BEKANT Corner desk left sit/stand, white/black, 63x43 1/4 "

It’s important to create the most comfortable working environment to suit you. Working for longer periods of time while sitting or standing in a bad or uncomfortable position can cause neck and back injuries as well as other serious health problems. Find out what you can do to create an ergonomic workspace, and learn about the different quality tests we carry out and the materials we use. What’s an ergonomic workspace? Ergonomics is about designing products or environments to make them safe and comfortable for people to use. An ergonomic workspace is one that is customized to your personal needs, allowing you to work in a comfortable and safe way.

We want to help you achieve an ergonomic working environment that suits you and promotes good health. This means adjusting the workspace to your needs, adopting an ergonomic position and keeping as mobile as possible. The human body is made to move, so ideally, your workspace should give you the choice of sitting, standing and leaning, allowing you to change positions often. And if you feel good at work, you will work better.

Choosing the right chair, desk, monitor or lamp can help create a comfortable working environment, but it cannot correct bad posture. Make sure you adopt a good posture when sitting or standing for longer periods to avoid injury. Here are some tips on how to create a comfortable workspace.

You should be able to stretch your legs under the table and turn 90° to the left and right for freedom of flexibility. The hips and knees should be at an angle of approx. 95-100° with your feet flat on the floor. HEIGHT Choose a height-adjustable chair. When standing, the highest point of the seat should be just below your knee cap. You should aim for an even distribution of weight. Raise your chair if you feel pressure near the back of your seat, but if you feel pressure near the front of your seat, you should lower your chair. This will improve the circulation of blood and reduce the risk of swelling. SEAT TILT Use the seat tilt to lock a position and to improve your comfort. It will affect the distribution of weight and can provide better stability and support when you need it. A tilt of 5° is recommended.

LUMBAR SUPPORT A chair with lumbar support will relieve the small of your back from tension caused by tiredness. The tilt of the back support should allow you to sit with your upper body slightly reclined (recommended 110°). ARMRESTS Armrests can provide support for the upper part of your forearms, and reduce the stress on your shoulders and back. Make sure that the armrests do not prevent the chair from being drawn close to the desk, nor restrict natural movements. Also keep in mind that soft armrests will be more comfortable for your elbows.

A height-adjustable desk is ideal as it will allow you to change position often. Alternating between sitting and standing will reduce the risk of injury and increase circulation, as well as productivity. The top of your work surface should be elbow height and your elbows should be at a 90° angle when sitting or standing at your desk.

A standing support enables a position between sitting and standing, and is ideal when you have a height adjustable desk. It has the following advantages: Provides freedom of movement for your upper and lower body. Activates and strengthens the core muscles of your body. Gives you an open posture which improves your circulation and metabolic rate.

Make sure your monitor is not placed too close to you. With your chair pulled in and arms stretched in front of you, you should not be able to touch the screen. The monitor should be placed directly in front of you, with the top just below eye level. Placing the monitor too high can cause neck problems. For longer periods at your monitor, make sure your arms and wrists are supported. The keyboard and mouse should be placed around 4-6" from the edge of the desk, so that the wrists are supported, but not too far that your neck and shoulders lean forwards. The monitor should be tilted at 20°-30°, which is an optimal angle for the eyes as well as the neck and shoulders.

To provide ideal lighting you should consider a combination of general lighting, mood lighting and task lighting. A desk lamp is a type of task light that provides a concentrated beam of light over a limited area. This is useful when focusing on paperwork. General lighting provides a uniform light through the whole room. Mood lighting provides a cozy feeling and softens the contrasts between general and task lighting. Place the lamp on your left side if you are right handed to reduce shadows. Computers near a window should be roughly placed at a 90° angle to the window in order to avoid glare.

We test our products for quality, safety and durability to meet international testing standards. We have very tight restrictions on chemicals, and even though certain products meet international standards they might not meet our own higher standards. In that case we will not manufacture those products. Your safety is always our top priority.

We test that our products are in line with international standards according to or set by EN and ANSI/BIFMA. In addition, IKEA has its own chemical and quality testing. EN stands for European Norm. These standards are recognized throughout Europe and they assure strength, durability and stability. ANSI/BIFMA ANSI is the American National Standards Institute, which creates and oversees norms and standards, and accredits organizations like BIFMA to formulate tests for different sectors. BIFMA, the Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturers Association, creates standards for business furniture with the highest safety standards. The professional office furniture from IKEA is tested according to BIFMA’s safety and resistance requirements.

Tests are carried out in our test labs in Sweden and China in the product development phase. The test methods are the same for home and professional use, but for professional use the products are tested with heavier loads and more cycles.

