

Do hackers care about workstation ergonomics? - inrev

Do hackers care about seat height, table height, monitor height and distance, etc.?
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aston
If they don't, they should. RSI sucks.

At Google, they've got ergonomics evaluators on staff. You can schedule one to
come by and check out how you're working. They'll fix your chair, remind you
how to sit, mouse, and keyboard, and also put in orders for special equipment
should you need it. Things like vertical oriented mice, natural keyboards, and
boosters for your monitor can make a lot of difference for comfort.

~~~
mynameishere
_how you're working_

Ass goes on chair.

 _They'll fix your chair_

Ass goes on chair.

 _remind you how to sit_

Ass goes on chair.

~~~
aston
Or huge yoga ball
([http://cache.lifehacker.com/images/2006/06/exercise%20ball%2...](http://cache.lifehacker.com/images/2006/06/exercise%20ball%20office%20chair.png))

~~~
mynameishere
I see the certified color coordination evaluation engineer made a stop by her
office.

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nostrademons
Seats? Tables? What are those? ;-)

I suspect I'd give any ergonomic evaluator a heart attack. Right now, I'm
lying down on the floor, propped up on my elbows. Other favored positions
include cross-legged on the floor, kneeling on my bed with the laptop on my
thighs, half-kneeling on the floor with my chin on my knee, prone in bed with
about 3 pillows under my chest, in bed on my side wit my elbow propping my
upper body up, reclining in a chair with the laptop on my lap and feet up, and
sitting in a tree (no, I don't take the laptop up there, but I'll frequently
bring pencil & paper to work out some design problem).

The one place I absolutely will not work if I have a choice about it is at a
table or desk. Been like that since before I had a computer; in elementary
school, I absolutely refused to do my homework at the table, always preferring
the floor.

You'd think this would result in lots of RSI problems, but I haven't had
anything since I was 12, which ironically was when my parents made a concerted
effort to get me to sit at a desk and do my homework like a normal person. I
suspect it's because I don't actually do anything repetitive at a computer. I
get up to pace _a lot_ \- 5 times in the process of writing this comment, and
I've switched to 3 different positions. That's another reason I really dislike
desks - they make getting up a chore, so I don't get up, and so I find my
productivity dropping off from lack of exercise.

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Tichy
Am I the only one who is not that thrilled by Aeron chairs? I took one over
from my father, because he didn't like it, either, but I am also not happy
with it. I find the plastic parts tend to cut into my legs and hurt me,
because I sink into the rubber net too deeply. Also the settings are unstable,
every now and then the chair collapses and I have to reconfigure it again.

OT: does anybody know how I can determine the exact model type of my Aeron
chair, as I would like to put it up on ebay?

~~~
Goladus
I have the exact same problem with "sinking in" and I'm not especially large
(I'm 6'2", 180 lbs). I haven't had any stability issues, and I like the Aeron
much better than most other chairs I've used, but it has some drawbacks in
addition to the front of the seat jutting into my thigh:

The plastic on the sides makes it difficult to sit cross-legged in the chair.
Granted, I've never had a chair that let me do this very well.

It's impossible to kneel on the chair comfortably. This sounds silly maybe,
but the last chair I used had a very soft cushion to sit on, and the back was
adjustable such that there were spaces where you could dangle your feet. It
was possible to kneel without causing much strain on feet or ankles.

I've found both kneeling and cross-legged positions to be very stable,
comfortable, and conducive to proper breathing-- so long as you don't wind up
losing circulation in your legs.

~~~
Tichy
I am also not "large", but tall. Probably I have the "oversize" version of the
chair, as my father is also very tall. Perhaps the normal version works better
(smaller size of net -> less sinking in).

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SwellJoe
If you don't now, you will in a few years. It gets more painful as you get
older--by the time I was in my mid-twenties I had to have a good chair or I'd
have serious back pain. I also had to find ways to work with less mouse usage,
or it would lead to shooting pains in my forearms.

I've settled into a nice place now, with a good monitor that raises up almost
high enough (a Dell 2005), an Aeron chair, an IBM small form factor keyboard
with good IBM keys, and a Logitech mouse that I still try to use as little as
possible. I still have occasional back and shoulder pain, but I have some
injuries from bike accidents in my youth. But I definitely take ergonomics
seriously. I can't concentrate when I'm in pain.

One thing that I've found makes a big difference for me: Exercise. Almost all
of my various aches and pains are less pronounced and less debilitating when
I'm getting regular exercise.

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ecuzzillo
I think so. I care enormously much. I spent an inordinate amount of time
finding a correct keyboard position and chair configuration. I ended up with a
GoldTouch adjustable-angle keyboard I found lying around my workplace, plus
two books taped together held up by a waterbottle stolen from a coworker to
hold up my wrists. Then, I pilfered a sideways mouse that wasn't being used in
another part of the office.

Nobody else at the company goes quite so far, but the two other main
programmers do have Aeron chairs, at least.

~~~
aston
Just a tip I picked up: if you're resting your wrists on anything, you're
putting contact force on them that could lead to exhaustion if it's too hard
or for too long. Try to keep your wrists floating, if possible.

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kingnothing
The thing I care about most is my keyboard.

[http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/mouseandkeyboard/productde...](http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/mouseandkeyboard/productdetails.aspx?pid=043)

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thingsilearned
Yes, it goes with Paul's latest post. A crappy or messy work station can
clutter your thoughts and keep you from "Holding a program in one's head"

