow you to adjust the angle and level of your computer screen. If it's not at the perfect level, you might suffer stiff neck, pain in the shoulders and back, and headaches and migraines.
Is Your Keyboard at the Right Level?
Your keyboard and mouse should be placed at the same height. The height of the keyboard must be such that you don't have to over-stretch your wrists or flex them too much while you type. Your elbows must be at your sides comfortably. If your keyboard isn't at the right level, you're at a higher risk of RSI and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.
Are All Your Work Essentials within Your Reach?
You should arrange all your work essentials such that you don't have to bend or stretch too much and too often to retrieve them. Your workstation should be big enough to accommodate everything you need while you're at work.
How Well Ventilated is Your Home Office?
If your home office isn't ventilated, the air quality will be poor and that'll have consequences for your health. Make sure your home office is adequately ventilated. Your home office should have a window. If there's no window, install a proper exhaust system to ensure the air inside your home office isn't unhealthy for you.
Setting up a healthy home office isn't too hard. You just have to ensure all the factors related to ergonomics are addressed and your comfort is ensured. As long as you're comfortable at work, you'll be able to work efficiently and deliver what's expected from you or even more!
