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Get comfortable as you work from home and learn how to avoid bad sitting postures

Vitra, the famous Swiss design house renowned as a reference in international design and iconic seating, is riding to the rescue of workers battling with uncomfortable conditions while working from home, which has become the norm for office staff over the last few months.

For those of us who have found that the lockdown to stem the spread of the coronavirus has been particularly hard on our backs, help is now at hand. 

What with the lockdown and other precautionary measures, many of us have not been to the office in months, and there is no saying how much longer we will be working from home. The problem is that more often than not the ergonomics of our home workspaces have not really been thought through. An issue that is further compounded by the fact that we may be indulging in bad posture for longer periods given that we no longer have to bother with daily commutes or going out for lunch. 

Now the Vitra design house has come to the rescue with three tips to optimise comfort in our home workspaces. 

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Find the right table and chair heights

If, like many of us, you have been working on a dining table, kitchen table, or, in some extreme cases even a coffee table, it may not be easy to adjust the height of your desk. In some cases, it might be possible to compensate for this with a careful choice of seating. As to how we should sit when using a computer, the standard wisdom is to have relaxed upper arms that form a right angle with your forearms, on the same level as the keyboard.

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Pampering your back

Your back should be properly supported during work sessions, and it is important not to forget to regularly change your sitting position.

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Try working standing up

If you are lucky enough to own a height-adjustable desk, spending part of the day working standing up can do wonders for your back (while still keeping your forearms and upper arms at right angles). If you don't, you may be able to improvise using a chest of drawers or a sideboard. Finally, when you need to read a document or make a phone call, it is a good idea to do so while strolling around. 

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