Designing the Ideal Workspace with Melissa Afterman, CPE

We recently sat down with Melissa Afterman, board Certified Professional Ergonomist, founder of Learn Ergo, and the Head of Professional Development for the Human Factors and Ergonomics Program at the University of California, Berkeley/San Francisco.With more than 20 years of consulting experience, she joined us to demystify the world of workspace design. Melissa shared her insights on why "ergonomic" is more than just a marketing buzzword and how we can find our "best" posture through movement and adjustability. Continue reading to learn about how to design your ideal office. 

The Fundamentals of Ergonomics

Q: What does “ergonomic” actually mean?
Melissa: At its core, ergonomics is about “fitting people”. A product is truly ergonomic for people when it allows people to remain in their neutral, natural position and work without overexertion. Because every human body is different – we all have different torso and arm lengths – true ergonomic furniture must be adjustable to accommodate those unique variations. 

Q: When you evaluate whether something is ergonomic, what are you looking at? 
Melissa: It’s not just about posture.  If something is ergonomic, it fits the body size and strength capacity.
When I evaluate a work space, I not only look for awkward postures, but also for risk factors like forceful exertions, repetitive movements, and duration of these risk factors. These are related to the outcomes of poor ergonomics that people often don’t connect: fatigue and injury. For example, when evaluating ergonomic keyboards and mice, we not only look at wrist, hand and finger posture, but at how much force is used to grip or press, and if that repetitive force is for long durations. It’s the same with sitting and standing; even while sitting, we feel the effect of forces due to gravity to hold our positions over time, even if we might not notice it right away. This is one of the reasons why sitting  or standing in one position for too long is bad. Awkward neck, back, or shoulder postures are common when using a desk that is too high or too low, and the static muscle activity to hold the positions can lead to fatigue, discomfort or injury.

Debunking the “90-degree”Myth”

Q: We often see diagrams online showing 90-degree elbows, knees and hips. Is that actually the ideal setup? 
Melissa: It is a very common concept people see online. I want to first explain why it is so popular. First, it’s a simple setup and very easy to remember. Second, those angles (90 degrees) are somewhat based in science. They are related to NASA research which found that when we take gravity away or put people in water, the body assumes a neutral position with the angles of the elbows about 90-120 degrees, but the angles of the knees and hips are more open, to about 120-130 degrees. Trying to assume this position in an office is challenging where floors, desks and seats are flat, so the 90-90-90 rule is a simple, more straightforward approach that puts the joint in the midline of these range of motion.  While it may be easier to teach this simple 90-90-90 setup, a true natural posture can be achieved when your knee and hip angles are more open than 90 degrees The bottom line is that there is no one single right posture, in fact there are a range of ideal postures. 

Q: What are some of the biggest misconceptions people have about ergonomics?
Melissa:  I would say the biggest misconception is when people only focus on posture, when they neglect other risk factors like force. For example, what a lot of people tend to neglect is the weight of our trunk or arms and the force we use to hold them up in space. 
When we sit at our desk, we need to think about what we are doing and what muscles we are using just to support the body. We are using forces to hold up heavy segments of our body, like the head and trunk, which can also lead to spinal disc compression in the neck and lumbar spine. to torques at our joints we might not notice. These are all the parts we need to watch when we create a truly ergonomic setting. 

Movement and Real-World Application

Q: Can a setup look ergonomic on paper but fail to work in real life? 
Melissa: Of course. For example, the 90-90-90 position is merely a starting point to get you into the right range. In reality, you move through minor adjustments throughout the day, like leaning forward, leaning backward,  twisting from side to side, and getting up to walk to another location. Moving through different postures is part of everyday computer work, and it is also something we encourage people to do. 
However, if people are going to do that, they need to have that agency to move. If making those adjustments is too hard, for instance, if the workstation simply doesn’t allow them to do it easily, then that setup, no matter how ideal it seems on paper, is not going to work well in real life. 
Another reason setups fail is that sometimes a “solution” just creates a different problem. For example, we are told that looking down at our cell phones is bad but simply holding them up is not the right answer either. Often, these ergonomic solutions fail in real life because they are superficial fixes and do not investigate the root cause of the problem. 

Q: What practices can help us avoid staying in a bad posture for too long?
Melissa: Being able to “dial in” the ideal height of desk is really helpful. Having an adjustable desk is helpful because even an inch here and there can make a difference in your upper body. This applies to both sitting and standing workstations.
You can also use chairs and seats that encourage mobility, like a wobble stool or a pilates ball. If you are thinking about sitting on a ball, don’t sit on a ball all day. A good practice is to rotate between different positions: use the ball for thirty minutes, then go back to a chair for thirty mintues, and then raise your desk for thirty mintues, etc. We can’t go the whole 8-hour workday without back and arm support, but intermittently using a more active sitting posture is a great way to decrease duration of any one posture. 

Exploring Different Postures: Floor-Sitting and Standing

Q: How does movement fit into ergonomics?
Melissa: In an ideal world, we would be moving between different working postures throughout the workday- some that are more supportive, some that are more active, some standing and some walking. 

Q: What is your take on floor-sitting as a working posture?
Melissa: The biggest problem with floor-sitting is that many Americans are not conditioned to sit on the floor. Even for people with no injuries; if they have been sitting in standard seated postures since childhood, their bodies aren’t ready to spend time in very different postures. It’s the same when people who suddenly switch to a standing desk all day because they heard sitting is a problem. Their body is not conditioned for it, and that sudden switch might even cause a back or knee injury. 
What they need to do is to go slow. For starters, I don’t recommend standing for more than 10 minutes per hour when they first get a sit-to-stand desk. Even if they have been sitting at the perfect 90-90-90 position, they still might not be conditioned to stand in one place for hours at a time. 

Q: What makes a floor-based setup more ergonomically sound?
Melisssa: Our body needs support to counteract gravity. We need support for our arms, otherwise there will be too much for compression on the spine. The arm support doesn’t need to be a different accessory; it can come from the desk itself. 
If you are already comfortable sitting on the floor, you could try a short period in your work day at home. But notice that sitting on the floor to watch tv for instance, is not the same as active sitting at a desk and using a keyboard; your body is in a different posture. Your back needs to be more upright and your arms need to be able to work in a comfortable position. Getting to that posture may require supports or cushions to maintain neutral spine posture to avoid disc compression that comes from a rounded back.

Q: What practical advice would you give someone who wants more postural variety in their day?
Melissa: I recommend several simple tips.
(1) Use A Timer: A timer helps give some awareness of how much time is passing. Most people don’t pay attention to how long they remain in one posture. Setting a timer every 30 minutes to remind yourself to change positions is great.
(2) Assigning Tasks to Postures: For example, I always do my zoom meetings standing, and my email in the afternoon sitting. This way, changing postures becomes more of a conscious habit. 
(3) Drink More Water: Hydration helps in many ways, but it also forces bathroom breaks, and you can change your posture when you return. 
(4) Rotate Through Different Working Postures: Use a standard chair with back support, have an active seating option like a saddle stool, use a standing posture, and make time for walking.  Rotating through these helps you stay energized, reduces fatigue, and helps preventing injury. 
There is a saying in ergonomics we like to say, “Your next posture is your best posture.”