Desk and desk chairs that are intended for home use are tested to assure they are comfortable, stable, safe and durable. The series of tests we put our desk chairs through are more rigorous to meet the strict requirements on stability, strength and durability. For instance, the chairs are subjected to heavy loads up to about 300 000 times. Desks for home use are subjected to various tests including stability, strength and durability tests. The kinds of tests that are carried out depend upon the design of the desk, and which areas of the desk that are expected to be most exposed to wear and tear. Tests carried out on desks for professional use are stricter than those for home use. Desks that meet those standards will adhere to the following standards: EN 527, ANSI/BIFMA X5, which means we test their stability, durability and safety. For example, we might test the strength of a product by subjecting it to a vertical force of 100 kg for 10 seconds×10 times.

Storage Quality tests are carried out on storage furniture for safety and durability. Different parts including doors, drawers, surfaces and wheels are subjected to different tests. Storage furniture that has been tested for office use meets the following standards: EN 14073 and ANSI/BIFMA × 5.9.

We care about what goes into our products and always aim to use resources in the most efficient way possible. We choose our materials carefully while keeping prices low. Some materials work better for certain furniture depending on its use and design. For example, Melamine is often used in table tops because it has high surface resistance against scratches and marks. Melamine – a paper film with an impregnated print or pattern, which is applied under pressure to a board. The result is a durable, heat-resistant and water-repellent surface which is easy to keep clean. Veneer – thin layers of wood glued on to a board. All IKEA veneer is lacquered which makes it easy to clean, durable and protects it from moisture and scratches. Board on frame – A wooden board or fiber board with a honeycomb filling structure made of recycled paper. It is lightweight yet sturdy, and uses significantly less raw material. Bamboo – stronger and more flexible than most wood. Sustainable fast growing grass that produces twice as much oxygen than tree species.

Solid wood – a renewable, natural material that is durable and every piece is unique with its varying grain. IKEA sources all wood from closely inspected logging and carefully chosen forests. GLOSE leather – a soft yet durable dyed-through grain leather, treated with a protective coating. Easy to look after. Treat with ABSORB leather care set. Plastics - A synthetic or semi-synthetic material that can be molded and is made from oil or natural gas but also from plants. There are two categories of plastics: thermosplastics that can be heated, molded and melted, and thermoset plastics that cannot be remelted. The most commonly used in IKEA are thermoplastis such as polycarbonate and polypropylene. Wood plastic composite WPC – A mixture of wood and fiber that is molded into a form, combining the advantages of the two materials. It is strong and lighter than other plastics, making transportation costs lower and reducing environmental impact. Paint & lacquer powder coating is a process where dry powder paint is applied to a surface, often metal. It is an efficient and environmentally sustainable technique, since there’s little waste of powder and no solvents are used.

Forests contribute to maintaining balance in the atmosphere, purify the air that we breathe and are part of the water cycle. They nourish wildlife biodiversity and provide homes for indigenous communities who depend on forests for their livelihoods. 90% of plant and animal species living on the planet need forests to survive. They provide sources of food, fuel, timber and many other ecosystem services that we rely upon. Sourcing approximately 19 million m3 of roundwood per year from some 50 countries, IKEA has a significant impact on the world’s forests and the timber industry and a huge responsibility to positively influence how wood is sourced. Responsible wood sourcing and forest management ensure that the needs of people dependent on forests are met, that businesses can work sustainably, that forest ecosystems are protected and biodiversity is enhanced.

At IKEA, we work with strict industry standards to promote responsible forestry. We don’t allow any wood in our supply chain from forest areas that are illegal or contain high conservation values or from forest areas with social conflict. Before starting to work with IKEA, suppliers must demonstrate that they meet IKEA critical requirements on wood sourcing. IKEA requires all suppliers to source wood from more sustainable sources (FSC-certified or recycled wood). All suppliers are audited regularly and non-compliant suppliers are required to implement immediate corrective actions. By working together with our suppliers, we are proud to announce that we have reached our more sustainable sources goal, which we set out to achieve by 2020. Today more than 98% of the wood used for IKEA products is either FSC-certified or recycled.

As pressure on the world’s forests and the surrounding eco-systems increases due to unsustainable agriculture, the expansion of infrastructure and illegal logging, it is time to take an even more holistic approach to protect and support these important resources for generations to come. The IKEA Forest Positive Agenda for 2030 set out to improve forest management, enhance biodiversity, mitigate climate change and support the rights and needs of people who depend on forests across the whole supply chain and drive innovation to use wood in even smarter ways. The agenda focuses on three key areas: • Making responsible forest management the norm across the world. • Halting deforestation and reforesting degraded landscapes. • Driving innovation to use wood in smarter ways by designing all products from the very beginning to be reused, refurbished, remanufactured, and eventually recycled.

For many years, IKEA has partnered with businesses, governments, social groups and non-governmental organisations to fight forest degradation and deforestation and increase the volume and availability of wood from responsibly managed forests both for our own supply chain and beyond. We are on a journey to improve global forest management and make responsible wood sourcing the industry standard, contributing to building resilient forest landscapes and improve biodiversity.