Are you sitting comfortably?
When picking out a new sofa or armchair to relax in at home, comfort is usually one of the main influencers. Of course, we also consider style, colour, and size, but generally, you’ll visit a showroom and hop from sofa to sofa to find out which one is most comfortable.
There are so many options out there, and you’ll spend time exploring them and deciding on the perfect seat.
This isn’t always the case in the work environment. In many cases, you’ll be presented with a chair for work and unless it’s particularly uncomfortable, broken, or you have an existing issue with posture, back, neck, or shoulder pain then you’ll most likely take a seat and accept it.
However, the suitability of an office chair is often underestimated as it can have a direct impact on health, wellbeing and also on productivity. There are many options available with office chairs to cater to the needs of different occupations, workspaces, the specific needs of an individual employee, or the comfort and well-being of your entire workforce or clientele. Choosing the right workplace seating will also depend on the setting and purpose of the chair. How long will you be sitting in it? Where will the seating be? What is the budget for your seating purchase? Who will be sitting in it? There are also DSE Regulations and health and safety to consider and your responsibility as an employer to ensure workplace seating is safe and suitable for all.
If you are in a position where you are selecting seating for a workspace or a public area, such as a lobby or waiting room, NCL Office is able to advise you and offer a wide range of seating solutions for all purposes.
One of our bestselling products at NCL is our range of everyday office chairs and alternative office seating. Here is a summary of some of the main options for office chairs including descriptions, key features, and benefits:
Ergonomic Chairs
An Ergonomic Chair is a chair that has been designed specially to promote and encourage correct posture and a good working position. An Ergonomic Office Seat can help prevent back, neck, and shoulder pain. A good working position is often referred to as ‘neutral body positioning’ and involves creating a posture in which your joints are naturally aligned thus reducing the stress and strain on your muscles, tendons, and skeletal system. Ergonomic chairs help achieve this with common features such as lumbar support, a stable base, adjustable headrest, armrests and seat height, padded seat, and back. These chairs are fully adjustable with a sliding seat pan, adjustable tilt tension, and lock. Ergonomic chairs offer easy swiveling and maneuverability with carpet casters. Often a workstation assessment will assist in the adjustment and configuration of an ergonomic office chair to provide the optimum benefit for both comfort and support. Ergonomic Chairs are sometimes combined with the breathable features of Mesh Office Chairs.
Operator and Task Chairs
Operator Chairs are specifically designed for use at office desks. Many have the option of adjustable arms and lumbar support with most chairs featuring adjustable seat height, backrests, armrests, and back support. Current UK Health and Safety laws require businesses to provide operator chairs that can be adjusted to meet the individual users’ requirements.
There are many different styles of operator chairs with varying features, finishes and options for different budgets.
Mesh Office Chairs
Mesh Office Chairs offer breathability which means they are a great choice for people who may sweat a lot while they are working or if they work in hot climates or offices without the luxury of air conditioning. Whilst the seat is cushioned for comfort, the backrest is lined with a net-like fabric, hence the name ‘mesh’. Sometimes a Mesh Office Chair is designed with ergonomic office chair features.
Executive Office Chairs
Executive Office Chairs are, as the name suggests, often used by senior staff or executives. Made from superior, luxury materials such as leather and real wood or brushed steel, they are designed with high backs and headrests and some even have additional features such as the option to recline. Executive chairs are grand and imposing in style with high backs, thickly padded armrests, and thick layered or contoured cushions for additional comfort.
Leather Office Chairs
Similar to an Executive Office Chair but often a simpler design with less padding and features. Leather chairs are however more expensive than chairs made from mesh, fabric, or vinyl. A leather office chair made from genuine leather has a feeling of quality, comfort, and elegance.
There are however different options available for leather office seats, Polyurethane leather (PU leather), Bonded Leather, or Genuine Leather. Genuine Leather is the most expensive and superior choice for your office chair. It offers comfort, breathability, durability, and style.
Drafting Chairs
Drafting Chairs are often favoured by people who need to stand up to work, for example, artists or architects. A drafting office chair is often twinned with a drafting table or standing desk. Drafting Chairs are lightweight and easy to move, feature nylon casters and they almost always have a foot ring for you to rest your feet on. Drafting Chairs most commonly feature pneumatic height control so the height of the chair can be adjusted to enable the person to move from sitting to a standing position easily. The adjustable height means that it can also be lowered to work at a conventional office desk.
Sit Stand Chairs
A Sit Stand Chair is commonly used with a standing desk and suitable for roles such as bank staff, retail stores, security, indeed any job where standing for long periods of time is common. Whilst sitting down for long periods is not considered a good thing, neither is standing for too long. A sit stand chair allows you to sit down for a short period of time for rest and switch easily between sitting, standing, and leaning. The height of a sit-stand chair means you can lean back and the chair will support your bottom whilst still in a semi-standing position. Adjustable seat tilt and height adjustment facilitates many different resting positions and means the seat can be adjusted to suit the height of the employee or to suit the height of the standing desk. A Sit-Stand Chair can also be fully adjusted to allow you to fully sit down for short periods. Sit-Stand Chairs are also referred to as a Leaning Sit-Stand Chair and this refers to the many resting positions it allows.
Saddle Chairs
The word ‘Saddle’ refers to the similarities between the design of the Saddle Chair and an equestrian saddle. The Saddle Chair is good for people with back pain. Sitting in a saddle chair means you are sitting in a riding position where the thighs are positioned at a 135-degree angle which maintains the lumbar curve and relaxes muscles. Saddle chairs are high and slope forward which helps to improve muscle strength and relieves back pain. Saddle chairs also play a part in preventing musculoskeletal disorders.
Kneeling Chairs
A Kneeling Chair has an angled knee rest that helps distribute the body’s weight between your bottom and your shins. Kneeling chairs relieve back pain by decreasing stress from the back and engaging the core. The kneeling chair maintains your standing lumbar curvature and strengthens the Psoas muscle and your back muscles. A Kneeling chair is good for short-term use and in conjunction with an Ergonomic Office Chair.
NCL Office offers advice and expertise to anyone looking for office seating. We supply all types of office seating solutions and many of these office chair types are available in a variety of styles and colours to suit your workplace environment. Office chairs are available at almost all budget, however spending a little more on a decent chair, where possible, can not only provide comfort but also be preventative in the development of poor posture, back pain, etc. It is also more likely to fulfill your obligation and responsibilities as an employer under health and safety legislation.
Our office seating solutions are supplied through a number of reputable office furniture manufacturers. We are familiar with their products and we will happily talk through your office seating requirements and make recommendations based on your needs. Office seating manufacturers include Sven, Verco, Frovi, Ocee Design, and Boss Design.
Our range of seating solutions is not limited to office chairs, we also have expertise in the supply of all types of seating for workforces, workspaces, and customer areas. Examples include reception area chairs and sofas, chairs in waiting rooms, conference chairs for meeting rooms and boardrooms, social seating and breakout areas, folding chairs or stacking chairs used for conference centres, schools or colleges, seating for lectures, training areas, and events seating.
Whatever your seating requirements, please contact us.
