4 Office Ergonomic Tips to Beat Workplace Fatigue

Everyone seems to be tired lately. Stress, overwork, bad sleep habits, and more are contributing to growing levels of workplace fatigue. You know what that feels like, the day turns into molasses, and you experience a severe energy drop. There’s still a ton of work to do but you just can’t bring yourself to get it done!

It sucks, especially if your work is on a deadline. However, what if your office was contributing to the problem? I’m not saying that your office is the epitome of comfort and good design, but there are ergonomics at work that determine how comfortable and productive your working space is. The more ergonomic your space is, the less fatigue you feel because you are sitting and using your space in a way that spends less energy.

Pros and Cons Of Changing Your Office

Pros

●  Yes, changing your office can fight workplace fatigue!

●  Might give your old office space a breath of fresh air

Cons

●  Can take some time to get used to the new space

Why Your Office Space Works Against You

Everything we do expends energy, from breathing to walking to making a presentation. Being behind a desk expends far more energy than you would think, especially since we are doing it all wrong. Office workers are hunched over with bad posture, poor hand placement on their computers, and have a host of other problems that are expending more energy than they need.

With office ergonomics, those energy leaks are plugged up, leaving more energy for you as you deal with the problems of the day. Here are some practical office ergonomics tips that can improve your energy! It all starts by improving your workspace!

Use Your Office Desk

If you can, you should throw out your stationary desk in favor of a standing one, but if that is impossible then you can still make some adjustments to your desk height. You should be able to extend your arms and rest them on your desk without having to lean or move. Place books or other items under the desk legs to bring them up to the correct office desk height.

Do you happen to have a standing desk? Then make sure that it is at the correct height as well, because your arms should be at a 90-degree angle and should rest comfortably on the computer. Speaking of the computer…

Fix Your Computer Monitor

Show of hands if you are looking down at your monitor at the moment. You feel your neck is craned and that’s just asking for neck pain, especially if you are hunched over several times a day for hours on end. The computer is the best part of the ergonomic office setup and it’s also the easiest.

You just need to adjust your monitor’s height to where you are looking straight and not having to crane your neck and head to see the screen. This does not only improve your posture but can also make sure that you avoid the effects of a bad posture. You can place your laptop or monitor on something to give it height or use a monitor arm for the same effect.

Try having a monitor at the proper height for a day, and see what happens to your posture and your productivity with this ergonomic workspace setup.

Get An Ergonomic Office Chair

An ergonomic chair helps you have the best posture while working with good office chair seat height, by actively cradling your back and supporting good posture. It keeps your back rigid and at a 90-degree angle, supports the weight of your arms, and stops you from slouching. How many times did you hear ‘don’t slouch’ as a kid?

Slouching adds pressure to the discs and vertebrae of your back, but most ergonomic chairs have some degree of lumbar support that should get your body weight to be spread out evenly over the chair. As long as you keep your ergonomic chair close to your work and make sure that you aren’t straining yourself, the chair can do the rest.

Some ergonomic office chairs even have a headrest and armrest to support your head and arms. The headrest cradles your neck and makes sure that your head is secure without craning forward, while the armrests support the weight of your arms. That way your shoulders don’t have to support them and give you pain at the end of the day.

When you buy ergonomic chair it is a process, but you don’t need to worry about it. Just keep testing out the chairs and figure out which one works for you. You’ll find that perfect chair eventually, and then you might wonder how you ever got work done in any other chair!

Adjust Your Office Accessories

Your keyboard and mouse should be within easy reach if you extend your arms out at a 90-degree angle in a straight line. You should keep your arms close to your body while typing and use a light touch to operate your mouse so you don’t get hand cramps. You should also start to learn the keyboard strokes to make sure that you aren’t spending too much time using the mouse.

Additionally, you should have your phone on speaker when chatting with people or use a headset for private calls. Cradling the phone between your head and neck while also attempting to type can be a massive recipe for disaster.

Make sure that your office accessories are benefiting you and not harming you in the long run and keep them ergonomic too.

Make Your Office Ergonomic

Having an ergonomic office doesn’t have to be a massive sweeping change. Instead, it can be a series of smaller changes that can improve your posture and productivity over time. Imagine going into your office every single day and just being comfortable in it? How much could you get done? How much more energy would you have?

The effects of ergonomics are a compound effect, and soon you can both see and feel your energy start to skyrocket. Workplace fatigue might be bigger and better than ever, but if you just make a few small changes to the way your office looks, then you can easily overcome it. Think about how great being bright eyed and ready to go at the office could be for you!