| Ergonomic desks and workstations are becoming | | | | 4. Place work surface at a height that allows legs |
| an essential part of your office. The average | | | | to fit comfortably underneath with feet flat on |
| office worker spends seven hours or more a day | | | | floor. Use a footrest if needed. This encourages |
| seated at a desk. The wrong office furniture can | | | | an upright posture which is best for a relaxed |
| cause you pain in your back, neck, arms, and | | | | spine, keeps you comfortable, and promotes |
| wrist. Get a desk, chair, and work space that | | | | good blood flow to your legs |
| helps provide better posture. In some cases, a | | | | 5. Keyboard should be located at a height that |
| poorly designed workstation can even contribute | | | | allows the worker to key with the upper arms |
| to long-term or permanent injury. These tips will | | | | hanging relaxed from shoulders. If it is so high that |
| help lead to better posture. | | | | you have to lift your shoulders to use it, you're |
| 1. Place the monitor directly in front and centered | | | | carrying all that weight and tension in them. |
| about the user. Holding your neck to one side or | | | | 6. Elbows should be roughly at right angles to |
| the other for a prolonged period of time can | | | | allow the wrists to be fairly straight. This also has |
| cause neck tension, fatigue, and headaches (as a | | | | to do with being relaxed in your body, typing by |
| result of the muscle stress.) Placing the monitor | | | | your fingers alone, rather than the entire upper |
| directly before you will help to alleviation those | | | | torso It also may reduce risk of carpal tunnel, as |
| possibilities. | | | | the wrist remains flat, offering less strain and |
| 2. Place the monitor at a distance of more than | | | | abrasion to the tendons. |
| 16" from the user and the viewing angle between | | | | 7. Keyboard should have a slight negative tilt. |
| 0° to negative 18°. .Similarly, if the | | | | 8. Place the pointing device (mouse) at the same |
| monitor angle is inappropriate, the user is going to | | | | height as the keyboard and as close to the |
| be straining muscles to see it. These can be | | | | keyboard as possible. The mouse is used |
| muscles in the neck or eye muscles. Being too | | | | frequently throughout the day. Minimizing the |
| close to the monitor poses a couple risks. One is | | | | amount of reaching you're doing to operate it will |
| eye strain, as the eye muscles struggle to curve | | | | reduce stress, strain and fatigue. |
| the lens sufficiently to focus, and another is the | | | | 9. Always maintain contact with back rest of chair |
| risk of radiation from CRTs when one is closer to | | | | to minimize back discomfort. The support helps |
| the screen. | | | | you to relax muscles which would otherwise be |
| 3. Keep CPU within arm's reach but off of the | | | | working to hold your body up. |
| work surface. We don't need to touch the CPU all | | | | 10. Take various 20 second - 2 minute rest |
| that often these days. You'll still want it close | | | | breaks regularly between regularly scheduled |
| enough that you can insert a CD or USB RAM | | | | breaks. You'll find you focus better and stress |
| card without overreaching, straining or crawling | | | | less, both psychologically and physically. Feeling |
| around on your hands and knees, but the CPU no | | | | better, you'll also be a more productive worker |
| longer needs to be atop your desk. | | | | this way. |