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Ask Slashdot: Ergonomic Office Environment?
relyte writes "In the spirit of the recent poll — where many people recommended ergonomic upgrades — what's the best way to get a comfortable, ergonomic, efficient work environment? I'm just starting my career in software development, and I'd like to get a great chair, keyboard, mouse, monitor, etc. What models would you recommend to save wear and tear on joints, eyes, and muscles? Are there other categories I should consider?"
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/855/ergonomy.png/
this image is an image that shows proper ergonomy for working in front of a computer. the orientation and alignment of arms, hands, back and their support is most important.
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have shown that sitting is bad for you. Learn to work while standing and enjoy the extra years.
I normally set my monitor higher than the picture because I have the tendency to hunch if the monitor is lower than me. Once I have hunched over I have to tip my head up to look at the screen. These days I elevate my monitor so it is level with my eye-line.
Architectural plans are like computer source code with a couple of differences: You only compile once.
Don't stay sitting down, every so often walk around a bit. Go to the water cooler or slack off or something. It's good for you.
Even the best chair setup will damage you eventually.
Are there other categories I should consider?
Yes, exercise
The two best things I ever did was to cut 4" off the legs of my desk and to start using a split keyboard, both about 10 years ago. Split keyboards never seem to turn any heads, but I get a lot of snide comments about my low desk. I don't care- I did what was necessary to prevent further RSI and CTS. Sometimes simple changes can make a world of difference.
The other change was to pay more attention to what my body was telling me. And that is a lot more difficult than one might imagine- especially when overworked and tied up in so many projects and demands. I have yet to master it.
In my experience ergonomic all too often means "uncomfortable as all hell". Find a chair and desk where you can sit pain free for a while and, like the poster above suggests, get up and walk around.
My in office set up gives the Ergonomic Coordinator fits but it's comfortable for me and, assuming I take regular breaks, I suffer no joint or back pain.
In other words, do what works for you; chances are something similar to what you use at home will come out on top.
I work in Environmental Health and we get requests to perform an ergonomic evaluation all the time. Most of the time people call us thinking that we'll simply be able to get them a more expensive chair and that's the extent of what's required to work ergonomically. First, get out of the mind-set that you need to spend a lot of money to create an ergonomic work environment. Many people think that in order to have a workstation that is "ergonomic" then you need to have a piece of furniture that's been stamped ergonomic by the manufacturer. But that's simply not the case; you can create a completely ergonomic work setup with standard furniture without the need to pay a premium to buy an "ergonomic" workstation. You can do a lot to improve the ergonomics of your workstation by simply rearranging where you keep your equipment. If you have your monitor to your side so you constantly have to look over when you type, then move it in the middle. The top of the monitor should be at your eye level (it's more comfortable to look down slightly while you're typing than it is to look up or straight ahead for extended periods of time). If you're constantly leaning over to see your screen, bring it closer to you. Try and get away from wrist-rests; despite what you might think, having your wrists constantly sitting on those "ergonomic" wrist rests is actually terrible for your wrists and your typing technique. If you spend a lot of time on the phone, use a headset instead of picking up the phone and awkwardly holding it in place with your neck. Make sure your feet are flat on the floor...really all you need in a good chair is firm lumbar support and the ability to adjust its height so your legs aren't dangling or bent awkwardly (use a footrest if you're short and can't touch the ground with the chair all the way down). Buy a simple document holder to hold documents you are reviewing while you work, rather than have them laying flat or holding them in your hands. Take frequent breaks from your work (5 minutes every hour is usually recommended). This all will work wonders to improve your productivity and also reduce your risk of developing any type of repetitive motion injuries.
IMO, those images are useless. I don't sit in one position all day, and it's not healthy to do so. I slouch, I lean forward, I sit up straight. My legs are stretched out in front of me, tucked behind me, sometimes one leg is crossed under my knee with my heel on my chair, etc.
I have never had a keyboard tray I liked; invariable I bang my knees on it and it's not wide enough for my keyboard and all the places I want to put my mouse. My arms are usually out to my sides a bit. I want my monitor's center about at head height so for some things I look up and some I look down.
To the OP, in my 10 years of experience the only thing that I needed that was in any way uncommon was a split keyboard so my wrists didn't hurt. YMMV, of course, since the things your body complains about won't be the same as mine.
None of the chairs I've had at work have been awesome or terrible; they were somewhere to put my ass so I could type. For that matter, I'd be happy with a standing desk too but they cost money and my cube isn't well set-up for that.
Terrorist, bomb, al Qaeda, nuclear, yellowcake, kill, assassinate. Carnivore is dead... long live Echelon.
Seriously. I had the most comfortable chair in the world I think, and after several years I find it partially to blame for several years of back problems. Long hours in relatively the same position == BAD, no matter how painless it feels at the time. I've been adjusting my work-style and recovering.
I think it's best to get a chair that encourages motion of any kind. Swivel, moving back, etc. Comfortable enough that you can focus, but uncomfortable enough to remind you to shift and move around frequently. A little self-disciple would work too, but I find myself getting focused and forgetting easily. Two different types of chairs is also handy.
