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SITTING PRETTY IN THE HOME OFFICE

Those of us who can work from home have had to be pretty agile recently — but your workspace needs to work for you, not against you, writes Kylie Klein-Nixon.

After last year’s lockdown, many of us upgraded our home workspaces from a chair at the dinner table to something more purposeful.

But did any of us really pay attention to our working-fromhome (WFH) office ergonomics?

How many of us got an occupational health nurse to give our home workspaces a virtual look-over?

There’s a reason occupational health experts exist and spend so much time checking how we sit and use our chairs and desks.

If you’re still using your home desk for eight hours a day, even two or three times a week, it needs to work for you, not against you.

‘‘A good desk needs to be at least 720 millimetres high,’’ says Working Wise managing director Jeena Murphy.

‘‘If you’re a tall person, that might be too small for you. But there are ways around that.

‘‘I’m a big believer in using reams of paper to build up the height of your keyboard and your mouse. It’s not fancy, but it works.’’

Most purpose-made office desks will be a good height for the average range of people, with a few adjustments.

If you are used to a standing desk, an ergonomic assessment could help you use boxes to get your workstation to the right height. It could also help you to get a workstation at the kitchen table set up – working safely doesn’t always have to mean a huge outlay of money.

‘‘Those plastic storage tubs – turn them upside down and put your monitor on that. There’s always a way,’’ Murphy says.

Chairs are more variable, with a number of styles and price points to choose from.

Not all ‘‘office chairs’’ are created equal, but there are some key features that will make your workspace more comfortable for an eight-hour day.

Murphy suggests seeing if you can bring your office chair home if you are going into a lockdown or work-from-home period, as it will usually be better quality than you could affordably buy for your home.

‘‘If you’re not in that situation, [the chair] must have a gas lift, the back must be height adjustable and have a proper lumbar rest, because sometimes people go and buy a chair because it looks lovely, but it’s got a completely flat back [and] there’s no lumbar support.

‘‘You’ve got to have at least two levers, adjusting for the height in the back, and being able to move it back and forth.

‘‘If you can’t afford a foot rest – and some of them are quite expensive – you can improvise with boxes, pillows or a suitcase, anything that will keep your legs at right angles.’’

Another key thing is to keep moving, even if you have a good WFH setup – flexibility is a perk of being able to work from home.

‘‘One of my colleagues says she’s like a cat when she works from home – she follows the sun around the house with her laptop. She might sit on the couch, then move to the kitchen table, then she might go into the bedroom and have lots of nice pillows to prop herself up with.

‘‘I think if you can manage to maintain good posture in a good setup for 50 per cent of the time, at least, and then keep moving around [you’ll be OK].’’

If you’re unsure of your WFH setup, your employer might offer home-office assessments. Alternatively, Working Wise offers virtual office assessments, as do Wellnomics and Bodycare Workplace Solutions.

‘‘I know a Zoom assessment sounds funny, but our nurse will talk to them and help them set themselves up in the best way possible,’’ Murphy says.

‘‘If you can manage to maintain good posture in a good setup for 50 per cent of the time, at least, and then keep moving around [you’ll be OK].’’ Jeena Murphy Working Wise managing director

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2021-09-25T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-09-25T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://fairfaxmedia.pressreader.com/article/281500754398783

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