It’s The End of Summer. Time For A Home Office Ergonomic Makeover!

Bummer! Summer’s over. It’s time to shift gears from relaxation to serious, earn-your-paycheck work mode. For others, the shorter days of early fall mean it’s time to put the thinking cap back on for less play and more study. But before you hit the books or start spending more time staring at your laptop, you better check yourself ergonomically before you wreck yourself with back and neck pain.

Many people continue to work or study from home thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. To prevent an epidemic of musculoskeletal pain caused by poor home office ergonomics, it’s essential to create a setup that prioritizes comfort and pain relief. And it’s wise to do this now before winter makes your joints stiff and achy.

Here’s what we’ll cover:

• The most common ergonomic issues in home offices, based on research studies.
• How to evaluate your workspace for ergonomic efficiency.
• Budget-friendly ways to enhance your work or study station.
• The best at-home solution for preventing or mitigating bodily aches and pains caused by poor home office ergonomics.

Proof That A Poor Ergonomic Epidemic Is Upon Us

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in early 2020, millions of workers suddenly became thrust into home offices. The pandemic may have caused a global economic meltdown, but few have given thought to the ergonomic disruption of millions of workers and its causative health impacts.

A July 2020 study from the University of Cincinnati, published in the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, highlighted the immediate challenges faced by workers: “Workers were shifted instantly from the office to the home with their laptops in hand, facing the need to set up an office area with what they had in their home: dining tables and chairs and other makeshift desks, no external input devices or monitors, and environments with dual functions, potentially used by multiple people (e.g., kids for school, adults for work, and family for dinner).”

The study warned, “These home offices may not fit the worker ergonomically, which could result in a fairly rapid onset of discomfort in the body that may lead to more serious problems in the future.” Researchers evaluated the home office setups of 41 University of Cincinnati faculty and staff during the early months of the pandemic. They found concerns related to laptop usage, non-adjustable chairs without armrests, low monitor heights, and hard desk surfaces.

Unfortunately, based on several studies, home office ergonomics has failed to improve since the onset of the pandemic. In 2021, a study in the appropriately named journal Work by some of the same University of Cincinnati researchers included more participants. This time, 843 people completed a home workstation survey, which revealed that over 40% of the participants reported moderate to severe discomfort. Laptops were used by 85% of respondents, and less than 45% had adjustable armrests on their chairs—an ergonomic shortfall.

The researchers concluded, “As teleworking in makeshift offices becomes more common, the risk of significant discomfort and potentially more serious musculoskeletal disorders (such as Degenerative Disc Disease) result from poor static postures.”

Three Years After Covid, An Ergonomic Revolution Still Needed

According to a 2023 study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, neck, lower back, and shoulder discomforts are computer users' three most commonly reported musculoskeletal symptoms. Those who use computers for more than seven hours a day experience a higher rate of symptoms across all body regions. Of the 232 homeworkers surveyed, 61.2% reported discomfort in at least one body area.

Now let’s focus on preventing discomfort if you’re spending more time working from home now that summer is over (assuming your boss still lets you telecommute).

Evaluating Your Workspace

Have you noticed a twinge in your lower back after sitting for long periods, or does your neck feel stiff from looking down at your monitor? It's time to assess your posture and support. Are your feet flat on the ground, or are you slouching? Is your monitor at eye level, or do you find yourself straining your neck to see the screen? Recognizing these discomforts and their ergonomic causes is the first step toward effective adjustments.

Optimizing Comfort in the Workspace

Once you’ve identified areas for improvement, it’s time to enhance your workspace for comfort. Start with your chair: adjust it to provide proper support for your lower back and ensure your feet are flat on the floor with your knees at a 90-degree angle.

Align your desk height with your chair to promote good posture and reduce body strain. Your monitor should be at eye level and positioned at a comfortable distance to avoid neck strain. If you’re leaning forward to see the screen, adjust its height or invest in a monitor stand.

Consider your keyboard and mouse as well. Choose options that minimize strain on your wrists and hands. Ergonomic keyboards and mice are designed to reduce the risk of repetitive strain injuries.

If possible, add an adjustable desk or chair that supports your lower back and allows you to switch between sitting and standing throughout the day. If you don’t exercise much, a physio-ball chair can also be a good investment.

