Many office workers can describe their day without looking at a calendar: tight neck by mid-morning, tired eyes after lunch, a heavy lower back in the afternoon, and stiff hips when standing up to go home. None of this arrives suddenly. It’s the quiet result of how the workstation is set up, how long we stay in one position, and how we rush through the day without giving the body much say.
Ergonomics is not about buying the most expensive chair or forcing yourself into a rigid “perfect posture”. It is about shaping your work environment and habits so your body can do its job with less strain and more margin. This article looks at office ergonomics in everyday language—what really matters, how small changes add up, and where occupational therapy can help.
Why office work strains the body
Humans are built for movement, yet office work asks us to repeat the same small patterns for hours: eyes fixed on a screen, hands on the keyboard or mouse, trunk held almost still. Even with light loads, this long-duration, low-level effort can fatigue muscles and joints.
The neck and shoulders work to keep the head oriented toward the screen, especially if the monitor is low or off to one side. The lower back and hips take the load of prolonged sitting, particularly when the chair or desk height is not matched to the person. The wrists, hands and forearms handle thousands of small keystrokes and mouse clicks. Over time, this combination can contribute to discomfort, muscle tightness, fatigue, and—in some people—tendinopathy or nerve compression problems.
Stress and deadlines often make things worse. When you are rushing, you are less likely to adjust your chair, take small breaks, or notice that you are leaning forward and holding your breath. The body quietly adapts to “just get through the day”, and by the time symptoms appear they may feel unrelated to work, even though the pattern has been building for months or years.
Rethinking “posture” at the desk
“Sit up straight” has been repeated so often that many people feel guilty if they are not perfectly upright. But the reality is more nuanced. There is no single ideal posture that fits everyone all day long. Different bodies, ages and histories tolerate different positions. What tends to cause trouble is not a particular posture but staying in one posture too long.
A more helpful way to think about sitting is to aim for a supported, relaxed alignment most of the time, and to allow regular variation. That often means:
- the pelvis supported by the chair rather than perching on the front edge,
- the backrest used rather than ignored,
- the head broadly over the shoulders rather than far in front of them, and
- the arms resting in a way that does not drag the shoulders up toward the ears.
Within that general framework, your body should still be free to shift: lean a little forward to focus, sit back to think, rotate slightly when speaking to someone, stand up when possible. The nervous system and tissues appreciate these small changes more than a forced, static “perfect” posture.
Matching the chair, desk and screen to your body
Ergonomics begins with basic geometry: where your body is in relation to the surfaces and devices you use. When these are mismatched, the body fills the gap by bending, reaching or twisting more than it needs to.
A well-adjusted chair allows your feet to rest fully on the floor (or a footrest if needed), with knees roughly level with or slightly below hip height. This gives the pelvis a more neutral base and reduces strain on the lower back. The backrest should support the natural curve of the spine rather than pushing it flat or forcing an exaggerated arch.
Desk height works best when your forearms can rest lightly with elbows roughly around right angles, shoulders relaxed instead of lifted. If the desk is too high, shoulders creep upwards and the neck works harder. If it is too low, you tend to hunch forward and load the upper back.
The screen influences neck and eye strain. When it sits very low, you spend the day in subtle neck flexion. When it is off to one side, the neck rotates repeatedly in that direction. Placing the main monitor directly in front of you, and raising it so that the top of the visible area is around eye level for most people, reduces the need for constant head tilt and twist. Multi-screen setups are often most comfortable when the primary screen is centred, and secondary screens sit to the side rather than forcing constant wide rotations.
These are principles, not rigid rules. An occupational therapist or ergonomics professional can help you fine-tune them to your body size, vision, and the realities of your particular workspace.
Keyboard, mouse and hand comfort
Hands and wrists are often the quiet workhorses of office life. Small changes in position can have outsized effects on comfort.
Keyboards positioned too high or too far away encourage lifted shoulders and reaching, while close, low placement can cause the wrists to flex excessively. A keyboard placed so the elbows rest near the body, with wrists broadly in line with the forearms, helps share load between shoulders and forearms. Some people benefit from a split or low-profile keyboard to reduce extension at the wrists, but changes should be tested gradually so that new discomforts are not created while solving old ones.
Mouse use is another common source of strain. Holding a mouse far to the side encourages shoulder abduction and neck tension. Bringing it closer to the keyboard and body, or using a slightly larger surface so the whole arm moves rather than only the wrist, can reduce repetitive local stress. For some, alternative pointing devices (trackballs, vertical mice, pen-style devices) are helpful, but they are not automatically better for everyone. The key question is: Can you use the device without gripping it tightly or contorting your wrist?
Short micro-breaks—taking the hand off the mouse, resting the forearms, gently opening and closing the fingers—give soft tissues a chance to reset during long tasks.
Movement breaks: the “invisible medicine” of office work
Even with an excellent ergonomic setup, the body dislikes uninterrupted stillness. Muscles need regular changes of length and load, joints benefit from movement, and the brain itself works better when you periodically stand, walk, or shift attention.
