Setting up a home office for full-time work

A workstation set up badly can bring fatigue, eye strain, and neck and back pain over a working day. The aim is a neutral position, where the joints sit in their natural line, which cuts the strain on muscles, tendons and bones and the risk of a musculoskeletal disorder. Working in one posture for long periods causes strain too, even a good posture.

What you need

• The chair, the desk and the monitor you work at
• A rolled towel or a removable back cushion, if the chair has no lower back support
• A footrest, if your feet don't reach the floor
• A book or a stand, to raise the monitor

Steps

1. 1

   Set the chair height

   Your whole foot should rest on the floor, with the back of the knee slightly higher than the seat. Thighs and hips sit roughly level, and knees about level with the hips, feet a little forward.

   5 min

2. 2

   Support the lower back

   The backrest should follow the curve of your spine and fit into the small of the back. If the chair has no lower back support, a rolled towel or a removable cushion does the job for now.

   5 min

3. 3

   Check the seat depth

   The seat should hold most of the thigh, with a gap between the back of the knee and the front edge of the seat. Move the seat or the backrest if the chair allows it.

   5 min

4. 4

   Bring your feet up if the seat can't come down

   When lowering the chair would leave the desk too high, put a footrest under your feet instead.

   5 min

5. 5

   Place the monitor

   Put it directly in front of you, 20 to 40 inches from your eyes, so your head, neck and body face forward. The top of the screen goes at or slightly below eye level. Raise it on a stand or a book if it sits too low, and make the text bigger rather than leaning in.

   10 min

6. 6

   Turn the monitor away from the glare

   Set it perpendicular to the window. Tilt the screen so it's square to your line of sight, which usually takes no more than 10 to 20 degrees. Tilted farther back, it picks up glare from the overhead lights.

   5 min

7. 7

   Check your arms and shoulders

   Shoulders relax, upper arms hang at your sides, and elbows stay close to the body, bent between 90 and 120 degrees. Hands, wrists and forearms stay straight and roughly parallel to the floor.

   5 min

8. 8

   Sit for a minute and check the position

   Feet flat, back against the support, the top of the screen at or slightly below eye level, and elbows bent between 90 and 120 degrees.

   2 min

Through the day

Make small adjustments to the chair, stretch your fingers, hands, arms and back, and stand up and walk around for a few minutes now and then. Take some tasks, such as calls and reading, standing up.

Every so often, look up from the screen and focus on something farther away, such as a clock on a wall 20 feet off. Stop, look away and blink at regular intervals to keep your eyes moist. Breaks for work away from the screen, such as filing and phone calls, rest the eyes too.