I wanted to know you guys' opinions on spending money on ergonomic chairs. And if you have one, will you say it has helped you in terms of productivity?
The best chair I ever had was from Knoll. But they're expensive. The one I had was priced at $1000 USD. The company I worked for obtained them when they leased space and the company they leased from sold all of the furniture to them for $1 USD. Yes, you read that right. I offered to pay twice what they paid when I left just to take my chair with me. LOL! (They gave it to me for free.) It lasted a few more years before the arms finally broke down and replacements were hard to come by as the particular chair was discontinued.
I looked for quite a while for another chair to replace it. It had to fit me okay. I'm a smaller size, so it had to raise up and down a good length so I could type comfortably and not cause the shoulder pain I get when my arms aren't at the right position, and it had to have and independent back rest such that when I lean back, the seat doesn't lean with me. It also had to have a rating of 8+ hours for working. I found several that fit my criteria, but the prices were too high. One day, I lucked out and found one at a local office store on sale for a $99 USD (normally $199, which I would have been happy to spend... was willing to go up to $399) and it was just what I was looking for. I've been very happy with it. This is what I ended up with:
Depends what you mean by "ergonomic". A lot of the tricker/weird ones end up being bad for a lot of people.
But as for getting a really good quality chair that you can adjust for comfort - that's worth doing. I have a Mirra. It was a hefty investment even with a discount (bought from the same supplier as my workplace at the time, who happened to buy Aerons by the dozen), but with a 12 year guarantee works out better than a string of crappy cheap chairs.
I don't think you have to go crazy though, just use something height-adjustable with back support. Before the Mirra I had a simple gas lift office chair that was probably 20 years old by the time I pensioned it off. It happened to support my back at the right angle.
Chairs are the worst. I hate them.
That being said, don't go for the mesh chairs if they're cheap. I had one I bought from walmart, but the band that kept the mesh in place was poorly installed with cheap glue and a few staples that quickly fell apart and ended up causing me more pain in the long run as the mesh slacked and my back dug into the top section of the framing.
Like Brandon mentioned, I too have a long torso, and I like to have something to sit back and rest my head on, but many of the ergonomic chairs only go up to mid back, otherwise they would be ideal.
Second to last issue that always bothers me is how the part for your button is lower than the part at the front edge of most chairs, so chairs that let you adjust the title angle is ideal as well, otherwise I feel like my hamstrings right before my knees get a lot more pressure than is comfortable.
Last issue which I look for in a chair is whether the height can be appropriately high. I'm 6'2", so when I want to rest my feet flat on the floor, it's uncomfortable for the opposite reason as the title angle; namely it puts too much pressure on my butt, while the front of my hamstrings are elevated off the set slightly.
Oh, and one more thing, slightly unrelated to the chair, but still sort of related is, can I have the chair at maximum height and still slide it easily under the desk? Meaning, do the arm rests get in the way of this process. Having arm rests that are only attached to the chair at the rear is ideal, as it's nice to have the desk low near my lap, while the arm rests can clear the top of the desk. Both an adjustable desk and proper arm rests is important for this.
One super very absolute last thing. How far out are the arm rests from the side of your body? If the arm rests are too far out, but you still want to rest your arms while typing on a keyboard, and the arm rests are not adjustable, then by necessity you have to put your shoulder rotation in a bad position for your rotator cuff muscles. In the long term that could lead to injury from something as benign as long hours of desk work.
When people say "ergonomic chair" all I can think of is those stupid "tuck your knees under you" backless chairs from the late '80's and early '90's that had to be taken off the market as they were causing people to have feet amputated and even end up with aneurysms from the clotting caused by applying body weight on an area of the shins not designed to support it! In other words what happens when a back specialist completely fails to account for ANY other biological factor in their "design".
Much like "organic foods" or "homeopathic cures" it strikes me as scam artist hoodoo voodoo created to do nothing more than fleece the feeble minded's wallets.
The design of the chair evolved over centuries of human use, and pardon the pun but I'll take evolution over "intelligent design" any day. Particularly when those who fall for it are more often than not lacking in the 'intelligent' deparatment!
I have only two requirements for a chair:
1) Comfort
2) Adjustable
Anything that's supposed to fit "everybody' without adjustments falling into the "flaw of averages" -- which much like false simplicity causes more problems than it solves.
For a fun read on the "flaw of averages" check out this snippet from a book on the topic, and how it cost lives at the start of the jet age when it came to cockpit seating.
thestar.com/news/insight/2016/01/16/when-us-air-f…
If you're working in UI and UX, I consider the book that's taken from:
harpercollins.ca/9780062358363/the-end-of-average
... to be a "must read". The best of REAL "ergonomics" is anything the end-user can adjust to their own needs. Anything else is snake-oil peddling dimestore hooodoo, five and ten voodoo.
The comparison to "organic" is apt, the word has a real meaning, but it's been slapped onto things as a marketing ploy and bandied about by so many know-nothing halfwits, morons, and fools that the mere presence of it is now a flag for distrust.
Honestly it's going to depend on your physiology. Ergonomic furniture is generally made for 95% of the population. I have a long torso so I usually don't fit comfortably in ergonomic furniture. The best ergonomic furniture is fully adjustable everywhere but that doesn't necessarily make it comfortable. Something which is soft and cushy to me is preferable to a mesh plastic "ergonomic" chair. A comfy chair is a comfy chair, regardless of whether or not it's "ergonomic".
Before you buy a new chair you should find someone with a standing desk you can try out. I love mine. I stand at work and sit at home. The variety has helped my back pain.
Rishav Rastogi
Focus on your posture, even sitting down or standing up. I've seen people on ergonomic chairs, standing desks, exercise balls, all make the same mistake.
I saw a physical therapist and he helped with my posture. Combined with a regimen of lower back exercises and neck exercises ( including yoga ) has helped keep most of my back problems at bay.