Screens sit too close
Most monitors we measure are about ten centimetres nearer than is comfortable for the eyes. A simple slide back, with no purchase needed, makes an immediate difference.
Posture Insights
Patterns we keep seeing across London workspaces.
After several hundred assessments, certain habits show up again and again — regardless of room size, chair quality or job role. Here are the observations we share most often, written for you to read in a quiet ten minutes.
Recurring patterns
Six observations from the field
Chair height drifts upward
People tend to raise their seat over time to see the screen better. A lower chair plus a small footrest is usually more comfortable than the current compromise.
Lighting comes from the wrong side
For right-handers, a window or lamp on the right casts a writing-hand shadow. Swapping the lamp side is a thirty-second change with outsized impact.
Keyboards are too far away
Reaching for keys pulls shoulders forward. Most setups improve when the keyboard moves a hand's width closer to the body.
The mug zone matters
The position of your tea, water and notebook quietly trains your shoulders to twist one way all day. Tidying the desk into clear zones helps more than people expect.
Breaks are mistimed
Short pauses every 50 to 60 minutes do more for comfort than longer breaks taken irregularly. A simple kitchen timer beats any app we have tested.
Three quick checks
Try these at your desk in the next five minutes
Arm's length test
Sit normally, stretch one arm forward with a relaxed shoulder. Your fingertips should comfortably reach the screen. If they fall short, the monitor is too far; if they go past, it is too close.
90-degree elbow test
With your forearms resting on the desk, your elbows should sit at roughly a right angle. If they are above 100 degrees, lower the chair; below 80, raise it.
Flat-foot test
Both feet should rest fully on the floor. If your heels lift when you sit back, a small footrest — even a sturdy book — is worth trying for a week.
Reading order
If you only have ten minutes
Start with the chair
Adjust height first, then seat depth, then back support. The chair sets the frame for everything else.
Then the screen
Top of the screen at or just below eye level; distance roughly an arm's length away.
Then the inputs
Keyboard and pointing device close enough that your upper arms can stay relaxed.
Last, the room
Lighting direction, background noise and where your most-reached objects live.
Want this tailored to your room?
A 90-minute assessment turns general patterns into specific, measured advice for the desk you actually use.
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