How To Avoid Another Zombie Chair
How To Avoid Another Zombie Chair
How To Avoid Another Zombie Chair
With 2011 now upon us, it's timely to ask if you're sitting on a nightmare of an office chair. There are some real ghoul chairs out there. Here are some of the things which often happen with these chairs:
Seat foam is flat and feels like you're sitting on cold concrete
Arms are loose or broken
Back no longer reclines properly
Upholstery is either shiny, torn or both
Wheels keep dropping off
Seat keeps sinking
Everything just feels loose and worn out
We often put up with a lot, however eventually there comes the time when we say to ourselves that's it, I really must do something about this.'
The thing is how do you avoid ending up with another zombie chair? Like the one in this photo I took over the weekend in a local discount warehouse?
What Not To Do
Don't just rush out to the nearest office supplies discounter and buy another cheap chair, because 6 months down the road those ghouls and zombies will be back, and well before next year.
Never buy a chair on price alone, get the functions right first, and then look at price, more on this later.
Don't be fooled by looks, far eastern manufacturers have perfected making junk look a million-dollar art form. Just because it's got shiny chrome legs and leather upholstery doesn't mean it has any quality at all.
Next, there's that wonderful misused word ergonomic' which you see bandied about so much these days. Realize there is no precise definition for ergonomic when applied to office seating. This means the term gets abused and becomes a marketing ploy to sell you something which is anything but ergonomic.
Here's my definition of an ergonomic office chair:
An ergonomic office chair is a seat that has been carefully designed for the user to be able to work productively, efficiently and safely as well as minimizing any feeling of fatigue or discomfort.
$100 will never get you a high quality chair, products sold at this price level will always be built to a target price and corners will be cut to meet the cost, typically on the parts you can't see like the foam in the seat and the back.
What You Should Do
The first thing to recognize is that you need certain minimum features; here are the five I believe are essential:
Seat depth adjustment for optimal leg comfort
Back height adjustment to properly support your back
Height adjustable arms for comfort and to minimize RSI (repetitive strain injury)
Seat height adjustment to suit your body height and weight
Adjustable tilt tension allowing you to recline comfortably
Take time to read some product reviews both on this site as well as sites like Amazon.
Ask for other user's opinions in Twitter, FaceBook and similar sites
Plan to invest at least $250-$300 to get the right quality and features you need to support you safely and comfortably.
Lastly, make sure you get a 30 day return period if you do decide to replace your computer chair whether you are buying online or in person. You will only know if you have the right chair after you have been sitting in it for a few days. Bear in mind you will probably be adjusting settings until you get things just right for you.
One of the biggest mistakes I see people make is they try a new chair in a big box retailer. Of course it feels great sitting in it for a couple of minutes, especially if yours is worn out.
Realize it just isn't possible to try a chair out properly in 5 or 10 minutes, it takes days to know for certain not minutes or even hours.
Next time you're looking for a new office task chair, take your time and do the research because if you do and you get it right it won't need replacing for years.
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