More and more office workers and students are turning in their traditional desktop computers for laptops. Offering mobility and the convenience of having only one computer, without the need to email files or save on flash drives, laptops are surpassing their heavier, bulkier, and more expensive cousins all over the world.
And just as we were starting to get this desktop computer ergonomics thing right. After years of OSHA guidelines and the development of the correct types of keyboard trays and tilting monitor arms, we go and decide to use a device that allows for none of that. So what now? Now that laptops are making the transition to being full-time computers instead of the once-in-a-while device we use when we aren’t at our “regular computers,” how do we make sure that all the problems associated with non-ergonomic computer use don’t come flooding back?
According to Cornell University, “laptops violate basic ergonomic design requirements, so using a laptop is a trade off between poor neck/head posture and poor hand/wrist posture.” That’s the bad news. What can we do to make sure we neutralize the poor ergonomics...