Ergonomics in the technical sense is the design of products that reduces human error. In other words, it is the science of finding the office product that is exactly right for each individual–the Goldilocks principle. Ergonomic chairs are those that enforce good posture. The two most obvious reasons why we would need these are–comfort and prevention of back problems. It is a fact that many people develop curved spines or “neck humps” due to long hours of bending over a computer screen. This happens either when your seat height is not aligned well with the monitor screen or when you don’t use a chair at all and work on couches or beds. Another problem that occurs frequently is wrist pain due to your armrests being misaligned or you do not have the correct keyboard and mouse setup. Basically, all of this can be avoided if you have ergonomic chairs. Think about it–you only worked on the bed because it was “comfortable”, right? What if it was the other way around and you formed that bad habit because the chair was uncomfortable.
Without going into the technical details, the main difference between an ergonomic chair from one that is not is that the former is inviting. It makes you WANT to sit in it and work while the latter makes you want to shift to the bed. Square with me–how many of you, after an hour of sitting in your $40 FB Marketplace-bought office chair, savoured that fleeting moment of bliss when your butt touches the mattress? For those you haven’t felt it–you probably have an ergonomic chair–it’s like stepping into a hot shower. A non-ergonomic chair forces you to adapt to the chair. And so you slouch, put your feet up, lean to either side and otherwise struggle to find that one position that you are comfortable in. That is not optimal and tiring. On the other hand, ergonomic chairs are the other way around. They adapt to you!–including your body and posture. You are tall and your legs stick out? No problem, adjust the seat depth to expand the area under your thighs.
So what is this post about ? There are two objectives. First, to show people how to assess a chair in order to make an informed decision when buying one. This is a key step in procuring the chair that is best for you. And this will vary from person to person because of different body types, preferences, and working styles. The second objective is to spread awareness about the fact that in order to work at maximum efficiency, the chair works in tandem with a whole bunch of other factors including desk, computer peripherals like keyboard/mouse etc. I will write about the second objective in a follow-up post.
We begin by addressing the important issue of how to assess an ergonomic chair. Namely, how do we compare different chairs and identify the one that is right for us? There are several things to consider. When shopping for chairs, try out each chair for 20 mins at a desk. You may end up at the chair shop for more than an hour, but that’s the right way to go about it. Here are the factors you should look at:
- Seat height: For someone around 5”9’ sitting at a standard 28” tall desk, a good seat height is about 18”-20”. Basically, what you want to look for is that your thighs are parallel to the ground and that you don’t get any feeling of slipping off or sinking into the chair. Also, check for any pain in the knees after sitting in the chair for a while, approximately 20 minutes.
- Seat depth: The seat depth is relatively less known. You need to have roughly the same distance as the width of your hand between the back of your legs and the edge of your seat. This is to ensure that your thighs are properly supported.
- Tilt – resistance & amount of tilt: As the name suggests, the tilt of the chair determines how far back you can lean. Some chairs have an additional feature where you can control the tension of the tilt. At first glance, it would seem counter-intuitive to recline in an ergonomic chair, but some amount of recline is actually desirable.
- Casters: Casters refer to the wheels of the chair and come in soft, hard, or hybrid. Hard casters are those that facilitate the chair on carpeted floors. Soft ones, on the other hand, are those that work on hard floors like marble. The naming, I realize the naming is ironic, but it’s a good idea to remember what floor the chair is going to be used on, before selecting the casters.
- Lumbar: The lumbar support is the key to good ergonomics. It provides support to your lower back, specifically the curve. Without lumbar support, your body crumples inwards and that’s the reason you sort of lean to either side so that your back can be supported by the chair’s frame, instead of its back. Most chairs offer adjustable lumbar support for an extra fee. Also, be careful not to assume that just because there is lumbar support, it is necessarily high quality. That is one of the key differences between a $40 office chair and a $500 ergonomic chair, among other features. You will never know good lumbar until you sit in a chair that has it.
- Arms: This is also a crucial feature for good ergonomics. Personally, Indians are narrower than the average American build. Therefore, in addition to vertical adjustment, which most chairs offer, I also wanted armrests that shifted horizontally. This is something that you will have to decide for yourself.
- Head rest, foot rest: Not necessary for good ergonomics I would say, but useful for general comfort.
- Price: Nothing to do with ergonomics but a factor to consider when purchasing a chair. The biggest question people have here is–should I spend upward of $500 on an ergonomic chair? The answer needs to take into account how much time you will spend in the chair and how much you require it. For example, I have a neck hump AND I spend most of my time on a computer.
- Material: cloth versus mesh. I don’t think this plays a vital role. Just make sure to keep your chair clean.
Finally, I will review 3 chairs in this post — the Humanscale Liberty Task, the Herman Miller Sayl, and the Herman Miller Aeron. All three chairs are the purebred stallions of chairs. Other popular chairs include the Autonomous AI ErgoChair, X Chair, and Steelcase Gesture. While I did try out these chairs in the store for about 15 minutes each, I do not have extended experience in them. That said, I could immediately rule them out due to personal discomfort. For example, some of those would have seats that are too hard to sit on, some would not have armrests that customize to my needs, some would have lumbar that was either too soft or too hard, and so on. After doing the initial smoke test, the 3 finalists turned out to be the chairs I am reviewing:
First, the Herman Miller Aeron. Ranging from $1000-$2000 depending on the features and customization, this is touted as one of the best chairs overall and the best chair of the Herman Miller brand. My biggest complaint with this chair is its sizing. The Aeron comes in 3 different sizes A, B, and C, all of which are too wide for an average Indian person. Another point to note is that the chair sort of wobbles on a point as the chair ages, which is not super annoying, but should just be kept in mind. In all other aspects, the chair is near perfect and does what it is supposed to do–provide an ergonomic posture. But yeah, if you are a narrow set person, it’s difficult to support your arms for extended periods of time, especially since the armrests do not adjust horizontally, only vertically. Therefore, at a price range of upward of $1000, I rank this as the last among the 3 chairs.
Next up, the Herman Miller Sayl chair ranging from $500-$1000. This is another top model in the Herman Miller brand. It is said that although a great chair, it is not the flagship model of the HM brand. I disagree. This chair, according to me, should be the best chair period. At a reasonable price, the Sayl is the “goldilocks” version of just right. It is not a bulky wide set chair like the Aeron. It is very sleek and the size is just right. The armrests are smooth to move around and an absolute delight to adjust. Most importantly, they can adjust horizontally. Like the Aeron, it has high quality lumbar support so I can just sit in it for hours at a time. It is sturdy in that it does not wobble over time and continues to operate smoothly over time. Even with adjustable lumbar support, soft casters, adjustable armrests, and adjustable depth, the final price was only $800 (which for high-end ergonomic chairs is not that high).
Finally, the Humanscale Liberty Task. Another excellent chair. The only complaint I had with the particular version I have is that the arm rests don’t adjust and are fixed at a very wide distance. With a movable armrest, I would rank this chair at a close second to the Sayl chair. The reason for that is that, feature for feature, the Sayl chair is a lot cheaper than the Humanscale with better lumbar support.
That is all for this post. I’ll leave you with this thought–is the chair enough? No, you don’t just sit in a chair right? You use a whole range of office equipment like keyboard, monitor, laptop, and mouse. In part II of Office Ergonomics, I will delve deeper into these peripherals and how it relates to the chair.
Math and Autonomous Cars 
Very well written… will keep in mind when purchasing a chair for myself
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