Imagine if we’re working 40 hours per week, and we spent at least 30 hours sitting in the chair, then it’s around 1500 hours spent on the chair over the course of a year. If we multiply it into our productive years, for example, 20 years, then we would spend about 30,000 hours of our life sitting still. How would our spine and lumbar areas feel if we let those 30,000 hours in an uncomfortable, painful chair? And if we think a proper working chair is too expensive, what if we calculate the money we’d spend for visiting a doctor, physiotherapy, and medicine, due to the physical injuries that may be caused by the wrong working chair, like back strain, lumbar pain, or leg problems?
Many of us fall into a trap when we’re preparing a nice small office corner in our home - to invest more in the desk rather than in the chair, while actually our working chair plays a much bigger role in maintaining our health, comfort, and posture, which will lead to better productivity. We spend most of our working time sitting in a chair, and most of those times we don’t think about how that could add stress to our spine structure. Purchasing a working chair for its cheap price would not only mean we would have to replace it sooner eventually, but it would also put our health at risk.
Hence, we’ve summarized from several articles on how a perfect working chair should be - in short, it has to be adjustable, provide sufficient support to our body, and is ergonomic that we would feel comfortable in it. Most quality working chairs will surely cost more than regular chairs, but again, shouldn’t our health and body deserve such investments over the hard work we’ve put them in?
Imagine if we’re working 40 hours per week, and we spent at least 30 hours sitting in the chair, then it’s around 1500 hours spent on the chair over the course of a year. If we multiply it into our productive years, for example, 20 years, then we would spend about 30,000 hours of our life sitting still. How would our spine and lumbar areas feel if we let those 30,000 hours in an uncomfortable, painful chair? And if we think a proper working chair is too expensive, what if we calculate the money we’d spend for visiting a doctor, physiotherapy, and medicine, due to the physical injuries that may be caused by the wrong working chair, like back strain, lumbar pain, or leg problems? Many of us fall into a trap when we’re preparing a nice small office corner in our home - to invest more in the desk rather than in the chair, while actually our working chair plays a much bigger role in maintaining our health, comfort, and posture, which will lead to better productivity. We spend most of our working time sitting in a chair, and most of those times we don’t think about how that could add stress to our spine structure. Purchasing a working chair for its cheap price would not only mean we would have to replace it sooner eventually, but it would also put our health at risk. Hence, we’ve summarized from several articles on how a perfect working chair should be - in short, it has to be adjustable, provide sufficient support to our body, and is ergonomic that we would feel comfortable in it. Most quality working chairs will surely cost more than regular chairs, but again, shouldn’t our health and body deserve such investments over the hard work we’ve put them in? 1. Height
The perfect chair’s height should be adjustable so that you can set it to your own height, usually it comes with a pneumatic adjustment lever that you can pull. Check if you can sit comfortably with all parts of your feet laid flat completely on the floor, with your thighs and legs making a 90 degrees position.
2. Backrest
The perfect chair’s backrest should be able to support the natural shape of the spine, as well as the lumbar area. It should also be able to lean forward and backward according to how you move or how you adjust it to be, with a safety mechanism that would not let you lean too far to the back. It would be even better when you’re able to put it in a certain lock mode so that it would not tilt at all when you want it that way. Some chairs have a backrest that is separated from the seat which height and angle are adjustable as well.
3. Lumbar Support
A lumbar support usually comes in more advanced office chairs. The lumbar area is the part of our body that consists of pelvis, hips, and lower back. A lumbar support feature will help ensure you sit with the correct posture. It will prevent you from slouching off the chair, a position where the lower back would be pushed outwards in an unnatural spine curve, that could put a strain on the lower back, placing pressure on the spinal discs, which will lead to tension and pain. A chair with lumbar support will also help in improving natural blood circulation that will help you relax. An ergonomic chair would also have an adjustable lumbar support, where we could adjust its height and depth so it could fit our posture perfectly.
4. Width & Depth
The perfect office chair should be wide and deep enough for us to sit in. If we are taller, look for a deeper chair as it would mean the more area of our thigh would be rested comfortably, while maintaining approximately 2-4 inches between the back of your knees and the seat of the office chair.
5. Material & Padding A chair without breathable material would easily make us feel uncomfortable because our body would feel heated and sweat more, especially for extended periods. Many chairs use mesh as the backrest as well as the outer layer of their cushion, as it would increase the airflow within the seat. Regarding the padding, it should be comfortable enough that it is not too soft that it would not offer sufficient support, and not too hard as it would be painful.
6. Armrests
Although some people don’t require it, the existence of armrests could take some of the strain off your neck and shoulders. The perfect armrests need to be adjustable to your most comfortable position. The lower arms and elbows should be able to rest lightly, while the forearm should be on a horizontal position to your desk.
7. Adjustment Controls
Just when you thought your office chair has it all, and you purchased it, you realized at home that in order to adjust the backrest and height, you have to stand off the chair and squad down to reach the adjustment control. The perfect office chair would be able to be operated effortlessly from your seated position, and it would not require any straining position that will make you feel painful.
8. Swivel and Casters
Let’s state the obvious - the perfect office chair should allow you to make a rotation with your chair and move around easily to reach things in different spots and angles in your working area. However, you should also put concern in the types of the casters, as some casters don’t move smoothly on certain surfaces like carpets.