Ergonomic Chairs – The Best Office Support System.

A leading cause for long-term sickness in the UK is back pain which has resulted in more than 15 million lost workdays each year. This is primarily caused by restlessly sitting for long periods in hard, ill-fitting chairs that are detrimental to a person’s posture and skeletal structure.

Your choice in office chair could be the deciding factor between a productive workspace or an uncomfortable work experience. That’s why it’s paramount that you can make an informed decision about the type of chair best for you. So here are the reasons why we always highly recommend the ergonomic office chairs.

What is an ergonomic chair?

An ergonomic chair is designed to allow the user to sit comfortably for long hours in a variety of positions whilst perfectly supporting their muscular and bone structure. In comparison to the standard office chair, they are more customizable to adapt to an individual’s body.

The design takes into consideration posture, comfort and health by including adjustable features to suit the diversity of people’s requirements. Such adjustments can include seat height, seat tilt, lumbar support, adjustable arms, and memory foam seats.

Adding an ergonomic chair to your workplace can result in many benefits, not just physical improvements but also with the way you work.

THE BENEFITS OF ERGONOMIC CHAIRS

Improve Your Posture

When using a normal chair, you may notice that you lean forward or sit in an awkward position. This can easily lead to an incorrect posture whilst sitting at your desk. But in an ergonomic chair, such an issue can easily be corrected. By adjusting the height of the chair and the positioning of the seat so that your feet are flat on the floor, your knees at approximately a 90° angle and parallel to your hips – your posture can be corrected without too much hassle.

Pain Relief

As discussed previously, back pain is very common for those working in a sitting position all day. However, the use of an ergonomic chair has been approved by chiropractors and physiotherapists as being beneficial for relieving back pain. Ergonomic chairs have been designed to curve to match the shape of your spine for extra back support. These chairs have also proven to alleviate stress in the body, which is an issue known to lead to dull aches to sharp, long-lasting shooting pains throughout the muscles. A problem such as this needs to be remedied and hence this chair is a good way to begin positive developments.

Productivity

Productivity in a workplace can be easily affected by distractions, one of which being the way you are positioned. A significant benefit of an ergonomic chair is that it eliminates this distraction. As stress in the body is reduced, you will begin to feel more comfortable, and it will be much easier to concentrate all your efforts on the work at hand rather than wasting time shifting difficultly in your seat.

Adjustability

Ergonomic adjustments and the optional features that can accompany the chairs are purposely made to give you the luxury of personalisation. Everyone is different and you may have personal requirements that will differ from the person sitting across from you. That’s why an ergonomic chair is designed to be suitable for a wide range of body types and personal preferences.

How to pick the right chair for you- top tips:

Although you may have made the decision to go with an ergonomic office chair, there is still a wide range of options to choose from. Therefore, we thought it best to provide you with a few simple tips when trying to find your chair.

Try some out:

The best way to know if you’re going to love a chair or absolutely hate it, is to test it. There’s a simple way to do it too. Feel free to head over to our showroom to have a look at some of our ergonomic chairs available. We will always be happy to help, and you are free to stay and try out as many as you’d like. This way if you do want to buy one, you’ve got some idea of what you like or don’t like.

Try different seating positions:

Whilst trying out a chair, don’t just sit on it like you would at a formal meeting. Really think about what positions you would usually sit on a chair. Upright or a bit slouched? Legs crossed? Sitting at a high desk or a low one? By doing this, you’ll be better able to get a feel of what you want whilst sitting, not what someone else does.

Materials:

There are many choices for what sort of material you can have on your ergonomic chair. Not just the choice in colours, there is also the choice between mesh and fabric and whether you want the whole seat in just one material or you’re looking for a mesh back and fabric seat. That’s another reason that you should get to know the feel of both types of material so that you can get to know what’s best for you.

Optional extras:

There are also lots of extra features that you can have with an ergonomic chair. This could include: a headrest, memory form seat, extra lumbar support and even a coat hanger back. So, take your time and think about those choices too.

If you are looking to optimise your comfort and work rate with an ergonomic chair, take a look at our wide range on our website and get a feel for the type of seating that appeals to you.

Why not check out our showroom too. There we have a selection of chairs for you to try out in person to make sure you’ve made the right decision.

If you have any queries about our range or what choices to make, give us a call on 01773 835600 and we’ll always do our best to help you.