The Importance of Good Posture in the Workplace

Bad posture in the workplace is becoming something of a modern health crisis.

Hunching over desks, straining to see laptop screens and cradling phones between our ears and necks, over time these bad habits can lead to serious health problems.

As such, businesses of all shapes and sizes need to ensure they take the necessary steps to ensure their employees understand posture, and what they can do to improve it.

First things first, it is important to identify what leads to bad posture.

What leads to bad posture: 

With most office-based jobs, employees will spend many hours a day sat at their desks working at a computer or tablet device.

While doing so, they will likely fall into bad posture habits such as:

• Slouching in their chair
• Hunching over their desk
• Rounding their shoulders
• Poking their chin out when staring at a screen
• Cradling their phone between ear and neck

While doing some or all of the above can actually feel more comfortable than adopting the recommended posture, the long-term effects of doing so can be problematic.

The lifestyle of the modern-day office worker can also compound this. Those that sit at their desks all day and remain inactive can suffer additional issues.

Of course, there are several ways to easily improve posture, from learning how to sit correctly to using ergonomic furniture

How can you improve your posture: 

The main cause of bad posture is simply that most people do not know how to sit correctly, particularly when working at their desk.

Here are some top tips for adopting the correct posture:

1. When sat in your chair, make sure your back is properly supported. Your knees should be slightly lower than your hips, so use a footrest if necessary.
2. Set your chair height so that you can use the keyboard with your wrists and forearms straight and level with the floor.
3. Make sure your elbows are by the side of your body and that the arm forms an “L” shape at the elbow joint.
4. Rest your feet flat on the floor and don’t cross your legs.
5. Place your screen at eye level and directly in front of you.
6. Your monitor should be about arms-length away from you with the top of the screen at eye level.
7. Place your keyboard in front of you when typing and leave a gap of about 15 cm to the front of the desk so you can rest your wrists between typing.
8. Keep your mouse as close to you as possible.

Other things you can do is swap your phone receiver with a headset and position frequently used objects – stapler, pen pot, coffee cup, etc – within easy reach.

How office furniture can help improve your posture:

For business owners, one of the best ways to help employees improve their posture is to provide them with the correct office furniture.

Ergonomic desks and chairs are a great place to start, as are footrests, screen stands and even filters to reduce screen glare.

Taking things a step further, you can plan the design and layout of your office so that it includes space for employees to move around and exercise throughout the day.

Here at Building Interiors we have unrivalled experience in designing and creating office spaces that help employees to be happy and healthy during their time at work.

To learn more about how we can help, contact our team here.

 0113 388 6522

contact@buildinginteriorsgroup.co.uk

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