Deciding which office chairs to buy is not an easy decision but with a little research you can pick your way through the multitude of products out there. Too many office furniture dealers sell on price alone but in reality price is never the number one priority. Certainly price is important but value for money is more so and ensuring your staff are sitting comfortably will pay dividends in increased productivity. The government has recently said that total cost of ill-health to the British economy is around £103bn and much of this is due to back problems.
Buying the right chair makes perfect sense and if you are allocating budgets we advise allocating at least as much to office chairs as to the office desks.

So what should you look for when buying new chairs.

Probably the best place to start is to find an office furniture dealer that you trust and ask their advice. A good dealer will ask lots of questions about how your business works, the type of people using the chairs, the environment they will be used in and the number of hours each day the chairs will be used. Even a detail such as the type of floor in the office can make a difference as to how the chairs will be specified. Your dealer may ask what budget you have and in my experience many customers are reluctant to answer this question. This is probably due to the fear that the dealer will simply try to sell you the most expensive product he can get away with but actually if you are using a professional furniture dealer it is a question you should answer. In terms of budget spend the most you can afford!

Stylish Synchro chair for a happy life

Entry level chairs will offer basic adjustment of the chair height and back rake but probably not much else. If your tempted with the £50 chairs in the mail order catalogue consider how much real value there is in the chair. Once the dealer margin is taken out, the cost of transport, the manufactures cost and profit there can’t be much left to actually make the chair. And you are going to ask your staff to sit on it for 8 hours a day! I would recommend spending £100 at the very least to buy a reasonable office chair but at £200 you will get probably three times the value.
The £200 chair should include features such as a synchronomic mechanism which allows the back rake and seat tilt to work together providing a more comfortable seating position. Additional features such as lumber adjustment and seat depth adjustment enable a chair to be supplied to a far wider range of body heights and weight. Indeed weight is an interesting point because many manufacturers use inferior gas lifts that may only be rated for 3 – 4 hours use a day up to around 15st whereas a better quality chair will be rated for 24 hour use up to 25st.
Some dealers will recommend ‘ergonomic chairs’ and charge large sums of money for these chairs. But in reality most chairs are designed to be ergonomic and it is more important to ensure the chair has a good range of adjustment and that it is used properly. If you look around your office now I guarantee that people will be sitting on the edge of their seats and therefore they may as well sit on a box. If you have decided to invest in good seating for your staff don’t forget to show them how to use it and how to sit properly. And don’t forget that new member of staff starting next month; they need to be shown too. It is a constant battle to make sure your employees are sitting comfortably so make it part of your normal training program to educate your staff in how to sit properly.