Are you a graphic designer who relies heavily on a mouse or stylus? If there is a task that you do for extended periods of time, then customize your setup to be safe and comfortable for that task. For example, if you read physical paper, you might need to add a lamp to your desk. Paying attention to your home office setup can help prevent physical discomfort and musculoskeletal disorders.

“We take for granted the extent of our movement at the work office. When working from home, you don’t have to walk down the hallway to make copies or walk across campus for a meeting. Those were movement breaks naturally built into our day,” said Chambers. “Anatomically, your body is designed to best withstand force in a certain posture.

Areas of Focus for an Ergonomic

Stop, try to identify the source of the discomfort, and take the necessary steps to correct it. No matter where your office is, the lighting and your vision should be a priority in setting up your workspace. If the chair has armrests, they should allow your arms to rest naturally at your sides. It is important that the arm rests do not interfere with the ability to move close enough to your desk.

This means is if the person ends up using the chair every day for months and even a year they will likely either wear out the chair or the chair would likely cause them discomfort. An employer has a few ways that they can help with their employees setups, and whatever they choose work from home ergonomics is dependent on their budget. Either working at home, from the road, or at the office shouldn’t matter and people should be able to work pain-free no matter where they choose to work. Here are the top things to consider if their organization has people who work from home .

Keep your eyes up

It might be a slow learning curve at first, but you can eventually reduce your typing by two-thirds or more. You generally want to keep your elbows close to your torso, although occasionally having to fully reach out your arm is fine. Having to constantly reach out could cause shoulder, arm and elbow pain. Put in headphones and use your device’s assistant to get things done so that you can keep your head up and look straight ahead. It’s good to take at least one long break after working for extended periods—and you probably already do so with lunch!

Some progressive lens wearers find that moving the monitor lower than eye level or tilting the bottom of the monitor closer can be useful. If you are using a laptop, get an external keyboard and mouse and put the laptop on a platform to achieve the appropriate monitor height. When looking straight ahead, your eyes should be level with the top of the monitor. This position allows you to keep your eyes in a neutral position and prevents eye fatigue. When you look up, your eyes are exposed to more air; by not needing to look toward the top of the monitor, your eyelids can protect your eyes and prevent them from becoming dry and irritated. This occurs when your elbows, wrists, or forearms are resting on a hard surface and/or sharp edge such as the desk or keyboard for long periods of time.