When we talk about ergonomics people immediately think about chairs, but it’s just as important to also make sure that your desk height is correct. Your desk needs to be the correct height and depth for your work.
While the standard height of a desk is usually given as between 70 cm to 74 cm, one size really does not fit all. Read on for more information about the importance of correctly-sized office desks.
Working at an incorrectly sized desk will lead to discomfort and possibly pain as the body is forced into an incorrect position.
Because we tend to spend long periods of time at a desk – some reports estimate the average time spent at a desk as up to 70% of our day or 5 and a half hours per day – it’s incredibly important that both our desk and chair are aligned to our posture.
Office desk height is important because an incorrectly sized workstation will leave you hunched over your work and possibly unable to comfortably fit your legs underneath your desk, or unable to reach your keyboard and mouse without excessive stretching. Both may eventually cause health problems.
Good ergonomic practice means that you should be able to sit at your desk with your elbows at around a 90 degree angle and your feet flat on the floor.
If the desk height is correctly aligned to your individual height and paired with a height-adjustable chair (and footrest if needed), most people should be able to achieve a comfortable and productive working position.
The best way to be sure that a desk is the correct height for you is to try it. Unfortunately, this is rarely an option, so it’s best to work from measurements.
Work out your ideal desk height in three simple steps:
For example, if you are 5’ 11’’ tall, that’s 1 inch shorter than 6 feet, so you would subtract 1 cm from 73 cm to get your ideal desk height of 72 cm.
If all this sounds like a great deal of working out and you just want to start shopping for the perfect desk, use the handy reference table below to work out your ideal desk height:
| How to find your correct desk height: | ||
| Your height in inches | Your height in cm | Your ideal desk height (approx). |
| 5’ 2” | 157 cm | 63 cm |
| 5’ 3” | 160 cm | 64 cm |
| 5’ 4” | 162.5 cm | 65 cm |
| 5’ 5” | 165 cm | 66 cm |
| 5’ 6” | 167.5 cm | 67 cm |
| 5’ 7” | 170 cm | 68 cm |
| 5’ 8” | 172.5 cm | 69 cm |
| 5’ 9’ | 175 cm | 70 cm |
| 5’ 10” | 177.5 cm | 71 cm |
| 5’ 11” | 180 cm | 72 cm |
| 6’ 0” | 182.5 cm | 73 cm |
| 6’ 1” | 185 cm | 74 cm |
| 6’ 2” | 187.5 cm | 75 cm |
Important!
The handy guide to desk heights above is only a great way to work out your ideal desk height if you’re taller than 5 feet 2 inches. This is because standard adult desk heights tend not to come smaller than 63 cm. If you’re looking for desk sizes outside of these height ranges or for wheelchair users, please contact us for expert advice.
Standing desks are an increasingly popular solution to the issue many office workers face of remaining sedentary for long periods of time each day. But did you know they are also a great solution when a wide range of desk heights is required?
Some of our standing desks have the ability to adjust from 63 cm to 130 cm high, making them a useful solution when a greater range of desk heights is needed in any office. Adjustable desks can solve the problem of the ‘one size fits all’ hotdesk and chair being ergonomically unsuitable for possibly the majority of users.
Of course there are other factors in desk sizing to take into account apart from height. Working out the desk width or depth isn’t often given a great deal of thought, apart from when room sizes create space constraints, but a correctly sized workspace really can help people to be more comfortable and more productive.
For more information on desk depths please see our ‘in-depth’ guide to how deep a desk should be.
In conclusion, ergonomics matter and when it comes to desk heights, so do people. Make sure that your teams benefit from desks designed especially for them. Comfortable workers are happier and more productive workers.
Work with an experienced contract supplier to source office desks with heights that are suitable for all of your employees, tall or short. Don’t make do with off-the-peg office furniture in a limited range of standard sizes when an expert commercial office furniture company will be able to provide a much wider range of desk heights and sizes, even bespoke sizes.
In addition, consider the benefits of adjustable and sit/stand desks for even greater flexibility.
When people refer to the standard height of a desk they’ll usually quote a figure of around 73 cm which is the ideal size for a desk, based on the measurements of a six foot tall man. Unfortunately that is not the ideal size for the majority of office workers.
The average height of an office desk is usually around 70 to 73 cm. But as your workers aren’t average, it’s always good practice to work with an experienced commercial office furniture supplier (like Spaceist!) to ensure that you have correctly sized desks in place for every employee. Read on to find out how to work out the correct desk height for people of various heights.
The correct ergonomic height for a computer desk will normally be the same as for a standard office desk, unless specialist equipment is in use. So this would be around 71-73 cm but should be adjusted depending on the height of the desk user.
Different jobs may sometimes require different desk heights. For example, people who type may find a slightly lower desk more comfortable than people who are hand writing or drawing. Precision tasks often require a desk at above elbow height to prevent eye strain and hunching over.
With modern sit-stand desks, it’s not difficult at all to adjust the height over the course of the day. Most of our sit-stand desk models offer the options of adjusting size using a lightweight hand crank or can be electronically adjusted at the press of a button.
No. Many quality contract sit-stand desks will offer a memory feature on the control panel so you can simply select a saved height to automatically raise and lower the desk to the correct height.
