How to WFH without causing office syndrome?

What is office syndrome?

Have you ever calculated how many hours you sit at your desk each day while working from home? Mostly, if we only count working hours, it is at least 8 hours per day, not including sitting and working overtime or playing on the internet to relax during breaks from work.

Or even if we get up from our desks to sit and play with our mobile phones or watch TV on the sofa, we still use our eyes without stopping, which will continuously have negative effects on our physical health and eyesight, to the point where we may experience symptoms known as office syndrome.

The working environment that may cause symptoms, solutions and avoidance are as follows:

• Sitting and working for long periods of time without moving your body
• Working under stress and pressure
• Staying in an air-conditioned room or a closed room for a long period of time without coming out to breathe natural air outside.
• Using insufficient lighting when working with computers
• Irregular work schedules, such as increased overtime or part-time work during WFH, reduce work-life balance.
• Furniture used for work, such as tables and chairs, is not ergonomic.

The process of office syndrome, symptoms of pain such as headache, neck, shoulder pain, eye pain, stress, insomnia, these symptoms have a negative effect on quality of life if left chronic.

Therefore, we have some basic ways to prevent office syndrome for you! You can start by arranging your work desk to be hygienic and suitable for your body.

1. Position your computer screen slightly below eye level.
2. Choose a chair that supports both the upper and lower back.
3. Move to sit as close to the back of the chair as possible. Do not sit in the middle or on the edge of the chair.
4. Adjust the height of the chair so that we can place our feet flat on the floor.

In terms of using mobile phones, sometimes they may be used for work, such as reading emails, checking work outside of work hours, or even after turning off the computer. Using mobile phones for work for a long time can also have negative effects on our health. If it is really necessary, don’t forget to remind yourself to try to look at the screen at eye level and not bend your neck too much, as this can cause neck muscle injury from bearing weight for a long time.

Using your mobile phone incorrectly can also cause office syndrome.

Other ways to prevent office syndrome are easy, such as getting up from your desk, changing your posture, stretching outside the office, trying to control your working hours, eating on time, and not neglecting to drink plenty of water.

Since home inevitably becomes a workplace, we should balance work and personal life, or what is known as Work Life Balance.