The number of people choosing to work from home has been on the rise. However, one of the areas largely ignored is the ergonomics features of the home office. Some people, unknowingly, work under very unhealthy conditions. From poor working posture, long sitting hours, poorly lit spaces to a very small room, some of the home offices are simply a danger to your overall health.
The good news is that you can easily create a modern ergonomic home office. If you are working from home, there are several ways you can give your office improved ergonomic features to enhance your productivity and overall health. Here are tips on how to creating a modern ergonomic home office:
1. The Right Height
One of the crucial things to take into consideration when designing an office is the posture. That includes the home office. How are you sitting in the office? Are slouching because the desk is too short? Well, you need to get the right desk/chair height and more so customised height to address the problem of bad posture.
2. Adequate Lighting
One of the highly recommended minimalist home office designs is proper lighting. With most people working from home spending most of the time in front of a computer, they are likely to experience squinting and straining of eyes. This impact can be diffused by introducing more natural light in the room. Start with opening windows to allow for more natural light. You can also enlarge your windows to allow more natural into the office. If you still need more light, a supplemental desk lamp will do magic.
3. Desk Space
For a home office with desks, you need to consider the issue of space. Small and squeezed offices are ineffective and less productive. You might also be forced to bring the computer screen close to your eyes, hence affecting your screen view. To enhance your productivity, you need to create enough space for your desk. If space limited, hang your screen on a suitable monitor arm for easy adjustment. The recommended distance between you and the screen is 800 mm.
4. Extra Leg Room
How does your desk allow your legs to move? Well, for efficient working and peak productivity, you need to have your legs moving freely. There should be enough space for you to stretch your legs freely. Free legs movement is crucial as it promotes circulation, which crucial for efficient work. Otherwise, you will feel bored, tired and uncomfortable after working for short hours. Tip: if you are hitting the wall when you stretch legs, you don’t adequate space. The minimum space to the wall should be 600 millimetres.
5. Keep The Office Tidy
One of the biggest mistakes that people working from home makes is keeping office untidy. To design a modern ergonomic home office, you must keep your room tidy. The trick is to keep what you frequently use close to you. Besides, everything in the right place. If you have files, keep them in the right place. We recommend small wooden cabinets for filing purposes. You should remove anything you don’t need or use in the office. If you have extra chairs, remove them to create space and keep the office clean.
6. Get a Perfect Perch
Getting the right office chair height is another factor that significantly affects your office ergonomic features. Unfortunately, most people don’t get this right, and it ends up effects that sitting position and the overall posture. Getting a perfect perch is pretty simple. Just stand next to the office chair and check whether the sitting position is knee height. That’s the recommended height.
7. Take a Stand
Studies have shown that people working in the office are the biggest victim of lifestyle diseases. The most highlight reason is sitting for long hours. Standing regularly can help to improve not only your healthy but also your productivity. Sitting for long hours can cause poor digestion and circulation. Take some time to stand or use height adjustable desks to keep working while standing. Similarly, standing for long hours is also harmful. So, if your work includes standing, take regularly sitting breaks.
8. Avoid Using Laptops
Are you using a laptop for your office works? Well, that is something most people do but what they don’t is the damage they exposing themselves to with these gadgets. Laptops promote poor posture. Due to the position of the screen, you will find that you are slouching to type. So, if your work includes using a computer most of the day, consider investing in a quality desktop to avoid poor posture.
9. Keyboard and Mouse Position
When it comes to ergonomic features for modern home office, everything around your workstation matters. The keyboard and mouse positions are a key thing to take into consideration. They greatly affect your posture, and that’s why you need to put them in their right position. If you are struggling to reach these devices, then you will definitely experience excessive fatigue or injuries. Have them in a place where you can access them without breaking any of the neutral positioning rules.
10. Get Some Green
Various researches have should that exposure to nature have a positive impact on worker’s productivity and performance. That’s why getting some green into the office is highly recommended. Having plants in the room helps to reduce stress. Stress is one of the biggest contributors to low productivity. So, with plants in your home office, you will boost your moods and at the same time enhance productivity. There are many indoor plants to select from, but you can also get some from your garden.
Creating a modern ergonomic home office is not as difficult as most people think. What you need is to get everything right, including the features that improve posture while at your work station. Boosting your mood while working is also crucial, and that’s why plants are crucial. Try these tips, and you will be surprised by your home office transformation.