Office Furniture – Being comfortable at work is important. Especially as the discomfort can destroy morale, kill productivity, and hurt our health. So what options are available to make an employee’s workspace comfortable and ergonomically safe? Generally, it boils down to two – the ergonomic chair or the sit-stand desk. So which should we be choosing? Let’s look at both possibilities.
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The Ergonomic chair Guide:
An ergonomic chair acknowledges that there isn’t a one size fits all approach to the chairs we sit in. These chairs have a much higher number of adjustable features than a standard office chair, allowing users to make adaptations to best support their body whilst promoting good posture.
When set up correctly, these chairs help stop users from adopting poor positioning which, over time, can lead to numerous discomforts, aches, pains, and potentially musculoskeletal disorders.
A good ergonomic chair will have many changeable parts to allow for adjustments to height, armrests, seat pan, and backrest. It should also feature a five-star base fitted with castor wheels to prevent tipping.
So why choose an ergonomic chair?
So why choose an ergonomic chair? Well as anyone who has worked as a waiter, waitress, chef, or even perhaps a member of the Queen’s Guard on duty outside London’s Buckingham Palace will tell you, standing all day long is not fun – it can hurt the feet. Whilst sitting simply doesn’t.
Additionally, ergonomic chairs may be more suitable for anyone who has a physical impairment and might not feel comfortable standing.
Benefits of Ergonomic Chair:
Finally, there’s the cost. Ergonomic chairs are generally a much cheaper option than a sit-stand desk. Of course, there are wholesale office furniture offers so pricing isn’t always a barrier to getting the best office furniture but it is something that you should consider.
One drawback with an ergonomic chair is that if a user doesn’t know how to properly adjust the chair they may find themselves sitting in positions that aren’t supporting their body properly, creating issues further down the road – so proper training is important.
Consider too that sitting can increase lethargy and fatigue as we aren’t moving, and the human body is designed to move. This is where a sit-stand desk might just be the option.
The sit-stand desk:
A sit-stand desk is a height-adjustable desk allowing the user to switch between a seated workstation and a standing one. There are manually operated and electric versions available.
Humans live an increasingly sedentary lifestyle, something that the body was not built for. We are made to move, and a lack of movement has some serious drawbacks to physical health.
Sitting for long periods of time has been proven to affect heart health by increasing the chances of cardiovascular disease. It can also slow down a person’s metabolism leading to weight gain, as well as causing back pains.
Benefits Of Sit Stand Desk:
Sit-stand desks help put an end to these problems by allowing users to adopt a more active position. Even when standing still the body’s working to keep you balanced and upright.
It’s also burning more calories than when seated while alleviating back pain that’s associated with sitting. Standing also reduces the risks of diseases such as diabetes, which have been associated with sitting for long periods of time.
So sit-stand desks seem the healthier option than sitting all day long. But that comes at a cost. These desks are usually more expensive than ergonomic chairs.
Furthermore, when humans stand for extended periods of time we tend to adopt resting positions such as slouching or leaning to take the weight off our feet. So unless the user is conscious of maintaining a proper upright position, it can lead to poor posture adoption.
They also require the user to actually make use of the standing feature which, when faced with a busy day, an employee may simply forget to do
Final Words: The Ergonomic Chair & Sit Stand Desk is the Best Combo for Office Furniture:
So which is better? In the end, they are both solutions that take a different approach to the same problem of ending discomfort at work.
If there are no budget restrictions perhaps the best choice is a combination of both. However, if it’s a case of one or the other, adopting the ergonomic chair will probably be welcomed more by employees and is inclusive of those with physical health issues.
Though this should be coupled with the encouragement for employees to get up and move about at least once every hour to keep those bodies active. To save money, you can check out bulk purchase offers such as the wholesale office desk offered by Autonomous., specifically targeting businesses that need a large number of office furniture.
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