A private study they did back in 1989 found most users simply didn't bother adjusting their chair, apart from height adjustment. Many didn't know where or what their chair's controls were or did. Sounds like not much has changed as many office chairs are still far too awkward to set up for your own comfort levels.



Office chair manufacturers seem to add new features and controls to their products with little consideration for the practicality of them and the overall comfort of the wide diversity of office seat users' needs and wants.

Disregard the things you don't need as they will only serve to confuse you. Instead let's look at the critical things you need along with couple of extras that could prove useful and finally some straightforward chairs that successfully address the issue of comfort and ease of adjustment.

This article covers the vital adjustments you need to insist on when selecting an office chair.

The reason for a lot of these complex adjustments and additional features is mainly down to manufacturers of office seating. And to a fair degree their designers who have also contributed to all this. Every time a new product is announced competitors seem duty bound to design and market their own more complex look-alike.

Let's focus on what you need on an office chair, not what seating manufacturers try to convince you that you can't do without.

At its simplest level you actually need surprisingly few features, these three cover the essentials.

Nearly all swivel office chairs have gas lift height adjustment, just make sure it covers the height of your lower leg from the floor up to the inside of your knee joint as this measurement is a great ready reckoner to start with, from here final adjustments can be made.

You need to be able to adjust the back height to give your back proper support, your lower back posture is the most important part to prevent slumping forwards.

Your actual weight is an important consideration as it effects how the chair functions when you sit in it. Whether you're a light or heavy framed person you need to be able to adjust the tilt tension of your chair.

So much for the must have office chair features there are a couple of other considerations, particularly if you are very tall or conversely, below average height.

Seat depth adjustment may seem a somewhat obscure feature to be concerned with, however when you think about the wide variation in leg length amongst office chair users it actually makes a lot of sense. This is especially true for anybody not of average height. The reason is quite straightforward, it enables you to adjust the chair's seat depth to suit your leg length and ensure that you are adequately supported and comfortable in your seat.

The other consideration is arms that are height adjustable, although arms aren't for everyone, if this includes you then that is perfectly OK.

Nonetheless, for those that like to have chair arms, choose height adjustable ones as they enable you to set your arm angle and position to minimize the risk of repetitive strain injury.

So, how do you find simple and easily adjustable office chairs?

Norwegian office seat maker HÅG, simplified their seat controls years ago. By color coding their chair's levers and knobs as well as issuing an instruction booklet with every task chair explaining how they work.

Another comfortable and easily adjusted chair is Humanscale's Freedom Ergonomic Chair. This is very straightforward to adjust and set up to your own individual needs, it incorporates automatic body weight adjustment that simply calculates your weight and adapts accordingly.

This may sound a bit off topic, but have you ever considered a kneeling chair? The Kneelsit Ergonomic Computer seat is actually well worth considering, especially as its one time adjustment will be all you need to think about and it's very easy to do.

In conclusion, don't let yourself be brow-beaten by fancy features stick with the ones that matter and only go for additional ones if are convinced they will improve your comfort. To get a better appreciation of what a good quality, simple functional chair has to offer you, do follow the link below to improve your understanding of the choice of chairs available to you.