The idea of revamping your entire office is quite a daunting one – it’s a lot of work, and many employers are hesitant to go ahead with it because of the fact that it’ll be costly.
In reality, continuing on in the same way under the assumption that ergonomic changes are expensive is actually much more costly than the changes themselves. Modifications in the office don’t actually have to cost much, and most often, they don’t!
There are plenty of easy, low-cost solutions for pretty much every problem – including ergonomics. In fact, unlike a lot of other problems, ergonomics is the one area where low-cost solutions can actually also be sustainable!
Let’s go over some low-cost solutions to improve ergonomics in the office.
Maintaining Lumbar Support
Lower back pain is very common, and is becoming increasingly common as more and more people end up spending long hours at their computers. Lumbar support, therefore, becomes very important and is very easy to maintain.
Most chairs nowadays come with lumbar support, with the curvature built into the chair. However, that’s not always enough. The chair has to be positioned correctly at the right height with the right type of fit.
With adjusted chairs and backrests, these issues can easily be addressed and you can be sure that your employees’ ergonomic concerns are taken care of. While some companies do think of this as a costly solution, because of the cost of ergonomic chairs, there are plenty of support items available on the market, like backrest cushions that provide lumbar support.
The important part is that the back should be supported properly to avoid such pain – whether this comes from support items or the chair itself.
Adjusting the Backrest Angle
A common misconception about office chairs is that you should be sitting with your back at 90 degrees for them to be ergonomic. This is untrue! A 90-degree position is not very natural, and while not as bad as leaning forward, it is still not very comfortable. The best position for your back should be between 93 to 113 degrees and should be accompanied by good back support.
Adjusting the backrest is very easy and low-cost and can easily get rid of a lot of concerns about bad posture.
Adjust Monitor Height
The right position of the monitor can help with a number of problems as well. A major contributor to stress and tension around the neck and shoulders is having your computer screen positioned such that you have to look up or down at it.
By setting the monitor in a position where the top of the screen is at eye level, employees can get their work done without resulting in discomfort in the neck. While it can be complicated to adjust your workstation setup, it is a necessity for good ergonomic practices and will have benefits in the long run.
You can easily get this done by using monitor risers, but if you want to go for the even cheaper option, a bunch of textbooks or papers stacked on top of each other can do the job just as well.
Mouse Position
Another important thing to keep in mind is the mouse position. This is often overlooked but is a very common cause of shoulder pain. Reaching out for the mouse can put your arm in an awkward position that causes strain on the shoulder as well as the arm. The best way to do this is to change the position so you’re not reaching out for the mouse, keeping your arm in a neutral position.
Working with a standard keyboard often results in this problem, but not as much with more compact keyboards. However, most offices will have standard keyboards, so the next best solution is to get your employees to use the mouse with their left hand for a while.
This will allow them to rest their right arm, and since the number pad placed on the right end is usually what makes the standard keyboard longer, the problem of ‘reaching out for the mouse can be removed.
Left-hand mousing will take about a day to get used to, especially if you’re righthanded, but is not impossible and employees will find they barely notice it after a while.
Adjust Desk Height
On top of adjusting the chair and monitor, the height of the desk is also important and should be paid attention to. Most people will not consider adjustable desks when it comes to office spaces, given how uniform these are. However, having a desk that can be adjusted to suit the user’s height will relieve a lot of pain in the back, arms, and neck, as well as other areas.
When the desk is not positioned correctly, the hand-working height ends up being too high or too low. Ideally, your arms should be pressed to your sides with your elbows bent at 90 degrees to your body. If the desk is too high or too low, this is not achievable, and the rest of your body ends up compensating for it, which can cause discomfort.
The right way to position your desk is to get the user to sit in the optimal seating position, and then adjust the desk to the perfect spot. The easiest way to do this is to make sure that the desktop is just the slightest bit below the neutral elbow height, but most adjustable desks come with automatic settings which can help you find the perfect setting.
On the other hand, the easiest and most cost-effective way to do this is to simply adjust the height of the chair itself, but this can have other concerns around it, such as the lack of footrest, etc.
Most furniture today is adjustable, but you’d be surprised to find that almost all office spaces – for the purpose of uniformity – have desks that are either too high or too low.
The good thing is that there are plenty of adjustable desks available that you can use for your office ergonomics.
Comhar All-in-One Standing Desk
A great desk that keeps in mind all of the above is the Comhar All-in-One Standing Desk. This desk comes with height adjustment features that allow you to shift it to whatever height you need. This way you can be sure that you are able to avoid all the troubles of working at the wrong height.
Adjustable height desks also have the benefit of allowing you to stand while working and help get rid of some of the consequences of sitting for long periods of time.
Besides being adjustable, it also comes with programmable height presets. This way, you can save your preferences in it and save time for whenever you want to adjust it later. Because you can save these preferences, you can simply choose the height you want to set it to, instead of fiddling around until it works every time. And to make it better, all it takes to do all of this is to press a button!
The desk also comes with an anti-collision function which makes sure that the table is safe from damage. It also protects any other objects around it from being damaged when it’s moving. Because it has sensors that detect when the desktop comes in contact with other objects, it stops. This way, you can get any objects lying around out of the way before resuming your height adjustment.
The control panel for settings also comes with a safety lock button, so you can lock it when you’re not around. If you have kids or pets around, you can rest assured that they won’t end up changing any settings.
The desk also comes with a USB charging port where you can plug in your devices and keep your desk from getting cluttered with wires and cords. The charging station is built into the desk itself, so it looks clean and elegant too.
The Comhar desk also takes up minimal floor space, so you can set it up in a small corner without needing any large spaces. Therefore, if your workspace is small, you can still fit the Comhar desk into it, and it won’t look stuffy or cluttered either.
The desk comes with three options for table tops. You can pick between wood, bamboo, or glass, depending on what kind of desk works best for your workspace.
There is no better option for your workspace than the ergonomic Comhar All-in-One Desk. It comes with adjustable height, which protects your body, and is stylish and elegant, making it an excellent addition to your workspace.
