The remote-work era came with its own set of natural benefits, and thousands of employees have loved making money from the comfort of their own homes. However, every new kind of norm in the workspace comes with its own unique set of challenges as well, and studies have shown that remote work can actually be harming your health if not done correctly! Below, we’ll discuss how the dangers of poor posture, along with other aspects of working from home, can worsen your long-term health and overall productivity.
How Remote Work Harms Your Body and Mind
Muscle Issues
The first main way that remote work can hurt your body is by slowly causing musculoskeletal issues. Workers complaining about stiff necks and shoulders, a consistently bad back, and regular wrist pain are likely experiencing the dangers of poor posture while seated in front of their computer.
Sitting on your living room couch or in a chair for eight or more hours every single day may feel comfortable, but it can force your body into unnatural positions that cause repetitive strain injuries (RSI). Working with poor posture can also lead to metabolic disruption, nervous system disruption, spinal misalignment, and even eventually breathing issues.
Lower Mobility
Poor posture while working remotely can also lead to reduced mobility. Staying in a seated position for extended periods of time make the muscles weaker, increasing the overall difficulty of both basic and complex movement. Spending too much interrupted time in any position can make usually simple tasks like long walks or climbing stairs more difficult.
Eye Strain
Like most screen-based activities, working from home can also lead to prolonged eye strain and related optical issues. The combination of bright laptop screens and poor overhead lighting will result in eye strain that pairs well with the poor neck posture that creates pain and lethargy. Some levels of eye strain can even lead to blurred vision, headaches, eye pain, and a basic inability to concentrate if you’re not careful!
Poor Mental Health
Working remotely can also result in various mental health issues that are comorbid with the physical effects of dangers of poor posture. People that work from home can feel isolated from their coworkers as well as friends and family. If you are experiencing physical discomfort or even more serious medical issues as a result of bad posture, natural feelings of depression, irritability, anxiety, and burnout may follow.
How Remote Work Can Harm Your Productivity
Lethargy and Distraction
The resulting medical issues and discomfort associated with poor posture can easily lead to feelings of lethargy and increased levels of distraction. It makes sense that you would not want to work hard if your body is aching, your eyes are strained, and you feel grumpy and annoyed because of these things. Also, the longer your issues go on, the more likely you are to slack off, do poor work, and sink further into the hole of pain and burnout.
Long-Term Issues
The brief or temporary discomfort caused by poor posture at work can lead to long-term issues that may never go away. Medical issues like muscular pain and spinal damage simply don’t get better without changes. Instead, they get worse, and they slowly get closer and closer to being permanent. Without a change to your remote work style, you may develop long-term problems like stenosis, arthritis, vision issues, and more, which could require extended treatment or time away from work.
Money Problems
Naturally, if the dangers of poor posture go too far, these medical problems can quickly lead to financial difficulties. As your medical state worsens, you’ll have to spend more and more money to treat your pain, which could mean medications, treatments, or even costly surgeries. On top of that, who’s to say whether or not you might still be able to work at all? Eventually, you might even lose income or have to leave work altogether.
How Can You Fix Your Posture While WFH?
Upgrade Your Work Station!
The easiest way to fix your posture while working from home is to upgrade your work station. An ergonomic setup will help quickly reverse the effects of sitting in unnatural positions for long periods of time. Start first by making sure that your eyes are always level with the upper portion of your monitor (about two to three inches below the casing).
Next, you need to purchase a comfortable chair that has enough neck and lumbar support, supportive cushions and armrests, an adjustable height, and an ability to swivel. While you are sitting in front of your computer, make sure that your elbows are at a 90-degree angle when typing and keep your wrists and back straight instead of sitting in a hunched position.
No seated position is truly ideal for an entire workday, so get out of your chair whenever possible but keep your setup ergonomic whenever you do have to stay seated.
Place Your Devices Well!
The second thing you can do to fix your poor posture at work is properly place your devices. The correct placement will help to prevent awkward movements or reaching that encourage bad posture. Always make sure to keep your mouse and keyboard close together so that you aren’t reaching much farther than a few inches. Keep in mind other accessories that can improve your posture, such as monitor risers, external keyboards, and footrests.
Reduce Eye Strain!
While working from home, it is best to always reduce how much strain you are putting on your eyes. Make sure that your office or home lighting is effective and do your best to avoid staring at any screen for long periods.
Position your main monitor so that it doesn’t create any glare and double check your interior lighting to ensure that it is soft and not shining on you with harsh LED light that can ultimately harm your eyes. If you want to go over and above, you could even invest in window curtains or blinds to shut out distracting natural light.
To prevent your screen from affecting your vision, you should also follow the “20-20-20 rule” whenever you can. This rule means looking at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds every 20 minutes, and it is an easy way to break up the monotony of your work day in a way that gives your eyes some rest.
Move Your Body!
Whenever you can, it is important to move your body! So many medical issues related to remote work are caused by staying in certain positions for way too long. Moving around at various points during the day helps reduce muscle stiffness, keeps you loose, and also keeps you from constantly looking at your screen or staying seated.
No matter what is on your work calendar, try to take regular, short movement breaks during the day to get up, walk around, and perhaps even do some basic stretches or exercises. You should aim for at least five minutes of movement every 45 minutes that you work, as this is the best way to keep your body in shape and unaffected by long hours at the desk. Stay hydrated throughout your work day in addition to this regular amount of movement and stretching.
Go to the Doctor!
The best way to make sure you’re on track to prevent the dangers of poor posture and their negative effects is by going to the doctor. Make sure that you’re talking with your primary care physician about your work habits and trying out new techniques they suggest in regards to posture, movement, diet, and hydration.
If you’re having any medical issues, consider consulting other specialists, such as chiropractors, optometrists, and orthopedic doctors or surgeons, who can help you address more significant problems. Look for affordable options and get whatever kind of treatment you can to ease the pains of poor posture.
Conclusion
Working from home can be great for some people, but our bodies can still suffer whenever you don’t treat them well while at home. You may think you’re immune from the negatives of poor posture, but even if they haven’t hit you yet or have been mild for a long time, they’re probably causing damage that you can’t see. It’s your responsibility to take good care of yourself, so don’t just slack off and assume that things will just work out! Start the process of fixing your posture at work today!
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