Best Ergonomic Office Equipment For Homeworking Part 2

This is part 2 of a blog we have put together to hopefully help you understand what equipment you may need, and why, to work from home in comfort. Read part 1.

A good ergonomic setup should allow you to sit comfortably with the following ergonomic and postural pointers covered.

When Typing, Are Your Forearms Resting Comfortably Parallel With The Floor?

Once you have adjusted your sitting height, you need to check that you are positioned correctly relative to your desk or work surface. Your forearms should rest parallel with the floor while typing, with your arms bent 90° at the elbow. You also need to make sure that your shoulders are open, relaxed and in-line with your hips. If this is not the case, you are going to put unnecessary pressure on your arms, shoulders and back which will be uncomfortable and could lead to a musculoskeletal injury.

If you need to raise the height of your desk or work surface, a quick and easy fix would be to install a set of Desk Risers under the legs. These are stackable and allow a generous amount of height adjustment. You could also consider a height-adjustable workstation, like our competitively priced Freelift Sit Stand Workstation. The great thing about these units is that they require no setup and sit on top of your existing work surface so there is minimal disruption to your existing space. They also bring you the added benefits of sit stand working, so you can feel energised and focussed while you work.

Sit stand workstations are brilliant, but for a more permanent solution, you may want to consider replacing your existing setup with a sit stand desk. The Freedom Standing Desks are very popular and come at an affordable price tag considering they are electrically operated. These desks come in a variety of shapes, sizes and finishes so you can select on to suit your space.

Is Your Screen At Arm's Length Distance And Level With Your Eyeline?

Once you have your chair and desk setup correctly you need to make sure your screen is at eye level and at arm's length away. A downward or upward viewing angle will quickly lead to fatigue and discomfort in your shoulders and lower back. If the screen is too near or too far away it's really going to impede your capacity to work and will eventually lead to headaches and eye strain.

To avoid this, you could consider one of our LeBloc Monitor Risers. These are stackable and provide a simple and cheap solution for height adjustment. If you are a laptop user the Kensington SmartFit Easy Riser Laptop Stand or Shadow Laptop Stand are both cheap and robust options to position your laptop at a safe ergonomic height. For a superior solution, our Freelift Monitor Arm attaches your screen via a VESA mount and clamps to the desk, wherever you require it. These monitor arms offer flexible viewing angles, look great and free up valuable work surface space.

Is All Of Your Regularly Used Equipment Within Easy Reach?

The final part of a good ergonomic setup is to ensure you can position all regularly used equipment such as your keyboard, mouse, phone and paperwork within a comfortable distance. This will avoid the need to stretch and reach, which will certainly lead to discomfort and may even lead to an injury.

If you regularly reference paperwork and take notes then you could consider a document holder and writing slope such as the FlexDesk which is a great two-in-one ergonomic solution.

To round up, we now have a homeworking section on our website in which we have collated a number of products that are appropriate for working comfortably and efficiently at home. We have also created a Home Worker Office Equipment Bundle which provides an ergonomic office chair and sit stand workstation at a very competitive price.