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You know that nagging pain in your back that started a few months ago? How about that strain in your neck, the one you thought came from a weird night of sleep?
Guess what? If you’ve been working from home in a less-than-ideal chair, those aches and pains could be related to it.
As millions of us have discovered in the last several months, ergonomics is a really big deal. No matter where you work – whether it’s a hotel, a school, or even your own home - ergonomics should be a top priority when you’re looking for seating.
“Having a workstation that fits your body and the job you do is an essential element of ergonomics,” said Lauren Gant, Human Factors and Ergonomics Manager at HNI. “The chair is step one in creating a healthy foundation.”
Office chairs may have once been overlooked, but those days are gone. How chairs support your body type and the health benefits associated with that support make the right imperative.
“We interact with the chair so intimately,” Gant said. “While all chairs are not created equal, the right one definitely makes a huge difference.”
Raise your hand if you started this year’s work-from-home journey with a chair you had around the house.
The number of WFHers who have upgraded their home-office chair is increasing by the day, said Monica Laverman, Senior Manager of Merchandising for The HON Company.
It’s a classic case of “you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.”
“When you look at work-from-home trends, the no. 1 thing that employers are considering for their employees is the chair,” Laverman said. “If you have an uncomfortable chair—whether you’re at home or in the office—you know. But a supportive chair is a game-changer.”
“What you’re looking for isn’t what you can see,” Laverman said. “It’s everything built into the chair that makes a difference.”
HON considers three criteria for ergonomic design: support, movement, and intuitiveness.
Considerations for lumbar support, adjustability, dimensions, geometry, and materiality help to promote healthy postures and comfortable pressure distributions.
"Many people just sit in the chair they are given without much thought to how it fits them," Gant said. "Empowering and educating employees to find and adjust a chair to fit them and their work is important."
“Seat depth is one of the most important adjustments on a chair. It allows you to scale the size up or down based on what you need. Proper seat depth can provide a comfortable sit and allows for you to use the back support effectively. This is true regardless of where you are working.”
HON seating is designed to support “active” sitting because prolonged sedentary behaviors can be harmful. With adaptable chair design, HON seating supports active sitting beyond the desk—meaning workers in the office can find comfortable and supportive chairs in conference rooms, cafes, or training areas, too.
The intuitive factor is about furniture that’s easy to use and adjust. HON seating offers human-centric manual and automatic adjustments, using principles like consistent locations and graphic indicators when needed.
“Dining room chairs, other wooden chairs and tables...those just don’t work for people who are working from home,” Laverman said. “When you upgrade your chair, you’re probably thinking about putting it in your kitchen or bedroom and you want it to fit that space.
“We’ve seen a lot of people who are now upgrading the chairs they bought in April or May because they are better informed about what they need.”
We’d be remiss to not offer some HON inspiration. A great chair can change everything for the better, after all.
Our advice? Keep price in perspective.
“‘Cheap’ is a relative word,” Laverman said. “The chair you have in the office probably doesn’t cost what you’re willing to pay for your home chair. There can be some sticker shock. The $100 chair (at home) may not be the best bet, particularly if you’re working in your space for a longer period of time.”
The Convergence chair is our top recommendation for a work-from-home chair. It’s a comfortable and easy-to-assemble piece that fits in a variety of different spaces. The Ignition 2.0 chair fits many body types and has a higher back for strong lumbar support. And the Solve task chair offers comfort and a unique design that makes it a great fit for a living space.
“Companies now have a clear understanding of the value of ergonomics, and there’s a ton of research that proves the benefits of adjustable furniture,” Gant said. “There are huge payoffs in engagement, a decrease in workers’ compensation and so many other things.
“For our team at HON, ergonomics is one of the core design criteria that we consider in product development. It’s essential to what we do.”
To learn more about HON seating and to find the right chair for you (or your team’s) needs, please visit hon.com.
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