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In your office, the more comfortable and adjustable your environment is, the more productive you will be. Well set-up office workstations lead to decreased stress and less chronic neuromuscular skeletal disorders, such as headaches, neck pain, low back pain, and carpal tunnel syndrome. Office workers should be allowed to arrange their workstations until they find what feels most relaxed.

Basic Arrangement

The items you use the most, such as your phone or mouse, should be moved nearest to you.
Heavy catalogs and phone books should be placed within easy reach to avoid shoulder strain.
Excess clutter can lead to excess stress, so get rid of anything that isnt really necessary.
Use a headset if you are on the phone a lot. Never cradle the phone with your shoulder.
People come in different sizes. The heights of three things are adjustable: the desk, the chair, and the floor. 2 of the 3 must be able to be adjusted at any workstation. Desk height is difficult to change, so the chair height should be adjustable and small footstools should be at each station. Studies have shown that people over 510 usually need a higher desk than average, and people less than 53 will need a footrest.

Chair Design
Your thighs should be horizontal, and the seat of the chair should not be higher than the back of the knees. If it is, you will sit forward and lose the support of the backrest.
The chair of the seat should be able to angle 15 forward and 5 backward to alleviate flattening of the lumbar curve.
The backrest should angle 20-30 backward to reduce pressure on the discs in your back. It should have a lumbar support. Placement of the lumbar support should correspond with the same place you would put your hands if you had an aching low back.
The higher the backrest, the better support it can offer and the more it can tilt to vary between periods of resting and working (so you wont slouch!) The upper part of the backrest should match the curves of the neck and the back of the head.
The chair should have armrests if you type a lot.
The seat cushion should be about 2 inches thick. This avoids immobility due to sinking in, yet it is enough to be comfortable. The front edge of the seat should be rounded to decrease pressure on the backs of the knees.
If you need to rotate a lot, keep your shoulders and hips in line instead of twisting your back.
Men should not sit on billfolds in their back pockets. This can lead to pelvic unleveling and low back pain.

Desk Height

If you write a lot, the desk should be 2 above the height of your elbows. If you type a lot, the home row should be at elbow level.
Legroom under the desk should be enough to clear the knees and allow comfortable movement.
Women who wear skirts or dresses should alternate crossing their legs instead of always crossing the same one over the other. Even better is crossing your legs at the ankles instead of at the knees.

Keyboard and Monitor Setup
The keyboard should be angled 10-15.
Gel wrist rests should be used.
The monitor should be angled so that you have to look up 10-15 at it. If you wear bifocals or trifocals, you may need to experiment with the level of your monitor more to find out what works best for you.
Reading stands should be used, especially by those who read from copy to input information into the computer. They reduce the load on the neck by 1/3. For those who do data entry from copy, the reading copy should be in front of them and the monitor to the side. For those who input directly into the computer, the monitor should be placed in front of them with the center of the screen at the level of the chin.

Resting and Stretching
Supervisors should encourage their employees to rest and stretch as needed. Remember, quality and productivity are greater if your employees are comfortable!
Breaks should be taken for 5 to 10 minutes every hour. 20 minutes after two hours is not better than ten minutes each hour.

Dr. Heller is a chiropractor and certified strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS), practicing in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. She has extensive experience teaching fitness classes, including aquatics, to all age groups and abilities. http://www.healthritellc.com