Office Ergonomics Checklist: 50 Questions for Workplace Health

Aches and pains at work? Join the club…

At 59%, musculoskeletal disorders – the kind of bodily damage caused by awkward postures and repetitive movements in the office – are the most common occupational disease in Europe (EU-OSHA, 2021).

While we’d all love a personal ergonomist to be at your desk 24/7, fixing your posture throughout the day, we all know that’s not possible.

Instead, how about a 50-question office ergonomics checklist?

What is this Office Ergonomics Checklist?

This self-run ergonomics office assessment is a quick way to perform your own ergo assessment and learn what you’re doing right and wrong in the workplace.

The checklist is 50 questions long, spanning 6 different areas of office ergonomics:

• Posture 🧍
• Chair 🪑
• Desk 🧑‍💻
• Equipment 🖥️
• Environment 🌞
• Routine ⏱️

Each question here requires a ✅ or ❌ response.

Once you’ve answered all the questions, you can count up all your green ticks and see your personal ergonomics health rating.

Disclaimer ⚠️

This ergonomic workstation setup checklist, while designed by professional ergonomists, is not a comprehensive ergonomics assessment. The list contains simple questions and requires your own subjective opinion to answer them, and is therefore no substitute for a professional 1-on-1 ergonomics assessment performed by an ergonomist.

50-Question Office Ergonomics Checklist

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Here are 50 questions for you to perform your own ergonomics workstation assessment.

Go through each question, tick all of the yesses and count them up at the end for your ergonomics health score!

🧍 Posture

▢	Do you sit upright without slouching?
▢	Are your shoulders relaxed and not hunched while typing?
▢	Are your wrists in a neutral (straight) position when using the keyboard and mouse?
▢	If using a phone, do you avoid cradling it between your ear and shoulder?
▢	Do you change positions or adjust your posture throughout the day?
▢	Do you avoid crossing your legs while sitting?
▢	Are your head and neck aligned with your spine (not jutting forward)?
▢	Do you avoid leaning on your desk or armrest with one side of your body?
▢	Do you sit back in your chair with your lower back in constant contact with the backrest?
▢	Are you able to maintain a relaxed posture throughout the day without discomfort?

🪑 Chair

▢	Is your chair height adjustable?
▢	Are your feet flat on the floor or supported by a footrest when seated?
▢	Are your thighs parallel to the floor when seated?
▢	Does your chair provide good lower back (lumbar) support?
▢	Is the backrest of your chair adjustable?
▢	Can you sit back fully against the backrest without leaning forward?
▢	Are the armrests adjustable?
▢	Are your shoulders relaxed when your arms rest on the armrests?
▢	Can you pull your chair in close to your desk without obstruction?
▢	Is the chair stable and able to roll easily?

🧑‍💻 Desk

▢	Is your desk at a height where your elbows are at a 90-degree angle or slightly open when typing?
▢	Is there enough clearance under your desk for your legs to move freely?
▢	Is the surface of your desk large enough to accommodate all necessary items without clutter?
▢	Is your desk height adjustable (manually or electronically)?
▢	Can you place items on your desk without excessive reaching or twisting?

🖥️ Equipment

▢	Is your monitor directly in front of you?
▢	Is the top of your screen at or just below eye level?
▢	Is your monitor about an arm’s length away from your eyes?
▢	Is the monitor free from glare or reflections?
▢	Is your keyboard positioned directly in front of you?
▢	Do you use a document holder to position reference materials at eye level?
▢	Is your mouse located close to the keyboard?
▢	Do you use a wrist rest for keyboard and/or mouse use?
▢	Is frequently used equipment (e.g., phone, notepad) within easy reach?
▢	If you use dual monitors, are they aligned correctly with your primary field of view?

🌞 Environment

▢	Is your workspace well-lit without causing glare on your screen?
▢	Do you use task lighting (like a desk lamp) if needed?
▢	Is your screen brightness adjusted to match the lighting in your room?
▢	Is there minimal glare from windows or overhead lights?
▢	Is your workspace free from distracting noise?
▢	Do you use noise-canceling headphones or other sound-masking tools if needed?
▢	Is the room temperature comfortable for you?
▢	Is your workspace clean and organized?
▢	Is your monitor free from dust or smudges that may cause eye strain?
▢	Do you have access to natural light or breaks outside during the day?

⏱️ Routine

▢	Do you take short breaks every 30–60 minutes to stand or stretch?
▢	Do you change your posture or move regularly throughout the day?
▢	Do you do any stretching or movement exercises during the workday?
▢	Do you stay hydrated throughout the day?
▢	Do you end the day without experiencing recurring discomfort or fatigue?

Bonus: Stretch ideas to improve your routine

The Results of your Office Ergonomics Checklist

Count up your answers and see how many ticks you got out of 50!

