Whether it’s monitors that are too low, chairs lacking the correct support, keyboards that are too high, or any number of common pitfalls, home office setups are often ergonomic wastelands. Unfortunately, that will usually lead to soreness and injury.
Most workers would benefit from taking a look at how they most often work at home and adjusting it to make things a little easier on their bodies. Maybe it’s a monitor arm to reduce neck strain or a standing desk to help your back. An ergonomic desk setup will not only reduce injuries but can also give you more energy and focus.
Keep in mind that having the correct ergonomic accessories is only the first step. You also need to use them correctly. After all, having a standing desk that you never raise up doesn’t do you much good.
The most important part of limiting your risk of injury is movement. Try to minimize staying static for extended periods. Incorporate getting up and moving around into your workday. For those times when you must remain static, the accessories we’ve listed below will go a long way toward helping you create an ergonomic home office setup.
- Best Standing Desk: Fully Jarvis
- Best Standing Desk Converter: Vari Pro Plus 36
- Best Balance Board: iMovR Gymba
- Best Anti-Fatigue Mat: Ergodriven Topo Comfort Mat
- Best Monitor Arm: Ergotron LX
- Best Keyboard: Microsoft Sculpt
- Best Chair: Herman Miller Aeron
Best Standing Desk
Stand At Work
Alternating between sitting and standing while working helps alleviate back pain (among a host of other issues) because sitting for long periods allows your spine to flex when you slouch. This causes issues with ligaments and eventually discs in your back.
There are a ton of standing desks out there, but the Fully Jarvis is a strong match of quality and price. The electric frame has a generous height range of 25.5 inches to 50.7 inches, and the Jarvis even has better stability than competitors who use a similar frame because Fully uses heavier feet. There are also four height memory presets so you can set your favorite heights and go back to them within seconds.
One downfall for the Jarvis is assembly. There are a lot of parts and you should expect it to take you over an hour. The good news is that you’ll probably only ever do it once. Fully provides a 15-year warranty on the frame and electronics, plus a 5-year warranty on the desktop.
Best Standing Desk Converter
If You’re Short On Space
A Standing desk is great, but what if it doesn’t work for your situation? You might want to keep your desk, be able to move your workspace around, or just not want to lose the drawer space by switching to a standing desk. Well, then a standing desk converter could be for you. A converter sits on top of a surface and can raise and lower to approximate the ergonomic advantages of a standing desk. Plus standing desk converters are cheaper.
The Vari Pro Plus 36 is great because its electric lift means you don’t have to do any work to raise it, just push a button. It’s also much more stable than most competitors and has a height range of 14 inches.
Among electric standing desk converters, the Vari Pro Plus 36 weight capacity of 40 punts is rather low, but should still be enough for the majority of users. For ergonomics, it has a dropped keyboard tray, which is important to get the correct ergonomic fit.
Best Balance Board
Move While Standing
The iMovR Gymba balance board is a favorite thanks to a design completely different from most balance boards. Balance boards are a fantastic addition for a standing desk user because the extra movement keeps your muscles activated and your blood flowing. The issue with typical balance board designs is that they allow too much movement. This is great for balance or strength training, but not ideal for working at a desk because it takes away from your focus.
And that’s why the Gymba is special. You can get a ton of movement without having to balance. The design has some extra bonuses too. Typical balance boards are flat on top and can hurt your feet if you use them without shoes. They can also damage your floor. The Gymba’s curved surface is comfortable in socks or barefoot, and the carpeted bottom is floor-friendly. It also comes with two massaging balls, has a weight capacity of 660 pounds, and is backed by a 5-year warranty. The Gymba was designed around working, so if you’re looking for a challenge from your balance board, this probably isn’t the right one for you.
Best Anti-Fatigue Mat
Stand For Longer
A good anti-fatigue mat is essential for standing desk users because it will allow you to stand for much longer by avoiding spinal compression and foot pain. The Ergodriven Topo Comfort Mat takes things a step further because it has terrain features. These allow you to stand in different ways, stretching different muscles in your legs along the way.
This mat is also made from 100 percent polyurethane so it’s very durable and comes with a 7-year warranty. One issue to keep in mind is that the mat can slide easily on slippery floors and because parts of it are raised, this could make for a tripping hazard.
Best Monitor Arm
Help Your Neck
Monitor arms are crucial for standing desk users because your spine stretches out when you stand so you’ll want to be able to adjust your monitor up a little bit to avoid hunching over.
Standing desks are naturally shakier than fixed-height desks, and if you don’t buy a quality monitor arm, those shakes tend to amplify even more by the time they show up on your screen. This important stability is an area where the Ergotron LX excels, with tight joints and strong metal construction.
The Ergotron LX provides plenty of flexibility too. It can handle screens up to 25 pounds and 34 inches diagonally. It will raise your monitor up to 13 inches; enough for many users, but might not be enough for taller users.
Best Keyboard
Type Without Pain
Wrist injuries are one of the most common injuries among office workers because it’s so easy to have poor wrist ergonomics. You want to keep your wrist as straight to your forearm as possible so your tendons can run unobstructed.
The Microsoft Sculpt goes a long way to that end by having a split keyset design to keep your wrists relaxed. One really nice detail is the split space bar that makes it easier to push from different positions and actually register. A separate number pad is also great for ergonomics because it allows you to get your mouse closer to the keyboard and cut down on reaching.
Best Chair
The Ultimate In Comfort
The Herman Miller Aeron is expensive, but there’s a reason it’s been one of the most popular chairs for so long: It’s fantastic. The Aeron comes with all the adjustability you could want, including tilt adjustment, seat angle adjustment, and lumbar adjustment. The lumbar adjustment is very cool. There are two pads in the lumbar that conform to your back and you can adjust how much support they give and how firm they are.
As you’d expect for this price, the chair is extremely well-built and comes fully assembled. A mesh back and sturdy base only help the cause.
