Your Comprehensive Guide to Choosing an Executive Office Chair

Author: Charles Wheless

If an average person analyses the time he spends on an office chair, he would be surprised. The number is at least 38 hours per week. It stacks up to 1800 hours over the year. You can multiply this number by the years that the average person would work. The number is staggeringly high. One spends a large portion of his life on an office chair.

Considering these facts and figures, one can easily calculate how an executive-level employee who doesn't have much fieldwork would go on to heightening that number is even more. These facts are only for an average person. If we go into the details, some people spend even more time sitting idle. Add on to that the computer screen that is even more exhaustive for a human eye. So, you are not only exposing your body to a sitting posture, you are also using every millimeter of your eyes.

Why do you need an ideal executive office chair?

Don't you think your sitting poster should be comfortable and healthy? If yes, how do you think you would achieve that? This is where executive office chairs come into the picture. The ergonomics of an office chair is meant to have supportive features to increase your productivity and maximize employee efficiency. If you are sitting in a chair, it has to minimize your back strain, give you enough height to look at a computer screen, and have all the meetings one has in an office workspace.

How to determine if your office chair is ideal?

Now that's the tricky question for some. However, it's not as complicated as many people have made it already. if you are the boss, and you lose money due to employee absence, maybe, you have to look into the shortcomings on your part. Your executive office desk might have all those luxury features, but the other part of your office is just not as premium. If you think that might be the case, here are some features that you can certainly determine in each of your office chairs. Since many people ignore the importance of a good quality office chair, you should not be the one on that list.

Let's go through some points that let you analyze your office furniture more carefully.

  • Adjustable features

An office chair has got to be adjustable in terms of height, armrest, back lean angle, footrest, and sitting angle, etc. These adjustable features make all the difference for people with diverse dimensions. You can look for all the features while shopping for a chair. Your office furniture must have at least five different adjustment options with a good range for everyone to fit in.

  • Lumbar support

As you might easily guess that an office chair needs adequate support for the lower back. If your office chairs are of good quality, this lumbar support is adjustable that allows each user to adjust it according to his/her preference. Lumbar support is very important to avoid any back strain even if you sit for extended hours. This condition can be irreparable if not addressed in the early stages.

  • The fabric

The fabric of your chair should be breathable for your skin in the hot weather. Sometimes, sitting for extended hours makes your back sweat so much that you just can't sit in it. The base of your chair should have enough cushion to support your lower back, and simultaneously, the fabric should let it breathe. These are the features of an ideally breathable chair.

  • Wheelbase

Most people ignore this aspect of an office chair as if it doesn't exist. Considering the wheelbase is very necessary because there should be adequate friction while rolling the chair. The office floor should not be slippery or it should not oppose your movement while you want to reach out to a colleague. Finding this spot is difficult and you need to consider if your office is carpeted or not. If it is, you need to find a wheelbase ideal for that kind of floor. Your vendor should know the kind of flooring used in your office workspace.

  • Swivel base

One kind of movement is through the wheels and one kind is revolving in your chair while it is in the same place. This is where your consideration for the swivel base comes into the picture. The chair should swivel freely without any arm fatigue but not so easy going that one just can't focus in one place. Again, this balance is difficult to achieve.

If you are wondering why a good office chair is difficult to maintain, you should know that the ideal spot has little margin for error. Any departure from those ideal dimensions might render an executive office chair as unhealthy and uncomfortable.