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5-Question Mini-Checklist

No time for the full 50 questions?

Here’s a quick starter checklist containing the most important questions:

• Chair: Does it have lumbar support? ▢

• Monitor: Is the top of the screen at eye level? ▢

• Keyboard: Are your wrists straight while typing? ▢

• Lighting: Do you have any glare on the screen? ▢

• Breaks: Do you take any time to get up or stretch? ▢

5 Reasons to Use an Office Ergonomics Checklist

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Office assessments are not just a few questions and a quick tug on the chair to see how the wheels are…

…they’re well-thought-out questions asked in an adaptable model to get accurate answers in a friendly manner.

Office and home office checklists, for whatever they lack in friendliness, they make up for in the following ways:

#1 – Standardisation

Standardisation refers to the establishment of a uniform set of guidelines and criteria for conducting ergonomic assessments.

It helps you to ensure all workstations and work environments are evaluated consistently and fairly, making it easier to identify areas for improvement and implement best practices across all your workplaces or all the workstations in your organisation.

#2 – Holistic evaluation

A holistic evaluation involves considering all aspects of the work environment, such as physical, cognitive, and organisation factors.

It helps you find potential problems that are easy to miss if you only focus on one part at a time.

#3 – Identification of risk factors

Ergonomics assessment checklists are designed to identify risk factors that could lead to injuries or discomfort for employees.

By naming these risks early on, you can take proactive steps to address them, reducing the likelihood of long-term problems and promoting a healthier, safer workplace.

#4 – Consistency and replicability

Utilising ergonomics assessment checklists ensures consistency in the evaluation process and makes it easily replicable across different workstations, departments, or locations.

This allows for more effective comparisons and benchmarking, helping you identify trends, track progress, and implement targeted improvements.

#5 – Documentation and follow-up

The checklist will help you keep track of your findings, suggestions, and plans in an organised way, facilitating the generation of a comprehensive report after the ergonomics assessment.

It’s essential to have this report analysed by a professional ergonomist, as their expertise enables them to effectively identify potential risk points and provide valuable recommendations for improvement.

Any checklists used will also make it easy for you to look back at previous assessments and follow up on the changes you have made.

Thus, you can ensure the assessment and modifications are actually improving employee safety, comfort, and productivity.

FAQ about this Office Ergonomics Checklist

Who is this checklist for?

The checklist above is for any single person or group looking to prioritise their health at work.

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are a prevalent danger in the workplace and ergonomics is a proven way to reduce and eliminate those dangers.

You don’t need to be currently experiencing pain and discomfort to run this office or home office ergonomics checklist – you simply need to be open to making small adjustments to the way you work in order to maximise your health in the short and long-term.

Who designed this office ergonomics checklist?

The 50 questions in this checklist were put together by the experiences ergonomists at Ergo Global.

These are the typical kinds of questions we would ask and self-investigate at an in-person or virtual ergonomics assessment.

These questions are the standard kind of variations of the computer ergonomics checklists provided by OSHA and NIH.

Are there other types of online ergonomics checklists I can try?

While it’s possible to run your own industrial ergonomics assessment through checklists provided by universities like Texas A&M and Stanford, we would personally advise against this.

The reason is that industrial ergonomics tend to be more varied and nuanced than in the office. It’s simply harder for you to accurately assess yourself if you’re not already well-versed in the correct ways to perform manual handling or using certain bits of equipment.

Also, it’s really hard to observe yourself performing actions in an industrial setting… trust us.

One other notable types of office ergonomics assessment is the interior ergonomics assessment, which deep dives into working environment, space and interaction.

Again, this one is best left to the professionals.

Why is checking my ergonomics important?

There are a huge number of benefits to looking after your ergonomics.

For employees, it’s…

• Better health both inside and outside of work
• Less fatigue
• Better wellbeing
• Higher productivity

For employers, it’s…

• Higher retention
• Fewer errors
• Bigger savings
• Great ROI

How do I run ergonomics assessments for the company I work for?

To run an entire ergonomics programme in your company, you’ll need more than this checklist.

While this is a good start to any ergonomics endeavours for the team in your office, for a full and proper ergonomics check, you’ll need…

• Adjustment recommendations – personalised recommendations for new ways to use existing equipment.

• Equipment recommendations – personalised recommendations for new, more suitable equipment.

• Follow-up reports – a report for each employee and overall reports for the company’s admin.

• Follow-up assessments – a 1-on-1 follow-up assessment with employees deemed to be at-risk.

• Education and training – further education materials in the form of infographics, presentations, videos, quizzes, etc.

• Software – a bit of kit (like ErgoWOW)that each employee of your company can use to perform all of the above.

Looking to run an ergonomics programme for your company? Contact Ergo Global today!