Good Office Ergonomics

2119 Views
No Comment(s)
Good Office Ergonomics
  • Share
  • Share

Irrespective of whether you are at work or at play, you need to adopt the right posture. This will not only boost your efficiency but also enable you to prevent musculoskeletal disorders (MSD). You need to be constantly aware that shifting body posture frequently while engaged in performing an extended task would prevent any sense of discomfort and tiredness.

When you are busy with the computer, set up your computer and work station such that it allows you to adopt a relaxed and easy posture. This of course depends on your body type and the surrounding infrastructure. You will however do well to follow the tips given below:

office-ergonomics-1

Back Support Ergonomics Tips

  • Utilize chairs which provide good support to the lower back.(Please refer detail1).
  • Alter and fine tune the level of your chair as well as the working surface such that you are able to sit comfortably and without any strain. The idea should be to conform to your natural body position and not put it under any undue pressure. Adjust your work surface and chair height to assume a comfortable and natural body posture (Please refer detail 2).

Leg posture tips

  • Remove any clutter that may have accumulated below the desk so that you are able to position your legs and stretch them when required.
  • If you find it difficult to rest your feet on the ground without any strain, go for a footrest so that your feet can rest on it.

office-ergonomics-2

Arm and shoulder comfort and ergonomics

  • Position the keyboard as well as the mouse on the same level as your elbow, which would allow the upper arms to drop down by your sides without any difficulty or strain.(Please refer detail 3.)
  • As you type, position the keyboard such that the mouse or trackball is next to the keyboard. (Please refer detail 4.)
  • Make sure that you do not have to stretch for items that you frequently use. Keep them in close proximity.

office-ergonomics-3

Good wrist and finger posture guidelines

  • Do not strain your wrists by either bending them down or curling them up when typing. Keep them straight. Make use of the legs of the keyboard if that is helping you maintain the right wrist posture.
  • Your wrists and fingers must seem to float just above the keyboard as they will enable you to extend your arms to reach far off keys, rather than attempting to do so by stretching the fingers only.

office-ergonomics-4

Good neck posture tips to reduce bending or twisting

  • Keep the screen at your eye level. (Please refer detail 6.) Those wearing bifocal spectacles or lenses would need to either consult a good optometrist for appropriate computer eyewear or position the screen such that they do not have to strain them selves while reading the matter on the screen.
  • The computer monitor needs to be placed in the center. If you need to keep referring to certain documents while typing, place them in front of you so that you do not have shift your gaze frequently to the side.
  • You can also make use of an appropriate document holder to secure the relevant documents to be typed at your eye level.

Reduce eye strain tips

  • Place the monitor about an arm's length from your eyes while seated in front of it.
  • Reduce the impact of any glare or avoid it totally by positioning the monitor in such a way that excessive light doesn't reflect of it into your eyes. Make use of curtains and blinds to reduce glare.
  • Clean the screen regularly. Make sure you also clean spectacles and lenses regularly if you wear one.
  • Adjust the brightness, contrast and color functions of the monitor such that you are comfortable looking at it and it does not cause any strain on your eyes.
  • Choose a font size that enables you to see the contents on the screen clearly and without having to strain your eyes.

Work gently

It is a fact that our bodies are constantly exposed to various physical forces and while high intensity forces such as a vehicle crash can cause a great deal of damage to us, we should not forget that even low intensity forces can cause problems and put us in difficulty, especially if they act on us over a period of time continuously.

Some examples of such low intensity forces are:

a) Active or dynamic force: This force is associated with repeated actions such as typing or clicking of the mouse buttons.

b) Motionless or Static force: This force is associated with actions where you need to hold on to a particular object such as keeping the mouse and holding it for some time or using the phone receiver to your ear for a particular length of time.

c) Tactile or Contact force: This force is associated with actions which require you to make contact with something such as placing your hand on a tough surface or allowing your wrists to rest against the edge of your work station.

office-ergonomics-5The potential ill effects of such low intensity forces can be minimized by following these guidelines:

  • Do not use excessive force when typing, maintain a very light touch since modern keyboard keys are activated easily and do not require the force you would normally use on the typewriter.
  • Exert minimum force when making use of the mouse buttons, joystick or any other controlling equipment.
  • Use the mouse by gripping it lightly and not clasping it with pressure.
  • Do not use any surface to rest the palms while typing.(Please refer detail 7). If at all you must and want to rest your palms, use the palm rest during the break only.
  • When not typing, allow your arms and palms to drop down by your sides and do not assume the same typing posture by resting your palms on the computer or on the edge of the work station.
  • Position the chair such that the seat is not putting pressure against the rear portion of your knees. (Please refer detail 8.)

office-ergonomics-6

Take regular breaks between work

By not sitting continuously at a spot for many hours and moving around from time to time by taking breaks, you will be able to avoid any chance of MSDs. You are the best judge to decide on the duration of these breaks and their frequency. It is not always necessary to stop the activity you are doing totally. You can take a break by changing your posture to standing while typing or when talking to somebody on phone. The idea is to provide the working body muscles an opportunity to relax and not stiffen up and also bring other muscles into play and become productive.

You can bring in variety to your workplace activities and improve efficiency through the following ways:

  • Divide the time for work and recreation such that you are able to avoid the monotony of doing a particular activity over an extended duration. This will also give the muscles involved in that activity an opportunity to relax.
  • Alternate between the mouse and the keyboard to perform certain tasks so that you do not get bored and are able to use different muscles of the hand. For instance, you can make use of the mouse wheel to scroll and also make use of the arrow keys to navigate around.
  • Know how to use the shortcut keys to activate software or hardware features. This will enable you to improve your efficiency. One example is to use the Windows logo key to activate the start menu for Windows.
  • Pick up information about the various features of both software and hardware by reading about them so that you are able to use them in times of need. For instance, if you need to highlight text regularly, you can use the Clicklock function of the mouse button.

Maintain good health

All said and done, you need to maintain good health to enable you to take joy in your daily activities and that includes sedentary functions like sitting at your computer. It is recommended that you also pick up information on how to keep your self healthy as that is very important to maintain high productive levels and remain comfortable while working.

This can be achieved by:

  • Take a balanced diet and make sure you get enough rest.
  • Indulge in physical exercise to keep the body flexible and to boost strength. You can take the help of a good health expert to know about specific body exercises that would be ideal for you.
  • Organize your work such that you are not under undue stress. Spacing work and leisure appropriately is the key to manage stress. Keep any form of noise and other distractions away when working so that you are able to provide full focus to your job.
  • If you have any apprehensions about your health condition and its relation to MSDs, go ahead and consult a qualified health practitioner. While it is true that not enough material or data is available on the subject that can answer all your questions, it is possible to identify some of the influencing factors leading to it such as history of injuries, blood sugar levels, bone problems and any hormonal changes brought about by pregnancy.

To conclude, if you have to take joy in working at the computer, you need to become aware and learn about the factors that will help you to maintain good health and enable you to perform with better efficiency. Equally important, these ergonomic guidelines will help prevent future painful injuries that might be developing through the years due to bad postures.

VN:F [1.8.1_1037]
Rating: 9.5/10 (4 votes cast)
VN:F [1.8.1_1037]
Rating: +2 (from 2 votes)
Good Office Ergonomics9.5104 Share on facebook



Leave a Comment