Many people imagine breaks as long, disruptive pauses, but in practice the most helpful ones are often short and frequent. Standing up to refill water, walking to speak with a colleague instead of sending a message, standing during a phone call, or doing a brief shoulder roll and neck movement can all serve as useful resets. A pattern of one to two minutes of movement every half hour, or a few minutes every hour, is often more realistic than aiming for one perfect thirty-minute session that never happens.
These breaks are not only for muscles and joints. They also offer the eyes a chance to focus at a different distance, and the nervous system a moment to step out of “hyper-focused screen mode,” which can indirectly reduce neck and shoulder tension.
Organising work to support the body
Ergonomics is not only about furniture and equipment; it is also about how work is organised. Long stretches of intense, uninterrupted screen work are more likely to produce discomfort than a day that alternates between different types of tasks.
Whenever possible, it helps to group work into blocks that naturally require different positions: some time at the desk, some time in meetings, some tasks that can be done standing or walking. If your role is heavily screen-based, you may still have small tasks—sending voice notes, reviewing paper documents, thinking through a plan—that can be done away from the keyboard.
Pacing applies here as well. Trying to “push through” fatigue often leads to more tension, cramped sitting and reduced movement. Respecting early signs of discomfort as prompts—not emergencies—encourages you to make small adjustments before pain escalates.
Stress, focus and body tension
Many office workers notice that pain is worse not just on long days, but on stressful days. When deadlines are tight or interpersonal tensions are high, shoulders rise, jaw muscles clench, and breathing becomes more shallow. The body reacts to perceived threats, even when those threats are emails, not lions.
Recognising this link can be quietly powerful. It shifts the question from “What is wrong with my neck?” to “How is my whole system responding to this day?” Simple strategies—like taking a slow, deeper breath before answering a difficult email, briefly releasing your jaw and letting the shoulders drop, or looking away from the screen to a more distant point—can reduce the constant low-grade activation that feeds into muscle tension.
Sleep, nutrition and activity outside work also influence how tolerant the body is to daily strain. An ergonomic setup cannot fully compensate for chronic sleep deprivation or high stress, but it can reduce one layer of load so your system has more room to cope.
How occupational therapy supports office ergonomics
Occupational therapists are trained to look at the intersection of person, environment and occupation. For office workers, that means understanding your body, your workspace and the specific demands of your job, then helping you adjust the system so the three fit each other better.
In practice, OT can include:
- Assessing your actual workstation—chair, desk, screens, keyboard, mouse, phone—and how you use them across a real workday.
- Observing how you sit, stand, move between tasks, and respond under time pressure.
- Identifying small, realistic adjustments that reduce strain without requiring a complete office remodel.
- Helping you develop a movement and pacing plan that fits your schedule and personality, rather than adding an unrealistic “perfect routine” you can’t maintain.
- Teaching body-use strategies for tasks like lifting files, handling equipment, or working on a laptop when travelling.
The emphasis is on practical, sustainable change. There is little value in a beautifully set-up workspace that you abandon after a week because it doesn’t match how your job actually runs.
Working in less-than-ideal environments
Not everyone has control over their office furniture. Some people hot-desk, work from laptops in cafés or co-working spaces, or share limited equipment. In these situations, ergonomics becomes a matter of making the best of what you have.
That might mean carrying a light laptop stand and external keyboard to avoid always looking down, choosing seats with better back support when possible, improvising foot support if the chair is too high, or consciously limiting the length of any one sitting session. For remote work, using what is available at home (for example, stacking books under a screen or using cushions to improve chair height) can make a noticeable difference.
Even in imperfect environments, you still have control over some variables: how often you move, how tightly you hold your shoulders, and how you pace your workload. Occupational therapy can help you prioritise the changes that give the greatest benefit within your constraints.
When to seek professional help
Mild aches that come and go with busy periods are common in office work. However, if you notice pain that is:
- persistent and steadily worsening,
- associated with numbness, tingling, weakness or clumsiness,
- disturbing sleep regularly, or
- significantly limiting your ability to work or manage daily tasks,
it is important to seek professional assessment. A healthcare provider can help rule out specific conditions and guide you towards appropriate rehabilitation, including occupational therapy, physiotherapy or other interventions as needed.
Early attention to emerging problems is often easier than trying to unwind long-standing pain patterns that have been allowed to build for years.
A practical, hopeful way forward
Office work is unlikely to disappear, and most people cannot simply walk away from their desk jobs for the sake of their backs and necks. The good news is that ergonomics is not an all-or-nothing project. You do not need a perfect chair, a standing desk and the latest gadgets to feel better. You need a more conscious relationship with how your body and your work interact.
By making even a few thoughtful changes—adjusting chair and screen height, bringing keyboard and mouse within comfortable reach, standing and moving briefly throughout the day, and paying attention to how stress shows up in your posture—you can often reduce daily strain significantly. With additional support from occupational therapy when needed, your workstation can become a place where your body is supported, not worn down, as you do the mental work your job demands.
This article is for general education and does not replace individual medical advice. For personalised assessment and recommendations, please consult your healthcare provider or rehabilitation team.
