Juan Manuel MoralesOsteopath D.O. · Marbella
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Desk setup checklist based on INSST guidance

By Juan Manuel Morales Tamajón · Published

This checklist gathers what the INSST, Spain’s national institute for safety and health at work, recommends. It’s for setting up a screen workstation at home or in the office. I’ve summarised its public guidance and ordered it as a list; the figures are the INSST’s. The INSST hasn’t produced, reviewed or endorsed this page. Print it and tick each box as you place your screen, chair, keyboard and light.

This is general information: it isn’t a medical consultation or an assessment of your workplace.

Date: Workstation (home or office):

Tick here or on paper; nothing you tick is saved or sent.

Juan Manuel Morales in a grey suit, seated on a white bench with his hands clasped, looking at the camera against a warm brown background

The desk at a glance

Each number on the drawing matches a section of the checklist; click or tap one to go to it. The laptop (6) and breaks (8) appear only in the key.

Illustration: a faceless figure seen from behind at a desk with a monitor, keyboard, mouse and document holder. The feet rest on a footrest, and a window with a roller blind is on the left.
  1. Desk and space
  2. Chair
  3. Feet and legs
  4. Keyboard and mouse
  5. Screen
  6. Laptop
  7. Light
  8. Breaks

Compare each pair of drawings with your own desk. They are this site’s own illustrations and show the INSST points this checklist summarises.

Desk and space
Illustration: a clear desk with a monitor, keyboard and mouse. There’s free space in front of the keyboard and around the mouse, and a document holder holds a sheet of paper.
Like thisThere’s room for the screen, keyboard and documents, and a document holder if you often work on paper.
Illustration: the same desk crowded with stacks of paper, boxes, books and mugs. The keyboard is at the front edge, and the mouse has hardly any room.
Not like thisStacks of paper and boxes take over the desk; there’s hardly room for the keyboard and mouse.

Chair
Illustration: a faceless figure in side view, sitting back against the backrest, slightly reclined. The forearms rest on the desk and the feet are flat on the floor.
Like thisBack against the backrest; forearms bent up to 90° and resting on the desk, shoulders down.
Illustration: the same faceless figure perched on the front of the seat, leaning forward, with the back away from the backrest.
Not like thisPerched on the front of the seat, leaning forward, back away from the backrest.

Feet and legs
Illustration: the legs of a seated faceless figure, feet flat on a footrest and legs at a 90° angle.
Like thisFeet flat on the footrest, legs at a 90° angle.
Illustration: the same faceless figure seated with the feet hanging, not reaching the floor.
Not like thisThe feet hang without reaching the floor, and there’s no footrest.

Keyboard and mouse
Illustration: close-up of a keyboard set back from the edge, with at least 10 cm of desk free in front. Hand, wrist and forearm are aligned and resting.
Like thisAt least 10 cm free in front of the keyboard; hand, wrist and forearm aligned and resting.
Illustration: close-up of a keyboard at the desk edge; the forearm hangs in the air and the wrist bends upwards.
Not like thisKeyboard at the desk edge: forearm in the air, wrist bent upwards.

Screen
Illustration: a faceless figure sitting facing a monitor whose top edge lines up with a dashed line at eye height.
Like thisThe top edge of the screen sits at or slightly below eye height.
Illustration: the same faceless figure at a low monitor, its top edge well below the dashed eye-level line, head tilted down.
Not like thisThe screen sits low: top edge well below the eyes, head tilted down.

If you use a laptop
Illustration: a faceless figure at a laptop raised on a stand, screen at eye height, with a separate keyboard and mouse on the desk.
Like thisLaptop on a stand, screen at eye height, separate keyboard and mouse.
Illustration: the same faceless figure typing on the keyboard of a laptop lying flat on the desk, head bent down towards the low screen.
Not like thisLaptop flat on the desk: typing on the laptop keyboard, head bent down to the screen.

Light
Illustration: a faceless figure in side view at the screen, near a window. The roller blind is lowered. No direct sunlight reaches the screen.
Like thisWith the adjustable blind lowered, no direct sunlight falls on the screen.
Illustration: the same scene with the blind raised; a wedge of sunlight falls directly on the screen and the desk.
Not like thisBlind up: sunlight falls directly on the screen and the desk.

Breaks the INSST suggests
Illustration: a faceless figure standing beside the desk and chair, looking out of a window at distant trees.
Like thisThe INSST suggests changing position at least every 30 minutes and, every 20 minutes, looking at something about 6 metres away for 20 seconds.

Where this checklist comes from

Every item comes from these public INSST documents and from Royal Decree 488/1997. They are in Spanish. You can find the INSST documents by their Spanish titles on insst.es, and the Royal Decree in the BOE, Spain’s official gazette (boe.es).

  • INSST, “Guía técnica para la evaluación y prevención de los riesgos relativos a la utilización de equipos con pantallas de visualización” Technical guide on the risks of working with display screen equipment. Updated in 2021. It explains how to apply Royal Decree 488/1997.
  • INSST, “Orientaciones para la gestión de los aspectos ergonómicos y psicosociales en situación de teletrabajo” Guidance on ergonomic and psychosocial aspects of remote work. Technical document, 2022.
  • INSST, “Preguntas técnicas frecuentes: trabajo con pantallas de visualización” Frequently asked technical questions on display screen work. INSST web page, undated.
  • Real Decreto 488/1997, de 14 de abril (Royal Decree 488/1997 of 14 April on minimum health and safety requirements for work with display screen equipment) BOE no. 97, 23 April 1997.

Checked on 24 October 2026

My own summary of public INSST guidance (technical guide to Royal Decree 488/1997, 2021; telework guidance, 2022; technical FAQs). The INSST has not reviewed or endorsed this sheet · Juan Manuel Morales Tamajón, osteopath · juanmorales.es/en/desk-setup-checklist/

Frequently asked questions

Questions about this checklist

Where does this checklist come from?

From three public documents by the INSST, Spain’s national institute for safety and health at work. They are the technical guide to Royal Decree 488/1997 (2021), its telework guidance (2022) and its frequently asked technical questions. I’ve summarised them and ordered them as a list; the figures are the INSST’s.

Does it apply if I use a laptop?

Yes. Connect a separate keyboard and mouse. Raise the screen on a stand to eye height, or use an external screen. Then go through the screen, chair and keyboard items as you would with a desktop computer.

How often does the INSST recommend a break?

The INSST gives examples, not a fixed rule. It suggests changing position at least every 30 minutes. It also suggests short, frequent breaks, for example 5 to 8 minutes every hour or hour and a half. For the eyes, its 20-20-20 rule: every 20 minutes, look at something about 6 metres away for 20 seconds.

Can I print the checklist? Do I need to register?

Yes, you can print it, and there’s no need to register. Press “Print the checklist” and it comes out on one or two A4 sheets, with tick boxes. The page doesn’t ask for any of your details.

Is this checklist an assessment of my workplace?

No. It’s general information, based on INSST guidance, for setting up a desk, at home or in the office. At work, assessing a screen workstation is the employer’s job (Royal Decree 488/1997). The INSST itself says its own checklist doesn’t replace that assessment.

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