Ergonomic Chairs Can Increase Productivity

If you spend all day, every day sitting at a desk, you may find yourself suffering from lower back pain later in life. As a human, we are designed to walk, run, squat and lie down; sitting is something of an unnatural position for us, which is why prolonged sitting can lead to back or posture problems. It is for this reason some furniture designers have been looking at chairs and seats in a new light in order to increase the comfort a chair provides and to decrease to problems they can cause, especially with so many people working in IT and therefore spending much more time sat in front of a computer.

As a result, a variety of ergonomic chairs have been introduced onto the market designed to improve the users posture, making their working day much more comfortable and reducing the potential effects of poor posture in later life. An ergonomic chair is designed to facilitate a better posture and to ease the tendency for one to slouch. Ergonomic chairs can be similar to a standard chair but with a highly engineered back rest which follows the natural curve of ones spine.

Alternatively, the ergonomic kneeling chair promotes a good posture by changing the way we sit. Instead of the seat being set horizontally at 90 degrees, the kneeling office chair sets the angle of the seat at around 70-80 degrees, with a cushioned knee rest which stops the user sliding off. This seating position puts the spine in a curvature much closer to its natural position, similar to that as if one were standing straight and therefore gives the user greater comfort if they don't get on too well with a standard office chair.

Ergonomic chairs of a variety of designs should be readily available in all offices with more than say fifteen or twenty members of staff. Be giving your staff the option of a standard office chair, a kneeing office chair or an ergonomic chair which properly supports ones spine is your duty of care towards your staff just as much as making sure there are fire alarms, fire extinguishers and fire escapes in place. By giving your employees a greater variety of chairs to use whilst working can also increase productivity and reduce staff sick-days, especially where back pain is a contributing factor. If they work harder and spend less time off sick, then investing in a variety of standard, and ergonomic office chairs is money well spent.