Key question
How do you keep your body healthy when working at a screen?
Designers spend many hours sitting in front of a screen. With a well-organised workstation, regular short breaks and movement, you can effectively prevent discomfort – and it often leads to better ideas, too.
Learning objective: You can set up your workstation ergonomically, incorporate movement into your working day, and take your body's signals seriously at an early stage.
Movement is part of the work.
10.1 / Ergonomics
The workspace adapts to you.
An ergonomic workspace relieves strain on the back, neck, hands and eyes:
01
Sitting
Feet flat on the floor, thighs approximately horizontal, back supported.
02
Screen
Top edge roughly at eye level, an arm's length away.
03
Hands
Relaxed wrists, keyboard shortcuts instead of a click marathon.
04
Light
Glare-free, screen positioned sideways to the window.
Even small adjustments, such as the height of the screen or an external monitor for your laptop, make a noticeable difference.
Small adjustments, noticeable every day.
10.2 / Exercise and breaks
Taking frequent breaks works better than rare exercise.
Sitting for long periods without a break puts a strain on the body, even for people who exercise. It helps to break up sitting regularly: stand up, take a few steps, make phone calls while standing. The World Health Organisation also recommends that adults get 150 to 300 minutes of moderate physical activity per week.
For your eyes, the 20-20-20 rule helps: every 20 minutes, look at something roughly six metres away for 20 seconds. Moving around is not a waste of time either: a short walk often sparks the idea that refused to come whilst sitting at the screen.
Stand up briefly every 30 to 60 minutes.
10.3 / Listening to your body
Reacting early is easier.
Recurring neck and back pain, tingling in the hands, burning eyes or headaches are signs that something needs to be adjusted in your workplace or daily routine.
Acting early prevents symptoms from becoming persistent. If problems continue, it is worth consulting your GP or seeing a physiotherapist. Many employers also offer workplace assessments.
The body lets you know early on, if you listen.
Exercise
My workstation check
Task: Check and improve your workstation.
STEP 1
Have someone take a photo of you from the side while you work.
STEP 2
Compare with the four ergonomic points.
STEP 3
Adjust your chair, monitor and lighting.
STEP 4
Try out your break schedule from the tool for a week.
Evaluation: Which adjustment made the biggest difference?