Does your chair look like this?
Is it time for a new chair or changing the setting?
You may have figured out this one belongs to yours truly. Yet thoughts of a new chair never entered the picture until I needed new sneakers.
What?
When it comes to new sneakers, I generally replace those items every two years until treads wear out and holes appear. That had my mind wandering as to how often should a work-from-home professional replace their chair. For many of us, we’re in that chair more often than we are on our feet in sneakers. So, it stands to reason that replacement should be the same?
Thankfully, Al Gore invented the internet and we can research these things. Replacement recommendations vary from five to seven years with some consideration of the present condition of the chair.
What intrigued me more was a post by the Chiropractic Society of Rhode Island that stressed that while the condition of the chair was important, so, too, are the settings and physical characteristics of the seat, AKA the ergonomics.
According to CSRI’s website, your chair should fit the following guidelines:
“The lumbar support must adjust to the curves of your back. This also goes for the back rest as well. You typically want the back rest to be between one foot and 19 inches wide.”
“A proper office chair also enables you to sit with your feet planted flat on the floor and your legs at a 90-degree angle. A chair height between 16 and 21 inches should work for most people. Remember, you also want your arms to be equal height with the desk’s surface. That’s why you want a chair with a height lever for easy adjustment.”
“Finally, there’s seat width. You want a chair with a width between 17 and 20 inches. Please keep in mind when you sit there should be a gap between two and four inches from the back of your knee to the chair.”
Taking out the handy-dandy tape measure, a home office must, revealed the heights and widths of the chair hit the ergonomic mark. Yet my arm height was not equal to the desk’s surface. This caused some stress for my knees as my legs were not at a 90-degree angle. With this adjustment, it felt like I was sitting in a new chair, which brings us back to the looks and condition of my chair.
Clearly, this chair owes me nothing. Yet with the appropriate settings giving me a new lease on life, a new purchase is not necessarily imminent. Especially since the chair is within that five-year threshold (we will not get into how it got look this way).
Then again, it’s difficult to overlook all the deals that are out there. Especially after coming across a post in Wired about the “9 Best Office Chairs”.
The article offered something for everyone:
The best budget chair, FlexFit Hyken Mesh Task Chair, available on Amazon (affiliate link).
The deluxe Ergonomic Chair from Branchfurniture.com
The Rolls Royce of ergonomic chairs, the Herman Miller Embody (affiliate link)
You can read the entire review by clicking the button below.
Reading the reviews certainly helps. Yet when it comes to chairs, many WFH folks tend to be like Archie Bunker. See episode below.
Still, when it comes to working better at home, you have to consider your long-term health over your binky (AKA your current, used office chair.)
What does your office chair look like? Worse than mine? Would love to see. Please share via e-mail.