The choice of office chairs is huge, which makes it even more difficult to find the right model for your own needs and requirements. Before you decide which chair is best, we need to understand why it is so important to choose the right chair for you.
Did you know that the chair you choose can affect your health and productivity! Most office workers spend over 40 hours a week sitting down.If the office chair is not supportive of joints and muscles this can lead to posture-related injuries. t is essential to find a suitable chair that can be adjusted to our physical needs and prevent back pain If you find yourself sat in an uncomfortable chair you will inevitably find that your productivity slips as a result.
For this reason, we have compiled this chair buying guide, in which you will find many useful tips and interesting explanations about chair assortment.
Types of Office Chairs
To support your health and productivity you need to consider which type of chair is going to be best for you.The 4 main types of office chair are
- Executive Chairs
- Computer Chairs & Revolving Chairs
- Meeting Room & Conference Chairs
- Visitors Chairs
Executive Chair
An executive chair is a premium, tall-backed office chair providing comfortable support to the entire upper body. It’s the chair reserved for the upper echelons of company society – commanding power and authority with its tall, elegant back, sturdy arms and premium upholstery. The executive chair is particularly suitable where there is a lot of contact with customers or business partners, and where creating a senior image is important.
Computer Chairs & Revolving Chairs
Computer Chairs & Revolving Chairs are considered to be the most basic type of office chair. If you spend up to 8 hours sitting at a table, you need a good office chair with high comfort level and attractive design. While being aesthetically pleasing, the chair should help achieve an ergonomically correct seating posture to minimize work-related stress. The adjustment options are the key for the additional comfort.
Meeting Room & Conference Chairs
Meeting spaces should be available in a number of different sizes – small for a few people and larger for conferences.Stackable or folding chairs are a great way to make meeting space flexible.Comfortable chairs make it easier to stay attentive and alert throughout the entire meeting. Moreover, professionally looking chairs boost corporate atmosphere.
Visitor Chairs
While visitor chairs are generally designed to be simple and functional, they also add a touch of class to the workplace. These two types of chairs are key components when planning comfortable and supportive shared spaces that are both formal and informal. Visitor chairs are ideal for waiting rooms, extra seating in an office or any other area where guest seating may be required.
Ergonomic Features
An office chair is a chair designed with posture health and comfort in mind. Chairs that is adjustable in a range of ways to ensure sitting is both comfortable and doesn’t damage your health. Perhaps the most important aspect when it comes to choosing the right office chair is adjustability. Ensuring that you can adjust the chair to match your individual body shape.Ergonomic features to look for in your office chair are important to have.
No matter which type of office chair you think would be best for you, you should consider their ergonomic features. Each chair will have different ones, including:
- Adjustable height
- Backrest tilt
- Adjustable seat
- Adjustable Armrests
- Lumbar support
- Adjustable headrests
- Mobility
Adjustable Height
An adjustable height chair allows you to pick the appropriate level for long-term comfort. If you do seek out a chair with height controls, just make sure they’re easy to use and durable enough to rely on over time.The seat height should be set so that the soles of both feet are flat and in complete contact with the floor. Also, the thighs and lower legs should form a right-angle when seated.Increase blood flow by adjusting the height of the seat to ensure knees are at a 90 degree angle.
Backrest Tilt
The angle of your seat back is another important dimension of chair selection. And because any chair you buy probably won’t be perfectly suited to your body right out of the box, the ability to adjust the tilt of the back of your chair is a major benefit.This mechanism changes the angle of the backrest relative to the seat, taking some of the weight off your upper body and reducing pressure on your back.
Adjustable Seat
Clearly, you need a chair large enough to accommodate your body. Adjust your chair so that your feet are on the floor and you are at the correct working height for your desk use the entire sitting area of the chair. You can achieve this by sitting far enough back in the chair to ensure your back is in full contact with the backrest and there is a approximately a hand’s width between the back of your knee and the front of the seat.
Adjustable Armrests
Armrests should help relieve the burden on the shoulders and neck. Ideally, they should be height-adjustable so that when moving forward toward the desk, the abdomen touches the desk first, and not the armrests. To achieve the correct setting, the armrests should preferably be height-adjustable.Relieve stress on shoulders and the neck by helping to maintain a good posture - ideal for those who suffer with shoulder or neck pain.
Lumbar Support
The lumbar region is a crucial section of the spine, running roughly between the hips and chest. Though these five lower back vertebrae are the largest and strongest in your body, they still need plenty of support on a daily basis – particularly if you’ve had issues in this area previously.
Because lower back body strains are quite common among professionals, many office chairs are designated as lumbar support chairs due to specific design to provide lumbar protection. As always, however, it's important to consider these options in light of your own body and needs. In some chairs, the seatback is molded specifically to encourage a healthy, “s-shaped” spinal posture, rather than slouching.
