Home Office Ergonomics: How to Set Up Your Desk (OSHA)

A good desk setup keeps your body in a neutral posture: joints lined up, shoulders relaxed and back supported. OSHA says working this way reduces strain on muscles, tendons and the skeletal system and lowers your risk of a musculoskeletal disorder. The other half of the advice is to move, because no posture is healthy for hours at a time.

The neutral posture checklist

OSHA lists these points for a neutral posture at the computer:

• Hands, wrists and forearms straight, in line and roughly parallel to the floor.
• Head level, facing forward, balanced and in line with the torso.
• Shoulders relaxed, with upper arms hanging at your sides.
• Elbows close to the body and bent between 90 and 120 degrees.
• Feet fully supported by the floor, or by a footrest if the desk does not adjust.
• Back fully supported, with lumbar support when sitting upright or leaning back slightly.
• Thighs and hips supported and about parallel to the floor.
• Knees about level with the hips, with the feet slightly forward.

Set up in this order

1. Chair height. Raise or lower the seat until your feet rest flat and your thighs sit level.
2. Seat depth and back. Sit back so the backrest supports your lower back.
3. Desk or keyboard height. Bring your forearms roughly parallel to the floor with elbows at 90 to 120 degrees.
4. Footrest if needed. If the desk is too high to lower, raise the chair and support your feet.

Four postures OSHA calls neutral

• Upright sitting. Torso and neck about vertical, thighs about horizontal, lower legs vertical.
• Standing. Legs, torso, neck and head about in line and vertical, feet slightly apart. You may rest one foot on a support.
• Declined sitting. Hips higher than the knees, with more than 90 degrees between thighs and torso. You should still reach the keyboard and see the monitor.
• Reclined sitting. Torso and neck straight and reclined 105 to 120 degrees from the thighs.

Keep moving

OSHA says working in one posture or sitting still for long periods is not healthy. It suggests you:

• Make small adjustments to your chair or backrest.
• Stretch your fingers, hands, arms and torso.
• Stand up and walk around for a few minutes from time to time.
• Do some tasks standing, such as reading, phone calls and meetings.

A sit-stand desk makes the last point easier. Shopping for a chair? See our ergonomic office chair comparison.