Ask the Expert
More productive, less achy
Q Jo Blood Managing Director Posture People
W
orking from home has become the norm in the commercial finance sector and some of us may never return to the office on a full-time basis. Whilst many are lucky enough to have support from their employers to help with the set-up of a home workstation, others must take on the responsibility themselves. We talked to Jo Blood, managing director at Posture People for guidance on how to work more comfortably and safely from home.
Is a separate work area a necessity or a luxury?
Working on the sofa might sound idyllic but, can lead to numerous back problems down the line. Where possible, we believe that a separate work area is beneficial for home workers where you can set up a proper chair, desk, and equipment.
What about space? You don’t necessarily need a separate room. 20 | NACFB
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With a little bit of space planning and clever furniture, you can make any little nook into a productive work area. Perhaps you have a recess under the stairs, or space in the hall or on the landing that can be made available. The kitchen table is popular, although this often means you must pack up the office at the end of every day.
What sort of chair is best?
to touch the screen. If you use a laptop, we recommend setting it up on a laptop stand to raise the height and then use a separate wireless keyboard and mouse to ensure the screen on the laptop is in the correct position.
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If you tend to sit for long periods of time, we suggest investing in a good ergonomic chair to support various postures throughout your working day. If you do not have the space or funds for one, you could make some adjustments to your current chair using sitting wedges to angle your pelvis forward slightly. Better yet, a ‘backfriend’ will give you a bit more support.
Where should the screen be placed? We think this must be the number one sore neck culprit. Making sure that the top of your screen is in line with your eyebrows stops you from dropping your neck or slouching over to view the screen. Then all you need to do is put your arms straight out in front of you. Your screen should be an arm’s length away with your fingers able
What about taking breaks?
When working in an office we have prompts to move around and take a break such as making colleagues tea or chatting around the water cooler. These little micro-breaks are great productivity boosters and prevent you from sitting down all day. When you are working from home, try setting yourself little reminders to take proper breaks. If you are using Google Chrome, we recommend the free Posture Minder app. Its quirky little reminders always encourage us to sit up straight.
How can we avoid aches and pains? If you don’t have access to a landline, you may text and email from your mobile. This can cause ‘tech neck’ from dropping the head to look down at the phone. To prevent this, lift your phone to meet your eye line. You could also try some simple desk exercises. We cannot stress enough how important is to try to get as much movement into your day as possible.