Working Positions: Upright Seated

Just because we work freelance from home does not mean that we should ignore ergonomics.  Admittedly if you are working at the kitchen table it may be a bit more difficult to achieve, but it’s likely possible.   You need not cringe and immediately respond that you can’t afford it—there are lots of simple, inexpensive ways to improve your workstation—you do not have to rush right out and buy a special computer desk or a fantastically expensive chair with lots of bells and whistles.

Probably the most common working position is the upright seated position, though this is not the only “good” working posture. The essentials for this position include:

• Head level, neck, and torso in a vertical relation.
• Hands, wrists, and forearms are straight
• Elbows at 90–120 degrees.
• Shoulders level and relaxed, elbows close to the body
• Feet level on the floor or a footrest
• Hips supported, thighs parallel to the floor with knees at about the level of the hips.

The chair we use does not need to be fancy—but there are a few essentials: back support and height adjustment. It’s possible to use something as simple as a rolled bath towel for back support if you need it.

A workaround for height adjustment can be as simple as a footrest—that dictionary you don’t use any more since you have an online subscription—just enough to get the appropriate angle for knees.

Your monitor should be at a height that allows your head to be in a neutral position—tilted slightly forward about 10 degrees. If you need height adjustment you can use a stack of books or a box. Try to position it to avoid glare.

We’re still being quite sedentary, so we need to consider taking breaks to get up and move around periodically.  While this upright seated is the most common working position, it’s not the only one that can help keep us from musculoskeletal disorders. Increasing your general exercise will help to offset some of the problems with such sedentary work, but is not enough to overcome sitting disease.

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Editor’s note: This article is part of a series on occupational challenges for freelance folks who sit in front of computers most of the day. Look for more on the details of making your workplace human-body friendly from our resident indexer and DO, S. Anne Fifer.