Setting Up Your Laptop Correctly.

As we all know, laptops have become the norm for business use versus the traditional desktop, especially as they offer the user considerably more mobility, and thus flexibility. Their cost and performance disadvantage versus desktops has also all but disappeared. When I do office ergonomic assessments, I normally see around 70% of computer users working on laptops in and out of the office, which is a considerable proportion.

The laptop is however a serious compromise when it comes to comfort, it was originally designed for short term use (less than 2 hours per day), but laptop users nowadays exceed this time limit easily, which can potentially be physically damaging to the user over time without considering some basic ergonomic principles.

Firstly, the fixed screen is too low for proper use, and if the screen is raised to the correct height, the mouse and keyboard will be too high. The low screen forces excessive neck flexion, causing possible neck strain, pain and headaches. To be able to use the keyboard and mouse, one needs to place the laptop screen closer to the user’s eyes than recommended, causing eye strain and headaches. Laptops are also fitted with compromised keyboards and mouse’s, which increases the chances of developing a WRULD (Work Related Upper Limb Disorders). A user may experience discomforts such as wrist pains, finger tingling, all the way to serious ailments such as carpal tunnel syndrome.

The solution to this ergonomic problem is threefold:

1. A laptop stand will increase the height of the laptop screen, so that the user can look directly at the screen, instead of looking down at the screen. Also, the laptop screen will be able to be placed at the correct distance from the users eyes.
2. A separate mouse and keyboard will be required to allow for a laptop stand to be used comfortably. Also, the keyboard and mouse will now be full sized, able to be correctly placed on the desk, and be ergonomically sound.
3. The keyboard and mouse must be positioned within the users work zone, and the screen must be placed at the correct distance and height from the user’s eyes.

A simple diagram shows the difference:

This easy and relatively cheap solution will greatly increase productivity and decrease the typical laptop user’s discomfort, which I am sure we are all aware of, and most probably suffer from at the end of a day; headaches, dizziness, sore eyes, back pain, neck pain and tingling arms. In some cases, this will result in sick leave being taken, without the cause/effect being known.

The advantage of an increase in productivity of a (relatively expensive) laptop user, or the costs of absenteeism in the same employee, means the ROI of a correctly set up employee is normally on average less than a month.  A no-brainer I would say!