Choosing The Right Office Chair

Surely, each of you sometimes found yourself in a situation where a wide range of goods was more likely to discourage than to cause joy. For example, you decided to buy an office chair. It would seem nothing complicated. But here the questions begin to arise: how to find “the same” among thousands of options? How not to be mistaken with the choice? What to look for when buying this type of office furniture? Let’s figure it out together.

Types of office chairs

Considering the purpose and functional features, office types of armchairs are conventionally divided into the following categories:

• armchairs for managers;
• armchairs for staff;
• chairs for visitors.

All of them differ in technical characteristics, materials, degree of comfort, price. For example, armchairs for executives are most often of solid size, with a wide back and comfortable armrests, a solid crosspiece and an increased degree of comfort.

Leather is used as an upholstery material for the manufacture of such models. Office chairs personnel are characterized by high ergonomics, since employees can spend 8 or more hours in a sitting position. In such models, a swing mechanism is provided, the ability to adjust the height of the backrest, armrests. Upholstery material – durable eco-leather, durable fabric. Chairs for visitors are also produced in different types of upholstery. As for the design, it is less pretentious. As a support – wooden or metal legs, runners.

Support

As noted above, the chairs are stationary and mobile (mobile). Their main difference is support.

Fixed-type chairs can have:

• “conference base” (instead of a cross, runners or four legs);
• “stationary pedestal” (cross support without wheels);
• “swivel podium” (stand-leg connected to a swivel seat).

If this is a mobile chair, then a crosspiece with wheels will be its support. The material for this type of support is metal and high-strength plastic. The maximum load on the chair is within 120 kg. However, there are options of 150 kg and more.

Pay attention to the type of wheels. Choose them depending on the flooring.

Backrest

When choosing a chair, pay attention to the back. Ideally, it should completely repeat the curves of the back and be in contact with it as much as possible. Well, when the model is equipped with a headrest, it will help to relax the neck, and there is a cushion in the lumbar region. This will relieve the spine as much as possible during prolonged sitting.

Backrest tilt and height adjustment

For a comfortable stay in a chair during work, it is important, to adjust it to fit you. Based on this, choose office chairs with a regulation mechanism. This will allow you to adjust the height of the armrests, backrests and backrest angle as desired. The best tilt is slightly over 90 degrees.

Another important feature that is present in many office chair is the rocking mechanism. Thanks to him, you can arrange mini-workouts for the back, relieve tension from the spine, and relax the back muscles.

Seat

Like the backrest, the seat also contributes to the comfort. Its shape and degree of softness directly affect the well-being of a person sitting in a chair. Therefore, so that nothing distracts you from the work process, choose a seat that will not press or cut into the thighs, of moderate density, of sufficient width and depth.

Today, office furniture manufacturers offer the following options:

• hard seats (with a small amount of filling plus elastic belts);
• medium hardness (it can be polyurethane foam or foam rubber);
• soft (consist of a large layer of filler, a spring block).

Upholstery

When choosing an office chair, make sure of the quality of the upholstery material. If you want your chair to retain its attractive look for a long time, give preference to leather, eco-leather or textiles with a high degree of wear resistance.

Comfort

Regardless of the design, an office chair must first of all be comfortable. Therefore, before buying, test the option you like. To do this, just sit in a chair and try to adjust it for yourself. If everything suits you, consider that you have found the chair you were looking for.

Why Invest in an Ergonomic Office Chair?

No matter how old you are, it’s obvious that you spend most of your day sitting in front of your laptop. It can be for work, for entertainment or even surfing the net. As you know, sitting too long increases your risk for musculoskeletal disorders. So, opting for the purchase of an ergonomic chair may turn out to be one of the best solutions to help you.

What should you choose between the ergonomic office chair and the classic office chair?

The purpose of an ergonomic chair is to ensure good posture for your body when you are seated.

In fact, the ergonomic office chair has been designed in such a way that it can effectively adapt to your height and weight. This is mainly made possible from the multiple settings features available to the latter.

The ergonomic office chair also offers remarkable support to your spine and protects the cervical which are the vertebrae that are located at the level of your neck.

Also, the ergonomic office chair provides you with a feeling of well-being which is quite beneficial for your condition. It also boosts your productivity from the comfort offered by the posture adopted.

On the other hand, a classic office chair is likely to promote bad posture which will later cause health problems. Many users also tend to think that ergonomic office chairs are more expensive than traditional models.

What makes the ergonomic chair more special and which allows it to adapt to its user over time is its ability to adjust. Indeed, you have the possibility to adjust your seat according to your desires.

The seat adjustment

The height of the chair can be adjusted from a pneumatic cylinder that can be moved from front to back to promote good weight distribution. The goal is to be able to sit with your feet on the ground and your knees at an incline of 90 °. The knees should also be parallel to the hip.

Backrest adjustment

The backrest has a synchronous operation which allows it to tilt from front to back while following the movements of the body. You can therefore adjust the tension that the backrest exerts on your back if you wish. This adjustment can give you support to restrain your back.

When you buy an ergonomic chair, you are sold with a backrest supporting the entire spine from top to bottom.

The adjustment concerning the headrest and that of the armrests

The headrest is actually there so that you can rest your head to ensure that your neck is supported. You have the option of adjusting it in height and tilting it. The lack of a headrest can lead to complications such as cervical spondylosis.

The armrests on the other hand, have the role of supporting your forearm and releasing the tension present in the shoulders. The adjustment of the armrests is not the same on all models, but varies from model to model.

Casters and elastic surface

The casters make it much easier to move the seat. They can work perfectly whether on a carpet or on a hard pack. There are some models that have automatic brakes and are automatically locked by the weight of the user.

What are the positive points of the ergonomic chair?

The ergonomic office chair has many advantages, especially for health. However, he alone is not capable of solving all musculoskeletal problems.

As far as your back is concerned, it must be maintained thanks to the back of the chair. However, it is recommended not to stay in the same position for a long time.

Many brands of ergonomic seats exist on the market and if you want to buy them, you must consider all the characteristics mentioned above.