The chair you sit in while working has the ability to make or break the quality of your workday. Lumbar support is crucial for providing comfort during long work hours. The height of your home office chair is also important, as are its mobility and flexibility.
Easy Fixes for Better Posture and Productivity
If you’re hesitant to purchase a new office chair outright, consider some of the following options in order to improve your posture.
- Adjusting your desk height: Some common issues such as shoulder tension, wrist pain, and poor typing posture, can all be attributed to improper desk height. Your elbows should be at a 90-degree angle and close to your body when typing. Keep your wrists straight and supported (like with a soft wrist rest). If your desk is too high and nonadjustable, try raising your chair.
- Optimize your screen position: Improper screen placement can cause neck strain, eye fatigue, and headaches. Keep the monitor about an arm’s length away, and the top of the monitor should be at or just below eye level.
- Improve your lighting: Bad lighting in your work area can cause eye strain, glare, and reduced focus. Keep your screen perpendicular to windows to reduce the chance of glare, use warm-toned lights around the work area, and avoid working in low-light rooms.
If these popular methods aren’t making a difference in your posture and productivity, consider purchasing a new desk chair, as this is almost always the culprit.
Home Office Chairs – Different Types
Home office chairs are available in many multiple styles, shapes, prices and sizes. The most important qualities people look for in home office chairs are comfort, support, and affordability. Some people also look for high-class materials and presentation. Six of the most popular types of home office chairs include:
- Ergonomic chair
- Standard chair
- Gaming chair
- Lumbar support chair
- Drafting chair
- Executive chair
The best way to improve your posture is with a quality office chair. If you’re in the market for a new one, consider the following top recommendations for office chairs.
1. Ergonomic
The push for ergonomics in home office furniture began when it was scientifically shown how sitting for prolonged periods of time has an adverse impact on your health. Average workday hours in the U.S. are also long, and the need for comfortable seating with adequate support is evident. The Interion 5-Way Black Adjustable Ergonomic Stool (with arms) is a customizable ergonomic home office chair selling for only $150.30 before taxes. The Ergoal Comfort Plus has an original MSRP of $1,199 but a sale price of only $497. This modern ergonomic chair comes in several interesting colors and even allows you to purchase it via Four, a company offering convenient interest-free four-payment financing.
2. Standard
Standard office chairs come in all shapes, sizes, price ranges and color options. Prices range from approximately $49 to $119 and higher. Standard chairs might swivel, elevate on hydraulic systems, include arms and include wheels/castors. Usually there is some degree of lumbar support in standard office chairs as well, even if it is not as emphasized as it is in chairs with special designs. Your typical standard office chairs are available at WalMart, Costco, Office Depot and many more retailers around the country/online.
3. Gaming
Gaming chairs are designed to comfortably support people of all shapes and sizes for significantly long consecutive hours. Gaming chairs combine ergonomics, lumbar support, neck support, wheels, armrests and various adjustable positions. Some gaming chairs such as the RESPAWN 900 are sold in racing colors, meaning they are bright and bold. Others such as those in the Secretlab TITAN model series are created with a darker modern, classy appeal.
4. Lumbar Support
Proper lumbar support is essential to getting you through your workday pain-free. The Herman Miller Aeron Chair is thought of as the best lumbar support office chair on the market today. The Aeron is capable of holding people who weigh up to 350 pounds and offers almost total adjustability of its support and positioning features. This chair sells for approximately $1,228.25 but more affordable lumbar support home office chair options do exist. For example, the Ergohuman LE9ERG starts at an MSRP of $799.00 and the Essentials Collection Mesh Seat Ergonomic Office Chair through Target is only $219.99.
5. Drafting
Drafting chairs are used specifically for sitting at tables or desks with higher surface heights than most normal office desks. Features might include pneumatic seat height adjustment, seat tilt mechanisms, adjustable backrests and even upright/leaning designs. Even though they were created at their inception for people working long hours at drafting tables, drafting chairs are certainly not limited to only drafting work. Drafting chairs are also perfect home office chairs for people spending long hours writing online website content, conducting virtual teaching/tutoring sessions and various other work-from-home jobs.
6. Executive
Executive office chairs are generally the highest priced office chairs on the market. High backs, excellent full-body support and luxury materials are all part of the typical executive office chair package. This type of office chair makes a statement by presenting itself as high-class and expensive. How much are typical executive chairs? The Mid Back Executive Office Chair (Lifeform) has a starting MSRP of $1,895. Executive chairs at Staples start as low as $110.99, however. This means an executive chair exists for every home office situation and budget, regardless if you want the finest leather and wood materials or simply a classy chair at an affordable price.
Best Places to Buy Home Office Chairs
Purchasing the right chair for your home office is essential to the quality of work you do. Your chair needs to match your body type, hours worked, style and adjustability requirements. The perfect home office chair also has to blend in with the color and decorating scheme of your home office. Some stores specialize in selling top-quality home office chairs, while others sell a wide variety of chair types and styles. Some of the best places to buy home office chairs include:
