Workplace Health and Wellbeing: Think Ergonomics for Safety, Comfort and Productivity

By Ava Brown, March 30, 2021

If you work at a desk, you should do everything you can to ensure you have an ergonomic workplace. Fortunately, with so many people working sedentary jobs nowadays, most things you need for your job come in ergonomic versions. You can invest in an ergonomic mouse, keyboard and furniture. The furniture is the most important piece, vital to creating a comfortable and safe environment in the office, and the most important piece of furniture is the ergonomic chair.

Being in pain after every workday is not only annoying, but it’s bad for your wellbeing. Spending hours in uncomfortable positions will affect your posture negatively, meaning you are hurting your spine, legs, knees, hips, etc. But your physical health isn’t the only thing affected by discomfort. Our mind gets exhausted if we aren’t comfortable, which means that bad sitting can affect our mood. It can also have a negative impact on our sleeping, stress levels, ability to focus, productivity, creativity, etc.

So, being sedentary is very unhealthy, but if you are sitting uncomfortably and crooked, it’s even more so. And that’s why we need ergonomic equipment and furniture pieces. Designed to complement your body, they allow it to keep its natural posture, and they protect your overall wellbeing. The point of ergonomics is to create safe and comfortable working conditions, not only to protect the person working, but also to protect the business itself, because discomfort isn’t good for productivity, and it can lead to more sick days.

Ergonomic Chairs Promote Health

With so many ergonomic chairs out there, how can you tell if the one you like is the right one? Whether you need one for your home office or you are looking for chairs for your workplace, there are several things you should take into consideration when you are deciding which ergonomic office chairs to buy, including dimensions, support, armrests, mobility, stability and adjustability.

The thing that makes ergonomic chairs the best sitting option when you have to sit for hours on the computer, like when you are working or gaming, is that they can adapt to your body. This means that the chair is adjustable, allowing you to adjust the height of the seat, lumbar support and backrest, armrests, width of the chair, etc. A good ergonomic chair should allow mobility, but also be stable. This means that it should move and rotate easily, which is great for your blood circulation, but it should also keep you stable.

Things to Consider when Choosing an Ergonomic Chair

The first thing to consider before buying your ergonomic office chair is the quality of the materials it’s made of. You should avoid unbreathable synthetic materials. Mesh backrests are a great option, since not only will they allow airflow, but they are also very comfortable, because they contour your body, spreading the weight across a large area.

The seat height must be easily adjustable to your needs. Generally, around 40-55cm off the floor should be suitable for most people. When you seat on your ergonomic chair, you should be able to have your feet flat on the floor. Your thighs should be horizontal and the arms even with the height of the desk.

The standard for the seat width is 43-50cm, which should be enough to be comfortable and support anyone. From the front to the back of the seat (the depth of the chair), you should be able to sit with your back against the backrest of the chair, leaving 5-10 cm between the back of your knees and the seat of the chair.

The backrest should also be adjustable. You should be able to go forward and backwards, adjust it at the angle you need and then lock it into position. The lumbar spine is the part of our spine that suffers the most from sitting, which is why one of the most important parts of a chair. In fact, one of the things that make an office chair ergonomic is the adjustable lumbar support placed on the backrest. You should be able to adjust it both in height and in-depth to find the proper fit so that it will support the inward curve of your lower back.

Good adjustable armrests are also a vital part of ergonomic office chairs. If our arms don’t get the proper support when we are working on the computer, they weigh our body down and we feel pain in the neck, shoulders and shoulder blades. Armrests should also be removable. The height should be between 17 and 25cm from the seat. They should broad, and when you are typing you should be able to rest your elbows and lower arms on them lightly.

Create a Complete Ergonomic Workplace

If you are worried that you are leading a sedentary lifestyle, there are a few things you can do. Getting some exercise, if you aren’t already, is a great way to help your body recuperate, but exercising isn’t enough. This is why you should make short breaks ever so often and use them to stretch and walk around a little bit. Furthermore, you should also think about investing in a height-adjustable desk, to alternate between sitting in your comfy office ergonomic chair and standing to promote blood flow, move your legs, improve your posture, and so on.