Is Ergonomic Office Equipment Worth the Investment?

As previously covered on VerticAlign, sitting at your desk all day isn’t as harmless as it seems. Our bodies aren’t designed for long periods of inactivity; rather, we’re meant to be pushing, pulling, bending, lifting, and turning often throughout the day. This is difficult to accomplish when you’ve got a job that has you working at a desk all day, and we’ve already talked about Why a Standing Desk is NOT the Solution. Instead, companies should prioritize employee comfort by investing in more ergonomic office equipment.

What represents ‘ergonomic’ office equipment? Pain Free Working claims that there’s so much more to the word than the employees’ comfort, as it also involves improving the overall efficiency, productivity, and safety of every member of the staff. A cohesion of these physical and mental factors should improve workplace conditions.

Here are some supportive and ergonomic office equipment worth investing in:

Back Rests

Changing the entire office’s chairs can be quite expensive, but there are many backrest options available on the market. Some are even self-inflating to ensure maximum lumbar support to your desired degree. They can even be used in other environments like long commutes.

Contoured Seat Cushions

Another wise accessory for chair support is contoured seat cushions which are flexible enough to accommodate varying weights. They help evenly distribute your weight, which lessens the strain on your lower back and hips from stiff and non-adjustable seats, especially if you will be sedentary for most of the day.

Memory Foam Mouse Pad

The ideal wrist position shouldn’t be bent but kept straight to avoid Carpal Tunnel Syndrome which is one of the most common overuse injuries. There are various mouse pad options that conform to your movements and even offer gentle massages to reduce strain when needed.

Adjustable Stands

Adjusting entire desks can be a struggle across different offices. An adjustable monitor stand or riser can help you elevate your computer monitors to the right eye level. Some of these models include a second level where your keyboard and mouse can sit. There are also stands for laptop users which make typing much easier because of its adjustable degrees.

Task Light

Sitting in front of a computer all day and overworking your eyes to read the fine print of documents can cause great strain to your eyes, and can even cause eventual headaches. Shifting between reading on a screen and on paper requires different levels of light levels. A task light is beneficial in reducing eye strain as it can adjust to optimal levels of required light for different tasks.

An article on Business Insider warns that desk jobs can destroy your health. Factors don’t just include your peers and supervisors who add pressure to the equation, but also your positions and movements (or lack thereof) that put you at greater risk for muscular-skeletal disorders, obesity, heart disease, and the like. Investing in the right equipment means investing in the well-being of your people.

Of course, if you want to take better charge of your health and posture and eliminate the aches and pains that come from years of inactivity, you can start with our 10 Minute Daily Desk Pain Solution or sign up for some of coach Zeena Dhalla’s posture solutions today.