Good habits will really help. I find that 'thinking' time is best spend walking/pacing and working on a wall mounted whiteboard as much as possible. Your body really thrives on variety.
I also suggest a raising/standing desk. I found a hydraulic hospital table (the kind they put by hospital beds that raise and extend over the bed). Using that as my computer desk has been great. It's simple to lower it and use from a chair, or raise it and use standing. They also make real standing desks, but they are fairly expensive (the used hospital table was $20).
Other things I've found helpful:
Ergo keyboards. Not the common kind, but those that you can split and have several inches between the two halves. I use a goldtouch, which has been partially disassembed to allow for more separation. I miss my model M, but the goldtouch is easier on the wrists
Alternate mouse, or switching right/left sides occasionally. Personally I have a trackball on the right and an apple touchpad on the left for scrolling and gestures. Adding the touchpad solved some ulnar nerve pain I had been fighting in my right hand/wrist.
The last thing isn't ergo specifically, but multiple monitors are a big plus for development work.
This is an obvious suggestions, since it's the first keyboard that comes up if you search for "ergonomic keyboard". It is really a great all-around keyboard. I bought one a few years ago after having broken my right wrist. It was very painful to type with my wrists rotated inward, and this keyboard allows the wrist to be at just enough of a tilt to make it very comfortable. I can type on a regular keyboard now, but wouldn't think of going back.
For the chair, as others have suggested, don't get a super cushy chair that encourages you to lean back. A simple task chair is best to encourage you to keep proper posture while working. Also as others have suggested, make sure to build frequent breaks into your routine.
Similar to the keyboard, an ergonomic mouse that tilts slightly will help. When my wrist broke, incidentally, I switched to using a left-handed mouse and have also never gone back. The only problem is that there are very few ergonomic mice made for the left hand.
the setup that i had at ISS was a swivel chair that had a split keyboard, with a mouse track-pad on one half.
I'm intrigued as to how you managed even to stay in it, what with the weightlessness and all... Duct tape?
I saw an @Google video a few weeks ago that recommended sitting in the cockpit position, reclined about 35deg. Apparently the Air Force did a study, and found it would be cheaper and more effective to just design their aircraft seats to those specs than to teach their pilots how to keep good posture in a "normal" seat. (At least that's what the guy in the video said.)
He also talked about the main problem with posture for the average office/cubicle drone. We tend to hunch forward over the keyboard, which forces us to crane our necks up so we can see the screen. This puts strain on the back-of-the-neck muscles and can lead to headaches.
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I found out about these keyboards from an old Slashdot post about "Das Keyboard". Das Keyboard was revealed by a commenter to be a KeyTronic keyboard with the key labels removed. Aside from the "blank key" gimmick, there was one thing the Das Keyboard had going for it which it had inherited from the KeyTronic: five different spring weights for the keys, based on which finger is used to engage the key. That way your pinky doesn't have to work as hard hitting tab as your thumb does on space. After switching to KeyTronic keyboards on all my PCs, I never looked back. In fact, traditional everyday USB keyboards hurt my fingers after enough use, but I never have that problem with the KeyTronic.
This just in, http://ergo.human.cornell.edu/CUESitStand.html
From TFA:
The bottom line:
Sit to do computer work. Sit using a height-adjustable, downward titling keyboard tray for the best work posture, then every 20 minutes stand for 2 minutes AND MOVE. The absolute time isn’t critical but about every 20-30 minutes take a posture break and move for a couple of minutes. Simply standing is insufficient. Movement is important to get blood circulation through the muscles. Research shows that you don’t need to do vigorous exercise (e.g. jumping jacks) to get the benefits, just walking around is sufficient. So build in a pattern of creating greater movement variety in the workplace (e.g. walk to a printer, water fountain, stand for a meeting, take the stairs, walk around the floor, park a bit further away from the building each day).
So the key is to build movement variety into the normal workday.
Agree with all of the above, and also: I once had a motorized table that could be raised and lowered at a touch of a button. It was wonderful. I could raise the table and stand up to stretch my back and legs, it had room for two monitors. The "desktop" PC was actually hanging under the table, but out of the way so I didn't bang my knees on it when sitting down.
In my opinion workplace ergonomics do not go far enough. Most are concerned about physical injury but do not include the worker's general well being. Most new office towers now include methods to provide natural lighting, but old buildings can be more like dungeons. Luckily, I work in an office building in an area with windows, though tinted, which let's in natural light.
The other issue that I have with office environments is the lack of fresh air. There is nothing like being able to open a window to get a fresh breeze during the summer. Granted, the reasons for not having windows that open includes increased efficiency in heating, cooling, filtering (allergens, etc). So some may say that this provides a better work environment. In my opinion, I'd rather have fresh air...
I'm not the expert, but I can attest anecdotally, that yoga accomplishes this exactly as it was ascribed by my chiropractor, my teachers, and my friends who practice. The beauty of yoga is the simplicity... Using only the body in terms of strength, stretching, and resistance to actually reverse the effects of sitting at a computer for eight-plus hours a day. And everyone who knows me and my practice says it has made me an infinitely better person. (And vastly improved my dating life.)