Engineering

Human factors and ergonomics

Operating system

Computer science

Medical emergency

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Mechanical engineering

Poison control

Desk

Work (physics)

Infectious disease (medical specialty)

Operations management

Workstation

Laptop

Medicine

Office workers

Disease

Pathology

Ergonomics in Design The Quarterly of Human Factors Applications

Millions of workers have been uprooted by COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) and been thrown into a “new normal” of working from home offices. To further complicate things, many individuals were provided with only a laptop and little, if any, education on setting up an ergonomically correct workstation. As a result, many home office–based workers potentially face suboptimal working conditions. Based on 41 home office ergonomic evaluations, most ergonomic concerns related to laptop usage, nonadjustable chairs without armrests, low monitor heights, and hard desk surfaces. If home-based office work continues, people need to understand the ramifications of poor workstation.

The Home Office: Ergonomic Lessons From the “New Normal”