What should my home workstation look like?

With Boris Johnson advising the majority of workforces to work from home, if at all possible, we wanted to offer some advice and tips around your home workstation, to ensure you can work pain free. Postural faults are most commonly seen when people work from home at a make-shift, work station. Poor posture can lead to muscular tightness which can cause pain and discomfort. This, in return, reduces productivity and increases both stress and tension. 

In this blog we will advise you on the perfect home workstation along with offering some tips on how you can maintain a good working posture throughout the day.

Firstly, let’s start with the perfect home workstation. Not many people get their work space perfect in work, never mind at home, but we can always work towards the perfect set up. The same rule applies when we discuss posture. No one has a perfect posture, but like anything we can work towards this and try to get as close to perfect as possible. This way you can reduce excess stress and load on the body, meaning you can work pain in a comfortable position which helps you to live a pain free life.

The perfect home workstation should look something like image 1 below. A comfortable high back chair with a substantial desk is vital to ensure you keep a good posture when working from home. Your monitor should be directly in front of you, with the top of the monitor at eye level. This guidance leads us nicely onto seat positioning. Your seat height is dictated by the top of your monitor being at eye level. Your back rest should be supportive and comfortable. There is some wriggle room in this and it often comes down to comfort, we would advise the back rest being at a slight angle, so it’s somewhere between bolt upright and the bad boy car racer position. If the seat height means your feet aren’t touching the ground, we always advise to put your feet on a rest/support, so your knees are bent at 90 degrees and feet are supported. Your keyboard and mouse should be at the edge of the desk, (as you can see in image 1) with any paper work you need placed between your keyboard and monitor on an angled rest. Your elbows should be bent at 90 degrees, which dictates how close your chair is to your desk. You should sit with your back rested against the seat and head in a neutral comfortable position.

If you can set up your home workstation like image 1 below and bear in mind the points we discussed, your posture will be in the perfect position, to allow you to work pain free by reducing the amount of stress and excess load on your body.

Once you have your home workstation set-up, there are a number of ways you can maintain a good posture throughout your working day: 

Breaks – Regular breaks are key to maintaining a good posture. We advise a break every 45 minutes, which should last for at least 2 minutes and include a walk and time away from your computer screen. 

Hydration – Drinking 2 litres of water is important to remaining hydrated during your working day. Staying hydrated helps to reduce fatigue levels which can lead to poor posture. 

Stretches – Regular hip, neck and back stretches through the day will help you to maintain a good posture.

Stay tuned for more information on which stretches are the most effective and practical when working from home. We will also be advising you on how to set up other home workspaces, including your kitchen table and sofa. We will be offering top tips on home working and some do’s and don’ts.

If you have any questions regarding your home workstation please drop us a message on our Instagram/Facebook – LB Physiotherapy. Alternatively, you can call us on 01204 800 727.

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