Position the monitor at least 20 inches away, roughly an arm's length from your eyes.
Level 1 · Free · Self-paced
Ergonomics and Office / Workplace Setup
Learn neutral body posture, how to adjust your chair, desk and monitor, and how to prevent musculoskeletal disorders.
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Training boundary
This is awareness training. It does not replace a professional ergonomic assessment, a medical evaluation for musculoskeletal symptoms, or your employer's own workstation or display screen equipment assessment. If you have pain, numbness or ongoing discomfort, report it and seek a qualified medical opinion rather than relying on this course alone.
Musculoskeletal disorders and neutral posture
Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), such as carpal tunnel syndrome, tendonitis and lower back strain, develop gradually from repeated or sustained postures, awkward positions and poorly adjusted workstations. Preventing them starts with keeping the body in a neutral posture, joints naturally aligned rather than bent or twisted, for as much of the working day as possible.
Neutral body posture checkpoints
Wrists
Kept straight while typing or using a mouse, not bent up, down or to the side.
Shoulders
Relaxed and level, not raised toward the ears or rounded forward.
Elbows
At roughly a 90-degree angle, close to the body.
Knees
Slightly lower than the hips when seated.
A single feature out of place, such as a chair set too low or a keyboard too far away, can force several joints out of neutral position at once. Adjust the workstation to the person, not the person to the workstation.
Try itA colleague's wrists and shoulders ache by mid-afternoon. You notice their chair is low, so the desk is near chest height and they type with their wrists bent up and shoulders raised. What's the best first fix?
Accessories can help, but they don't fix the cause. With the desk at chest height the shoulders and wrists are still forced out of neutral.
Right. One feature out of place pushed several joints out of neutral. Fixing the chair height brings wrists, elbows and shoulders back together, and the footrest keeps the knees and hips right.
Breaks help, but they would still spend every working minute in the same strained position. Adjust the workstation to the person first.
Source basis: OSHA's Computer Workstations eTool sets out these neutral body posture principles for computer-based work.
Workstation hardware tuning
Office chairs, desks and monitors each have adjustments that exist specifically to help you hold a neutral posture. Using the default setting is rarely correct for every body size.
Office chair
Set the lumbar support depth to fit the curve of your lower back, and set armrest height so your shoulders stay relaxed rather than raised or hunched.
Desk
Set the height, or add a keyboard tray, so your elbows can stay near 90 degrees without reaching up or down.
Monitor
Position and adjust height so your neck and viewing angle stay neutral (covered in more detail in the next lesson).
Check your setup again whenever your chair, desk or monitor changes, or if you start a task that changes how you sit, such as prolonged phone use or reading physical documents.
Source basis: OSHA's computer workstation purchasing guide and self-assessment checklist cover adjusting chair lumbar support and armrest height, and sizing desks correctly for the individual user.
Visual ergonomics and movement
Visual ergonomics
Poor monitor placement is one of the most common causes of neck and eye strain at a desk.
Align the top of the screen at or just below eye level, so you look slightly down at the middle of the screen rather than up or straight ahead.
Micro-breaks and movement
Even a well-adjusted workstation does not remove the risk of a fixed posture held for too long. Build movement into the working day:
The 20-20-20 rule
Every 20 minutes, look at something roughly 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds, to rest the eyes.
Scheduled desk stretches
Short, regular breaks to change position, stand and stretch rather than remaining static for hours at a time.
Source basis: OSHA's Computer Workstations eTool and purchasing guide cover monitor distance and eye-level placement. The 20-20-20 rule and scheduled movement are established behavioural strategies for reducing visual and postural fatigue at a workstation.
Global regulatory frameworks
No single global ergonomics law applies everywhere, but the major frameworks converge on the same idea: assess the workstation, adjust the equipment, and build in recovery time.
OSHA (United States)
OSHA does not have one single, dedicated ergonomics standard. It enforces workplace comfort and safety through the General Duty Clause (Section 5(a)(1)), which requires employers to provide a workplace free from recognized hazards likely to cause physical harm. OSHA also offers a dedicated Computer Workstations eTool to help employers evaluate employee setups.
ILO (International)
The ILO Ergonomic Checkpoints manual, developed with the International Ergonomics Association, provides global benchmarks for office workspaces, explicitly covering data-entry and computer workstations. It highlights that proper furniture adjustment and lighting control can significantly reduce occupational disease rates worldwide.
EU-OSHA (European Union)
Directive 90/270/EEC (Display Screen Equipment) legally requires employers in the EU to analyse workstations for health hazards, ensure office chairs are properly adjustable, and give workers periodic breaks or changes in activity to reduce visual and physical fatigue.
Framework
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Official references
Final assessment
The assessment has ten questions. A verified learner must complete all lessons and score at least 80%. A certificate confirms completion and the recorded knowledge score. It does not replace a professional ergonomic or medical assessment.
Question 1 of 10