Enter your height and the chair you actually sit in. You'll get a starting chair seat height, desk height, monitor height and viewing distance, worked out from published body-proportion data and OSHA workstation guidance. Print it and take it to your desk.
It all runs in your browser. Nothing you enter is sent or saved.
My desk setup
You'll get four measurements, each from the floor or from your eyes:
These are starting points based on average body proportions, not a fitting. Your legs, torso and arms may be a little longer or shorter than average, and seat cushions compress, so adjust by feel using the checks below.
Check it by feel
Numbers get you close. Your body settles the last inch. Sit the way you normally work, then run down these three lists. They follow OSHA's description of a neutral working posture.
Body segments scale fairly closely with standing height. The calculator uses the median (50th-percentile) measurements for U.S. men and women from the NC State Ergonomics Center's anthropometric table, which draws on the 2012 U.S. Army Anthropometric Survey (ANSUR II). It divides each one by median standing height, and averages the men's and women's ratios, because the calculator doesn't ask your sex.
| Measurement | What it sets | Share of height |
|---|---|---|
| Popliteal height (floor to the back of the knee, seated) | Chair seat height | 24.2% |
| Sitting elbow height (seat to the underside of the elbow) | Desk height, added to the seat | 14.2% |
| Sitting eye height (seat to the eyes) | Top of the monitor, added to the seat | 45.9% |
| Standing elbow height | Standing desk height | 61.7% |
| Standing eye height | Top of the monitor, standing | 93.4% |
| Upper limb length (shoulder to fingertip) | Arm's-length viewing distance | 44.5% |
ANSUR II measures people barefoot, so the calculator adds 1 inch (2.5 cm) for everyday shoes to anything measured from the floor. If you work in socks, take that inch off. The monitor guidance (top of screen at or slightly below eye level, 20 to 40 inches away) and the posture checks come from OSHA.
This is setup guidance, not a medical assessment. It doesn't ask about symptoms and can't tell you why something hurts. If something does hurt, that's worth a proper look. Here's how we approach desk-related neck and shoulder strain.
One short email a day for a week. Each has one small change to your desk or your workday that takes a minute or two. You can unsubscribe any time.
This box is separate from the calculator. Only your first name and email go to our email service, Kit. Your height and setup are never sent.
A useful starting point is the height of the back of your knee from the floor, with shoes on. For U.S. adults that's roughly 24% of standing height, plus about an inch for shoes, so about 17½ inches if you're 5′9″. OSHA describes the right height as the point where the whole sole of your foot rests on the floor and the back of your knee sits slightly higher than the seat.
OSHA's guidance is that the top of the monitor should be at or slightly below eye level, with the center of the screen about 15 to 20 degrees below horizontal eye level. If you wear bifocals or progressive lenses, set the monitor lower than that so you aren't tipping your head back to read through the bottom of your lenses.
OSHA gives a preferred viewing distance of 20 to 40 inches (50 to 100 cm) from your eyes to the screen. Arm's length is an easy place to start. Then move the screen until you can read the text comfortably without leaning toward it.
Most fixed desks are about 29 to 30 inches high, which is taller than the calculated desk height for many people. If you can't lower the desk, raise your chair until your forearms are roughly level with the keyboard, then put a footrest under your feet so they're fully supported. OSHA recommends a footrest whenever the seat can't be lowered.
We talk through workstation setup as part of a visit, including how you actually sit at the end of a long day. Same-day appointments are often available — a doctor is in the office six days a week. 435 8th Street #203, at 8th and Broadway.
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