It is based on published documentation, not hands-on testing.
A monitor can look clear while you sit and reflect a ceiling light when you stand. Before changing hardware, check the lighting problem from both normal working positions. OSHA's workstation guidance recommends arranging the screen, windows, and task lighting to reduce glare rather than working around reflections with an awkward posture. [1]
Locate the reflection before changing anything
At your seated position, note what you see reflected: a window, overhead fixture, desk lamp, or bright work surface. Repeat at your standing position with the same task on screen. Record the time of day as well. This simple comparison separates a persistent reflection from sunlight that reaches the desk only during part of the day.
If the screen becomes harder to read at one height, do not immediately raise its brightness or lean around the reflection. First identify which light source moved into your line of sight as your viewpoint changed.
Change the light path
OSHA recommends positioning the display face at right angles to windows and light sources, placing task lights so they do not reflect on the screen, and using blinds or drapes to reduce glare. It also recommends indirect or shielded lighting to avoid intense light in the field of view. [1]
Start with changes you can reverse: adjust a blind, redirect a desk lamp, or consider a different workstation orientation. After each change, revisit both positions. Keep the monitor readable and your normal working posture intact; a glare fix that requires a permanent neck twist is not a successful setup.
Do not darken the whole task
Reducing reflections is not the same as making the room dark. OSHA describes supplemental task lighting for paper work while limiting brightness around monitors. If you read printed documents beside the screen, aim light at the document without creating a reflection on the display. [1]
For a shared office, record the offending fixture and ask the facilities team about an appropriate adjustment. Do not modify fixed electrical lighting yourself. The useful request is specific: where the reflection appears, which seated or standing position is affected, and when it happens.
Check nearby surfaces and the screen itself
OSHA notes that polished surfaces can contribute reflected light and that dust on a monitor can contribute to glare. Clean the display only with its manufacturer's approved method. Look at reflective desk accessories as well as the panel. Moving a shiny object may be enough to clarify where the problem originates. [1]
A slight screen-angle adjustment may help with overhead reflections, but recheck the viewing position after changing it. A filter is not automatically the next step: OSHA says a glare filter should not significantly reduce visibility.
An arm when screen position needs to change
Ergotron LX 45-241-224 — matte black, 5-inch pole
The Ergotron LX 45-241-224 is worth considering if the two-height check shows that you need to reposition the screen independently of the desktop and the current monitor stand prevents that adjustment. Use it to explore a readable screen position after addressing the light source.
An arm is not an anti-glare filter and cannot fix every lighting problem. Try the existing stand, blinds and lamp adjustments first. Before purchase, check this exact arm’s monitor and desktop compatibility; any new screen angle must still allow a comfortable viewing position.
Check Price on AmazonUse a two-height check sheet
- Seated: reflection source, time, and whether ordinary text remains readable.
- Standing: the same observations at your normal working height.
- Adjustment: exactly what you changed.
- Result: improvement, no change, or a new problem elsewhere.
Revisit the setup when you move the desk, change the lamp, or notice seasonal sunlight. Persistent eye discomfort or headaches deserve appropriate professional attention; this practical lighting check does not diagnose a medical condition. Its goal is a readable screen at both positions, not a universal brightness setting or a new accessory purchase.