Low-Cost Office Chair Fixes

An ergonomic home office chair typically features adjustable height, adjustable armrests, five casters (wheels), and lumbar support. However, many chairs lack these components, and with rising costs, buying a new chair may be out of budget for some. Fortunately, some budget-friendly hacks that may help prevent lower back pain are:

• Place a pillow on the seat to elevate the seat height
• Use a pillow or rolled-up towel behind your back for lumbar support and eliminate the need to lean away from the chair's back
• Wrap low, non-adjustable armrests for added comfort
• Move the chair closer to the desk to keep your back aligned with the chair

Reversing Tech Neck On A Budget

Most people position their laptop monitors too low, causing the head—typically weighing 10-12 pounds—to be supported by the neck at an angle that magnifies its effective weight, potentially up to 60 pounds at a 60-degree angle. This excessive load leads to compressive forces on the anterior vertebral bodies and discs, potentially accelerating degenerative changes such as disc herniation and spondylosis. The posterior neck muscles, including the trapezius and levator scapulae, must continuously contract to counterbalance the forward head position, leading to muscle fatigue, tightness, and potentially chronic pain. Over time, this can result in "tech neck," characterized by reduced cervical lordosis, increased strain on the cervical spine, and associated pain and dysfunction.

An easy step towards correcting/reducing tech neck is a 5-minute session of lying on the floor at home while using Posture Pump®. For an investment of as little as $150, Posture Pump® can counteract the effects of poor home office ergonomics day after day.

Additionally, consider these low-cost ways to prevent tech neck:

• Place a lap desk or large pillow under the laptop to raise the monitor when using it on your lap.
• Use an external keyboard and mouse, and raise the monitor by placing a stack of books or a box under the laptop when using it on a desk.
• When possible, use an external monitor positioned at eye level.
• With dual or multiple monitors, keep the primary monitor directly in front of you and position secondary monitors (e.g., laptop or additional external monitor) to the side of the primary monitor.

Taking The (Hard) Edge Off Your Workstation

For those with carpal tunnel syndrome or discomfort from the hard front edge of the laptop pressing against the wrist and forearms, consider these economical fixes: place a folded towel over the edge of the desk in front of the keyboard, or use pipe insulation from a local hardware store or a pool noodle split down the seam and positioned along the edge.

Get Up, Get Up, Get Busy, Get Up & Move That Body

When you’re buried with work or deep into a research paper, it’s easy to lose track of time and skip breaks. To avoid an ergonomic meltdown, researchers recommend standing up and moving around for two minutes every 30 minutes. If that seems impossible, consider using a physioball or physio-ball chair. Another effective option is investing in a standing desk that lets you alternate between sitting and standing.

The key is to find the "Goldilocks zone"—a balance between sitting and standing. As emphasized by University of Cincinnati researchers in their 2020 study, “Too much sitting has been related to increased risk for diabetes, increased weight gain, and increased discomfort.”

Meanwhile, standing while working can help burn more calories, lower glucose levels, and improve cholesterol and triglyceride levels, potentially reducing discomfort. However, standing all day isn’t ideal either, as prolonged standing can have its drawbacks. So, make sure to switch positions frequently and take regular mini-breaks to stretch or walk around.

Posture Pump®: The Easiest Way To Overcome Poor Home Office Ergonomics

If there’s one product that could be a game-changer for telecommuters and students, it’s Posture Pump®. In just 5 to 15 minutes a day from the comfort of your home, Posture Pump® can help restore your neck and lower back’s natural curves, hydrate the spine, and potentially expand the disc space between your vertebrae. The best part? It’s incredibly easy to use and very affordable—costing under $1 per day for our full spine model during the first year.

Whether your posture resembles a question mark or you have a perfectly upright stance and have invested significantly in your home office, Posture Pump® might be just what you need after a long day staring at the screen. After just one use, you may experience improved spinal flexibility, better posture, and potentially reduced discomfort in your lower back and neck.

To learn more about Posture Pump®, check out our product reviews and discover why over 3 million units have been sold. The expanding disc technology behind Posture Pump® is supported by research and recommended by healthcare professionals around the globe.

References:

Davis, K. G., Kotowski, S. E., Daniel, D., Gerding, T., Naylor, J., & Syck, M. (2020). The Home Office: Ergonomic Lessons From the “New Normal”. Ergonomics in Design.

Gerding T, Syck M, Daniel D, Naylor J, Kotowski SE, Gillespie GL, Freeman AM, Huston TR, Davis KG. An assessment of ergonomic issues in the home offices of university employees sent home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Work. 2021;68(4):981-992.

Chim JMY, Chen TL. Prediction of Work from Home and Musculoskeletal Discomfort: An Investigation of Ergonomic Factors in Work Arrangements and Home Workstation Setups Using the COVID-19 Experience. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Feb 9;20(4):3050.