Most people who work from home have never given serious thought to how their workspace is arranged. A chair pulled up to a kitchen table, a laptop balanced on a stack of books, or a monitor shoved into the corner of a spare room — these are the realities for a large share of Czech remote workers. The consequences tend to show up gradually: a stiff neck after a long call, lower back pain by Friday afternoon, wrists that ache after a day of typing.
The good news is that ergonomic improvements do not require expensive equipment. Most of the gains come from adjusting what you already have.
The Chair: Your Most Important Piece of Equipment
If you are going to spend money on one thing, spend it on a chair. You will sit in it for thousands of hours over the course of a working year, and a poor chair makes everything else harder to get right.
The key adjustment is seat height. Your feet should rest flat on the floor (or on a footrest), with your knees at roughly a 90-degree angle and your thighs parallel to the ground. If your chair is too high, your feet dangle; too low, and your knees rise above your hips, which tilts the pelvis and compresses the lower back.
Lumbar support — the curve in the lower back section of the chair — should sit in the hollow of your lower back, not in the middle of your back. Many adjustable chairs let you move the lumbar pad up and down. If yours does not, a small rolled towel or a dedicated lumbar cushion achieves the same result.
Armrests, when used correctly, reduce shoulder strain. They should support your forearms lightly, with your shoulders relaxed and your elbows at roughly 90 degrees. Armrests that are too high force your shoulders up; too low, and you end up leaning to one side.
Monitor Position and Distance
The top of your monitor screen should be at or slightly below eye level. When you look straight ahead, your gaze should land on the upper third of the screen. If the monitor is too low, you tilt your head down and strain your neck; too high, and you tilt back, which compresses the cervical spine.
Distance matters as much as height. Most ergonomics guidelines recommend placing the monitor at arm's length — roughly 50 to 70 centimetres from your eyes. If you find yourself leaning forward to read, the text is too small; increase the font size rather than moving the screen closer.
If you use a laptop as your primary computer, the built-in screen will almost always be too low when placed on a desk. A laptop stand (available from most Czech electronics retailers for a few hundred crowns) raises it to the correct height. You will then need an external keyboard and mouse, which brings us to the next point.
Keyboard and Mouse Placement
Your keyboard should be positioned so that your elbows are at roughly 90 degrees and your wrists are straight — neither bent up nor down — while typing. Many people tilt their keyboards upward using the built-in feet, but this actually increases wrist extension and is worth avoiding. A flat or slightly negative tilt (front edge slightly higher than the back) is better for most people.
Keep the mouse close to the keyboard so you do not have to reach for it. Reaching repeatedly to the side strains the shoulder and upper back over time. If you use a numeric keypad, consider a compact keyboard without one, which brings the mouse closer to your body's centreline.
Wrist rests can help during pauses in typing, but should not be used while actively typing. The wrist should float freely above the keyboard during use.
Posture and Movement
No single sitting position is ideal for an entire day. The human body is designed to move, and even a perfectly set up chair becomes uncomfortable after several hours of stillness. The goal is not to find one perfect posture and hold it, but to vary your position throughout the day.
A practical approach: set a reminder every 30 to 45 minutes to stand up, stretch, or take a short walk. The EU-OSHA guidelines on telework recommend regular breaks as one of the most effective measures for preventing musculoskeletal problems in home office workers.
Simple stretches that help: rolling the shoulders back, gently tilting the head side to side, standing and extending the hip flexors, and opening the chest by clasping hands behind the back. None of these require equipment or more than two minutes.
Where to Buy Ergonomic Equipment in the Czech Republic
You do not need to spend a fortune. Here are some practical options available in the Czech Republic:
- Chairs: IKEA Czech Republic stocks the Markus and Hattefjall chairs, both of which offer reasonable lumbar support at accessible price points. For more adjustability, Czech office furniture specialists such as Kancelarske-zidle.cz carry a wider range.
- Monitor stands and laptop risers: Available at Alza, CZC, and Mall.cz. A basic adjustable stand costs 300–600 CZK.
- External keyboards and mice: Logitech and Microsoft peripherals are widely stocked. A compact wireless keyboard and mouse set is typically available for under 1,000 CZK.
- Footrests: Often overlooked, but useful if your chair cannot be lowered enough. Available at IKEA and most office supply stores for under 500 CZK.
For further reading on workplace ergonomics, the World Health Organization publishes guidelines on reducing sedentary behaviour that are directly applicable to desk workers.
