How Do I Set Up My Workstation?
-by Kim Granata-Clark, MS in Human Factors and Ergonomics, Ergonomic Specialist
When setting up your office, cubical, or workstation, you should adjust your chair, work surface height, monitor height and distance, keyboard and mouse to fit you. Below I will review setting up your chair and the next newsletter will review the rest of your workstation.
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When sitting in your chair, the height of the chair needs to be high enough so that your hips are higher than your knees and feet are still flat on the ground. The line on the side of your pants should go slightly down. The chair height adjustment is usually on the right side of most chairs.
Make sure to sit back in your chair and use the chair backrest. Is your seatpan (what you are sitting on) supporting your thighs? Are there 2-3 fingers space between the back of your legs and the front of the seatpan? If so, your legs are supported while you are working on the computer. If not, is the front of the seatpan touching the back of your legs? Are you sitting to the front of the chair during the day? If so than move the seatpan backward toward the backrest but if the seatpan does not adjust than you might have to put a pillow between your back and the chair backrest. This will allow more space between the front of the seatpan and the back of your legs. Is there more than 2-3 fingers space? If so than move the seatpan forward toward the back of your legs so you have more thigh support. If your seatpan does not move, than this can be an issue when sitting all day on your chair. A new chair might be needed to support your legs. The seatpan depth lever is usually on your left, front of the chair.
The backrest needs to be adjusted to support your low and mid back. Does the chair have a backrest pillow that adjusts? Adjust it to your low back curve or somewhere between your low back and mid back. The backrest adjustment lever might be on the right side on the backrest or down by the seatpan, last lever on the right side.
The chair armrests should be adjusted just below your elbows when your elbows are placed at 90 degrees next to your body with the shoulders relaxed. You should be able to freely move your elbows away from your body without hitting the chair armrests. You can possible use your chair armrest while you are using the mouse but the forearm should be supported on the chair armrest not only your elbow. If the chair armrests are not able to be lowered or not enough to get below your elbow height, you might need to remove them to reduce any awkward postures when you are reaching for your mouse. The chair armrest adjustment might be on the armrest base, just under the armrest pad, or at the back of the chair armrest.
That is all for now. In the next newsletter, I will show you how to set up the rest of your workstation. Stay tuned...
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