Productivity and Ergonomics

When you spend hours at your desk every day, even the smallest features of your workspace—such as the position of your monitor or the height of your chair—can greatly affect your productivity and even your health. Here's what science says about the best way to set up your office for ergonomics and productivity.

Your workspace shouldn't wear you down every day, but that's what uncomfortable chairs, messy desks, and poor lighting do—even though you might not notice these things day after day. With a few adjustments, however, you can improve your working environment and keep your desk from killing you.

Infographic: How to Set Up Your Desk for Productivity and Ergonomics

The illustration below offers a bird's eye view of some of the most important elements in a healthy and productive office. Keep reading below for more details, research, and suggestions. And feel free to share this graphic with others, on your site or on your social networks.

The Essential Elements of an Ideal Workspace

Don't underestimate how much your surroundings can influence your productivity. One study by Herman Miller found that workplace design had "a small but consistent and real influence" on workers' performance—increasing productivity as much as 16% and job satisfaction by 9%. Consider your desk setup across the five features below to get more work done during the day with less effort.

Lighting

The quality of lighting in your office can affect your mood and your well-being. Poor lighting—whether it's dim lighting or harsh lighting from overhead fluorescent lights—can cause eye strain, stress, and fatigue. Conversely, the best kind of light you can have in your office is natural light.

As early as 1979, researchers have advised that natural light and natural views tend to reduce stress, improve mood and morale, decrease anxiety, and aid concentration. In a 2014 study, researchers at Northwestern Medicine and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign found that workers who had more light exposure through windows at the office slept better and longer at night. They also tended to get more physical activity compared to workers whose offices didn't have windows.

The reason why it's so important to get regular exposure to daylight? Sunlight helps our bodies maintain our internal "clocks" or circadian rhythms—which affects our sleep and energy—as well as our brains' release of serotonin, a hormone that helps us feel focused and calm.

If you can control where your office is, choose a room with a window to get this boost from the sun. If you don't have control over lighting at your workplace and aren't lucky enough to have your desk near a window (much less a corner office surrounded by windows), try getting outside more for your breaks and see if you can get a desk lamp that simulates daylight.

Another thing to consider when it comes to lighting: The position of light sources. You want enough uniform light that you can work without squinting, but also make sure lighting isn't causing glare on your monitor. For that reason, don't sit with your back to a window unless you can shade it and don't sit facing a window either because that will make reading a monitor difficult. Also, if you use a task lamp at your desk, position it so the bottom of the lampshade is at about the height of your chin when it's on, This Old House recommends.

Finally, you know those Edison lightbulbs that are all the rage these days? Looking at a bare lightbulb like that (or other types of lightbulbs) might actually be good for your creativity.

Plants

Can plants help you do your work? It might sound silly, but, yes, a plant or two in your office could improve your productivity and happiness. Scientists had found that indoor plants prevent fatigue during attention-demanding work. Even just having a window view of live greenery can be restorative and keep us focused. If you can't see a plant from your desk, you might be missing out on a 15 percent productivity boost, according to psychologists at Exeter University.

So nature is good for you, but what if you're not good at caring for plants? Don't worry; I'm in the same boat and somehow have managed to keep a plant alive. The secret: Buy a peace lily. This forgiving plant requires little sunlight to survive and you only have to water it when the soil is dried out. But the best thing about this plant is that it shames you into watering it when it needs this by drooping miserably—and then after you water it, the plant perks right back up. Resuscitating your plant every week might give you a small but notable sense of accomplishment.

Like many other plants, peace lilies are also great for cleaning the air, according to NASA, so you can work in a fresh environment and get that productivity boost at the same time. Cacti and aloe plants are other low-maintenance plants to consider. If you have a green thumb, though, any plant will do to improve your workspace.

Temperature

At some offices, employees regularly battle each other for control of the thermostat. If this describes your working environment, here's some research to help you end the battles once and for all—at least, if you often feel chilly. Cornell University researchers found that by increasing office temperature from 68 to 77 degrees Fahreinheit (20° to 25° Celcius), workers' typing errors fell by 44 percent, and they were able to type 150 percent more.

Perhaps this plays a part in why many people feel less productive in the summer. Could it be the frigid air conditioning?

Although the temperature study doesn't account for personal preference, try experimenting with your office temperature if you can and see what happens. If you can't control the temperature in your office, there's always the "wear a sweater" option or getting a small fan if your workspace is too warm.

Sound

There are good sounds to listen to while working, and then there's noise. Too often we deal with the latter. At the office—especially in open offices—other people's conversations and even keyboard clicks can be a constant distraction. Working from home, you might have to contend with the sound of your neighbor's dog barking, noisy landscapers and construction workers, and maybe even the sound of regular traffic outside your door. And then there are the notifications you might get from your mobile phone that interrupt what you're doing.

It's hard to drown all that out when you're trying to work. A good pair of noise-canceling headphones could help. Pair it with soothing background music from Jazz and Rain, your favorite video game soundtrack playlist on YouTube, or coffeehouse-like background chatter from Coffitivity. The latter taps into research that suggests ambient noise can increase creativity.

Color

Color psychology is a fascinating field of study. McDonald's uses red and yellow because they're high-energy colors that stimulate our appetites (read: make us eat more chicken nuggets). Starbucks uses green to promote a sense of relaxation (read: convince you to chill in the coffeeshop). And your office colors might also be subtly influencing your work days.

1. Color psychologist Angela Wright explains how colors make us feel, think, and act:
2. Red is energizing and warming, stimulates our pulses, and can be perceived as aggressive
3. Blue can stimulate thought and aid in concentration and communication, but some might see it as cold and unemotional
4. Yellow is stimulating and lifts spirits, but the wrong tone of it can make you feel anxious
5. Green is a reassuring, balancing color, but, depending on how it's used, can be perceived as bland
6. Violet encourages contemplation, but too much of it could bring about too much introspection
7. Orange is stimulating and fun, but too much of it can be overwhelming
8. Pink is soothing but too much can be draining
9. Gray is neutral, psychologically, and can be depressing unless the right tone is used
10. Black is serious and sophisticated, but can be heavy
11. White gives a heightened perception of space but can be a strain to look at
12. Brown is a serious color, but warmer than black and is solid and supportive

Keep these color meanings in mind when choosing paint for your home office and even when shopping for desk accessories. Desk supplies in coordinating colors could help you stay focused instead of distracted by your desk.