Simple Ways To Improve Your Posture As A Remote Worker Without Paying A Dime

As a remote worker or freelancer, you spend more time per day than the average individual using display screen equipment (DSE) such as laptops, computer screens, tablets, and other similar electronic devices. A research by Golda O. , E., & Jonathan , B. N. (2016) highlighted that posture is a critical part of DSE usage that is often overlooked and a major trigger of muculoskeletal health problems. Most users assume poor postures, such as being hunched over their laptops, scrolling through phones with their necks in a depressed position, or lounging on sofas. This puts strains on major joints like the neck, shoulder, wrist, and back. Sadly, musculoskeletal pain creeps in with poor posture in months to years. 

The golden truth is that you don’t have to experience pain while working on your computer. Also, you don’t need necessarily need to have a big budget or commit to intensive physical exercises like running a marathon or weight lifting, to improve your ergonomic health. You only need to be intentional and adopt the evidence-based strategies that are highlighted in this post to improve your ergonomic comfort as a remote worker.

How Posture Affects You As A Remote Worker

The best way to avoid a problem is to acknowledge it exists and recognise the tell-tale signs. Understanding how posture affects you as a remote worker is crucial, as this motivates you to be intentional about your wellbeing when using the DSE. While there is more emphasis on maintaining an upright position when sitting, it doesn’t stop there. Ergonomic comfort is encompassing, not just focused on your back. 

Poor Posture/Wellbeingng

Maintaining correct posture ensures that all the weight-bearing joints in your body are aligned and supported while seated, promoting even pressure and weight distribution on the joints. A disruption to the normal anatomical joint alignment fatigues your muscles and stresses the ligaments. Now that you know how posture affects you, let’s delve into strategies for maintaining and correcting your posture at home.

1. The Mirror does not deceive

To maintain good posture, you need a visual representation of what your posture looks like. A full-length mirror will serve that purpose. There are evidence-based results on the effectiveness of the biofeedback mechanism using a mirror for posture correction. Regular postural assessment will improve your self-awareness about your body, and you can easily notice abnormal patterns like forward head tilt, back sway, dropped shoulder, and arched lower back .

Biofeedback/Wellbeingng

To assess your posture, stand sideways and front-on in front of the mirror with your palms facing forward and your feet slightly apart. Then check your head position to see if it is neutral with no deviation. Move to your shoulders and assess if they are aligned, and check that your hip joints are also at the same level. Now that you know your posture, you can consciously correct this throughout the day while performing your tasks.

2. The Wall Test

Incorporating the wall test into your daily routine as a remote worker should be a priority. The wall test is effective in promoting correct posture and improving joint alignment. This test activates your main postural muscles, enabling you to check and improve your natural posture.

You stand with your back against the wall when performing the wall test. The back of your head, upper back, and shoulder should touch the wall, and the heels should be about 2-4 inches apart. If a gap exists between your lower back and the wall, check if it is enough for your hand to slide in. The gap accounts for the natural curve in your lumbar spine and shouldn’t be excessively wide or tight.

Wall Test/Wellbeingng

If the space is too wide, engage your core muscles to close the space and maintain this position for 30 seconds to build awareness. If the space is too tight, gently bend your back to open up more space in your lumbar disc. The wall test is designed to check for postural imbalance, and regularly performing this test informs you about your posture and enhances the adoption of correct posture.

3. Your Floor

One of the perks of working from home is the flexibility to work from your private space. To maintain and improve your postural alignment, you can leverage the comfort of your home, as you can lie down without any awkward feeling that your colleague is watching you. When your body feels tensed from maintaining a sustained sitting position, the best way to stretch and realign your spine is to lie flat on the floor and eliminate the force of gravity acting on your muscles and joints.

Floor Therapy/Wellbeinng

To achieve the maximal effect in this position, lie flat on your back with your arms by your side, your knees bent, and your feet flat. Then, try to gently straighten your lower back in that position and incorporate some deep breathing exercises to engage your core muscles. This position will release the tension in your back and ensure your spine is aligned in its natural position.

4. Towels or Cushions

Keeping the posture in check while working is a significant challenge for most remote workers, but this is not impossible to achieve. With the proper knowledge, you can use household items like towels and cushions to support your posture and promote good joint alignment while working.

Cushion Support/Wellbeinng

If you place a nicely rolled towel around your lower back, it serves as lumbar support, reducing strain on your back. Additionally, adding a small cushion to a seating surface to achieve some tilt in your pelvis will reduce slouching. These minor but meaningful adjustments can contribute to your ergonomic comfort when working remotely.

5. Time your posture

When working remotely, it’s easy to lose track of time due to a demanding workload and deadlines, which can lead to forgetting to change your posture regularly. Do not worry about this, as everyone forgets things. To ensure you prioritise your posture at work, set regular timers to take comfort breaks and change your posture regularly.

Posture Timing/Unsplash

As a personal movement rule, I take a 3-5-minute comfort break every 30-40 minutes to stretch and change my posture when using DSE. This practice effectively promotes my ergonomic health, and you can also adopt it as prolonged sitting without breaks or regular movement impacts your posture.

Remote Exercise/Wellbeingng

Your wellbeing while working from home is key to your task performance. Posture maintenance or correction does not have to be expensive or become a herculean task to make it effective. Prioritising self-awareness and having an effective daily routine will improve your ergonomic comfort as a remote worker. Initiate the change process today, continue to build on it, and you will record significant improvement in your posture, ergonomic practice and habits.