Back to Work After the Holidays: How to Reset Your Desk in 15 Minutes

After the holidays, many people return to work feeling stiff, fatigued, or already dealing with neck, back, or headache symptoms within the first week. This isn’t a coincidence. Extended travel, working from laptops on couches, disrupted sleep, and reduced movement all increase musculoskeletal load. When you return to a poorly set-up workstation, your body is already less tolerant of strain.

You don’t need a full ergonomic overhaul to make a meaningful difference, but a 15-minute, evidence-based desk reset. This can significantly reduce unnecessary load on your neck, shoulders, and lower back, and improve your focus and comfort throughout the day!

1. Reset Your Chair (Your Foundation)

Your chair determines how the rest of your body stacks up. Poor sitting posture increases spinal compression and muscle activation, particularly in the neck and lower back.

What to do

• Adjust seat height so your feet are flat on the floor

• Knees should be roughly level with, or slightly below, hip height

• Sit all the way back so your lower back contacts the backrest

• Set lumbar support to sit into the natural curve of your lower back

Why it works: Research consistently shows that lumbar support reduces spinal disc pressure and decreases sustained muscle activity in the lower back. When lumbar support is absent, people subconsciously slump, increasing flexion load through the spine and neck.

Common post-holiday issue: After weeks of relaxed seating (couches, car seats, planes), spinal tolerance to upright sitting is reduced. Proper lumbar support restores neutral alignment without muscular effort.

2. Fix Your Screen Height and Distance

Neck pain and headaches in January are often screen-related, not stress-related.

What to do

• Raise or lower your screen so the top third is at eye level

• Position the screen approximately an arm’s length away

• If using a laptop, elevate it and use an external keyboard if possible

Why it works: Even a 2–3cm drop in screen height can significantly increase forward head posture. For every few centimetres the head moves forward, cervical spine load increases exponentially due to lever arm forces.

Studies show that poor monitor height is strongly associated with neck pain, cervicogenic headaches, and shoulder tension—particularly in office workers returning from breaks.

Example: If you’ve returned to using a laptop flat on the desk after holidays, your neck may be flexing forward for 6–8 hours per day. Elevating the screen immediately reduces this cumulative load.

3. Bring the Keyboard and Mouse to You

Upper limb discomfort often builds quietly and appears weeks later.

What to do

• Place keyboard directly in front of you

• Elbows relaxed by your side at roughly 90 degrees

• Mouse close to the keyboard—not reaching forward or sideways

• Wrists in a neutral, straight position

Why it works: Electromyography studies show increased forearm and shoulder muscle activity when reaching for the mouse or typing with elevated shoulders. Over time, this contributes to tendon overload, shoulder pain, and nerve irritation.

Post-holiday risk: Reduced workload during holidays can temporarily mask these issues. When normal work resumes, symptoms return quickly if positioning is poor.

4. Adjust Desk Height and Arm Support

This step is often overlooked but critical for shoulder and neck health.

What to do

• Desk height should allow forearms to rest comfortably without shoulder shrugging

• Armrests (if used) should support forearms lightly, not push shoulders up

• If desk is too high, lower chair slightly and use a footrest if needed

Why it works: Elevated shoulders increase upper trapezius activity, a muscle commonly linked to tension headaches and neck pain. Supporting the arms reduces sustained shoulder load and improves endurance throughout the day.

5. Set Up Movement, Not Just Posture

Ergonomics is not about holding one “perfect” position, it’s about load management.

What to do

• Set a reminder to change position every 30–45 minutes

• Alternate between sitting upright, leaning back, and standing if available

• Use natural breaks (calls, emails, printing) as movement triggers

Why it works: Static postures, even good ones, lead to reduced blood flow and tissue fatigue. Research shows that micro-movements and posture variation significantly reduce discomfort and improve productivity.

January Is a Window of Opportunity

From an ergonomic perspective, January is one of the highest-risk months of the year for workplace pain—and one of the easiest times to prevent it.

Your body is less conditioned after the holidays, workloads ramp up quickly, and poor setups are exposed fast. A short, intentional desk reset can prevent months of discomfort, reduced concentration, and avoidable injuries.

If discomfort persists despite a reset, it’s often a sign that individualised ergonomic assessment or underlying musculoskeletal factors need to be addressed—particularly for headaches, neck pain, or recurrent flare-ups.