Most of us spend 2/3 of the lifetime at work. Young people spend much time studying. And everyone has the right to work and learn in safe, convenient and ergonomic environment. Each profession specifies its own requirements for working places. And there are standards for learning environment set up.
On the other hand many people today work in offices or study sitting at the desks in front of computer’s monitor all day long. And for them it’s ultimately important to have comfortable computer workstations. If your workstation is improper, and you work or study at computer for a long period of time each day, you are at risk to meet serious health consequences. For example, stiff neck, visual impairment, repetitive motion disorders, habit scoliosis, and troubles with leg veins. These injures can be painful, difficult to cure and permanent even. But they can be prevented easily if you take time to set your workspace up correctly – following safety and ergonomic requirements.
The main idea is to set up the environment where demands placed on your body are minimized while you work at your computer workstation. Main objectives of it is to maintain neutral postures at neck, elbow and wrist, support back, legs and feet, and maintain optimal line of sight . Special attention should be paid to the "Carpal Tunnel" at our wrists. It is necessary to avoid resting our wrists on the desk while typing. We should always keep our knee at a 90-110 degree angle while we sit and work at our desk. We should not rest our wrists resting on the desk while typing. Our mouse and keyboard should be on the same level. Put the monitor just in from of you at direct eyes level. The distance between the monitor and your eyes should be 45-61 cm. Frequently used things should be easy to take, so put them close to your arms. Less frequently used items should be placed at the back of the work surface.
To be able to keep to all these standards we should care for ergonomic workstation and equip it with right furniture and accessories. There is no much trouble to with chairs letting us adjust their height and even chair back position. We have rich choice of keyboards and mice which prevent us from Carpal tunnel disease. And the only thing we usually have little chances to adjust is workstation desks.
Workstation desks can be made of wood, fiberboard, plastic, glass, iron, etc. They can be with or without shelves, boxes for office accessories, moving out boxed for papers. While making choice of the desk, it is necessary to keep in mind the idea that our workstation must be safe, healthy, ergonomic and comfortable. So choose natural wood over plastic and fiberboard, try to leave space for writing too and consider enough light for your desk.
