Most screen-related neck pain traces back to a handful of setup problems. Here's what to change first.
If your neck and shoulders are worst by mid-afternoon and better on weekends, your workstation is a reasonable place to look first.
1. Raise the screen
The top of your monitor should sit at roughly eye level. Looking down for hours asks the muscles at the back of your neck to hold your head up against gravity all day.
2. Bring the keyboard closer
Reaching forward pulls your shoulders round. Elbows should stay near your sides at about ninety degrees.
3. Support your forearms
Resting your forearms on the desk or armrests takes the load of your arms off your neck. It's a small change with an outsized effect.
4. Move the mouse in
A mouse parked out past the keyboard means one shoulder works harder than the other all day. Over months, that asymmetry shows up.
5. Change position more often
No posture is good for eight straight hours. The best setup is the one you leave regularly. Stand, walk, and look out a window every half hour or so.
If the pain doesn't shift after a couple of weeks of this, it's worth getting it looked at properly.
