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Home working turned dining tables into desks, and the arrangement that is fine for a week causes real problems over months.
The Basic Geometry
Feet flat on the floor or a footrest. Knees at roughly a right angle. Hips slightly higher than knees.
Elbows at roughly a right angle with forearms level, which is what sets the correct desk height relative to the chair.
The top of the screen at or slightly below eye level, at roughly an arm’s length away.
Where the Desk Goes
Not facing a window, which puts glare behind the screen, and not with a window directly behind you.
Side-on to a window gives the best light. Where a room forces it, blinds solve most of it.
Ranges where home office is a small category, of the kind at signaturedesign-by-ashley.com, are worth checking against your actual dimensions rather than assuming a standard desk suits.
The Laptop Problem
- A laptop puts the screen and the keyboard in the same place
- Either the screen is too low or the keyboard is too high
- Both cannot be right at once
- A stand plus a separate keyboard and mouse solves it
- It is the cheapest meaningful ergonomic improvement available
Working on a laptop on a lap or a sofa holds the neck flexed for hours, and it is the most common cause of home-working neck pain.
The Chair Matters More Than the Desk
Desks vary less than people think. Chairs vary enormously.
Adjustable height, adjustable back, and support in the lower back are the features that matter. Armrests should let you sit close enough to the desk rather than blocking it.
A dining chair is not a working chair, and it is what most people used for a very long time.
Movement Beats Posture
The finding that matters most, and it is the least sold.
No single position is good for hours. Getting up regularly, changing position, and taking short breaks does more than any equipment.
Sit-stand desks help mainly because they encourage changing position rather than because standing is inherently better.
Cables and Trip Hazards
Nothing running across a walkway, and nothing under a rug, where wear is invisible and heat is trapped.
Never daisy-chain extension leads.
Persistent Pain
Pain that continues despite adjustment, or that radiates with numbness or weakness, warrants a GP or physiotherapist.
Fix the Free Things First
Screen height, chair height and how often you move.