6.2 Ergonomic Workstation Design (V02), Active Furnishings (V07) & Self-Monitoring (V10)

6.2 Ergonomic Workstation Design (V02), Active Furnishings (V07) & Self-Monitoring (V10)

Core Exam Takeaway: V02 Ergonomic Workstation Design is a five-part precondition — the most parts of any Movement feature. Its most-tested number is Part 2's 25% of all workstations height-adjustable, which combines with WELL's no-rounding rule to produce the standard's canonical worked example. V07 Active Furnishings (2 pt / Core 1 pt) then pays for 50% or 90% active workstations, and V10 Self-Monitoring (1 pt / Core 0.5 pt) pays for wearables.

The ergonomic principle in one line

Musculoskeletal disorders arise from sustained non-neutral posture, not from any single position. That is why V02 is structured around adjustability and alternation rather than prescribing a correct posture, and why V07 pays for postural switching rather than for standing.

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Feature V02: Ergonomic Workstation Design — Precondition

Intent: reduce the risk of physical strain through ergonomic design that supports neutral body positions for seated and standing work and provides opportunities to alternate between them.

V02 Part 1 — Support Visual Ergonomics (Office Spaces)

All computer monitors can be positioned by the user for monitor height, viewing angle and horizontal distance, through one of:

• Option 1 (desktop monitors): monitors with built-in height and angle adjustment, or monitor stands or arms allowing height, angle and horizontal adjustment.
• Option 2 (laptops): the laptop is paired with an external keyboard, mouse and stand so the screen can be positioned by the user, or used with an external monitor meeting Option 1.

[!TIP] Option 2 exists because a bare laptop is ergonomically unsolvable: fixing the screen at a comfortable height raises the keyboard past a neutral wrist, and vice versa. WELL's remedy is to separate the input devices from the display — which is why the external keyboard and mouse and stand are all required together.

V02 Part 2 — Provide Height-Adjustable Work Surfaces (Office Spaces)

At least 25% of all workstations can be adjusted by the user for both seated and standing work, through either:

• (a) Manual or electric height-adjustable work surfaces; or
• (b) Supplemental solutions (e.g., a stand) that allow all or part of the work surface, monitor and primary input devices to be raised or lowered to seated or standing heights.

[!IMPORTANT] This is WELL's own worked example of the no-rounding rule. "When making calculations for WELL features, do not apply rounding. Instead, use the most expansive interpretation of the result." In a project with 21 workstations, 25% is 5.25, and five desks would reach only 23.8% — so the required number is six. Expect this exact arithmetic on the exam, with a different workstation count.

V02 Part 3 — Provide Chair Adjustability (Office Spaces)

All seating at workstations can be adjusted by the user, including:

• (a) Seat height
• (b) Seat depth
• (c) One additional adjustability requirement, chosen from: backrest height and lumbar support; backrest angle; or armrest height and distance between armrests.

[!TIP] Seat height and seat depth are both mandatory; only the third adjustment is elective. Seat depth is the one specifiers forget — a seat pan too deep for a shorter user compresses the popliteal region behind the knee and forces a forward perch that defeats the backrest entirely.

V02 Part 4 — Provide Support at Standing Workstations (All Spaces)

All workstations where users are regularly required to stand for 50% or more of their working hours — WELL's examples are an assembly line station, hotel check-in counter, supermarket check-out counter — incorporate at least two of:

• (a) Anti-fatigue mats, impact-reducing flooring or a similar strategy
• (b) Recessed toe space at least 4 in (10 cm) in depth and height
• (c) A footrest or footrail
• (d) A leaning chair

[!IMPORTANT] Part 4 is the part candidates overlook, because they read "Movement" as an office-worker feature. It is the reverse: it protects people who cannot sit. The 50% of working hours trigger and the 4 in (10 cm) recessed toe space dimension are both testable.

V02 Part 5 — Provide Workstation Orientation (All Spaces)

All eligible employees receive an orientation — in-person training, interactive education, or video or smartphone-based education with competency verification — covering at minimum:

1. Ergonomic and adjustability features of a given workstation and their benefits
2. Demonstration of how to make adjustments based on individual needs
3. Available resources for future reference and where to access them

WELL Core guidance for Parts 1–4: non-leased spaces; an additional point for also meeting requirements in leased spaces, and projects may either install amenities or provide a budget to tenants tied to implementation. Part 5: non-leased spaces only.

[!TIP] Part 5 is the feature's most under-rated requirement. Adjustable furniture that nobody knows how to adjust delivers nothing — studies of sit-stand desks consistently find low sustained use without training. Note the competency verification condition on the video and smartphone routes: a link in an onboarding email would not comply.

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Feature V07: Active Furnishings — Optimization (2 pt / WELL Core 1 pt)

Intent: encourage movement, postural breaks and switching, and discourage prolonged sitting or standing at stationary workstations.

V07 Part 1 — Provide Active Workstations (Office Spaces)

Active workstations are available to all employees who primarily work at stationary workstations, in these quantities:

Acceptable types: manual or electric height-adjustable desks; supplemental solutions raising the work surface and all input devices (monitor or screen, keyboard, mouse); treadmill desk; bicycle desk; stepper machine.

WELL Core guidance: non-leased spaces; an additional point for leased spaces; install amenities or provide a tenant budget.

[!TIP] V02 Part 2 and V07 Part 1 stack on the same hardware. Height-adjustable desks at 25% of workstations satisfy the precondition; take the same specification to 50% and V07 pays 1 point; to 90% and it pays 2. A project buying sit-stand desks should therefore price the 90% option deliberately rather than by accident.

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Feature V10: Self-Monitoring — Optimization (1 pt / WELL Core 0.5 pt)

Intent: promote self-awareness of health behaviors and health metrics through wearable technology.

V10 Part 1 — Provide Self-Monitoring Tools

The project provides devices (e.g., wearable fitness tracker) to all eligible employees meeting all four:

• (a) Available at no cost or subsidized by at least 50%
• (b) Allow users to monitor their own metrics over time — i.e., provide a dashboard where individual metrics are aggregated
• (c) Measure at least two physical activity metrics (steps, floors climbed, activity minutes)
• (d) Measure at least one additional health behavior (mindfulness practice, sleep)

WELL Core guidance: building management staff; an additional point for also meeting requirements in leased spaces.

[!IMPORTANT] Requirement (d) is what distinguishes V10 from a step-counter giveaway: the device must reach beyond activity into another health behavior, with sleep and mindfulness practice as WELL's own examples. And requirement (b)'s individual dashboard framing means the data belongs to the user — V10 is explicitly about self-monitoring, not employer surveillance. At least 50% subsidy is the cost floor.

Eligible employees — a definition that recurs

V02 Part 5, V09 and V10 all key off eligible employees: individuals employed by an organization and identified as qualifying for benefits. At minimum this includes all full-time employees, and may also include part-time employees, interns and contracted workers as appropriate. Projects must apply a single consistent definition across all relevant features, and any minimum employment duration cannot exceed one year. Getting this definition right matters across the Community concept too, where health benefits and family support features use the same term.