By using this website you consent to the use of cookies and similar technology as described in our Cookies Policy and to the use of your data which we have collected or will collect in the future as further described in our Privacy Policy Our range of posture chairs, can make sitting behind a desk for a number of hours a more comfortable experience. Available in a range of colours and different designs, you’re sure to find the right one for your work environment. So, if you’re looking for office chairs to help with bad backs, or just wanting to give extra lumbar support to anyone who sits in them, then we have a selection that can help. These range from draughtsmen’s chairs which have an adjustable footrest and a five-star base and glides which make it easy to move the chair around the office to ergonomic operator chairs which have adjustable arm rests and even an inflatable lumbar support. We also have a choice of kneeling chairs suitable for bad backs as they have an adjustable height to ensure the correct spinal position and so the individual user feels more
Before spending $500 for the office chair he really, really wanted, Mike Williams first had to persuade his wife. He promised he would have more energy to do yardwork on weekends and took brown-bag lunches to work for a while to save money. Mr. Williams got the chair, called "Think" by Steelcase Inc. It has become equally popular with his co-workers at the Grand Rapids, Mich., food-service company where he is a product-management executive. An analyst in his group borrows it when Mr. Williams is out of town. At meetings, when he stands to speak, "it's a fight over who gets to sit in the chair," says Mr. Williams, who also has a Think chair at home. No other piece of workplace furniture evokes stronger physical and emotional attachments than the office chair. Most office workers spend more time in it than any other piece of furniture except a bed. Armed with reams of ergonomic research, companies know a good chair goes far beyond good looks. Chairs, equipped with menus of features and names to match like Generation, Think and Leap, promise to make people more productive, too.
Chairs are so complex, companies need to train people to adjust them to fit properly, office-furniture makers say. But many companies don't provide much training, so even the most-evolved chairs may not fit well, says Tim Springer, president of Hero Inc., in Geneva, Ill., an ergonomics research and consulting company. Staples Inc., the Framingham, Mass., retailer that sells office supplies, including chairs, says about 86% of office workers say their furniture causes discomfort, and more than half say that if they could make one change, it would be a better chair, according to its survey last December of 150 office workers. In a perfectly fitting chair, your back is supported and your feet are planted on the floor with your thighs parallel to the floor and your knees at a 90-degree angle, according to Humantech, an Ann Arbor, Mich., ergonomics consulting firm. The chair height should adjust so your computer monitor is just below eye level and your wrists are straight when extended to the keyboard or mouse.
Work & Family Mailbox Sue Shellenbarger answers readers' questions. The most advanced chairs "support a wide range of body shapes, sizes and positions," with flexible backs, armrests and seats that promote movement, says Dr. Springer, who has conducted research for five of the country's major chair manufacturers. The Generation chair by Knoll Inc., for example, responds to users' movements as they stretch, twist and change positions. It adjusts in nine different ways; four levers adjust the height of the chair and armrests, the depth of the seat and the tilt of the back, and five additional parts move with the occupant. Bill O'Connell, executive vice president of an Arlington, Va., professional association, says his Aeron chair, made by Herman Miller Inc., "looks like a Darth Vader helmet." It adjusts in nine different ways, from armrest angle and height to lumbar support. "I've come to appreciate how sore you can be from sitting in the wrong thing," he says. Each of the three times that Mr. O'Connell has taken a new job in the past 16 years, he has refused to part with his chair.
He drives up to his new office in his SUV, unloads his chair and rolls it inside. Companies know the chair can be a big issue. About 10% to 15% of the office-furniture budget is typically spent on chairs, says Bryant Rice, a North American practice leader with DEGW, a workplace strategy consulting firm in New York. Employers typically get bulk discounts and pay $300 to $600 a chair, Mr. Rice says, but high-tech models may cost $900 or more. Employers often have groups of employees try out several chair models for a few weeks and sometimes take opinion surveys. The No. 1 most-requested feature is comfort; adjustability is No. 2, he says. (Some employees also request stand-up desks, bypassing the chair altogether.) When an employer supplies ill-fitting chairs, Keith Overland, a Norwalk, Conn., chiropractor, sometimes suggests adding back or arm supports. Patients with office-chair problems account for 10% of his practice, double from a decade ago, he says. Bad office chairs "are to chiropractors what candy is to dentists," says Robert Hayden, a Griffin, Ga., chiropractor.
He advises two or three patients a month to ask for a new office chair. When employers refuse, he suggests his patients set an egg-timer at work and get up every 30 to 45 minutes to stretch and walk around. Improving the ergonomics of chairs and other equipment increases productivity by an average 17%, based on a review of 40 studies of office workers published in 2008 in the Journal of Safety Research. Workers tended to have fewer musculoskeletal problems and a lower rate of absences and errors, the studies found. After putting in long hours for years as principal engineer for an auto-racing research company, Jason Ashbrook felt his back and neck get so stiff that he saw chiropractors or massage therapists for relief. At work, he found himself looking for reasons to leave his desk, says Mr. Ashbrook, of Charlotte, N.C. When his managers brought in a few new chairs to try out, he grabbed the $900 Generation and "wouldn't let them take it back," he says. Its flexible seat, armrests and back keep him moving so he doesn't get stiff, he says.