Need a good work chair?

Do you find yourself in pain after sitting in your office or at your work station all day?  It could be you have the wrong type of chair.  Consider the seating options below to find what may work best for you.

Chair

Desk Chair

A work chair should be adjustable to your needs.  Adjust it to raise or lower the seat to the correct height for your leg comfort and still have the ability to reach your work surface.  To find your correct height for ultimate comfort, you should adjust so your knees to be slightly above chair seat and where your feet are still able to rest flat on the floor.  Ergonomically speaking knees are best at a 90 to 110 degree angle for optimal comfort.  In addition to your work chair, you may want to have a footrest in the form of a stool or raised shelf under your work surface to rest your feet.  This will reduce strain on your back by keeping your knees slightly higher than your hips. 

Contoured, padded seats will be more comfortable and can reduce bodily stress when you are sitting for long periods.  Chairs that support the small of your back with the ability to adjust up or down or having tilt levels are best for jobs where sitting most of the day.  Best chairs for your body will allow you to rest at a 90 to 110 degree angle to keep your spine, back, and neck straightly aligned.  Chairs that swivel or roll will make it easier for you to move about your work area without having to stand-up.

An additional consideration is if you plan to be sitting in one location with little movement to files.  You may also want to consider using chair armrests to help keep arms at correct angle.  The armrests need to be set at the correct height for you.  However, if much movement is required for your work, you may need to remove the armrests for better mobility.  

Stool

If your work requires you to stand most of the time, consider getting a tall stool in order to rest feet and legs by sitting occasionally.  Your stool should be the correct height to provide the same angles as a work chair.  Padding on your stool seat will make it more comfortable and a back on it may help you if the stool is often in use.

If your work requires being close to the ground or slightly above normal height, as in filing, you might consider getting a short step stool.  The shorter stool may be useful for sitting to file low items.  IT can also be for standing on to reach high items or to look into the top drawer of a filing cabinet.  Additionally, the shorter stool, depending on its height and the height of the regular work seat,   may do double-duty as a footrest.  

Guests

Now that we have covered seating possibilities for you in your work area, what about guests who may need to drop by to talk with you or watch you work? Chairs for guests and other visitors should be lightweight and easily movable.  Guest chairs may have wheels for you to easily move them.  Or you may choose something more stable and stationary to prevent accidents from chairs sliding across floors to easily.  When not in use by your guest, you can utilize a guest chair as a temporary sifting/sorting or storage area.  If you occasionally have multiple guests, consider stack-able chairs so those not necessary may take less space when not in use.  When considering chairs, you should not get chairs that are not too comfortable as this can encourage your guests to stay longer.  A guest who stays too long talking can reduce your time working on key projects.