Book: Hay, Louise. L. (2017). You can heal your life. Sydney: Hay House.

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Book: Maté, Gabor. When the Body Says No: The Cost of Hidden Stress. Toronto: A.A. Knopf Canada, 2003.

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Article: Ergonomics While Working from Home

With a large number of people working from home because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we need to make our home office spaces a healthy and safe place to work. Please find attached the Adjusting and Adapting Your Computer Workstation checklist for your reference.

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According to an article in PC Magazine, Alan Hedge a professor at Cornell University in the department of design and environmental analysis indicates there are four areas that you need to focus your attention.

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1.       Head and Neck – Your head should be vertical to your neck. If you have a monitor, use books to raise it to a comfortable eye level. When using a laptop, you could raise the laptop and use an external keyboard. If these strategies are not possible, stretching and micro breaks are recommended.

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2.       Hand and Wrist Position – Make sure you keep your arms and wrists nice and straight. You do not want a hinge at the wrist. You might want to change the height of table or chair if possible or move your keyboard and mouse closer or farther away from you.

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3.       Seated Posture and Back Support – Find a posture that allows you to see the screen while sitting in a way that provides lower back support. You can use home items such as a cushion, pillow or towel behind your back. Boxes can be used as a footrest if required when your feet are not flat on the floor. Also, make sure your chair is not hitting the back of your knees as that can reduce blood flow.

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4.       Behaviour – Take frequent but short breaks. Humans were made to move and it has been proven that movement provides the best physical and mental benefits. Stretching and micro breaks every hour at the least.

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Christine Masters 
Health Safety and Wellness Specialist

South East Local Health Integration Network