Office Chairs and Ergonomics - Looks Can Be Deceiving

As I walked into the office warehouse, I wassame.
shocked at the number of task office chairs linedHowever, all of these levers came with a
up, but even more amazed at how similar indifferent purpose and it was up to the user to
appearance they all seemed, even from up close.determine which features best suited his or her
With tilt mechanism levers, seat heightneeds. The everyday medical technician has
adjustments features, knobs, levers, etc., they alldifferent ergonomic needs than the average
still looked like a basic seat, seat back, arms andcomputer programmer and the same can be said
rolling caster wheels. That is until I actually satfor the body positions needed for different tasks
down on a few and realized why some chairs doand work situations.
not exactly scream out " Sit on this ".For me, spending far too many hours in front of
That day I compared many different task chairsthe computer per day and typing away, I require
and started to separate them out into groups ina chair with a very relaxed tilt mechanism that
order to arrange them by features, mechanismsmoves with my body, allowing the seat back to
and colors. Having worked in the office industrymove independently from the seat itself and
for many years now, I was used to having tokeeping my feet firmly on the floor.
actually "get down to the basics" of an officeThis type of chair with the height adjustments
chair because while they all may look alike, looksneeded for me to be comfortable was perfect in
can be deceiving. We were currently liquidating anreminding me to keep good posture, which is key
office that was closing and consigning the furniturefor good ergonomics and long-term body health. It
online for the owners and I marveled at theis essential to keep in mind that an office chair
differences once seated in these chairs.cannot help you to keep your body healthy, no
For example, I took 4 Herman Miller Task Chairsmatter how high end, it is your body that needs
that were up for sale and wrote up a bio on eachto sit properly in order to stay healthy and keep
and of course, took a seat. One of the modelsyour muscles and back from aching.
was the exact chair that I currently am sitting inFor other professions where the positioning is
at my current workspace and while coincidental,changing constantly throughout the day and
was of course my favorite seat on themobility is necessary, this may not be the correct
warehouse. It was little different in appearancechair. When picking your new task office chair,
from the other three task seats sitting next to it.make sure that you consider what you will be
All four chairs were upholstered in Burgundyusing it for the most and for which tasks in order
cotton fabric with adjustable arms and rollingto make sure to get a chair that will fit your
casters. All had three levers and a tension knobcomfort ability and enable you to be healthy and
and although slightly different, looked relatively theproductive in the workplace.