Keytools recommends that feet should be supported and chairs fully adjustable. Read our advice on ergonomic foot supports and ergonomic chairs including Herman Miller and find out how to buy them.

Your feet should be supported - if they are not, or if just your toes reach the floor, it will affect your whole posture adversely. If necessary, you should be able to lower your chair, or lean the seat of the chair forwards slightly.

If you are working at a desk, you must have an adjustable chair; height adjustment is the most basic and critical of adjustments. Everybody is of a different height and shape and so workstation adjustment is very important.

If you are using a particularly high chair, a footrest enabling your feet to rest firmly will help keep your posture correct. Your thighs should be horizontal or sloping downwards slightly.

Hunching up your shoulders will increase the risk of neck and upper arm strain. You should be able to relax your shoulders while working and let your arms hang loosely. If you can't, this may be due to your desk being too high, or your armrests too high; make sure you can adjust the height of your armrests.

If your elbows are in front of you, then your keyboard is too far away. Try moving the keyboard towards you, or move your chair further under the desk. If your chair does not roll under the desk due to armrests, consider removing them; you should not rest your elbows on the armrests while working anyway. They are of some benefit for resting, but you should not rely on them to support your arms.

Make sure your armrests are not too high; you should be able to relax your shoulders and let your arms hang loosely down while working.

Hard armrests can place too much pressure on your elbows and arms, constricting blood flow.

There should not be undue pressure on your thighs.

You should be able to roll your chair easily to adjust its position as you work.
You should be able to rotate your chair as you sit in it as you work, rather than constantly rotating your body.

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