What You Should Know About: Seating

Were you aware that back pain is the second most likely cause for an employee to miss a day of work?

In today’s computer age, the majority of people are working from computer terminals. Ergonomic seating is absolutely critical to the health of your employees, and is thusly very important to the operation of your day to day business.
When shopping for office seating you should consider the following:

• Seat height: Seat height should be easily adjustable. A pneumatic adjustment lever is the easiest way to do this. The user should have his or her feet flat on the floor, with thighs horizontal and arms even with the height of the desk.
  
  
• Seat width and depth: The seat should have enough width and depth to support any user comfortably. The depth needs to be enough so that the user can sit with his or her back against the backrest of the ergonomic office chair while leaving approximately 2 to 4 inches between the back of the knees and the seat of the chair. The forward or backward tilt of the seat should be adjustable.
  
  
• Lumbar support: Lower back support in an ergonomic office chair is very important. The lumbar spine has an inward curve, and sitting for long periods without support for this curve tends to lead to slouching (which flattens the natural curve) and strains the structures in the lower spine. An ergonomic chair should have a lumbar adjustment (both height and depth) so each user can get the proper fit to support the inward curve of the lower back.
  
  
• Backrest: The backrest of an ergonomic office chair should be 12 to 19 inches wide. If the backrest is separate from the seat, it should be adjustable in height and angle. It should be able to support the natural curve of the spine, again with special attention paid to proper support of the lumbar region. If the office chair has the seat and backrest together as one piece, the backrest should be adjustable in forward and back angles, with a locking mechanism to secure it from going too far backward once the user has determined the appropriate angle.
  
  
• Seat material: The material on the seat and back of the ergonomic office chair should have enough padding to be comfortable to sit on for extended periods of time. Having a cloth fabric that breathes is preferable to a harder surface.
  
  
• Armrests: Armrests should be adjustable. They should allow the user's arms to rest comfortably and shoulders to be relaxed. The elbows and lower arms should rest lightly, and the forearm should not be on the armrest while typing.
  
  
• Swivel: Any conventional style or ergonomic office chair should easily rotate so the user can reach different areas of his or her desk without straining.