Positions of the Computer Mouse within a Thousand Workstations

We completed an evaluation of a 1000 workstations at 37 companies across six states of the US determining the location of the computer mouse. A simple check list contained four categories for input device use (infrequent, primarily keyboard, primarily mouse, or mixed); six categories for pointing device location (18 horizontal areas relative to keyboard, five categories for vertical location relative to the keyboard), and three categories for the keyboard vertical position adjustability(fixed height, adjustable work-surface, keyboard tray). Over 92% of the workstations had the mouse on the right-hand side of the keyboard, and 54% were in the area immediately to the right of the keyboard. Of the workstations evaluated 79% had the mice at the same vertical level as the keyboard with 13% being placed above and 8% below the keyboard. Sixty-one percent of the workstations had the keyboard on a vertically adjustable surface whereas 38% were placed on a conventional non-adjustable desk. Only 32% have the keyboard on a vertically adjustable work-surface with the mouse directly to the right of the keyboard, the recommended setup configuration. Mouse locations varied between companies, but were fairly similar within facilities.