Although there can be many benefits of working from home such as not having to sit in traffic, staying in bed a little longer or even not having to fight over the office thermostat!! There can be some drawbacks too and one of the main things that can be effected is posture.
So I thought I would write some tips to try and help you during this unusual period in all our lives.
As much as bosses will dread this first tip it is probably inevitable, but….Don’t start spending more time on your phone!! We all know a lot of people on social media have now given up there virtual jobs as politicians to now become epidemiologists and medical doctors since Brexit is over, but spending more time looking down on your phone is going to increase the forces that your neck muscles are going through! The average head weighs about 1 stone! And every inch your head moves forward doubles the amount of force the muscles need to produce to support it!…Not to mention staying off your phone will help with your mental state not reading all of the false information that is out there!
Set up your work space - having a dedicated work place (if possible) in the house can be really important and once it is set up you don’t have to spend every morning doing it again, making it more likely to be used.
Think about your posture,
Keep your back as straight as you can, if this is uncomfortable for you take a look at another blog I have written to try and help https://www.adtchiropractic.com/post/no-time-to-rehab-try-this
Bring your shoulders back
Try not to cross your legs or at the very least not for too long and alternate legs.
Lower your chair if possible to make the computer screen as level with your eyes as possible, if your chair can’t move put your screen on a box. If like me you have a laptop, you can either purchase a remote keyboard or like in the picture below find a happy medium between looking as straight as possible but at the same time not having your shoulders too high
Invest in an office chair! I know this can be an expensive outlay but the reality is you may be working from home for the next 3 months or so and with a lot of businesses already starting to encourage their staff to work from home before the pandemic, if it proves efficient and cost effective more business might stick to keeping their staff at home once the dust settles!
Alternatively instead of buying one, ask the office if you can take your chair home with you, you don’t want to end up sitting on an uncomfortable dinning room chair or slouching on your sofa all day.
Ever wanted to try a stand up desk? Why not use your ironing board! Take a break from sitting down by spending a few minutes every hour standing up with your laptop on the ironing board - it is important to start this in little bites! Don’t try and stand up on your first day for 8 hours straight thinking it will be good for your back…it won’t be.
Many of you will be on more conference calls or update calls now so to reduce the temptation of keeping your phone to your ear, or even worse holding your ear to your shoulder/phone, either put your phone on loud speaker or use hands free headphones
Lastly, get up frequently, move, stretch (remember your rehab!) and if government guidelines allow you to…go for a walk during your lunch break.
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