Home-office ergonomics
Your back hurts because your desk is wrong, not because you are old.
Most "best ergonomic chair" lists are the same eight products in a different order. We start from what the research supports, work out what is actually wrong with your setup, and then tell you the cheapest thing that fixes it — which is often nothing at all.
- No sponsored posts, ever
- We never print prices we cannot keep current
- Half our advice costs nothing
Start with the symptom
Where does it hurt?
Pain location tells you more than any product review. Pick the one that matches and we will take you to the likely cause first, the purchase second.
- Neck and shoulders
Nearly always screen height or unsupported arms — not your chair, and not your age.
Check your screen height → - Lower back
Usually a seat too deep for your legs, which makes you slide forward and slump. Check before you buy.
Do the two-finger test → - Wrists and forearms
Usually a desk built too tall for you, so you bend your wrists up to reach the keyboard.
Work out which kind it is → - Tired, dry, aching eyes
Not the colour of the light. You have stopped blinking, and the screen is brighter than the room.
Why the glasses do not help → - Stiff, heavy legs
Holding one position for hours. The fix is movement, and a desk that makes moving effortless.
Is a standing desk worth it? →
Start here
The guides worth your time
Chairs
Does your chair actually fit you? Three tests, thirty seconds
Before you spend anything on a new chair, find out whether the one you own fits your body. Most do not, and the reason is almost never the part people blame.
Read the guide →Monitors
Blue light glasses do not work, and your eye strain has a different cause
The evidence for blue light lenses is close to nothing. Here is what actually causes tired, dry, aching eyes at a screen, and the four free fixes that do work.
Read the guide →Guides
The fifteen-minute home-office setup, in the right order
Every free adjustment worth making, sequenced so you only do each one once. Do all of it before you spend a penny on furniture.
Read the guide →Monitors
Your monitor is too low, and that is why your neck hurts
The single most common home-office setup error, how to check yours in thirty seconds, and the free fix before you spend anything.
Read the guide →
Browse
By what you are buying
Chairs
Task chairs, lumbar support and what actually matters when you sit for eight hours.
Browse chairs →Desks
Standing desks, converters, and getting your desk height right in the first place.
Browse desks →Monitors
Screen height, arms, risers and the neck pain that comes from getting them wrong.
Browse monitors →Accessories
Keyboards, mice, footrests and the small stuff that fixes big problems.
Browse accessories →Guides
How to set up a workspace that does not hurt, without buying anything yet.
Browse guides →
More
Everything else
Desks
Standard desk height is wrong for most people
Desks are built to one height. Bodies are not. How to find yours, and the two ways to fix a desk you cannot adjust.
Read the guide →Monitors
Two monitors, one neck - how to position a dual setup
Positioned the usual way, a second screen means you spend the day with your neck rotated. Where each screen goes, and when a monitor arm is worth the money.
Read the guide →Desks
Standing desks, honestly - what they fix and what they do not
Standing is not the opposite of sitting and it will not save your back on its own. What the evidence supports, and who should actually buy one.
Read the guide →Accessories
The shoulder pain nobody diagnoses - your arms have nowhere to rest
Each arm weighs about 5% of your body weight. If nothing is holding them up, your neck is. Here is how to tell, and how to fix it for nothing.
Read the guide →Guides
Working from the sofa, the bed or the kitchen table
Not everyone has room for a desk. Here is what each surface actually does to you, which is least bad, and how to make a kitchen table work properly.
Read the guide →Accessories
Wrist pain from a mouse is a position problem before it is a product problem
Vertical mice and gel wrist rests are sold as the cure. One of them helps, the other is usually used wrong. What to change before you buy either.
Read the guide →