Impacts of Information and Communication Technology on Personal Health

Having an ergonomic setup is crucial to avoid work-related injuries. The properties of the following items determine whether your work environment is ergonomic or not: the chair, the desk/table, the monitor, the mouse, the lighting, and the general environment around you. Your chair has to have 5 castors for stability, adjustable height so your feet are flat on the floor and on a 90°, and it has to be padded for comfort so you don't get back pain. Your desk has to have smooth, round edges so you don't hurt yourself if you accidentally hit its edge, it has to have adjustable height so you could have leg room, it needs lots of space so you could do your work, and finally, it needs to have a neutral color to avoid fatigue and a dull finish to avoid glare. Your monitor needs to be a flat screen to avoid glare, it needs to be clean to avoid any allergies (like dust allergies), the top of your screen needs to be at your eye level to avoid any neck injuries (from looking up or down, the monitor needs to be 45 to 60 cm (arms length) away to avoid any eye strain and it needs to be perpendicular to the light source to avoid any glare. Your keyboard needs to have a wrist pad, when using the keyboard your elbows need to be at a 90° angle, your wrists have to be strait and your shoulders should be relaxed. Some keyboards are designed differently to suit your natural hand position. The mouse has to be close so you don't have to stretch to reach it, you must have a mouse pad so you can move your mouse easily and the shape of your mouse has to be comfortable to your hand. The lighting of the room can't be too bright because of glare but not too dim because of eye strain and should not flicker. Instead, it should focus on your paper and be perpendicular to your monitor. Finally, the environment of your room must be clean, have adequate air circulation, doesn't have a draft, have a temperature between 19°C and 22°C. The walls must have neutral colors and the work space has to be smoke free. Extra items that you can use are paper holders (clipped to monitor) to avoid neck injuries (when you are stretching to look at them), telephone headset to avoid neck and shoulder strain (when you are calling while working), and a foot rest to avoid back strain. Click on the following images to see a description of each: