Nov
26
A few weeks ago, I moved from the second floor of my office to the first. It was part of a bigger move by my whole department and it let me make a change to my workspace that I’ve been hoping to do for a while now.
I’ve always had minor issues with my lower back and sitting on an office chair all day working on a computer didn’t help. If you look at most people as they sit at their desk, their posture is horrible. They either slouch in their chairs or they bend over their desks. Either way, there’s a lot of unnecessary pressure on your lower back. Unfortunately, I was no exception. I tried several little tricks like sitting up straight or sitting on an exercise ball but I kept finding myself slouching back. So when the opportunity to reorganize my cubicle presented itself, I decided to make a major change.
Here’s the new workplace:
The Changes
As you can see, the desk itself is raised to be about 4 feet. This is more than a foot taller than a normal desk level. The point to all this is to allow me to stand while I work rather than sit down. I usually stand firmly on both feet not favoring either leg. My feet are spread about 18 inches from one another. This keeps me stable and prevents my legs from getting tired.
Standing this way forces me to stay in a posture that’s much better than sitting. There’s a slight benefit in terms of using the leg muscles as I work, but the real benefit is in my lower back. The improved posture is really helping me out and I’m feeling a lot better when I do exercises like deadlifts.
In case you’re curious, my legs do get tired after a while and I do take breaks sitting in a chair high enough to fit this desk. I’m guessing I spend about 75% of my time standing and the other 25% sitting in the chair.
Work Place Ergonomics
For many of us, the desk is where we spend a good portion of our day. So it makes sense to keep this area as healthy as possible. If your workplace is making you unhealthy, you are less likely to exercise, more likely to suffer injuries and more likely to be stressed out. You’re also less likely to be productive, so your employer has a vested interest in providing you with a healthy and safe workplace. As long as you don’t go overboard and ask for a personal masseuse in your cube, most companies will be happy to help you with basic changes to improve your cube or desk.
Some Things To Watch For
- Forearms - Try to position your desk and chair heights so your forearms are parallel to the desk as you work.
- Wrist Rest - Your wrists should be resting on something as you type. Otherwise, you’re exposing yourself to repetitive stress injuries.
- Posture - You don’t have to stand in order to have good posture. You just need to keep your back straight. Don’t hunch forward over your desk and don’t slouch back in your chair. Either one of these positions is bad. Ideally, your back should be flat against the back rest of the chair and straight.
- Stretch - Just like on long plane flights, you really shouldn’t spend too much time sitting down. Make sure to get up and stretch at least once per hour. Focus on your back and legs. A few slow lunges, squats and toe touches will do the trick.
- Shoes - If your job involves a lot of walking, make sure you’re wearing padded shoes. Feet are vulnerable to stress fractures and other ailments that are caused by too much walking.
- Water - Another thing people tend to forget while at work is water. Keep a water bottle by you and take a quick drink every 30 minutes or so. It will keep you hydrated and prevent you from snacking.
- Monitors - Bad monitors or bad settings on good monitors can cause eye aches and head aches. Make sure your monitor is set correctly and talk to your IT or computer support department if you’re unsure how to do it.
- Phone Handsets - If you’re on the phone a lot, make sure you pick up a hands free headset. Holding a handset up to your head either by hand or by pressing it up against your shoulders can cause strain.
Summary
Remember, both you and your employer have a vested interest in keeping you healthy and productive. So talk to your employer about some little things you both can do to make sure your workplace isn’t harming your health.
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Comments
7 Responses to “The Healthy Workplace”
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That’s great that you have an employer who is willing to work with you and benefit your health. So far the places that I’ve worked haven’t been like that and I have gotten the impression that it was better to just not ask for workstation improvements. WTG on standing up (LOL, pun intended) for your health!
Do you find less lower back pain with this standing setup?
JoLynn,
It was surprisingly easy once I got over my fear of being rejected. Turns out my boss is actually far more concerned about health than I thought, because he realizes employee health is directly related to productivity. So you may underestimate how far your employer is willing to go.
Gal
Andrew,
Yes, absolutely. My back feels far better than it used to.
Gal
Very nice. I don’t think I could go without my exercise ball though!
Yah, I do kind of miss sitting on that ball, but my back is loving my new setup.
Gal
Very nice work place. My is so messy but I am lazy to clean it