Turn your temporary home office into a safe and inspiring space

It’s time to move away from the kitchen table or couch and find a safer work-from-home setup, ergonomic experts say (Getty Images/Tom Werner)

You’ve been hunched over your kitchen table for weeks now, longing for your office chair.

Joints are achy to say the least, and you know if HR came by, your home office ergonomics would be deemed way off. 

But how do you make a work-from-home space ergonomically sound, prevent injury and boost productivity at the same time?

These experts weigh in on what the must- and nice-to-haves are, as we continue to work remotely from home for the longer term. 

1) FIND THE RIGHT SEAT

Firstly, what are you sitting on? “If you rely on a stool or kitchen chair as your office chair, you could be putting yourself in jeopardy of several soft tissue injuries,” warns Lyn Hatt, business development specialist at ergoCentric, an Ontario-based ergonomic seating manufacturer. 

According to the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS), ideally an office chair should have a fully adjustable seat (height, depth, width and angle); a moveable back rest with firm lumbar support; arm rests (adjustable height and width); a breathable seat surface and five-point base stability. Luckily, in response to COVID-19, some ergonomic suppliers are offering free online assessments to find the right fit. (See sidebar for details)

If a kitchen chair (or similar) is your only option, roll up a towel and place it against your lower back, recommends Linda Miller, president and senior ergonomist/occupational therapist at EWI Works, an Edmonton-based occupational ergonomics company. You can also use a box to prop up feet to relieve pressure of your legs and lower back. 

“If it [the towel] happens to fall [off the chair],” she says, “it probably means it’s time to get up and move around.”

2) SET UP A WORKTABLE

Your desk or table should allow for optimal seating (or standing, if you have a sit/stand desk) position and equipment placement, including your computer, monitors, keyboard, mouse and so on. 

The CCOHS recommends maintaining a neutral body position where your hands, wrists and forearms are straight, in-line and parallel to the floor, regardless of whether you are sitting or standing; ensuring your head is level, facing forward, and in-line with your torso (no twisting); holding your spine upright; keeping your shoulders relaxed and your upper arms at rest at the side of your body; and having your elbows in and bent between 90 and 120 degrees.

“Alternating between sitting and standing is really the way to go to make sure that your blood circulation during the day is functioning well,” says Daniel Moses, president of Ugoburo, a Quebec-based ergonomic office furniture supplier. “You need to transition all the time to keep active in your station while you’re working.”

If your choice is either the dining or the kitchen table, you may need to raise yourself up—depending on the length of your torso—by sitting on a firm pillow or cushion to ensure your forearms are parallel with your work surface.   

“Where your sitting elbow height lies will determine if you need to raise your upper body torso or, in some cases, raise the work-surface height,” says Hatt.   

3) SOURCE EQUIPMENT FOR SUPPORT

With many of us working on laptops, additional support—including extra monitors, a wireless mouse and a keyboard, preferably positioned on a shelf below your computer to take strain off your wrists—are necessary add-ons, adds Miller. 

Prop up this equipment to the appropriate heights. The CCOHS says your monitor should be at eye level or slightly below eye level. 

“Proper work tool placement is critical to allowing you to move through comfortable, supportive body postures, says Hatt. “You need to place your tools at the right heights and distances in order to maintain neutral posture.”

4) BRING IN THE LIGHT

If possible, park yourself near a window to absorb natural light and keep up your focus and energy. “You need to be in an environment that you see the daylight…and you’re in a space where you can concentrate,” says Moses. 

But make sure you position yourself correctly to avoid any glare bouncing off your screen and putting unnecessary strain on your eyes, warns Miller. “You don’t want to be actually facing an uncovered window or have your back to the window because it presents a lot of glare,” she says.

If that dingy basement is the only place you can find privacy, light the area up, recommends Toronto-based interior designer Laura Stein, founder of Laura Stein Interiors. “Get some lamps, use a bright daylight bulb,” she says. “That will make it feel like you have some daylight and you’re not enclosed in a dungeon.”

5) MAKE IT YOUR OWN SPACE

Now that the essentials are in place, you can make the space your own, says Stein. 

From a practical perspective, think about what storage you need, whether it’s a filing cabinet, shelves or a bookshelf. If you are sharing the space with others, use a bin or basket to store your equipment and supplies off to the side. 

Find comfort by replicating your office or create an entirely new space with artwork, plants, a comfy side chair, family photos, office supplies and accessories, she adds. 

“When you surround yourself with things that you feel are beautiful, you enjoy your time in whatever it is you’re doing,” says Klein. “Try to make yourself comfortable in your space, then it’s more than a makeshift [office].”

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