Adjustable Headrests
The neck and head support should be adjusted to the height of the neck in order to help relieve the stress on the neck. This must at the very least be height-adjustable. However, in terms of ergonomics, a headrest is not strictly necessary.Ideal for those who suffer with shoulder or neck pain.
Mobility
The majority of office chairs sit on a five-spoke wheeled base. These provide optimum mobility and enhanced efficiency, as you glide around the office from desk to printer to filing cabinet. As the human body isn’t designed to be sat stationary for prolonged amounts of time, this movement can aid a comfortable seating position whilst warding off health problems.
However it may be that you would prefer an immobile base for added stability. These are also preferable on carpeted floor surfaces, which casters can sometimes leave threadbare. Our collection of fixed height chairs come on trendy cantilever frames that cut a striking silhouette.
Work Environment
When choosing the best chair for work, you also want to consider your work style and environment in which you work. Consider things like:
Seating Time
From a couple of hours catching up on emails to over 8 hours working with limited breaks - the amount of time that you spend working is important when deciding on the right office chair. Don't forget to check out the weight capacity that would be suitable for your body type as well in the product description.
Size Matters
If all employees were the same height, weight, and size, buying an office chair would be simple. Fortunately, most good office chairs are built with this in mind.The same is true for office chairs provided for visitors and clients. There are slight differences in the widths of chair seats, backs, and seat height ranges. Adjustable chairs are essential-not just a nice to have. Employees prefer a variety of chairs: with arm rests, moderate height backs, and adjustable seats.
Look and Feel
Now we’ve talked about all the practical considerations for choosing your chair it’s time to think about the style of the chair too! .The material used on the seat will affect the overall look of the chair as well as how it feels when you sit on it. What material your chair is should be considered to ensure it fits in well with your environment and you will find it comfortable.
Leather and Faux Leather Office Chairs
If you want to keep your home office looking sophisticated, investing in a leather chair will score you some style points. Leather chair styles can commonly be found in executive chair range. The leather material has a professional style and is also durable and hard-wearing.
More resistant to stains and easier to clean than fabric models, it needs only a quick wipe down with a damp cloth.With its signature look, feel and smell, leather gives a sense of quality and luxuriousness.Ideally, leather chairs should be used in cooler environments. Sat within hot environments, leather can become sticky and make the user sweatier than normal.
If your budget’s a little tighter, Faux leather office chairs possess many of the desirable qualities of leather with a smaller price tag. Durable, low maintenance and simple to clean, it offers the best of both worlds, plus its smooth synthetic surface does not have any markings or imperfections, providing a more even and uniform finish.
Mesh Office Chairs
Unlike a standard office chair that offers cushioned back support, mesh is stretched across the back of the chair.Mesh office chairs are a great alternative to leather chairs.The mesh material is breathable and cool, plus they can be a cheaper alternative to leather. Mesh chairs tend to be quite lightweight. So if you require moving your chair around multiple times a day, a mesh chair can help with this situation. Mesh Office Chairs tend to be a fantastic answer to offices situated in hot climates or generally hot offices.
Fabric Office Chairs
Fabric chairs are what you will likely be most familiar with, a common style of computer chair, its hard wearing nature coping well with daily use. Fabric chairs are simple soft and comfortable.This is a great option if you're looking for a warm and cosy spot to work.Cotton, linen, synthetic fabric materials are commonly used for office chairs. Plus, fabric is available in a huge range of colours, providing a variety that is not available in other materials.
What is your Budget?
So, finally, budget. Well, it should come as no shock that well designed, ergonomic desk chairs can get expensive and we will say we think the best models are worth the money. Just think, you literally spend all day sitting in this chair, you want it to be the best of the best. The most basic consideration when buying an office chair is to first decide how much you want to spend – because a lot of other factors and decisions will directly relate to your available budget. There are certainly a wide range of different chairs out there, with price tags ranging from very cheap to incredibly expensive.
Final Thoughts
People spend about a third of their day at work and technology keeps most knowledge workers at their desks. Without the proper workspace setup, this poses occupational hazards that can lead to several health risks.
Luckily, most negative health risks can be mitigated by investing in ergonomic office chair, which is designed in consideration of the body’s natural shape and movement. But before investing in a new ergonomic office chair , consider the characteristics that make a piece truly “ergonomic”.
With the advice in this guide, you’re well prepared to choose a great office chair. But there’s one more crucial piece of the shopping process: Getting a great price.Whether you shop online or at a retail location, look for industry-best value and a vast selection.
Do you have other tips to share for creating an ergonomic home office space? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!