How to work from home well

We are living in very interesting and challenging times where not only has our health been put at risk, but so have our social lives and family lives and work lives.

Millions of people around the world have been asked to work from home. That is a huge change from our normal and impacting people in many different ways, whether physically, with old aches and pains resurfacing or new ones developing, socially where there is now a lack of interaction between colleagues, no networking or ability for mentoring and the opportunities to learn on the job from others being taken. Many are struggling emotionally and mentally with all of these changes and are finding it difficult to process so many losses and many are dealing with loneliness and loss of purpose.

So what can we do to make working from home work for us?

1) Get your work setup right. At the beginning of COVID with the initial almost novelty of working from home, many of us had and still have make-shift work stations as we felt it would be short lived. Kitchen work surfaces, dining room tables and chairs, sofas or beds, the options are endless. But then neck pain or back pain sets in and the time has now come to re-think…

So what are the key areas to a good work setup?

• Desk – whatever you have, ideally it should enable you to sit fairly close with your legs comfortably underneath. Some tables are too low resulting in you not being able to bring your chair close enough to the desk. Is the desk big enough for what you need to put on it? Desktop, mouse, keyboard, papers, iPad, document holder, coffee mug…Have you thought about getting a sit/stand desk? These can be brilliant as they offer you the flexibility to change postures and prevent aches and pains from being sedentary and just sitting for hours on end. Finally is the desk deep enough? Ideally you need to have your screen at an arms length from you but if your desk is too shallow, you will end up having everything too close to you.
• Chair – what are you using? A dining chair, a sofa, an armchair or an office chair? Office chairs do not have to be ugly but looks aside, try and find a comfortable chair to sit in. Ideally this should be adjustable in height to enable your feet to be on the floor but 90 degrees at your knees and hips and elbows at 90 on the table. Can it tilt? Is there a backrest? If you can get a chair with a lumbar support that is ideal but otherwise a folded towel or pillow for support can help.
• Screen – what are you using, a laptop or a desktop? Most people working from home are using laptops which is fine BUT please please use a laptop stand to raise your screen so that it is at eye level and an arms distance from you. You will then need a separate keyboard and mouse. These are easy to buy and many are wireless which is super helpful. If you have two screens, try and angle them slightly in towards each other in the middle so that you don’t have to turn your head too much. If you use one screen more than the other, have that slightly more centred.
• Position – are you sitting ‘correctly’? Our spines are S-shaped but we often find ourselves in more of a C-shape when sitting. Try to find your ‘neutral’ spine position with just a small arch in your lower back, shoulders back and neck long. This enables your joints to have equal load and keeps your muscles active and awake.

2) Make your work environment comfortable and welcoming. Our environment can make a huge difference to our productivity and mental wellbeing. A messy space = a messy distracted mind. Try to put things into boxes or drawers or files. Put up pictures of loved ones nearby, maybe a few plants to bring some nature indoors. Make the space a nice one to spend time in and not a boring white clinical space which is not conducive to creative thinking and productivity.

3) Take regular screen breaks to prevent a) going square eyed and getting fatigue and b) getting joint pains e.g. neck pain, hip or back pain. Even something as simple as looking up and into the distance can help. Preferably get up and change position, go to the toilet, grab a drink or do some stretches within the hour, every hour of the working day. Maybe try set an alarm to remind yourself?

4) Move OFTEN and try to incorporate this into your day. Many of you would have previously had a commute to the office but now your commute is to the next room or if you are lucky, downstairs! You may have walked to work or at least to the bus or tube station before, you may have cycled or run to work. COVID has meant more people becoming more sedentary and this comes with more problems. Sitting is said to be the new smoking and too much of it can make us more susceptible to chronic diseases such as diabetes as well as obesity and musculoskeletal problems. Maybe wake up at the same time that you used to pre-COVID and do some exercise before work. This might be a cycle, a walk, a swim or even a class online or at the gym. Even 10 minutes will be beneficial. Maybe try and have a break for lunch to be active or take a walking meeting or stand whilst on the phone. The more you can move the more likely you are to feel more alert physically and mentally for longer.

For a list of recommended at home purchases, check out www.thephysiowell.com/shop to improve your home work station setup OR for a bespoke 1:1 home office assessment, email me at lauren.wolfe@kenphysio.com and I can ensure your set-up is the best it can be for you.

Also for more ideas on exercise, check out my YouTube channel The Physio Well or my instagram account @the_physio_well.