Sitting still is not for you
Our bodies are not built to sit in more or less the same position for eight hours a day. To take the best care of your body during the working day, you can do two things: set up your workplace with the right ergonomic products, as well as move enough during the day. Movement in this case can be anything, including simply getting up and walking around or doing low-threshold exercises that loosen up key muscle groups. In any case, the most important thing is not to stay in the same position all day.
Moving more during the working day may sound difficult. But you will be surprised how simple it actually is to incorporate more exercise into your working day. Some things you could apply right away include:
- Always make the walk to the coffee machine by yourself
- Letting go of your mouse when reading documents on your screen
- Get up and walk around when on the phone
- Opt for the stairs instead of the lift
- Hold meetings standing up, or even walk if possible
Finding short moments during the day when you can do simple (stretching) exercises is also highly recommended. In addition, there are numerous tools and behaviours that you can incorporate into your workplace and working day to ensure that you really do work more ergonomically. We take you through the most important ones.
Working standing
Sit-stand desks are becoming increasingly popular, and rightly so in our opinion. Indeed, sit-stand desks are ideal for ensuring that you move around during the day. For instance, working standing (properly) leads to a decrease in back and neck pain complaints among employees (Chau et al., 2016). In addition, standing regularly will make you feel more energetic, allowing you to concentrate better.
What is crucial, however, is that you stand in the right way. Ergonomic standing work. And this is how you do it:
- The desk should be high enough that with your wrists in neutral position, your forearms should be at a 90-degree angle
- Your monitor should be at eye level so that you do not have to bend your neck
- Ideally, there should be an arm's length between you and your monitor
Active sitting
Another way to move more - almost imperceptibly - during the working day is through ‘active sitting’. As the name suggests, this is sitting in a more active way, where you will regularly change your posture. You do this by sitting on a specially designed seating solution. Think, for example, of a wobble stool or balance ball. Because you have to move each time to stay properly balanced, your muscles are strengthened and your blood circulation improved (Cardenas et al., 2024). This improved circulation also affects blood flow to your brain, which will make you more alert and better able to concentrate.
AND, a nice bonus is that because you have to change your posture every time, you teach yourself to always adopt the right posture. Which can prevent posture problems in the long run (Vergara & Page, 2002). However, keep in mind that active sitting should be built up in steps. Your muscles must slowly get used to a higher load, so do not immediately pass on the familiar office chair to someone else.
20-10-8 and 90-30 and...
A lot of research has been done on how to get through your working day in the healthiest way possible. These studies have all produced advice and guidelines that will help you work more ergonomically and thus better. But they are sometimes difficult to combine.
For instance, they say you should maintain a rhythm of 20 minutes of sitting, then 8 minutes of standing and then 2 minutes of exercise (Buckley et al., 2015). Or conversely, a rhythm of 30-30, where you should stretch for 30 seconds after every 30 minutes of work. The well-known 20-20-20 rule where, after 20 minutes of looking at the screen, you should pause for 20 seconds to look at something 20 feet (6 metres) away, to reduce stress on your eyes (Anshel, 2007). And don't forget the 90-30 rule which states that you should take a 30-minute break after 90 minutes of focused work.
All in all, the most important thing is to find a way of moving that suits you so that you actually keep applying it. This is how ergonomic working will work for you.
Tip: do the neck stretch daily!
- Place your chin on your chest and hold for 15-30 seconds
- Tilt your head back and hold for 15-30 seconds
- Turn your head to the left until your chin reaches your shoulder and hold for 15-30 seconds
- Repeat this movement to the right
Prevention is the best treatment
We prefer to avoid clichés, but in this one we cannot avoid it: prevention is better than cure. It is really important to intervene in time when your body is trying to tell you something. Small pains and complaints are harbingers of future discomforts and are best addressed right away. Listen to your body and adjust your behaviour where necessary. This also applies to mental complaints. Enthusiasm, an "I'm going for it" mentality and challenging deadlines are elements that make our work fun, but there are limits. In today's competitive, performance-oriented culture, people sometimes fear that discussing stress or overtime comes across as a sign of weakness or inadequacy, when that is not the case. As with physical complaints, addressing or discussing stress and other psychological pressures before a problem arises is actually the best method.
Your best posture, is your next posture!
Curious to know more?
Have you become curious about the ideal ergonomic solution for your company? We would be happy to advise you.
Yes, I would like advice
