When choosing an office chair, it helps us to know what aspects are key beforehand, in order to find within the wide catalog of office chairs on the market, the one that best suits our needs as a company.
As suppliers of office furniture, at Spandan we like to emphasize the importance of personalization, so that each client gets the most appropriate solution for their equipment needs. We are going to review the questions we have to ask ourselves when it comes to knowing if our office chair is the right one and if the time has come to replace it.
Office chairs
Office chairs are a fundamental work tool. Not in vain do we spend more than 1,600 hours a year sitting in them.
Like any instrument or tool, it also suffers the passage of time, especially when it is given continuous use.
Through this test we will be able to find out if the chair should be replaced by another one or if, on the contrary, we must choose one of different characteristics that guarantee comfort and well-being.
Don’t you think that it is necessary to invest in your health through a quality office chair?
1- What is my way of sitting?
When we spend long hours sitting, our spine can be overloaded, appearing contractures in the back, especially in the upper part, as well as pain in the lower back.
If our posture is forced, we will probably be contributing to the development of back pathologies that can cause a drop in performance. In this way, it is best to analyze our posture in advance.
How is a correct posture for the office?
- Maintain a sitting position that allows us to support the back, including the lower back, while the feet remain flat on the ground.
- Make sure that our legs remain bowed at a 90? angle.
- In the event that we have the need to turn in the chair, we must avoid turning our trunk.
- As for the height of the table, it should be high enough to have the arms supported in a comfortable and not forced position
- Every hour we must try to change our position. A good option is to get up to drink water when we need it.
- Once we have analyzed these points, it is when we come to the concept of ergonomic chair that we have discussed other times. An ergonomic office chair allows us to adjust the height of the seat, the height of our armrests; it must rotate on its axis and allow lumbar adaptation to the backrest, in addition to being adjustable in this regard.
2- Is my ergonomic office chair of quality?
In this sense, it is important that we can adapt the chair to our position. Therefore, aspects such as the height-adjustable backrest are essential. It is also common sense: if we observe that our desk chair has different adaptation options, it is because we are dealing with an ergonomic office chair, since it has been designed to ensure employee comfort in their workplace. Therefore, it is a quality chair.
Another aspect to consider is: what material is it made of? A plastic chair is not the same as a titanium one. Many times, if the chair is already old and we do not have access to its technical sheet, we can be guided by its consistency and appearance: it can be made of plastic or metal. We must bear in mind that no All the materials offer the same characteristics of durability and resistance, so that depending on these materials our chair can be deteriorated or deformed by use.
It seems that antopometric studies are usually the cornerstone in the reality of office chair design in the 21st century.
We must also take into account the materials used in terms of upholstery. Breathable fabrics that allow the transfer of body temperature will be more comfortable than those made of imitation leather or plastic.
3- Is my chair a designer one?
One of the scariest questions that can arise when we consider buying office chairs is whether they are designer, since we usually interpret it as a synonym of high price.
The truth is that within the world of office chairs we can find various manufacturers that make chairs of different ranges. We can choose a mid-high range chair, designed and conceived from ergonomic standards without the need for an increase in price.
4- Does my office chair fit the type of work I have to do?
It is essential that we study the characteristics of our workplace when selecting an office chair. It is not the same to choose a non-articulated office chair if our work is mainly active and we spend more than half a day with commuting, than a more sedentary type of office, where we spend practically the entire day sitting.
Depending on our type of work, our desk chair should match. Aspects such as adaptability and the regulation of various components of it will be proportionally more important the more time we spend sitting.
5- Is my seat adjustable?
Although it may seem a “luxury” to have an adjustable seat, the truth is that it also meets the standards of ergonomics in the manufacture of office chairs. Allowing an adaptation of the seat in height is essential to allow a trunk position that draws 90?.
The depth of the seat is also essential; it must allow the rear to be placed as close as possible to the backrest, with the front of the knees remaining on the edge of the seat.
Last but not least, make sure that the shape of the seat must be rounded at the front to allow a comfortable posture that does not interfere with our thigh positioning.
6- Does my back remain attached to the backrest?
To find out if our chair meets this fact, we must finish the workday without muscle contractions in the area. An ergonomic office chair allows us to support from the lumbar area to the L3, L4 and L5 vertebrae.
In fact, some office chairs currently tend to have a tilting backrest, which allows adaptation at the same angle as the movement of the back, so that it adapts to it and offers no resistance, improving well-being.
7- Does my chair have a defect or is it broken?
Although it seems obvious, we usually continue to work with chairs that have become lame, that have lost a wheel or that are no longer turning correctly.
We usually identify it as an expense, when the reality is that investing in an office chair is investing in performance in our workplace, in an increase in productivity, and therefore, in personal satisfaction and self-realization.
8- Does my chair have armrests?
A chair with armrests allows us to have an auxiliary element to get up or sit down, and also to support our arms to rest.
If the armrests are also adjustable, we are adding one more point on the ergonomics scale.
9- Does my chair have a suitable color?
As we indicated in the article on Color Psychology for offices, bright colors can help foster creativity, although we must take care of your light tone so that it does not cause eyestrain.
10- Do I like my office chair?
Finally, we must ask ourselves if our office or desk chair is to our liking. Many times we continue to use the same chair for years due to inertia, but it is not until we see other models that we realize the large number of designer chairs at mostly affordable prices that we find in the market. Here we not only have to think about the image that we transmit to our clients, but that we are ourselves the ones that we feel comfortable in our own workplace.
