| The price of sitting comfortably is the price of | | | | - or fully covered front and rear in your chosen |
| ergonomic support as you work. | | | | leather |
| The human body was not made to sit still. Indeed, | | | | - and with a relatively inexpensive 'split-grain' |
| the human body was not made to sit. But office | | | | leather |
| work and computer work demands the seated | | | | - or a high quality soft 'top-grain' leather. |
| posture from many of us. The space-constraints | | | | So what are you paying for when you buy an |
| of the open-plan office, the office desk, and the | | | | office chair? |
| home-office make it impractical to use a large | | | | Many of the things mentioned at the top of the |
| comfy armchair. So the humble office chair has to | | | | list above have become standard features that |
| suffice. | | | | are required of any chair that is to meet the |
| The office chair is continuously evolving to | | | | British and European definitions of an 'office chair'. |
| address the issues mentioned above: | | | | Therefore you have to pay for these features |
| - It is small enough and narrow enough to fit the | | | | whatever you buy. Inevitably some suppliers have |
| space allocated to it | | | | found ways to provide these standard features |
| - It is shaped to give you reasonable comfortable | | | | as inexpensively as possible in order to remain |
| access to space on your desk, your computer | | | | competitive on price. |
| and the surrounding area from the seated position | | | | The less expensive office chairs are most often |
| - It provides reasonable ergonomic support for | | | | imported from countries such as China where the |
| your lower back, your arms and your knees | | | | cost of labour and materials are still relatively low. |
| during long periods of desk-based work | | | | Such chairs will typically come in a very limited |
| - It allows you to move your body constantly as | | | | range of colours (often just blue, burgundy and |
| you work (it glides, swivels and tilts) | | | | grey fabric, or black leather); they will have a |
| - It allows you to change your posture to more | | | | polycarbonate shell and fabric front, or a |
| comfortable seated positions as you work, and | | | | polyurethane rear and leather face, and the |
| can be adjusted to accommodate people with | | | | leather will be 'split-grain'. And their ergonomic |
| different body shapes and different ergonomic | | | | adjustment features will usually be limited to a |
| needs (through adjustable seat height, adjustable | | | | backrest tilt & lock, adjustable seat height, |
| armrest height & width, adjustable seat tilt, | | | | fixed or height-adjustable arms, and sometimes a |
| adjustable backrest height, adjustable neck-rest | | | | height-adjustable backrest. |
| and adjustable lower back support) - some of | | | | The wider range of options mentioned further |
| these features are 'advanced' options that do not | | | | down the list are found in office chairs made in |
| come with every office chair | | | | the UK, other EU countries, and North America. |
| There are also different types of swivel office | | | | And they can add significantly more to the cost |
| chairs to choose from, depending on your | | | | of your chair. Thus you pay a higher price for a |
| individual taste and style. You can buy: | | | | wider choice of fabric and leather colours, full |
| - a computer task chair, | | | | upholstery (front and rear), and high quality soft |
| - an executive office chair, | | | | 'top-grain' leather (instead of 'split-grain' leather). |
| - a luxury executive armchair, | | | | And you pay more for soft wheels that won't |
| - a classic traditional-style armchair, or | | | | mark wooden floors, adjustable lower back |
| - a futuristic designer office chair, etc. | | | | support (lumbar support), height & width |
| And then there is the choice of how you would | | | | adjustable arms, fold-away arms (or fold-back |
| like your chair to be upholstered - in fabric or | | | | arms), adjustable neck-rests, and special |
| leather. | | | | ergonomic chairs suitable for 24 hour |
| If you choose a chair upholstered in fabric, you | | | | round-the-clock use (such as in control centres |
| can choose a chair: | | | | & call centres), chairs for heavier persons |
| - with a polycarbonate outer shell and fabric front | | | | (e.g. with a capacity of up to 23 stone or even 35 |
| - or fully covered front and rear in your chosen | | | | stone), chairs for taller persons (e.g. with deeper |
| fabric. | | | | seats and taller backrests), and chairs for persons |
| Conversely, if you choose a chair upholstered in | | | | with lower back problems (e.g. with polycarbonate |
| leather, you can select one: | | | | backrest frames and/or adjustable lower back |
| - with a polyurethane rear and leather face | | | | supports). |